Don't accept what you're just being told on the surface. I have a book that I can look in that doesn't leave an internet history, Melanie McGuire told "20/20.". Melanie McGuire has been dubbed the Suitcase Killer by the media for her role in butchering her own husband, William Bill McGuire, before packing up his remains into three suitcases and then disposing of them in the Chesapeake Bay. Born on October 8, 1972, Melanie grew up in Ridgewood, New Jersey, majored in statistics at Rutgers University, and enrolled in nursing school, according to The New York Times. [4] She was sentenced to life in prison on July 19, 2007, and is serving her sentence at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Clinton, New Jersey. Melanie McGuire married her husband in 1999 and later alleged that he had a gambling problem and a violent temper. At that time, Melanie was a nurse at a fertility clinic and had managed to have a long-standing affair with one of the doctors there, Bradley Miller. The pair lived in Woodbridge, New Jersey where Bill worked at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and McGuire was a fertility clinic nurse in Morristown. "Beware of pretty faces that you find, a pretty face can hide an evil mind." -Johnny Ramistella. September 26, 2020 Examined ET on Saturday, June 18 on the Lifetime network. The medical examiner determined that the body had been shot multiple times. This is not one of those cases, said Prezioso. The evidence in this case points to a well-organized, meticulously planned execution of a murder, Prezioso said during the trial. Their relationship began in 2002, according to the appeal. But when fishermen discovered a suitcase stuffed with Bill's remains just days after the couple had closed on their new dream home . The podcasters and Melanie McGuire also point to unexplained animal hair found on Bill McGuires dismembered body and noted in investigative reports. Getty Images. Her bail was raised to $2.1million ($2.9 million today), but she was again released. ABC dug into the case and interviewed McGuire in prison for their two-hour 20/20 special, Suitcase Killer, which airs at 9 p.m. Eastern time Friday, September 25, 2020. In a new episode of "20/20," co-anchor Amy Robach sits down for the first on-camera interview with Melanie McGuire since she was sentenced to life in prison 13 . State Superior Court Judge Angela Borkowski gave Locane more time after the punishmentfor her original conviction (second-degree vehicular homicide and assault by an auto), which was deemed too lenient. Melanie McGuire, the Suitcase Killer, gave a rare interview to Amy Robach of ABC News in September 2020. Its out there.. [8] She married United States Navy veteran William T. "Bill" McGuire (born September 21, 1964) in 1999. Dont accept what youre just being told on the surface. Investigators discovered that the parking lot had surveillance cameras, and they pulled the security footage thinking they had stumbled upon a smoking gun that would show who dumped Bill McGuire's car. "It turned out that when the record check was done with Pennsylvania, a record came back that Melanie McGuire had purchased a gun," said Patti Prezioso, the lead investigator and prosecutor at Melanie McGuire's trial. Miller was also married with children. [9] Her E-ZPass tag was recorded at a toll booth in Delaware two days after the murder; she claimed that this was the result of her going furniture shopping in Delaware, since it has no sales tax. Or, learn about Stacey Castor, the Black Widow who killed two of her husbands with antifreeze. Bill called his friends to happily tell them the news. Melanie remembers this as. But despite her apparent grief, police soon began to suspect that Melanie McGuire had murdered her husband. We heard from Barbara, a close friend of Melanie's, who has witnessed Melanie's ups and downs.I cant think of anyone more qualified to give an opinion on Melanie's behavior and emotional status. After his body was found and detectives notified Melanie McGuire of her husband's death, she told them to look for Bill McGuires missing car in Atlantic City -- she claimed he had a gambling problem and frequented the city. (Video By Bumper. On June 2, 2005, more than a year after the murder, Melanie dropped her children off at child care and preschool. Her defense attorneys argued that anyone could have conducted the searches. There are times when podcasts and media can shine a light on certain cases where what the government did was not right. As Dr. Bradley Miller testified in the Melanie McGuire court case, there was an ongoing affair between himself and Melanie when Bill McGuire was killed. I cannot even think about that. She told Miller that she was furniture shopping, according to Prezioso, who said she believes that is when Melanie McGuire drove the suitcases with her husbands remains to Chesapeake Bay. The case involved 21 witnesses qualified as experts, hundreds of pieces of evidence and 21 days of testimony. This chart demonstrates the significant drop in active cases from approximately 800 active inmate cases in DOC facilities at the peak of the pandemic, the DOC website says. It is with deep sorrow that we announce the death of Lena Christine Kindschi of Perry, Oklahoma, who passed away on February 27, 2023, at the age of 92, leaving to mourn family and friends. She maintains her innocence, having recently told 20/20 that "after all these years, I still feel hurt. I looked down and theres my 2-year-old. After all, when Bill was murdered in 2004, he and Melanie were the proud parents of two beautiful young boys. