Kristine Melton's cousin, who also happened to be her best friend, dried tears as she read a scripted statement in remembrance of the brutally murdered woman, accompanied by her husband.
Wade Wilson, 30, faces a possible death penalty. A jury convicted him on June 12 of the 2019 first-degree murders of Melton, 35, and Diane Ruiz, 43, and other charges linked to the crimes.
The penalty phase in Wade Wilson's capital murder trial began Monday. The penalty phase only happens in capital murder trials, where the accused faces the death penalty. It begins after the jury convicts the accused of the first-degree murder charge.
The jury may choose whether to recommend the death penalty or life in prison without parole, with testimony taking up all of Monday into the evening hours. On Tuesday, Lee Circuit Judge Nicholas Thompson is expected to allow closing arguments before he sends the jury to deliberate.
Family members, friends and medical experts testified Monday.
Cousin said Kristine Melton, a godmother, loved travel
Melton's cousin, Samantha Catomer, said they were best friends and that Melton was her child's godmother. Catomer's husband stood by her as she testified. Catomer was frequently engulfed in tears.
Catomer said Melton loved to dress up. Halloween was among her favorite holidays.
Kristine Melton:Cape Coral murder victim Kristine Melton was best friend, cat mom
"He threw her away like garbage," Catomer said of Wilson, later adding that Melton "was precious, not just to me, but to everyone who knew her."
Melton had a quick wit, Catomer said. She said everyone felt safe and understood around her.
"She was a relief just to sit next to her," Catomer said.
As Catomer continued to describe Melton, she said she became her child's godmother. Catomer described that milestone as Melton's "greatest honor."
"Kristine will never experience motherhood, a role she was born to play," Catomer said, adding that Melton loved to travel and "get to know the world."
Melton lived less than a block away from her mother, Catomer said. She added Melton's mother was horrified after the murder and moved to Maryland with one of Melton's other siblings.
Melton's mother has not been present throughout the trial.
Penalty phase delay:Life or death? Penalty phase for Wade Wilson, convicted of double murder, delayed until Monday
Guilty of all counts:Guilty: Wade Wilson convicted of all counts in 2019 murders of Kristine Melton, Diane Ruiz
Catomer occasionally stared at Wilson as she read her prepared statement.
"Losing Kristine is like losing your son," Catomer said. "I would not wish it on my worst enemy."
Catomer also identified Melton's cat, who she said sat by her "crumbled body," as authorities arrived.
"Look at her," Catomer said, looking at Wilson. "I know you can."
The pictures were shown to jurors on a screen.
Zane Romero says mother Diane Ruiz missed major milestone
Ruiz's murder happened just days before she was set to watch her son debut in his high school band program.
Zane Romero was a freshman and now studies graphic design in college.
Ruiz was Romero's only living parent. Romero wanted her to watch his marching band performance later that week. Her murder happened on a Monday.
"I never got to see her in the crowd," Romero said.
Romero said Ruiz was engaged and months away from getting married.
"She was so close to getting everything she wanted," said Romero, who grew up with his mother wherever she went. Ruiz was murdered when Wilson stopped her and said he could not find a Cape Coral school. He enticed Ruiz to ride in Melton's car, which he drove after her slaying.
Wilson murdered Ruiz in Melton's car before he ran her over between 10 and 20 times, testimony uncovered.
Diane Ruiz:Cape Coral murder victim Diane Ruiz was loving mom, hardworking
Romero, who sighed while his voice pitch became affected by his emotions, recounted the accomplishments his mother has missed.
He completed three years of marching band, won awards for his photography and got accepted into all the colleges he applied. One of those colleges offered him a full ride, he said.
"My mom will never get to see me get married," Romero said.
Romero said he was involved in a severe car accident his freshman year of college and was taken to the intensive care unit.
"I wasn’t able to call my mom," he said.
Romero reviewed a series of pictures he took of and with his mother.
He also became emotional when he pointed at a specific photograph Ruiz took of him. Romero said he was not a fan of being photographer, but on one particular occasion, he allowed that Ruiz take his photograph.
It is the only time he said he allowed his mother photograph him, he said, as a Mother's Day gift.
Physicians weigh in on Wade Wilson's psychology
Three physicians testified Monday as to Wilson's mental health.
The defense called experts Dr. Hyman Eisenstein and Dr. Mark Mills, while the state called Dr. Michael Herkov.
They evaluated a series of clinical tests performed on Wilson as recently as last week.
Their various testimony revealed Wilson's parents, then 14 and 15, gave him for adoption. He grew up in the Tallahassee area, where he went to school.
Wilson received A, B and C grades, for the most part, they said. He struggled with mathematics.
Eisenstein, a neuropsychologist, said he met Wilson on three occasions. He said his test results show he was very effective at the beginning of the provided tests, but his performance declined quickly soon after.
Through his puberty, Wilson was "acting fine," Eisenstein said he determined. Wilson was active in sports and went to church.
Wilson's mental health changed after his puberty years, Eisenstein said.
Mood swings and the thought of an alien presence "out to get him" were among the symptoms Eisenstein noted.
