Two Southwest Florida families are mourning the loss of their loved ones and at the same time many want to know "why no murder charge?" It’s been a week since Kristine Melton was found dead in her home and since Diane Ruiz disappeared, then was ultimately found dead.
Cape Coral Police call Wade Wilson, the person of interest in both these cases, but right now he is in custody for unrelated charges. Fox 4 spoke with experts on the process detectives might be taking before officially charging Wilson with murder.
“Everything looks obvious, but you still need to follow procedure to develop a strong case,” said Walter Zalisko, President, Global Investigative Group.
Walter Zalisko, a law enforcement expert, says there’s two phases in any criminal investigation. The first phase is when law enforcement arrives on scene and gathers initial evidence and interviews.
“Phase two which is the follow-up and the most time consuming,” said Zalisko.
“Just because he’s a person of interest, he’s still innocent until proven guilty, ” said Attorney Scott Moorey, Law Firm of Scott T. Moorey. Moorey says detectives are probably using this time for warrant requests, subpoenas for phone records, and DNA results for both cases.
“This investigation, they are going to take their time, it’s complicated, they want to be sure they don’t do anything to violate the defendants rights, that could in return have evidence thrown out,” said Moorey.
“When they present it to the state attorney, the state attorney will say okay we have enough to charge him with the murder,” said Zalisko.
Wade Wilson's arrest reports show a history of violence against women. The most recent included charges of battery in Fort Myers. That's where Wilson's ex-girlfriend says he attacked her outside her business.
Fox 4 reached out to CCCPD for any updates, they responded in a statement saying:
"We are waiting for the results of testing from the florida dept of law enforcement and the medical examiner’s report. We want to send the best case possible to the State Attorney’s Office."
Zalisko says in his experience some homicide cases have taken up to a year before charging someone.
