Bunnie Xo Meets Murder Victim Diane Ruiz’s Two Sons [Watch]
Jelly Roll's not the only member of his family who works hard to connect with fans who are struggling.
At her meet-and-greet before the Orlando stop on Jelly's Beautifully Broken Tour on Tuesday (Sept. 17), the singer's wife Bunnie Xo finally got to meet two special young men that she's been corresponding with for quite a while.
Those were 19-year-old Zane Romero and 28-year-old Brandon Cuellar, the two sons of high-profile murder victim Diane Ruiz.
In October 2019, People reports that Ruiz disappeared while walking home from work, and was later found dead in an empty lot close to her house. She had been strangled and run over by a car.
According to Tampa NBC affiliate News Channel 8, 30-year-old Wade Wilson was arrested in connection with Ruiz's murder that same month. He was also charged with the murder of 35-year-old Kristine Melton, who also died by strangulation just hours before Ruiz. Wilson reportedly "bragged" about the murders to law enforcement officers, and said that he would have liked to kill his girlfriend, whose car he stole in between the two murders, but there were "too many people around."
In June, Wilson was found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder, as well as counts of grand theft, burglary of a dwelling, battery and petit theft, according to Fox. He was subsequently sentenced to death.
Bunnie's been following the case for a while now, and she says that this summer, she's felt compelled to be a positive presence in the lives of Ruiz's two sons.
She shared video footage of herself meeting Zane and Brandon, explaining a little bit of the backstory as to why their story stuck out to her.
"In June, I learned [an] extremely valuable lesson that catapulted me on [a] journey I could never imagine," Bunnie said, without digging into all the details of what that lesson was. "Since then I have been diligently working behind the scenes to learn as much as I can & be a voice for the voiceless."
She got in touch with Ruiz's children and has been quietly supporting them since, as well as making a "private donation" to help ease the financial strain they face after the death of their mother.
"Tonight I got to hug & squeeze Diane Ruiz's boys after months of talking w/them," Bunnie continues. "Her son Brandon told me he feels it was his mom bringing us together."
"& what makes this night even more special is, it would have been Diane's 49th birthday," she adds.
Bunnie also added a link to the family's GoFundMe in the bio of her TikTok.
The podcaster and social media influencer is scheduled to join her country star husband for much of the remainder of his tour, which will continue through October. Jelly also emphasizes personal healing in his music: He recently performed his mental health-forward song "I Am Not Okay" as part of the In Memoriam segment at the Emmy Awards.
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Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes