With Candice King, Michael Roark, Tristan Laurence, Jackson Hurst. Like, how could somebody think that I did that?. They surmised that Melanie had sedated Bill, shot him, and cut up his body. McGuire began drinking heavily and gambling regularly in Atlantic City soon after the couple returned to New Jersey around 1990, said Ms. Paulk, who now lives in Milford, N.Y. ''It went downhill . READ NEXT: Melanie McGuire Was Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder of Husband Bill. [B]ut gone doesnt mean dead.. Lands and grooves are rifling characteristics that are machine pressed into the barrel of a gun. NEW BRUNSWICK - Melanie McGuire the former Woodbridge resident convicted of killing her husband, dismembering his body, packing it in suitcases and tossing it off a bridge in Virginia . A Wednesday. After all these years, I still feel hurt. Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. They recorded her calls with family and friends, including Miller, with whom she was having the affair. Pam Grier reflects on her most iconic roles, from Coffy to Jackie Brown. Dig, dig., 20/20 airs Fridays at 9 pm on ABC, right after Americas Funniest Home Videos at 8 pm. And shes not the only one who thinks that police arrested the wrong suspect. Melanie McGuire is serving a life sentence in the murder of her husband, Bill McGuire, at a womens correctional facility in New Jersey. 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 was sentenced to life in prison. 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. 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. Melanie Lyn McGuire (ne Slate; 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". 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. Two years later, in 1999, she married William Bill McGuire, a US Navy veteran, and started a life with him in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. [9] The couple had two sons and lived in a Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, apartment, but planned to move that month to a larger home in Warren County. Because the murder did not occur in Virginia, however, authorities turned over their investigation to the New Jersey State Police.[10]. 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. McGuire had a message for her sons, who are now adults, "Make up your mind. [9] On May 11, a second larger suitcase was found on the beach of Fisherman Island National Wildlife Refuge, by a graduate student cleaning up litter on the beach. [9] Police released a facial reconstruction sketch of the victim, which an acquaintance of Bill McGuire's recognized. The news outlet reported in June, 2020, COVID-19 was spreading because of a low supply of protective masks, poorly enforced social distancing measures, and inadequate quarantining of infected inmates. They opened it and found a mans dismembered legs, cut off at the knee. That same year, she married her husband, a U.S. Navy veteran named William Bill McGuire. She was sentenced to life in prison on July 19, 2007. 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. All we know is that they havent been in touch with their mother since before she was convicted. His business partner described him as a good father . They discovered that Melanie had bought a gun in Pennsylvania two days before Bill went missing and that she was having an affair with a doctor at her practice, Bradley Miller. I still feel bothered. The Twisted Case of Melanie McGuire That Chapter 1.81M subscribers Subscribe 64K 1.8M views 9 months ago 2004, Chesapeake Bay. Lifetime's new film Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story explores the shocking death of Bill McGuire on April 28, 2004. The podcast hosts and Melanie McGuire herself, raise questions about whether it's even possible the gun she purchased was the murder weapon. After re-examining her murder conviction over a decade later, Sacks and Shlosberg, believe Melanie McGuire was wrongfully convicted. The true crime drama sees Candice King take on the role of Melanie McGuire, and here is everything you need to know about her and her role in the case. [9] Green fibers had been found on one of the bullets lodged in Bill's chest; the fibers were identified as polyester fill, a common material found in household furniture. She didn't fit the profile, I guess, of a murderer, Shlosberg said. She claims that someone went after Bill because of his gambling debts and that the real perpetrator of the Suitcase Murder is still out there. 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. The appeal raised many claims contending she did not receive a fair trial, including prosecutorial misconduct, failure to consider a mitigating factor, a tainted jury, and exposure of the jury to inflammatory media accounts. She says she is innocent. [9] Police believed that she used a syringe and prescription from her work to obtain the drug used as a means to incapacitate her husband.[11]. [22] She must serve more than 63 years before she is eligible for parole. She had apparently grown worried about their well-being upon noticing their behavior and got them tested. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. She pleaded not guilty. However, the state's expert disagreed, testifying that he ran the tests he believed were necessary to link the bags. After re-examining her murder conviction over a decade later,. After all these years, I still feel hurt. Melanie had to withdraw her appeal after the prosecutors debunked the story, and so, on July 19, 2007, she was sentenced to life in prison. Candice King as Melanie McGuire in "Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story," which explore the real death of Bill McGuire in 2004. People are feeling this way now, but when it's no longer a story, I'll just be forgotten. One of the three suitcases that contained parts of Bill McGuires body. Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story airs at 8 p.m. In 1999, she started to work as a nurse at Reproductive Medicine Associates, one of the countrys largest fertility clinics. "Beware of pretty faces that you find, a pretty face can hide an evil mind." -Johnny Ramistella. Their theory was that this nurse, who was kind of so meticulous, had somehow just forgotten to wipe the bottom of her shoes, that she accidentally tracked these human sawdust particles of Bill's body from the house to the car, said John Glatt, a true crime author who wrote To Have and To Kill, a book about Melanie McGuires case. There are just too many holes in this story.. Author John Glatt wrote a book about the case, entitled To Have and To Kill. Melanie McGuire/Bill McGuire. (The court awarded custody to Bill McGuires sister, Cindy Ligosh.) But though she denied parking it there, Melanie later claimed that she had gone to Atlantic City and moved the car to mess with him. Guilty or not, Melanie McGuire, the so-called Suitcase Killer, remains an object of fascination. [8] She married United States Navy veteran William T. "Bill" McGuire (born September 21, 1964) in 1999. While she admitted to her affair with Miller, she maintains she did not kill Bill McGuire. If I wanted to look for something like that, I have a [physicians' desk reference]. Melanie McGuire. Melanie Mcguire has been languishing in a prison cell for the past 13 years. Investigators also found Bills car where Melanie suggested it would be Atlantic City. Melanie McGuire was convicted in the grisly murder of her husband, Bill McGuire, whose body was found dismembered in suitcases in the Chesapeake Bay. Melanie McGuire says she isnt hoping for prison release, in a new jailhouse interview with @ARobach Friday at 9/8c during a new #ABC2020. This stuff exists. Prosecutors have always maintained that they believed Melanie McGuire likely had an accomplice. For her part, Melanie insisted that her husband had stormed out after a fight. After all, when Bill was murdered in 2004, he and Melanie were the proud parents of two beautiful young boys. According to PEOPLE, Melanie claimed that Bill had a gambling problem and a volatile temper. On April 23, 2007 McGuire was found guilty by a jury of first-degree murder, perjury, desecration of human remains and possession of a weapon for unlawful means. by 2Paragraphs in Culture, True Crime Murder TV | September 25, 2020. Melanie McGuire is serving a life sentence in the murder of her husband, Bill McGuire, at a women's correctional facility in New Jersey. When Bill McGuires body was found with bullet wounds, prosecutors pointed to the fact that Melanie McGuire had purchased a gun in Pennsylvania just two days before her husband was reported missing. Bill McGuire, 39, went missing on April 29, 2004. Melanie McGuire went on trial on March 5, 2007. Melanie McGuire told the podcast "Direct Appeal" that she is not the suitcase killer, and that the true murderer is still on the loose. In 2007, McGuire was convicted of killing and dismembering her husband, Bill. [1], By April 2004, the McGuires had been married for five years. says the actress. She didnt fit the profile, I guess, of a murderer, Shlosberg told 20/20. 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. [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. She graduated from Oberlin College, where she earned a double degree in American History and French. After a 7-week trial, Melanie McGuire was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. [23] On September 20, 2011, the New Jersey Supreme Court declined to hear her further appeal. Make up your mind. The evidence in this case points to a well-organized, meticulously planned execution of a murder, Prezioso said during the trial. 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. 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. Data from the New Jersey Department of Corrections details cases since they implemented additional measures. Police discovered Bill's car in Atlantic City and when they obtained surveillance footage, they discovered that McGuire had used a highway toll twice to drive to the location, and that she'd attempted to have the charges removed, per ABC News. Over a period of 12 days in May 2004, three dark green suitcases were discovered in and near the Chesapeake Bay. Melanie McGuire is an American former nurse who was found guilty of killing her husband, Bill McGuire, on April 28, 2004, in a case called the "suitcase murder" by the media. Upon further investigation, police discovered a security video of the car being moved in the early morning hours of April 30, 2004. Where Are William and Melanie McGuires Kids Now. A nurse said her husband walked out on her. Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. She adds, Is she trying to say that the man who was so excited to be buying this house, because he wanted to have this house for the wife that he loved and his children, that at the same time trying to kill her? Melanie McGuire admitted to having an affair with a doctor at the fertility clinic where she worked. Like, how could somebody think that I did that? https://t.co/f9HrMsbxkY. Melanie McGuire. These documents exist. Meghan Sacks and Amy Schlosberg are the hosts of the podcast "Direct Appeal" and Fairleigh Dickinson University criminology professors. https://t.co/ZGewROXCaQ pic.twitter.com/hlzcKR96Ss. During her interview with ABC News, McGuire shared a message for her sons, saying: "Make up your mind. But police soon found that the couple had a deeply unhappy marriage, that Melanie had begun an affair with a co-worker, and that someone in the McGuires home had searched for things like how to commit murder online. When investigators processed Bill McGuire's car, they also found a bottle of the sedative chloral hydrate and two syringes. 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). "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. Dig, dig. Dr. McGuire, 34, a mother of two, is charged with first-degree murder in the April 2004 killing of her husband, 39-year-old state computer analyst William T. McGuire. New Jersey Attorney Generals OfficeOne of the three suitcases that contained parts of Bill McGuires body. Her 2007 trial became a nationally televised event. After finishing high school, she enrolled at Rutgers University for a double major in math and psychology, which she achieved in 1994. There are just too many holes in this story.. There was. Watch the full story on "20/20" Friday, Sept. 25, at 9 p.m. They also discovered a bottle of the sedative chloral hydrate and two syringes in Bill's car, which they traced to a pharmacy near their children's daycare, and they learned that McGuire had bought a gun 48 hours before her husband's disappearance. [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. The court awarded custody of her two sons to Bill McGuires sister, Cindy Ligosh, and Melanie McGuire has had no contact with them since her trial. She offered explanations for the stories she told police,. YouTube But life can spring an unexpected surprise, and it was an alleged infidelity in the McGuires' case that shattered to tragic pieces their marriage with the gruesome death of Bill in 2004. William "Bill" McGuire was having a great day. Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story: Directed by Nicole L. Thompson. During her conversation with ABCs Amy Robach, Melanie continued to insist on her innocence. Then, they looked in Pennsylvania. https://t.co/ZGewRPfd2o pic.twitter.com/i4dBUBR7PJ. Almost three years after the crime, McGuire's murder trial commenced at the Middlesex County Courthouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey on March 5, 2007. The Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women near Clinton, New Jersey, made headlines for allegations of sexual abuse and for the recent spread of the coronavirus, New Jersey Spotlight News reported. 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. The jury deliberated for three days before convicting her of all four counts lodged against her in the first indictment, and acquitted her of the eight counts filed in the second indictment. 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 . Born on October 8, 1972, Melanie Lyn Slate has spent all of her life in New Jersey growing up in Ridgewood and Middletown Township. [9] McGuire persisted in claiming she was innocent, and claimed her husband had become increasingly moody and unpredictable and was a compulsive gambler. Bradley Miller told a Middlesex County court this afternoon that he lied to a grand jury when he said he stopped having sex with . ABC News also reported that other evidence included McGuire's purported internet search history, which amongst others included "undetectable poisons.". Criminologists Dr. Meghan Sacks, and Dr. Amy Shlosberg dig into the evidence on the podcast. McGuire will not be eligible for parole until she is 100 years old. The publication reported that two days after Bill left, McGuire filed for a restraining order so he couldn't unexpectedly take their children, and three weeks after he had disappeared she filed for a divorce. But Melanie maintains that she did not commit the infamous Suitcase Murder. And my answer is I can't explain because I don't think it makes any sense either," Wronko told EW earlier this month. Prezioso said she believed that Melanie McGuire was planting the car in Atlantic City to create an illusion that Bill McGuire was still alive. [9] Melanie admitted that the couple owned the same set of luggage that the body was found in, a matching three-piece set of Kenneth Cole suitcases. Melanie went to work at a fertility clinic and Bill began teaching computer science at a technical college. A top priority for New Jersey investigators was determining if Melanie McGuire had ever owned a gun. However, after five years and two kids, their marriage ended on April 28, 2004, with Melanie killing her husband. This stuff exists, she said on the show. McGuire told 20/20 she did not commit the crimes for which she was convicted. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. No one plugged the serial number of my gun into a website to find out what the specifications were, said Melanie McGuire. 