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. After all these years, I still feel hurt. Miller agreed to cooperate with investigators and was never charged in the crime. Before she was charged with murder, Melanie contacted E-ZPass and attempted to have the $0.90 charge removed from her account history. After exiting the older child's school, Melanie started walking toward her vehicle when law enforcement emerged from the bushes, taking her into custody without incident. His wife, Melanie McGuire, a fertility nurse and the mother of his two sons, was eventually convicted of murdering him and dumping his body. A staff writer for All That's Interesting, Kaleena Fraga has also had her work featured in The Washington Post and Gastro Obscura, and she published a book on the Seattle food scene for the Eat Like A Local series. Prosecutors argued that she killed her husband so. In 2004, three separate dark green Kenneth Cole suitcases, containing pieces of a dismembered body, were found in and around the Chesapeake Bay, near Virginia Beach, Virginia. Dig, dig., 20/20 airs Fridays at 9 pm on ABC, right after Americas Funniest Home Videos at 8 pm. On June 5, 2005, authorities arrested Melanie McGuire on first-degree murder charges. Sometimes, she said, hed get violent with her. There are just too many holes in this story.. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. She put his remains into a 3-piece suitcase set, and those three pieces were later found in Chesapeake Bay. And about a week later, suitcases containing his body parts began to float to the surface in the Chesapeake Bay. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Immediately after murdering Bill, according to the State, defendant embarked on a plan to conceal the crimes and to create the appearance that Bill had abandoned his family, his job, and his new house after a violent argument with her. She later told police that she believed he'd gone to Atlantic City to gamble as he had a penchant for doing so. Melanie McGuire, who is not eligible for parole until she is 101 years old, said the hardest part is not being there for her children. Powered by. The circumstantial evidence against Melanie McGuire was mounting by this point, but investigators were still having trouble finding any physical evidence that would link Melanie McGuire to her husband's murder, according to Sacks. Although detectives did not find what they were looking for on the surveillance footage, they were able to find something curious on Melanie McGuires statement from her electronic toll payment company, EZ Pass. The Melrose Place actresswho is now serving a second sentence at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in New Jerseyshares a prison cell with Melanie McGuire, the infamous "Suitcase. [1] She graduated, second in her class, from the Charles E. Gregory School of Nursing (now Raritan Bay Medical Center) in 1997 with a nursing diploma. Melanie claims she's innocent, and hopes that she will be released someday. After pulling the surveillance footage from the parking lot, however, investigators were disappointed. On May 11, another suitcase was discovered. Melanie McGuire, The Suitcase Killer Who Murdered And Dismembered Her Husband. Make up your mind. Shes now a 47-year-old inmate at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Clinton, New Jersey, where she claims that shes not only innocent of killing her husband but that his real killer is still out there. [24][25] On April 29, 2014, McGuire filed a motion for post-conviction relief, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel and newly discovered evidence. READ NEXT: Melanie McGuire Was Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder of Husband Bill. The media soon dubbed the case the Suitcase Murder.. Melanie McGuire says she isnt hoping for prison release, in a new jailhouse interview with @ARobach Friday at 9/8c during a new #ABC2020. In addition to 20/20, her case is being examined in a podcast, Direct Appeal. She filed an appeal to the New Jersey Superior Court, which affirmed her conviction and sentence in 2011. Background Bill McGuire was born in September of 1964. ABC News also reported that other evidence included McGuire's purported internet search history, which amongst others included "undetectable poisons.". Sacks seconded her co-host, saying: Melanie did not incapacitate, shoot [or] use a saw to dismember her husband. The case is being featured on a two-hour ABC special, Suitcase Killer, which airs Friday, September 25, 2020 at 9 p.m. Eastern time. ", Credit: Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage; ABC, Amy Locane's prison cell roommate is the notorious Suitcase Killer. But just 48 hours later, 31-year-old Melanie requested a restraining order against him, alleging that he'd gotten violent during a fight the night before inside their New Jersey home. Like, how could somebody think that I did that? she said on 20/20. During the 20/20 interview, Melanie sends a message to her now adult sons, whom she hasnt had contact with since her 2007 trial. So I think the police said, Well, prove it. Lifetime is planning to release a movie about her case, Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story in June 2022. Prosecutors also pointed to Melanie McGuire's supposed internet searches in the days leading up to Bill McGuires disappearance. They insisted he was a compulsive gambler who had become increasingly moody, unpredictable, and tempestuous in the months before his passing. He probably would have broken my cheek if it had been a closed fist, Melanie McGuire told 20/20. Lands and grooves are rifling characteristics that are machine pressed into the barrel of a gun. McGuire went through a lengthy trial, which was televised on Court TV, from February to April 2007. And then, two years later, they were blessed with another baby boy. Locane is back behind bars for killing Helene Seeman, 60, in a 2010 drunk driving collision in New Jersey's Montgomery Township. When a bullet passes through, its smooth surface becomes imprinted with the same number of lands and grooves as the barrel. William McGuire was 39 when he died. Miller, however, claimed that the prescription was written in Melanies handwriting. They knew that Pennsylvania was close and a lot of people will go to Pennsylvania for firearms because gun laws are more lax, Sacks said. But she didnt report Bill missing. Investigators also found trash bags in Melanie McGuire's home that they believed matched those used to wrap parts of Bill McGuire's body. Melanie did try to appeal her case and later get relief from her long sentence, but her petitions were denied. In 1999, she started to work as a nurse at Reproductive Medicine Associates, one of the countrys largest fertility clinics. Melanie McGuire told the podcast "Direct Appeal" that she is not the suitcase killer, and that the true murderer is still on the loose. Melanie and Bill McGuire cut the cake at their wedding. 3d 948 - NJ: Supreme Court 2011 - Google Scholar", "N.J. Supreme Court won't hear appeal of convicted 'suitcase killer', "Convicted killer Melanie McGuire seeking post-conviction relief in June hearing", "Suitcase killer Melanie McGuire seeks new review of evidence", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Melanie_McGuire&oldid=1142209125, This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 02:58. If youre willing to wear a wire, well believe you, said Sacks. She graduated from Oberlin College, where she earned a double degree in American History and French. Melanie McGuire defends her innocence from inside prison in 2019, over a decade after she was convicted. The very next day, Melanie spoke with divorce attorneys and attempted to file for a restraining order. She reportedly spent most of her life in New Jersey. It was reliving it. [9] Similarly, a medical grade towel found with Bill's body matched those stocked at the clinic where Melanie worked. Dig, dig." Suitcase Killer: The. William "Bill" McGuire was a husband and father of two. McGuire and Miller began their affair in 2002 when she was pregnant with her second child, and their relationship continued until June 2005 when she was charged with her husband's murder. This episode takes you through the case and trial, while showing Melanie being interviewed on an episode of 20/20 in 2007, and showing Melanie speak from prison today. She was sentenced to life in prison on July 19, 2007. But, after that fateful April day, when the sun rose, their father was nowhere to be found. With all of her appeals exhausted, Melanie McGuire said she participated in the podcast hoping that new evidence might be discovered that could lead to her exoneration. 1:15. While she admitted to her affair with Miller, she maintains she did not kill Bill McGuire. Sacks firmly believes that prosecutors failed to answer key questions in the case. Following the 2018 investigation into allegations of sexual abuse at the prison, the DOC released a statement in April, 2020, saying reforms were introduced at the prison to make it easier for inmates to report sexual abuse. She was immediately booked into the Middlesex County Adult Correctional Center on first-degree murder charges, but made her $750,000 bail ($1.04 million today). She then graduated from the Charles E. Gregory School of Nursing (now Raritan Bay Medical Center) in 1997 with a nursing diploma. Lifetime's new film Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story explores the shocking death of Bill McGuire on April 28, 2004. New Jersey Department of Corrections/Find a Grave She bought a gun two days before his disappearance in Pennsylvania, but said she did so for her husband, and speculated he was having trouble with someone. She maintains her innocence and . They recorded her calls with family and friends, including Miller, with whom she was having the affair. And my answer is I can't explain because I don't think it makes any sense either," Wronko told EW earlier this month. [9] Bill