Diane Ruiz’s Sons Share Messages for Her Murderer, Wade Wilson
In the second portion of her two-part podcast episode on the Wade Wilson murders, Bunnie Xo puts a spotlight on 28-year-old Brandon Cuellar and 19-year-old Zane Romero, the two sons of Wilson’s victim Diane Ruiz.
The Dumb Blonde podcast episode, titled “Picking Up the Pieces,” finds Cuellar and Romero recounting their experience of their mother’s death, as well as their perspective on the highly-publicized trial proceeding that followed.
In one portion of the interview, Bunnie asks the two young men what they would say to Wilson if they could talk to him today.
“Loser,” jokes Romero in a sing-song voice, adding that he wouldn’t bother delivering a well-thought-out message, since, “I don’t think his IQ is high enough to understand anything I say,” and “he would need a dictionary right next to him” to understand even a simple sentence.
Romero previously addressed Wilson in court and says he “made straight eye contact” with his mother’s killer several times during his address. It was an intimidating experience speaking in the courtroom, he says — not so much because Wilson was in the room, but because it was a court full of strangers and being broadcast on live television.
Cuellar hasn’t told Wilson directly what he thinks of him yet, but he’s reserving the opportunity to do so in the future.
“I’m gonna save that for later,” he responded when Bunnie asked him what he’d say to Wilson today.
Cuellar made a witness statement on the stand at one point in the trial, but he didn’t want to make an impact statement, because he wouldn’t have been able to keep the focus where he wanted it: His mother.
“My plan was to go up on that stand and say what I wanted to, but when I got up on the stand, I thought about my mother. I’m like, ‘Do I really want to go up there and say what I really want to say when I have to be professional about it?'” he reasons.
But Cuellar isn’t ruling out the possibility of returning to the stand, specifically to tell Wilson exactly what he thinks of him. “I told them, ‘If I go up on that stand a second time, I won’t speak about my mother.’ I’m gonna speak my mind after that,” he recounts.
“You know what I think is gonna affect him more, is that you’re calling him a loser and not even saying anything to him,” Bunnie replies to the two men. “Because his ego is so f–king fragile, dude.”
At this point, Bunnie knows Wilson’s personality firsthand. She spoke to the convicted murderer in two taped phone calls that she included in part one of her podcast episode about his crimes.
Read More: Bunnie Xo Had Two Phone Calls With a Murderer — Hear the Tapes
In those phone calls, Bunnie asked Wilson to participate in a documentary, and he asked for payment — which is illegal because, according to Son of Sam Laws, convicted murderers cannot be paid for media materials or shows related to their crimes.
Their conversations turned antagonistic, and Wilson ultimately made some vague threats against Bunnie and her country star husband, Jelly Roll.
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Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes