What mysterious hand signals 'Deadpool Killer' flashed when jury recommended death penalty could mean

When a jury called upon a murderer dubbed the 'Deadpool killer' to be given the death sentence for his crimes, he could be seen making a series of mysterious hand gestures in the courtroom.

Now, people are speculating about what they might mean.

On 7 October 2019, Wade Wilson - also known as the 'Deadpool killer' - strangled Kristine Melton, 35, and Diane Ruiz, 43, to death in Forty Myers, Florida.

Wilson met Melton and her friend Stephanie Sailors at a local bar the night before and headed back to Melton's home together.

After Sailors left the following morning, the Deadpool killer strangled Melton to death and stole her car.

Later the same day, he saw Diane Ruiz walking along the street and managed to lure her into the stolen vehicle.

Wilson then attacked Ruiz, strangling her to death before running over her body between 10 and 20 times.

Earlier this year, the killer - who shares his name with the Ryan Reynolds' antihero - was convicted of six charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, battery, burglary, theft and grand theft auto.

The jury recommended he receive a death sentence for his crimes.

After hearing of his potential fate, the heavily tatted defendant - who has inkings of Swastikas, a Joker-like mouth tattoo, the digits 666 and the words 'Bred for war' - was seen making a strange hand signal.

He stretched out his left palm and wiggled his right fingers across it while smirking.

After footage of the signal went viral, followers of his court case have tried to decipher what it means.

Some social media users reckon he was most likely 'signalling to someone he knows is watching.'

However, others say that Wilson was actually conversing with a police officer who was 'stood directly in front of him' but couldn't be seen in the shot.

One TikTok user said: "The cop waves at him that it's time to go, and he does that [the hand gesture] as a means to say, 'Time to fingerprint?' And the cop nods."

On Tuesday (27 August), Wilson was sentenced to death for the murders, which he did 'for the sake of killing,' the court heard.

Florida County's Circuit Judge Nicholas R Thompson said: "The evidence shows the murders were heinous, atrocious and cruel and that the second murder was cold, calculated and premeditated."

Wilson sat emotionless in the courtroom as Judge Thompson handed him his sentence.

His lawyer later said: "I understand he has other cases pending here and elsewhere... but Mr Wilson asked me to ask the court within whatever authority you have to get him to death row as soon as possible."