Pam Grier reflects on her most iconic roles, from Coffy to Jackie Brown. On June 5, 2005, authorities arrested Melanie McGuire on first-degree murder charges. 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 . Melanie McGuire says shes innocent and that someone else killed her husband, Bill, in 2004. [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. In the early morning hours of April 29, 2004, the day her husband disappeared, Melanie McGuire said that they had a violent fight and claimed that he choked her with a dryer sheet and hit her before leaving the house. 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 suggested that her husband had been killed over his gambling debts, claiming that he was the one whod insisted that she buy a gun in the first place. Make up your mind. On June 5, 2005, investigators arrested Melanie McGuire and charged her with first-degree murder. The podcast hosts and Melanie McGuire herself, raise questions about whether it's even possible the gun she purchased was the murder weapon. To this day, Melanie maintains that she did not kill her husband, dismember him, and dispose of his body parts in suitcases. Once police honed in on Melanie McGuire as the prime suspect, they began wiretapping her phones. [27][28], In 2022, Lifetime produced a movie called Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story as part of its "Ripped from the Headlines" series of movies for television. Make up your mind. Though a jury agreed and sentenced Melanie McGuire to life in prison, the so-called Suitcase Killer has long insisted upon her innocence. We were not gathering evidence from a gun manufacturer's website. In 2004, Bill McGuire was found dismembered in three separate dark green Kenneth Cole suitcases that were found in and around the Chesapeake Bay, near Virginia Beach, Virginia. I still feel bothered. Like, how could somebody think that I did that?. All we know is that they havent been in touch with their mother since before she was convicted. Another important development for investigators was the discovery of Bill McGuire's car. Bill McGuire, 39, put a down payment down on a $500,000 house for the couple and their two young sons in April 2004. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. I cannot even think about that. Miller looked at the prescription and he said, Thats not my signature and it appears to be Melanie McGuires handwriting, recalled Prezioso. Like, how could somebody think that I did that? https://t.co/f9HrMsbxkY. But despite her apparent grief, police soon began to suspect that Melanie McGuire had murdered her husband. [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. He said he was leaving and he wasnt coming back and [that] I could tell my children they didnt have a father.. 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." 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. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? https://t.co/ZGewROXCaQ pic.twitter.com/hlzcKR96Ss. Bill and Melanie McGuire in happier days. Like, how could somebody think that I did that? https://t.co/f9HrMsbxkY. Lifetime's new film Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story explores the shocking death of Bill McGuire on April 28, 2004. I just burst into tears, Melanie said of learning about her husbands death in a 2007 interview. [9] Police released a facial reconstruction sketch of the victim, which an acquaintance of Bill McGuire's recognized. 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 and Bill McGuire cut the cake at their wedding. During her arraignment on murder charges, McGuire's case was dubbed the "Suitcase Murder" by various media outlets. She will not be eligible for parole until she is 100 years old. She pleaded not guilty to all indictments and soon posted an accumulated bail of over $2 million. She also made inquiries of a friend about how to buy a gun. says the actress. Bill McGuire's body was found around Chesapeake Bay near Virginia Beach, Virginia, his corpse had been shot and then dismembered, and he was put in three separate suitcases which were found in May 2004. That same year, she married her husband, a U.S. Navy veteran named William Bill McGuire. Then, they looked in Pennsylvania. From Austin Butler and Cate Blanchett to a potential Best Supporting Actress toss-up, see who EW thinks will win at the 2023 Oscars. They recovered searches including: How to purchase guns illegally, How to commit murder, Undetectable poisons and, generally, how to sedate or kill someone, according to investigators. It was a mistake on a gun manufacturer's website. 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. Dr. The day before his disappearance, the couple closed on the purchase of their first home. Sacks seconded her co-host, saying: Melanie did not incapacitate, shoot [or] use a saw to dismember her husband. And on May 16, a third. After re-examining her murder conviction over a decade later,. Melanie McGuire is serving a life sentence in the murder of her husband, Bill McGuire, at a women's correctional facility in New Jersey. 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 . 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. 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. Melanie McGuire is serving a life sentence in the murder of her husband, Bill McGuire, at a women's correctional facility in New Jersey. His business partner described him as a good father . Melanie did not incapacitate, shoot [or] use a saw to dismember her husband, said Sacks. 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. She pleaded not guilty. 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. In September 2020, Melanie McGuire sat down with 20/20 and gave her first interview in 13 years. On June 5, 2005, investigators arrested Melanie McGuire and charged her with first-degree murder. Dr. On May 11, another suitcase was discovered. Or, learn about Stacey Castor, the Black Widow who killed two of her husbands with antifreeze. The podcasters and Melanie McGuire also point to unexplained animal hair found on Bill McGuires dismembered body and noted in investigative reports. Her trial began in March 5, 2007. 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. She offered explanations for the stories she told police,. 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. Bills car contained a bottle of chloral hydrate, a sedative, and two syringes, which had been prescribed by Bradley Miller. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Less than a year later, the McGuires had their first son. 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. 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. [B]ut gone doesnt mean dead.. Melanie McGuire defends her innocence from inside prison in 2019, over a decade after she was convicted. Watch the full story on "20/20" Friday, Sept. 25, at 9 p.m. They opened it and found a mans dismembered legs, cut off at the knee. As improbable as it sounds, Melanie McGuire said she actually stumbled upon her husband's car. Bradley Miller told a Middlesex County court this afternoon that he lied to a grand jury when he said he stopped having sex with . But, after that fateful April day, when the sun rose, their father was nowhere to be found. 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. Sara James. A jury convicted McGuire in 2007, and she was sentenced to life in prison plus five years. During the 20/20 interview, Melanie sends a message to her now adult sons, whom she hasnt had contact with since her 2007 trial. These documents exist. [14], Shortly after her conviction, but before sentencing, McGuire appealed for a new trial on the basis of the story of jailhouse informant Christopher Thieme that her husband was deeply in debt and may have been killed by Atlantic City mobsters. Welcome to the Quantum Realm. I still feel bothered. Melanie McGuire. I dont know how you would dismember a body and effectively clean that up, said McGuire. Thirteen years have passed since Melanie McGuire's conviction. That night, according to the prosecution, McGuire drugged her husband, shot him dead, and subsequently dismembered his body. Melanie McGuire was found guilty of murdering Bill McGuire, 39, in April 2004. Melanie McGuire's defense team focused on the lack of physical evidence, insisting it was more likely that Bill McGuire was murdered as the result of his gambling, than at the hands of his diminutive wife. Dig, dig., 20/20 airs Fridays at 9 pm on ABC, right after Americas Funniest Home Videos at 8 pm. McGuire got the unfortunate luggage nickname after she was convicted of drugging her husband, shooting him to death, and stuffing his dismembered body into three dark green suitcases that were later found in the Chesapeake Bay. Guilty or not, Melanie McGuire, the so-called Suitcase Killer, remains an object of fascination. Prosecutors called 64 witnesses, and the defense called 16 witnesses. Melanie McGuire listens to testimony today during her murder trial. Melanie McGuires story made national headlines in the mid-2000s, when she was charged with first-degree murder and dubbed the Suitcase Killer by some in the media. One of the three suitcases that contained parts of Bill McGuires body. She will not be eligible for parole until she is 100 years old. Like, how could somebody think that I did that?". Melanie McGuire admitted to having an affair with a doctor at the fertility clinic where she worked. Watch the full story on "20/20" Friday, Sept. 25, at 9 p.m. 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. (The court awarded custody to Bill McGuires sister, Cindy Ligosh.) The 48-year-old actress and mother of two has been sober since the 2010 crash. Melanie McGuire has been in prison for 13 years, but she still maintains her innocence, she said in an interview with 20/20. 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. Dig, dig. Because the murder did not occur in Virginia, however, authorities turned over their investigation to the New Jersey State Police.