The Departments virus mitigation tactics, along with its universal testing initiative of staff and inmates, has controlled the spread of COVID-19 within NJDOC facilities. She then graduated from the Charles E. Gregory School of Nursing (now Raritan Bay Medical Center) in 1997 with a nursing diploma. Sacks firmly believes that prosecutors failed to answer key questions in the case. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. From Austin Butler and Cate Blanchett to a potential Best Supporting Actress toss-up, see who EW thinks will win at the 2023 Oscars. NEW BRUNSWICK - Attorney General Stuart Rabner and Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced that Melanie McGuire was found guilty of murder today in the 2004 shooting death of her husband, William McGuire, whose severed remains were found in three suitcases along the Virginia coast in May 2004. by Chilling Crimes July 20, 2020. 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. 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. For her part, Melanie insisted that her husband had stormed out after a fight. Thirteen years have passed since Melanie McGuire's conviction. 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. McGuire went through a lengthy trial, which was televised on Court TV, from February to April 2007. She will not be eligible for parole until she is 100 years old. 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. [24][25] On April 29, 2014, McGuire filed a motion for post-conviction relief, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel and newly discovered evidence. It was the timing of that purchase, though, that really caught the eye of investigators: It happened just two days before Bill McGuire went missing. As McGuire maintains her innocence, she is running out of appeal options. Prosecutors argued that she killed her husband so. But when fishermen discovered a suitcase stuffed with Bill's remains just days after the couple had closed on their new dream home . She then drove to Virginia on May 3, where the suitcases were thrown at night from an isolated stretch of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge into the bay. And my answer is I can't explain because I don't think it makes any sense either," Wronko told EW earlier this month. I guess it is comforting [that people are interested]. Melanie McGuire went on trial on March 5, 2007. This stuff exists, she said on the show. [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. Dig, dig. Family and friends can send flowers and/or light a candle as a loving gesture for their loved one. Melanie McGuire defends her innocence from inside prison in 2019, over a decade after she was convicted. 2011 - Google Scholar", "N.J. appeals court upholds life sentence for convicted suitcase killer Melanie McGuire", "State v. McGuire, 27 A. A few days later, a suitcase surfaced in a bay miles away with a horrifying discovery inside. [15][16][17][18][19] On July 19, 2007, at the age of 34, McGuire was sentenced to life in prison.[20]. [B]ut gone doesnt mean dead.. Five days after Bill McGuire went missing, investigators said Melanie McGuire made another bizarre road trip, this time to Delaware. Trial photos of Melanie McGuire, a New Jersey nurse best known for being the perpetrator in the media-dubbed "suitcase murder." . 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 . Although investigators were unable to find physical evidence of murder inside the McGuire's home, they were able to find small pieces of Bill McGuire's flesh -- evidence that would eventually be referred to in the media as human sawdust -- from the car. That night, according to the prosecution, McGuire drugged her husband, shot him dead, and subsequently dismembered his body. McGuire's conviction was affirmed by an appeals court on March 16, 2011. 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. Powered by. 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? After all these years, I still feel hurt. The media soon dubbed the case the Suitcase Murder.. After a nearly month and a half long trial, Melanie McGuire was found guilty. McGuire, who was convicted in 2007 of killing her husband Bill McGuire, said the hardest part has been not being able to watch her two sons grow up. At the time, the local media also reported this detail about the parking lot's surveillance cameras. It doesn't make any sense.' Make up your mind. Miller looked at the prescription and he said, Thats not my signature and it appears to be Melanie McGuires handwriting, recalled Prezioso. 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. ], 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. 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. 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. ", Through her attorney Jim Wronko, Locane describes McGuire as "very nice and pleasant and smart and helpful.". I still feel bothered. [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. When a bullet passes through, its smooth surface becomes imprinted with the same number of lands and grooves as the barrel. Her defense lawyers have not said if McGuire will testify . I just burst into tears, Melanie said of learning about her husbands death in a 2007 interview. There were times I wanted him gone, she told 20/20. 01: Three suitcases, containing human remains, surfaced in Virginia's Chesapeake Bay in May 2004. Dont accept what youre just being told on the surface. 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.. Her bail was raised to $2.1million ($2.9 million today), but she was again released. 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. "I can't even fathom that. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. She allegedly wanted to spend the rest of her life with her lover, and so, she did what she could to get rid of her husband. YouTube Nothing in Melanie McGuires early life suggested shed turn to murder. Police also found a number of suspicious internet searches on the McGuires home computer, including questions like: how to purchase guns illegally, how to commit murder, and undetectable poisons. And they believed that the garbage bags in the McGuire home matched the bags wrapped around Bill McGuires dismembered body. McGuire was convicted Monday of killing her. [22] She must serve more than 63 years before she is eligible for parole. [Watch on your phone with the ABC GO Digital App found here. The 47-year-old is currently serving a life sentence at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Clinton, New Jersey . She will not be eligible for parole until she has served 66 years in prison. Police identified the man in the suitcases as 39-year-old William McGuire, from Woodbridge New Jersey, and they quickly focused their attention on Bill's wife, Melanie McGuire, who did not report him missing. 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. Dont accept what youre just being told on the surface. [11] Through her attorneys, Joe Tacopina,[12] Steve Turano, and Marc Ward, she pleaded not guilty to the charges. Melanie Lyn McGuire (ne Slate; born October 8, 1972)[3] is an American former nurse who was convicted of murdering her husband on April 28, 2004, in what media dubbed the "suitcase murder". Melanie McGuire - Wikipedia. She graduated from Oberlin College, where she earned a double degree in American History and French. "I won't be home until my oldest is 18 and my youngest is 16," she told EW. She said that they believe the garbage bags were a prop to sway the jury. She does have an interesting new cellmate: In 2020, Melanie began sharing a cell with former actress Amy Locane, who starred in the TV show "Melrose Place." Actress Candice King who is best known for her work in the Vampire Diaries will play McGuire. "And I'm driving down, and I take the first pass on this, on this highway, and I see a dark sedan, and lo and behold, there it is, Melanie McGuire said. 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. The prescription for chloral hydrate came from Millers prescription pad. Don't accept what you're just being told on the surface. by 2Paragraphs in Culture, True Crime Murder TV | September 25, 2020. This sensational case has thus often been referred to as the Suitcase Murder and has been profiled on several true-crime shows, including Oxygens Snapped, NBCs Dateline, CBS 48 Hours Mystery, IDs Deadly Affairs, and Forensic Files, amongst many others. Meanwhile, investigators found more and more evidence that suggested that Melanie McGuire had killed her husband. Candice King as Melanie McGuire in "Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story," which explore the real death of Bill McGuire in 2004. Melanie McGuire said that Bill McGuire had asked her to buy the gun for him since he had a felony conviction from a bad driving record, which barred him from purchasing one on his own. McGuire had a message for her sons, who are now adults, "Make up your mind. 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. Melanie McGuire claimed that her gun could not have been the murder weapon since the numbers of lands and grooves on the bullets that came out of Bill McGuire didn't match the number that the manufacturing website said it had made her gun with. 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. But though Bill and Melanie had two sons together, their marriage swiftly soured. And then, two years later, they were blessed with another baby boy. The McGuire family resided in a Woodbridge Township apartment but had plans to move to a much larger home in Warren County by the end of April. 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. After pulling the surveillance footage from the parking lot, however, investigators were disappointed. On April 26, 2004, Melanie had purchased a .38 caliber handgun from a store in Easton, Pennsylvania; Bill had been killed with a .38 caliber handgun with wadcutter bullets. On June 5, 2005, investigators arrested Melanie McGuire and charged her with first-degree murder. Offers may be subject to change without notice. It never made sense.. Bill McGuire, 39, disappeared April 28, 2004, shortly after announcing to his friends that he and his wife had just closed the sale of their first home, according to an appeal filed in her case. The request was subsequently denied. The body parts belonged to a New Jersey father of two named Bill McGuire, and police soon suspected that his wife, Melanie McGuire, had killed him. Lifetime is planning to release a movie about her case, Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story in June 2022. Melanie McGuire, a New Jersey woman who was sentenced to life in prison, in 2007, for the murder of her husband Bill McGuire, discusses the case and maintains her innocence; They closed the documents on their new house on April 28, but never moved in. "There was no evidence connecting him to this crime.. Watch new at 9/8c on ABC. 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. Melanie did not incapacitate, shoot [or] use a saw to dismember her husband, said Sacks. Melanie McGuire says she is innocent, and wants her sons to know she did not kill their father, she said in interviews with 20/20. Yesterday, more than a year after the three grisly discoveries, Melanie McGuire, 32, of Brick, N.J., was charged with first-degree murder in the April 29, 2004, slaying of her husband of four. A few weeks later, once Bills body was discovered and Melanie was identified as the prime suspect, Dr. Bradley had asked her to swear upon her childrens life that she had no hand in this homicide, which she did. A nurse said her husband walked out on her. YouTubeMelanie McGuire says shes innocent and that someone else killed her husband, Bill, in 2004. 