CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Right after the jury's recommendation for the death sentence, I went to the Cape Coral Police Department, the agency that investigated the murders and arrested Wade Wilson.
Chief Anthony Sizemore told me, knowing everything he knows about the case, he is not surprised by the decision.
"A long time coming is my first thought," said Chief Sizemore.
Chief Sizemore told me he thought the investigation and evidence were "airtight."
He says he feels for the families who had to sit through weeks reliving the horrors of losing their loved ones 5 years ago.
"I believe in the work that was done by our detectives and our forensics personnel. I had extreme faith and confidence in the State Attorney's Office, but you never know when it's a jury," said Sizemore.
The jury came back on the state's side, bringing justice to the families of 35-year-old Kristine Melton and 43-year-old Diane Ruiz.
They were found dead in October of 2019, both were strangled.
Melton in her home and Ruiz, in a field behind the Sam's Club off of Pine Island Road, a few days later.
A grand jury indicted Wilson, within a matter of weeks, but there were years of delays. In part because of Covid, and in part, because Wilson kept changing his lawyers.
But now, he's convicted and the jury has recommended that he die for his crimes.
A long process that Chief Sizemore hopes will give the Ruiz and Melton families some closure.
"I hope that today they can exhale a little bit," said Sizemore. "No court action or sentence can ever bring back their loved ones but you cannot even begin the peace process as an individual or as a family until today. I hope today will be the launch of that."