and Melanie owned a green couch, and investigators theorized that the murderer used a pillow or couch cushion as a makeshift silencer) to shoot Bill. So, as soon as the topic of custody arose, the two boys were sent to them, especially since Bill and Cindy were already great parents to their own adult children: Laura Ligosh and Max Ligosh. [23] On September 20, 2011, the New Jersey Supreme Court declined to hear her further appeal. After all these years, I still feel hurt," McGuire told "20/20", For some, it mightve seemed like a real-life episode of The Sopranos.. Police also discovered small pieces of Bill's flesh, which authorities described as "human sawdust," inside the McGuire home, which they believed meant that McGuire had killed her husband. Bill had a gambling problem, Melanie explained, and after their fight she knew he would be at the casino. According to some reports, in 2007, during Melanies murder trial, Cindy put it into evidence that both of her sister-in-laws children, then aged 5 and 7, had been positively diagnosed with autism. She didn't fit the profile, I guess, of a murderer, Shlosberg said. Investigators searched the home for evidence multiple times, checking to see if Bill McGuire had been killed and dismembered there. While the prosecutors claimed, supported by evidence, that Melanie killed her husband in cold blood in the hopes of freely taking up a new life with Bradley Miller, her defense team argued that she was innocent and it was Bill who had issues. Prison inmates are in a closed environment. Most recently, though, it has been the subject of ABCs 20/20, in an episode entitled Interview with Melanie McGuire, where we get Melanies complete perspective for the first time. Though a jury agreed and sentenced Melanie McGuire to life in prison, the so-called Suitcase Killer has long insisted upon her innocence. Miller looked at the prescription and he said, Thats not my signature and it appears to be Melanie McGuires handwriting, recalled Prezioso. Melanie Mcguire has been languishing in a prison cell for the past 13 years. Less than a year later, the McGuires had their first son. Prosecutors allege that McGuire, 34, shot him to death, sliced his body into four pieces with a power saw and then dumped his remains in the Chesapeake Bay. Another important development for investigators was the discovery of Bill McGuire's car. Melanie, who grew up in Brick, and William McGuire were married in 1999 and had lived with their two sons in Woodbridge at the time of the murder. On April 28, 2004, the last day anyone ever saw Bill alive, Melanie had dropped off their sons, aged 2 and 4, at their daycare as routine at around 8:20 am. After all these years, I still feel hurt, Melanie said. Investigators, however, found it highly suspicious that Melanie had then tried to have 90-cent EZ Pass toll charges, which proved shed gone to Atlantic City, removed from her account. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Melanie McGuire was victim Bill's wife, who was accused of his murder and dubbed the "Suitcase Killer" when the case went to trial. Bill McGuire, 39, put a down payment down on a $500,000 house for the couple and their two young sons in April 2004. McGuire offered a message to her sons on 20/20, who are now adults, encouraging them to look deeper into the case and find the truth for themselves. McGuire was charged with first-degree murder on June 2, 2005, for which she pleaded not guilty, and she made bail. Miller eventually testified against Melanie McGuire at her trial. She said her husband left and that she never saw him again. After all these years, I still feel hurt. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. The podcast, hosted by Fairleigh Dickinson University criminology professors Meghan Sacks and Amy Schlosberg questions Melanie McGuire's guilt and suggests that there is evidence in the case that never received the legal scrutiny it deserved. These documents exist. He lived with his wife Melanie and their two boys in an apartment in Woodbridge, New Jersey, United States. Melanies not the only person who believes that the police got it wrong. Welcome to the Quantum Realm. Therefore, from what we can tell, even today, as young men, William and Melanies sons reside in New Jersey with their aunt, uncle, and cousins the only family theyve ever known. Melanie McGuire went on trial on March 5, 2007. Melanie did not incapacitate, shoot [or] use a saw to dismember her husband, said Sacks. Melanie McGuire and defense attorney Stephen Turano, right, react to the verdict during her trial in New Brunswick, N.J., Monday, April 23, 2007. On May 5, 2004, a couple of fishermen and their children noticed a dark green Kenneth Cole suitcase floating in the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. [9], On May 5, 2004, the first suitcase, containing human legs, was found by two fishermen and two children floating near the Chesapeake Bay BridgeTunnel's fourth artificial island, and a murder investigation was launched. This stuff exists, she said on the show. Download is FREE. The New Jersey fertility nurse was sentenced to life in prison back in 2007 for murdering her husband Bill in April 2004. New