2023 Oscars predictions: See who will win at the 95th Academy Awards. She said in a moment of admitted irrationality she decided to drive down there and look for his car. The investigation into who killed Bill McGuire began in Virginia but eventually moved to New Jersey. 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. He lived with his wife Melanie and their two boys in an apartment in Woodbridge, New Jersey, United States. I have a book that I can look in that doesn't leave an internet history, Melanie McGuire told "20/20.". The day before his disappearance, the couple closed on the purchase of their first home. I still feel bothered. Melanie and Bill McGuire cut the cake at their wedding. On June 2, 2005, more than a year after the murder, Melanie dropped her children off at child care and preschool. Melanie claims she's innocent, and hopes that she will be released someday. She was given a life sentence on July 19, 2007, and she is currently in jail at the Edna Mahan . NEW BRUNSWICK - Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced that Melanie McGuire was sentenced to life in prison today for the 2004 shooting death of her husband, William McGuire, whose severed remains were found in three suitcases along the Virginia coast. [6][7] She enrolled at Rutgers University with a double major in math and psychology and graduated in 1994. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. 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. Melanie McGuire listens to testimony today during her murder trial. How Marvel went big with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The chart below captures the current COVID cases within the inmate and staff population, following Phase 2 testing, which includes retesting those individuals who were previously negative. Dubbed the "Suitcase Killer," she was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison on July 19, 2007, at the age of 34. According to 20/20, the police were able to quickly identify the dismembered man. Meanwhile, investigators found more and more evidence that suggested that Melanie McGuire had killed her husband. McGuire was convicted Monday of killing her. 1:15. Miller looked at the prescription and he said, Thats not my signature and it appears to be Melanie McGuires handwriting, recalled Prezioso. The appeal details the murder, the night of Bill McGuires disappearance, and the disposal of his body. Its out there., Melanie McGuire said she's speaking in a new #ABC2020 interview tonight with @ARobach, 16 years after she was convicted of murdering her husband, because she believes "the killer is out there and it's not me." We were not gathering evidence from a gun manufacturer's website. Melanie went to work at a fertility clinic and Bill began teaching computer science at a technical college. ], Pretty Little Liars Reboot Is Coming-of-RAGE Horror with More Murder, Cast of Pretty Little Liars, 2017, l-r: Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Lucy Hale, Shay Mitchell, (cropped) photo: Dominick D / CC BY-SA, 2012-2023, 2paragraphs Productions, LLC. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. The podcasters and Melanie McGuire also point to unexplained animal hair found on Bill McGuires dismembered body and noted in investigative reports. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Melanie says in the past, when theyre angry at each other, its a way of messing with each other, I guess you could say., It sounds beyond ridiculous sitting here saying it and I acknowledge that Its the truth, Melanie McGuire told 20/20.. She's now a 47-year-old inmate at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Clinton, New Jersey, where she claims that she's not only innocent of killing her husband but that his real killer is still out there. As of June 22, 2020, two inmates had died of COVID-19. Fairleigh Dickinson University criminology professors Meghan Sacks and Amy Shlosberg have an entire podcast called Direct Appeal dedicated to questioning Melanies conviction. ET on ABC She put his remains into a 3-piece suitcase set, and those three pieces were later found in Chesapeake Bay. But, after that fateful April day, when the sun rose, their father was nowhere to be found. Sacks firmly believes that prosecutors failed to answer key questions in the case. Miller eventually testified against Melanie McGuire at her trial. 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. 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. Welcome to the Quantum Realm. Sacks and Shlosberg claim that the tests run by the state's plastic expert were not sufficient to conclusively link the bags found in Melanie McGuires house and the ones used to wrap Bill McGuires body. He ran tests, but he didn't do all the tests that you actually need to definitively say whether these bags match, added Sacks. Melanie Griffith set the Internet on fire. 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. 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. 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.. She said her husband left and that she never saw him again. At trial, prosecutors presented an apparent mountain of circumstantial evidence against Melanie McGuire in Bill McGuires disappearance and murder. Melanie McGuire - Wikipedia. Melanie McGuire defends her innocence from inside prison in 2019, over a decade after she was convicted.