[10]. They closed the documents on their new house on April 28, but never moved in. https://t.co/ZGewRPfd2o pic.twitter.com/i4dBUBR7PJ. Melanie went to work at a fertility clinic and Bill began teaching computer science at a technical college. In September 2020 McGuire took part in a rare interview with ABC News, in which she continued to profess her innocence for the crime. In addition, Melanie was 38-weeks pregnant with her second child when the relationship started, based on reporting from New Jersey-based news outlet CentralJersey.com. According to 20/20, the police were able to quickly identify the dismembered man. Bill had a gambling problem, Melanie explained, and after their fight she knew he would be at the casino. Read More: Where Is Melanie McGuires Family Now? Locane said she worries that her daughters and the public will forget her. Soon after William and Melanie McGuire tied the knot in 1999, they welcomed their first child, a son, in 2000. Download is FREE. The 47-year-old is currently serving a life sentence at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Clinton, New Jersey . 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. 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. For the two toddlers, they usually woke up, saw their parents, went to daycare, came back, saw their parents, ate, played, and then slept. Melanie McGuire was convicted in the grisly murder of her husband, Bill McGuire, whose body was found dismembered in suitcases in the Chesapeake Bay. It's out there," she said. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. The New Jersey fertility nurse was sentenced to life in prison back in 2007 for murdering her husband Bill in April 2004. The killer is out there and it's not me. I still feel bothered. The victim, a coroner found, had been shot multiple times. Melanie McGuire. The medical examiner determined that the body had been shot multiple times. "People ask me, 'Explain this. [24][25] On April 29, 2014, McGuire filed a motion for post-conviction relief, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel and newly discovered evidence. However, McGuire was acquitted of the two counts of hindering apprehension, as well as tampering with evidence and possession of Xanax without prescription. Melanie then became the prime suspect in the investigation. 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. Miller was also married with children. Meghan Sacks, host of podcast "Direct Appeal" and Fairleigh Dickinson University criminology professor questions Melanie McGuire's guilt. 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. So if you wish to learn more about her and her current whereabouts, heres what we know. Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story airs at 8 p.m. She graduated from Oberlin College, where she earned a double degree in American History and French. The media soon dubbed the case the Suitcase Murder.. Did Melanie McGuire dismember her husband? This stuff exists, she said on the show. Like, how could somebody think that I did that? she said on 20/20. Melanie McGuire was victim Bill's wife, who was accused of his murder and dubbed the "Suitcase Killer" when the case went to trial. 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. 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. 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. They were confident Miller was not involved in the crime but were never able to bring charges against anyone else. 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. On camera, Melanie tells them: Make up your mind. After a 7-week trial, Melanie McGuire was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. 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. 0:45. The 62-year-old actress posted a jaw-dropping selfie on Instagram Tuesday night, featuring the . 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. No one plugged the serial number of my gun into a website to find out what the specifications were, said Melanie McGuire. 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. As of June 22, 2020, two inmates had died of COVID-19. McGuire's conviction was affirmed by an appeals court on March 16, 2011. 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. After being released on bail, Melanie faced additional charges on October 11, 2005. At trial, prosecutors presented an apparent mountain of circumstantial evidence against Melanie McGuire in Bill McGuires disappearance and murder. Dont accept what youre just being told on the surface. 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. "There was no evidence connecting him to this crime.. Who Is Melanie McGuire? 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. She drugged him, shot him (in the head and chest) to death, and subsequently dismembered his remains. September 26, 2020 Examined Like, how could somebody think that I did that? Melanie McGuire told ABC News Amy Robach in a rare interview from prison for "20/20.. It was reliving it. They recorded her calls with family and friends, including Miller, with whom she was having the affair. Melanie McGuire married her husband in 1999 and later alleged that he had a gambling problem and a violent temper. Three suitcases were found washed up, inside each were the remains. As a realtor at the Weichert office in Franklin Lakes, she, along with her husband, pharmacist Bill Ligosh of Wyckoff, New Jersey, were deemed well qualified and capable of taking good care of the toddlers. A Wednesday. Melanie claims she's innocent, and hopes that she will be released someday. 