Jersey Department of Corrections/Find a Grave, Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women, Data from the New Jersey Department of Corrections, Melanie McGuire Was Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder of Husband Bill. She offered explanations for the stories she told police,. Don't accept what you're just being told on the surface. That requires two drivers so certainly that means someone helped her, said Prezioso. Melanie McGuire was a former nurse in the United States who was found guilty of murdering her husband on April 28, 2004. He had been married to Melanie Lyn Slate McGuire for about five years had two beautiful sons with her. These documents exist. My job is to convince the jury. They opened it and found a mans dismembered legs, cut off at the knee. Her penalty is actually categorized as the following: life in prison for first-degree murder; life in prison for the possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose; 10 years for desecrating human remains; and five years for perjury. I guess it is comforting [that people are interested]. She drugged him, shot him (in the head and chest) to death, and subsequently dismembered his remains. [26], On September 25, 2014, McGuire appeared in court with her new attorney Lois DeJulio, a public defender, to try to get a hearing that could overturn her 2007 murder conviction, on the grounds that her previous legal representation by Joe Tacopina was inadequate or ineffective. Bill McGuire, 39, went missing on April 29, 2004. Through record tracing, they found out that the chloral hydrate was picked up at a Walgreens pharmacy just down the road from the McGuire children's daycare on the morning that Bill McGuire disappeared. Over a period of 12 days in May 2004, three dark green suitcases were discovered in and near the Chesapeake Bay. Melanie McGuire, 34-years old, sentenced to life in prison for murdering her husband Photo Source: NJ.com (website) This suitcase was found to contain the head and torso with three bullet wounds, two in the chest and one in the head. The evidence that was at trial was from ballistic experts.. Melanie McGuire, shown at left during her trial, was convicted of fatally shooting her husband, cutting up his body with a power saw and then stuffing his remains into suitcases she later. One of the three suitcases that contained parts of Bill McGuires body. Melanie McGuire, born October 8, 1972, is an American former nurse who was convicted of murdering her husband on April 28, 2004, in what media dubbed the "suitcase murder". Therefore, at the age of 49, Melanie McGuire is currently incarcerated at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Union Township, Hunterdon County. She pleaded not guilty. It is physically exhausting. It shows no inmates or staff at the facility had confirmed positive test results between August 22, 2020, and September 25, 2020. Melanie's receipt for the gun also listed an unspecified purchase of $9.95; there were only two items in the store for that amount, and one of them was a box of wadcutter bullets. 2011 - Google Scholar", "N.J. appeals court upholds life sentence for convicted suitcase killer Melanie McGuire", "State v. McGuire, 27 A. Watch the full story on "20/20" Friday, Sept. 25, at 9 p.m. She is currently incarcerated at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Clinton, New Jersey, according to her prison records. Prezioso said the evidence presented by the states computer forensic expert at trial was robust and Melanie McGuires legal team presented their own expert as well. Suitcase Killer The Melanie McGuire Story is available to watch in Canada with a Philo subscription! To this day, Melanie maintains that she did not kill her husband, dismember him, and dispose of his body parts in suitcases. After they released a sketch to the public, one of Bill McGuires friends soon came forward. Miller was adamant that he had nothing to do with any crime, and he didnt know anything about this. During her trial, Miller protested McGuire's innocence, testifying that she had called him on April 28 to say that she was going to tell her husband she wanted a divorce after they had closed the deal on a new home, ABC News reported. Prosecutors have always maintained that they believed Melanie McGuire likely had an accomplice. ", Through her attorney Jim Wronko, Locane describes McGuire as "very nice and pleasant and smart and helpful.". It says: The State alleged that defendant wanted to end her marriage to Bill but also had concerns about divorce. For her part, Melanie insisted that her husband had stormed out after a fight. WOODBRIDGE - Former township resident Melanie McGuire has spent 13 years in prison after receiving a life sentence for the death of her husband, William McGuire, but in a new television. Her defense lawyers have not said if McGuire will testify . He said he was leaving and he wasnt coming back and [that] I could tell my children they didnt have a father.. Meghan Sacks, host of podcast "Direct Appeal" and Fairleigh Dickinson University criminology professor questions Melanie McGuire's guilt. After being released on bail, Melanie faced additional charges on October 11, 2005.