The Suitcase Killer, Melanie McGuire Story shows the real-life incident that occurred in 2004 in New Jersey, when Melanie, a local nurse killed her husband, William, a computer programmer, and dismembered his body and packed them in a suitcase, and dumped them in the Chesapeake Bay. After pulling the surveillance footage from the parking lot, however, investigators were disappointed. And on May 16, a third. 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. So I think the police said, Well, prove it. Or, learn about Stacey Castor, the Black Widow who killed two of her husbands with antifreeze. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Wronko, who is also Locane's boyfriend, is appealing the new sentence, which he believes violates her double jeopardy protections. "After all these years, I still feel hurt. McGuire is lodged at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women, serving a life sentence in Clinton, New Jersey. Bradley Miller told a Middlesex County court this afternoon that he lied to a grand jury when he said he stopped having sex with . [21] The case has been profiled on television outlets: Snapped Oxygen Network; Dateline NBC; 48 Hours Mystery CBS; and The Investigators TruTV; Deadly Affairs Investigation Discovery, and Forensic Files II, among other true crime television shows. Bill worked as a computer program analyst for a Newark, New Jersey college and Melanie worked as a fertility nurse, according to a 2011 appeal filed in her case. But Melanie maintains that she did not commit the infamous Suitcase Murder. They looked high and low to connect Melanie to some pet, and once they found that there was no way to connect Melanie to these pet hairs, it became not of evidentiary value, said Sacks. Melanie and Bill McGuire cut the cake at their wedding. (Video By Bumper. But Melanie maintains that she did not commit the infamous Suitcase Murder. 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. Fairleigh Dickinson University criminology professors Meghan Sacks and Amy Shlosberg have an entire podcast called Direct Appeal dedicated to questioning Melanies conviction. 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. He lived with his wife Melanie and their two boys in an apartment in Woodbridge, New Jersey, United States. Bills car contained a bottle of chloral hydrate, a sedative, and two syringes, which had been prescribed by Bradley Miller. Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story airs at 8 p.m. 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. The medical examiner determined that the body had been shot multiple times. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Offers may be subject to change without notice. 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. She didn't fit the profile, I guess, of a murderer, Shlosberg said. 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. READ NEXT: Melanie McGuire Was Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder of Husband Bill. I still feel bothered. Don't accept what you're just being told on the surface. Getty Images. This stuff exists, she said on the show. Download is FREE. Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for WomenMelanie McGuire prison record. She was sentenced to life in prison on July 19, 2007. Bill called his friends to happily tell them the news. Melanie did not incapacitate, shoot [or] use a saw to dismember her husband, said Sacks. 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. She put his remains into a 3-piece suitcase set, and those three pieces were later found in Chesapeake Bay. 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. Don't accept what you're just being told on the surface. Youre talking about hours [of driving] and there isnt enough time, said McGuire. Bill McGuire was murdered by his wife Melanie McGuire, and his body was found near Virginia Beach's Chesapeake Bay in 2004. McGuire testified that during their argument her husband had become violent and he threatened to take their children away before leaving the home by himself, per CBS News. [10] Prosecutors contended her motive for murder was to take up a new life with her lover. William "Bill" McGuire was having a great day. [9] Police received a tip from a private towing company employee who said he towed a 2002 Nissan Maxima (Bill McGuire's car) from the Flamingo Motel in Atlantic City, on May 8, 2004. Dig, dig.". Melanie McGuire explained that the night after Bill McGuire went missing, she was becoming angrier at her husband and suspected she knew where he was: Atlantic City. 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. Like, how could somebody think that I did that? However, prosecutors established that the informant was "entirely incredible and routinely and habitually fabricates stories" according to a New Jersey State Police investigation, before recanting and accusing McGuire's attorney of suborning perjury. After reading about Melanie McGuire and the Suitcase Murder, discover the story of Nancy Brophy, the woman who wrote How To Murder Your Husband and may have indeed murdered her husband. 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. And then, two years later, they were blessed with another baby boy. Thirteen years have passed since Melanie McGuire's conviction. On June 5, 2005, authorities arrested Melanie McGuire on first-degree murder charges. [9] The footage was blurry and the police weren't able to identify the person in the video. This stuff exists. Candice King as Melanie McGuire in "Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story," which explore the real death of Bill McGuire in 2004. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. 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. https://t.co/ZGewRPfd2o pic.twitter.com/i4dBUBR7PJ. 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. A grand jury returned a second indictment in 2006, charging her with eight additional counts regarding anonymous communications, according to the appeal filed in her case. She wished to avoid purchasing a house at substantial expense and beginning a new phase in a marriage she regretted. The case involved 21 witnesses qualified as experts, hundreds of pieces of evidence and 21 days of testimony. She reportedly spent most of her life in New Jersey. He said he was leaving and he wasnt coming back and [that] I could tell my children they didnt have a father.. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. 