There is a disturbing timeline at the center of the Wade Wilson story.

Months before Wilson was convicted of murdering Kristine Melton and Diane Ruiz, another woman had already gone to police with allegations of violence against him.

Her name is Kelly Matthews.

Her story has now returned to public attention following Netflix’s Worst Ex Ever, raising uncomfortable questions about what happened in the months leading up to the October 2019 murders.

But one question is impossible to answer with certainty:

Could a different response to the earlier investigation have changed what happened later?

The facts surrounding the earlier case have become increasingly important to the public discussion.

Matthews met Wilson through a dating app in 2018. According to her account, their relationship eventually became abusive. In February 2019, she reported that Wilson had strangled and threatened her and sexually assaulted her. PEOPLE reported that Matthews later described the encounter in detail in the Netflix documentary.

Police investigated.

But the case did not result in the outcome Matthews expected.

According to PEOPLE’s reporting on Detective Louis Potter, the investigation was eventually closed after Potter determined there was insufficient evidence. A DNA sample from Wilson had reportedly been collected but was not processed before the case was closed.

A later internal review concluded that Potter had not conducted a sufficiently thorough investigation.

That finding does not establish that the detective could have prevented the later murders.

But it does establish that the earlier investigation became the subject of an internal review.

And that distinction matters.

The murders happened months later.

On October 7, 2019, Wilson killed Melton and Ruiz.

He was eventually arrested, prosecuted and convicted.

In 2024, he received two death sentences.

Now, in 2026, his death sentences are before the Florida Supreme Court.

The timing creates an extraordinary narrative:

An earlier warning.

An investigation.

A closure.

A later double murder.

A conviction.

Two death sentences.

And now an appellate battle.

Could those events eventually intersect in court?

That is one of the questions observers may be tempted to ask.

But there is no current evidence that the Florida Supreme Court’s direct appeal has determined that the earlier investigation invalidates Wilson’s convictions.

The official Supreme Court record says the direct appeal raises seven issues seeking reversal of his death sentences. The court heard oral arguments on February 5, 2026.

The legal question before the justices is therefore not simply whether police made mistakes years ago.

It is whether the specific legal challenges raised by Wilson require his convictions or death sentences to be reversed or otherwise reconsidered.

That difference is crucial.

Public concern can focus on a disturbing timeline.

A court must focus on legal standards.

And those standards could determine what happens next.

One possibility is that the court rejects Wilson’s arguments.

If that happens, the existing death sentences could remain in place, subject to whatever additional remedies are legally available.

Another possibility is that the court finds a reversible error affecting the sentencing process.

That could potentially lead to further proceedings.

Another possibility is continued litigation through additional state or federal review.

None of these scenarios should be presented as a prediction.

They are possible legal pathways.

Meanwhile, Florida continues to carry out executions.

The Death Penalty Information Center reported that Florida had carried out 15 executions in 2026 as of September 18 and had additional active warrants.

That activity has inevitably intensified online speculation about Wilson.

But there is an important difference between being on death row and having an active execution warrant.

An execution warrant formally establishes an execution date.

The existence of other Florida warrants does not mean Wilson has one.

So when social-media posts ask whether Wilson could be “next,” the answer cannot be determined from Florida’s overall execution schedule.

His case has its own legal timeline.

And that timeline is currently tied to the appellate process.

The earlier Matthews investigation adds another emotional dimension.

Matthews has continued speaking publicly about what happened to her. PEOPLE reported that she has rebuilt her life and works as a dog groomer.

Her story has also become a reminder that the Wilson case did not begin with the two murders.

There was an earlier chapter.

And that chapter raises questions about warning signs, investigative decisions and the limits of hindsight.

If investigators had acted differently, could the later murders have been prevented?

No one can know.

Could Wilson have been arrested earlier?

Possibly, but that is also hypothetical.

Could the later murders still have happened despite different police action?

That is equally unknowable.

Those questions should therefore remain questions.

What is not hypothetical is the documented sequence of events.

A complaint was made.

An investigation was conducted.

The investigation was later criticized internally.

Wilson was later convicted of two murders.

He received two death sentences.

His appeal was heard by Florida’s highest court.

And the court has yet to provide the final answer to the legal challenges raised in that appeal.

That leaves the public watching for the next official development.

A written Supreme Court decision would be significant.

A new appellate filing could also change the legal picture.

And a formal death warrant, if one is eventually issued, would be a separate and unmistakable development.

Until then, claims about an imminent execution should be treated carefully.

The most compelling part of the story may not be a rumored date.

It may be the unanswered question at the center of the timeline:

What might have happened if the warning signs of early 2019 had led to a different outcome?

There is no way to rewrite history.

There is also no way to know whether different decisions would have prevented the October murders.

But the question continues to follow the case.

And now, as Wade Wilson’s death-penalty appeal moves through Florida’s highest court, the legal system must answer a different question:

What, if anything, should the courts do next?

The answer will come not from documentaries, social media or speculation, but from official legal proceedings.

And that next ruling could become one of the most consequential moments in the Wade Wilson case.