CAPE CORAL, Fla. — A lot happened in southwest Florida in 2024. I'm Senior Reporter Kaitlin Knapp, and I'm looking back the top 4 Cape Coral stories you clicked on the most in 2024.
The first one is a story I covered: the housing market.
THE PERFECT STORM:
Back in March, there were thousands of homes on sale in Cape Coral. It was a sign of where our market was potentially headed between interest rates and how long homes were staying on the market.
A BILLIONAIRE BUILDING:
Our second most popular story stays in the same industry, but this time it's commercial building.
About 20 acres of land in the North Fort Myers area was purchased for $2.6 million by Kroenke group in Missouri. We learned there's a connection — Stan Kroenke is the owner of the Los Angeles Rams, who also married into the Walmart fortune.
DEATH FOR ZIELER:
Next on the list is a sad story from 1990. A judge sentenced Joseph Zieler to death for the 1990 brutal double murder of a Cape Coral girl and her babysitter.
I covered this trial and Zieler's sentencing, which depicted horrific details about the crime. Cape Coral Police were able to arrest Zieler because of a DNA hit, leading to his death sentence years later.
WADE WILSON'S MUGSHOT:
The last story of our top four is also a crime story I've covered. Wade Wilson was convicted of killing two Cape Coral women in 2019 and sentenced to death. The trial and Wilson's sentencing went viral, with many women detailing an attraction to Wilson because of his appearance.