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. McGuire will not be eligible for parole until she is 100 years old. Nothing in Melanie McGuires early life suggested shed turn to murder. Its out there.. Bill's body parts were discovered in three suitcases floating in the Chesapeake Bay near Virginia. She had apparently grown worried about their well-being upon noticing their behavior and got them tested. [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. 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. I'm a nurse or I was a nurse, and I don't need to look up things like that. Melanie went to work at a fertility clinic and Bill began teaching computer science at a technical college. They were confident Miller was not involved in the crime but were never able to bring charges against anyone else. Where Are William and Melanie McGuires Kids Now. Pam Grier reflects on her most iconic roles, from, State Superior Court Judge Angela Borkowski gave Locane more time after the punishment, Wrong Turn: The tragic story of former It Girl Amy Locane, Amy Locane to be re-sentenced for fatal auto crash, Amy Locane recalls drunk-driving crash in post-prison interview. They insisted he was a compulsive gambler who had become increasingly moody, unpredictable, and tempestuous in the months before his passing. There's less of a waiting period.. The killer is out there and it's not me. 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. After all these years, I still feel hurt. [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. 3d 411 - NJ: Appellate Div. 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. She didnt fit the profile, I guess, of a murderer, Shlosberg told 20/20. The 62-year-old actress posted a jaw-dropping selfie on Instagram Tuesday night, featuring the . A top priority for New Jersey investigators was determining if Melanie McGuire had ever owned a gun. Don't accept what you're just being told on the surface. [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. ", Credit: Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage; ABC, Amy Locane's prison cell roommate is the notorious Suitcase Killer. She later told police that she believed he'd gone to Atlantic City to gamble as he had a penchant for doing so. After a 7-week trial, Melanie McGuire was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. After re-examining her murder conviction over a decade later,. McGuires case is being featured on a podcast, Direct Appeal. She is nearly out of options in the judicial system, the podcast website said, and now she is appealing to the public for help. Investigators searched the home for evidence multiple times, checking to see if Bill McGuire had been killed and dismembered there. She said in a moment of admitted irrationality she decided to drive down there and look for his car. Do you know how hard it is to cut through bone? Her 2007 trial became a nationally televised event. 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. Melanies not the only person who believes that the police got it wrong. Yet, in the end, it turned out that shed lied about it all. His head and torso with bullet wounds were found in a medium size suitcase and his arms in a smaller suitcase in the Chesapeake Bay. Dr. Police also learned that Melanie had been having a long-term affair with a co-worker named Bradley Miller. I cannot even think about that. 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. Melanie McGuire was a former nurse in the United States who was found guilty of murdering her husband on April 28, 2004. Dont accept what youre just being told on the surface. Murders A-Z is a collection of true crime stories that take an in-depth look at both little-known and famous murders throughout history. McGuire had been married for five years by April 2004. In the interview, she continued to say that she was innocent and asked her sons to look into the case and not believe what they were seeing. She will not be eligible for parole until she has. [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 McGuire says 'it's a coincidence' she bought gun before husband disappeared McGuire said she spoke in a new "20/20" interview, 16 years after she was convicted of murdering her husband . Lands and grooves are rifling characteristics that are machine pressed into the barrel of a gun. By that point, the two had only flirted and corresponded via e-mail, only for a romance to blossom. Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. These documents exist. 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. ", Through her attorney Jim Wronko, Locane describes McGuire as "very nice and pleasant and smart and helpful.". William McGuire was 39 when he died. Over a period of 12 days in May 2004, three dark green suitcases were discovered in and near the Chesapeake Bay. Dig, dig. [9] Melanie later claimed she had moved the car as a "prank",[8] even though she had applied for a protection from abuse order days earlier after allegedly being slapped by her husband. Melanie McGuire was found guilty of murdering Bill McGuire, 39, in April 2004. 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. 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. She graduated from Oberlin College, where she earned a double degree in American History and French. 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. He was 39 years old. That same year, she married her husband, a U.S. Navy veteran named William Bill McGuire. Author John Glatt wrote a book about the case, entitled To Have and To Kill. [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]. Melanie McGuire, sentenced to life in prison for killing her husband in a case known as the "Suitcase Murder," filed a petition in New Jersey Superior Court Thursday asking a judge for more. 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. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Once police honed in on Melanie McGuire as the prime suspect, they began wiretapping her phones. Melanie McGuire is currently in a New Jersey jail, awaiting sentencing on July 19. The day before his disappearance, the couple closed on the purchase of their first home. She said her husband left and that she never saw him again. Today, Melanie McGuire is almost 50 and is serving a life sentence at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Clinton. Melanie claims she's innocent, and hopes that she will be released someday. 