Wilson was 15 or 16 when he was involuntarily committed to a mental hospital during a separate incident and released the following day. He was also expelled from high school on drug accusations.
Wade Wilson was afraid of deputies present during testing
While experts tested Wilson to prepare the penalty phase in the trial, Eisenstein said, Wilson asked that two jail deputies standing in the room as a safety precaution step out.
Eisenstein said Wilson cited privacy concerns.
The two deputies said they had to remain in the room during the testing, but they stepped outside after Wilson raised confidentiality issues, the testimony uncovered.
"He's very impulsive, he's very fast," Eisenstein noted of Wilson. Eisenstein reiterated Wilson is accurate toward the beginning, but his performance later wanes.
Wilson's testing score placed him in the borderline for the average percentiles and found he was not looking to fake, Eisenstein said.
His IQ was found to be 92, which is in the lower average range, with a "profoundly impaired" executive function, Eisenstein said. Being under the influence of a controlled substance would have brought his score even lower, he added.
"He was very interactive" during the testing, Eisenstein said of Wilson, who the doctor said has a "whole series" of head injuries.
The first of them, Eisenstein said, happened when Wilson was 10 on the baseball field. When Wilson was 11, he suffered a concussion during a football game, Eisenstein said.
At age 18, he was involved in a car crash, Eisenstein said, adding that Wilson was not wearing a seatbelt when the car crashed into tree. It was the first of two similar car crashes Wilson suffered in the span of three years, Eisenstein said.
During the time between both crashes, Eisenstein said, Wilson at age 20 overdosed on narcotics and suffered a seizure.
Eisenstein said he concluded Wilson suffered from "neurocognitive" brain impairment.
When Assistant State Attorney Sara Miller asked Eisenstein if he reviewed the 911 calls related to the case, Eisenstein said he did not. Miller is prosecuting the case along with Assistant State Attorney Andreas Gardiner.
Eisenstein said he did not review the statements Melissa Montanez — a victim in one of the listed charges — provided either.
Mills, a forensic psychiatrist, said he worked cohesively with Eisenstein.
Among the documents he reviewed was a letter written by Wilson's adoptive sister, Wendy Wilson, a radiologist, Mills said.
Wade Wilson exaggerated symptoms
Mills said Wade Wilson invalidated some tests when he exaggerated symptoms most people do not have.
During the different testing, Mills said, Wade Wilson appeared "very wary and very watchful."
Mills said his testing uncovered Wade Wilson in 2007 became paranoid, hostile and isolated.
"I don’t know exactly what Mr. Wilson has, but it is very significant," Mills said.
As a teenager, Wade Wilson believed others would harm him and his family, Mills said.
Mills said that while his testing uncovered anomalies in Wade Wilson, the convicted killer self-reported his clinical history.
Most of his older files spanning back to his childhood and teenage years were destroyed in a fire.
After Eisenstein and Mills testified, state prosecutors called Dr. Michael Herkov, a clinical and forensic neuropsychologist, to the stand.
Herkov said he met with Wade Wilson on June 19.
According to Herkov, Wade Wilson said he would only give him 15 minutes, but they spent over an hour.
Herkov said Wade Wilson does not suffer from any disorder. He also declined noticing any memory issues in Wade Wilson.
Wade Wilson chooses not to testify
Wade Wilson declined to testify, similar to what happened during the guilt phase of the trial, the same day jurors convicted him.
Defense lawyers Lee Hollander and Kevin Shirley said they had separated a series of photographs that pictured Wade Wilson along with his adoptive family.
The images were admitted into evidence after state prosecutors OK'd their use, but Wade Wilson said he did not want them shown to jurors, citing the appearance of specific relatives. He did not indicate which relatives' appearance he disagreed with.
State prosecutors present four aggravating factors
Gardiner, who presented the opening arguments for the state Monday morning, said the state is relying on four aggravating factors — which could ultimately mean Wade Wilson receives the capital punishment.
Jurors only need to find one aggravator exists to recommend death.
Gardiner said the murders of Melton and Ruiz had three characteristics in common: both victims were selected, secluded and strangled.
"I’ve already done it, I’ll do it again," Gardiner reminded jurors that Wade Wilson told detectives during a recorded interview at the Lee County Jail.
Gardiner said Ruiz "came back to life" three or four times as she confronted Wade Wilson's attack.
"Both Kristine Melton and Diane Ruiz endured a high level of pain," Gardiner said.
A different aggravator, Gardiner said, is that Wade Wilson was on probation for a felony he had committed in Palm Beach County two-and-a-half weeks before the Oct. 7, 2019, murders.
Wade Wilson will die in prison, defense says
Shirley said Wade Wilson will die in prison "either way."
"This portion of the trial is critical," Shirley said. "It’s critical to you, and it’s critical to Mr. Wilson."
Shirley said the verdict will be "one of the most important" decisions jurors will make in their lives.
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads@tomasfrobeltran, Instagram@tomasfrobeltranand Facebook@tomasrodrigueznews.