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. Melanie and Bill McGuire were married in 1999 and had two sons at the time of his death. 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. Melanie McGuire, 34-years old, sentenced to life in prison for murdering her husband Photo Source: NJ.com (website) The grainy images appeared to show Bill McGuire's car being pulled into a spot, but did not capture who the driver was. We should mention that after Melanie was convicted of the charges against her, her family started a custody battle with Cindy, but to no avail. McGuire was sentenced to 63 years, eight months and 30 days to life for first-degree murder, five to 10 years for desecration of human remains, two years and six months to five years for third-degree perjury, and a maximum sentence of life for second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, according to her prison record. Melanie went to work at a fertility clinic and Bill began teaching computer science at a technical college. Like, how could somebody think that I did that? she said on 20/20. I still feel bothered. 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. You can read the appeal and court decision in full here. One contained legs, another a pelvis, and the third a torso and head. 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. 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. Watch new at 9/8c on ABC. The Secret in the Suitcase: With David Muir, Amy Robach, Melanie McGuire, William McGuire. Background Bill McGuire was born in September of 1964. Also if the crime scene didn't happen [at the family home] and she's home with her children all night, where is this happening? After all these years, I still feel hurt, Melanie said. He lived with his wife Melanie and their two boys in an apartment in Woodbridge, New Jersey, United States. It was the 28th of April 2004. The Superior Court of New Jersey affirmed her verdict and sentence in 2011. Investigators also found Bills car where Melanie suggested it would be Atlantic City. ], 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. Do you know how hard it is to cut through bone? Police also learned that Melanie had been having a long-term affair with a co-worker named Bradley Miller. 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. https://t.co/ZGewROXCaQ pic.twitter.com/hlzcKR96Ss. Prosecutors believed that Melanie McGuires motive to kill her husband came from her desire to start a new life with her lover, Dr. Bradley Miller, a partner at the medical practice RMA Associates, where she worked as a nurse. 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. [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. 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. [11] Through her attorneys, Joe Tacopina,[12] Steve Turano, and Marc Ward, she pleaded not guilty to the charges. They lived in an apartment Woodbridge, New Jersey. 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. Prosecutors argued that she killed her husband so. Locane is back behind bars for killing Helene Seeman, 60, in a 2010 drunk driving collision in New Jersey's Montgomery Township. Less than a year later, the McGuires had their first son. This is not one of those cases, said Prezioso. Melanie worked as a fertility clinic nurse, while Bill worked as a computer programmer. The prosecution argued McGuires motive was her affair with Dr. Bradley Miller, a partner at the medical practice RMA Associates. 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? However, after five years and two kids, their marriage ended on April 28, 2004, with Melanie killing her husband. Prosecutors also pointed to Melanie McGuire's supposed internet searches in the days leading up to Bill McGuires disappearance. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Meanwhile, investigators found more and more evidence that suggested that Melanie McGuire had killed her husband. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Criminologists Dr. Meghan Sacks, and Dr. Amy Shlosberg dig into the evidence on the podcast. In April 2004, Melanie and Bill McGuire seemed to have it all: successful careers, two young sons and a new $500,000 home. Melanie was a nurse at a fertility clinic and Bill was a computer programmer. Melanie McGuire admitted to having an affair with Miller. [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. [6][7] She enrolled at Rutgers University with a double major in math and psychology and graduated in 1994. ET on ABC 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. 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. [9] A witness testified that Melanie used the same towels to protect furniture when she moved. Five days after Bill McGuire went missing, investigators said Melanie McGuire made another bizarre road trip, this time to Delaware. She said in a moment of admitted irrationality she decided to drive down there and look for his car. She will not be eligible for parole until she has. After finishing high school, she enrolled at Rutgers University for a double major in math and psychology, which she achieved in 1994.
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