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 . The killer is out there and its not me, Melanie told Robach. There are just too many holes in this story.. Her defense lawyers have not said if McGuire will testify . Powered by. She was sentenced to life in prison on July 19, 2007 and is serving her sentence at the Edna. There were five lands and grooves that my weapon was said to have made based on the company's website. In September 2020 McGuire took part in a rare interview with ABC News, in which she continued to profess her innocence for the crime. After seeing this report Melanie McGuire told Miller a story that prosecutors later called preposterous. Thats what happened the night of April 28, 2004, the day Bill McGuire disappeared, according to his wife. It is physically exhausting. 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. All we know is that they havent been in touch with their mother since before she was convicted. Locane said she worries that her daughters and the public will forget her. But though Bill and Melanie had two sons together, their marriage swiftly soured. Then, they looked in Pennsylvania. But she didnt report Bill missing. Data from the New Jersey Department of Corrections details cases since they implemented additional measures. As of June 22, 2020, two inmates had died of COVID-19. In April 2004, Melanie and Bill McGuire seemed to have it all: successful careers, two young sons and a new $500,000 home. Prosecutors have always maintained that they believed Melanie McGuire likely had an accomplice. 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. 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." I grabbed the baby and went to the bathroom right behind me and shut the door. After all these years, I still feel hurt. [5], Melanie Lyn Slate grew up in Ridgewood and Middletown Township, New Jersey, attending Middletown High School South. I still feel bothered. This stuff exists, she said on the show. 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. READ NEXT: Melanie McGuire Today: Where Is the Suitcase Killer Now in 2020? 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. Melanie McGuire is a former nurse who worked at a fertility clinic in New Jersey. "After all these years, I still feel hurt. The investigation into who killed Bill McGuire began in Virginia but eventually moved to New Jersey. She may be eligible for parole after serving 66 years in prison, court documents filed in her case said. 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. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Investigators also found trash bags in Melanie McGuire's home that they believed matched those used to wrap parts of Bill McGuire's body. "Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story" premieres June 18 at 8 pm on Lifetime. I absolutely tried to have those charges taken off because I feared that people would look and think what they ultimately ended up thinking.. Prison inmates are in a closed environment. Like, how could somebody think that I did that?". After they released a sketch to the public, one of Bill McGuires friends soon came forward. She was later charged with other offences including perjury and desecration of human remains, for which she also pled not guilt. 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 went on trial on March 5, 2007. People are feeling this way now, but when it's no longer a story, I'll just be forgotten. On June 5, 2005, investigators arrested Melanie McGuire and charged her with first-degree murder. [22] She must serve more than 63 years before she is eligible for parole. It never made sense.. The victim, a coroner found, had been shot multiple times. Melanie McGuire denies this, pointing to the fact that there are hundreds of miles between Delaware and Virginia Beach. Born on October 8, 1972, Melanie Lyn Slate has spent all of her life in New Jersey growing up in Ridgewood and Middletown Township. At the time, the local media also reported this detail about the parking lot's surveillance cameras. She maintains her innocence, having recently told 20/20 that "after all these years, I still feel hurt. After all these years, I still feel hurt. McGuire, now 47, was convicted of killing and dismembering her husband after a lengthy trial in 2007. A jury convicted McGuire in 2007, and she was sentenced to life in prison plus five years. Lifetime is planning to release a movie about her case, Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story in June 2022. I still feel bothered. She said that they believe the garbage bags were a prop to sway the jury. She then graduated from the Charles E. Gregory School of Nursing (now Raritan Bay Medical Center) in 1997 with a nursing diploma. 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. 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. 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. Miller agreed to cooperate with investigators and was never charged in the crime. Another important development for investigators was the discovery of Bill McGuire's car. His wife, Melanie McGuire, a fertility nurse and the mother of his two sons, was eventually convicted of murdering him and dumping his body. The request was subsequently denied. 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. After finishing high school, she enrolled at Rutgers University for a double major in math and psychology, which she achieved in 1994. She then called Miller the next morning, and he said "she was upset" and had told him about the fight they'd had. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. On July 19, 2007 she was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole until she is 100 years old. 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. However, not much else about the day was typical. The 2004 case was dubbed the suitcase murder because the victims legs were found in a suitcase that washed up in Virginia Beach. [15][16][17][18][19] On July 19, 2007, at the age of 34, McGuire was sentenced to life in prison.[20]. New Jersey Attorney Generals OfficeOne of the three suitcases that contained parts of Bill McGuires body. 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.. Prosecutors argued that she killed her husband so. At least the prison conversations won't be, ahem, boring for Amy Locane. 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 . https://t.co/ZGewRPfd2o pic.twitter.com/i4dBUBR7PJ. As a year passed and the investigations continued, on October 26, 2006, Melanie was charged with two more counts of hindering apprehension for allegedly writing letters to the police department to get them off her trail. The Superior Court of New Jersey affirmed her verdict and sentence in 2011. 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. She told her sons, now adults, to look into the case for themselves. In 2007, McGuire was convicted of killing and dismembering her husband, Bill.
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