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. Melanie McGuire says she is innocent, and wants her sons to know she did not kill their father, she said in interviews with 20/20. At her televised trial, prosecutors explained that she had drugged Bill, shot him, and dismembered him. Upon further investigation, police discovered a security video of the car being moved in the early morning hours of April 30, 2004. Bill's body parts were discovered in three suitcases floating in the Chesapeake Bay near Virginia. New Jersey Department of Corrections/Find a Grave Bill and Melanie McGuire in happier days. But Melanie maintains that she did not commit the infamous Suitcase Murder. Melanie claims that Bill pushed her against the wall during a fight, hit her, and tried to choke her with a dryer sheet. [5], Melanie Lyn Slate grew up in Ridgewood and Middletown Township, New Jersey, attending Middletown High School South. New Jersey Attorney Generals OfficeOne of the three suitcases that contained parts of Bill McGuires body. Melanies not the only person who believes that the police got it wrong. There was. Melanie McGuire, the Suitcase Killer, gave a rare interview to Amy Robach of ABC News in September 2020. I absolutely tried to have those charges taken off because I feared that people would look and think what they ultimately ended up thinking," McGuire said. Another important development for investigators was the discovery of Bill McGuire's car. These documents exist. Miller agreed to cooperate with investigators and was never charged in the crime. I grabbed the baby and went to the bathroom right behind me and shut the door. Melanie was a nurse at a fertility clinic and Bill was a computer programmer. [9] McGuire persisted in claiming she was innocent, and claimed her husband had become increasingly moody and unpredictable and was a compulsive gambler. During the 20/20 interview, Melanie sends a message to her now adult sons, whom she hasnt had contact with since her 2007 trial. She pleaded not guilty. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Therefore, more than a year after the incident, on June 7, 2005, Melanie was officially arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Lifetime's new film Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story explores the shocking death of Bill McGuire on April 28, 2004. The Twisted Case of Melanie McGuire That Chapter 1.81M subscribers Subscribe 64K 1.8M views 9 months ago 2004, Chesapeake Bay. 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. After all these years, I still feel hurt. The prosecution argued McGuires motive was her affair with Dr. Bradley Miller, a partner at the medical practice RMA Associates. On April 23, 2007, McGuire's murder trial jury found her guilty of first-degree murder, finding that the evidence established her culpability for the murder beyond a reasonable doubt. Fairleigh Dickinson University criminology professors Meghan Sacks and Amy Shlosberg have an entire podcast called Direct Appeal dedicated to questioning Melanies conviction. Dr. Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Miller also said in his . The victim, a coroner found, had been shot multiple times. 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. Author John Glatt wrote a book about the case, entitled To Have and To Kill. 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. We were not gathering evidence from a gun manufacturer's website. I still feel bothered. 2023 Oscars predictions: See who will win at the 95th Academy Awards. The evidence in this case points to a well-organized, meticulously planned execution of a murder, Prezioso said during the trial. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. 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. McGuire, now 47, was convicted of killing and dismembering her husband after a lengthy trial in 2007. In April 2004, Melanie and Bill McGuire seemed to have it all: successful careers, two young sons and a new $500,000 home. 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. (The court awarded custody to Bill McGuires sister, Cindy Ligosh.) [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]. After all, a medical-grade towel found with Bills body matched those stocked at the clinic as well as those she kept at her home. Melanie McGuire and defense attorney Stephen Turano, right, react to the verdict during her trial in New Brunswick, N.J., Monday, April 23, 2007. by Sarah Jae Leiber Sep. 21, 2020. He lived with his wife Melanie and their two boys in an apartment in Woodbridge, New Jersey, United States. The very next day, Melanie spoke with divorce attorneys and attempted to file for a restraining order. She offered explanations for the stories she told police, such as her claim she stumbled across her husbands car in Atlantic City and moved it. Also if the crime scene didnt happen [at the family home] and shes home with her children all night, where is this happening? Melanie McGuire admitted to having an affair with a doctor at the fertility clinic where she worked. Now her children have neither a mother or a father, neither one, because of Melanie McGuire. Born on October 8, 1972, Melanie Lyn Slate has spent all of her life in New Jersey growing up in Ridgewood and Middletown Township.

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