As of June 22, 2020, two inmates had died of COVID-19. 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. "Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story" premieres June 18 at 8 pm on Lifetime. That requires two drivers so certainly that means someone helped her, said Prezioso. We looked very closely at Dr. Miller, said Prezioso. I cannot even think about that. It was hard. But though both the podcast and the making of the movie have brought attention to the Suitcase Murder, it doesnt change the fact that Melanie McGuire is behind bars. 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. Melanie McGuire admitted to having an affair with a doctor at the fertility clinic where she worked. [B]ut gone doesnt mean dead.. 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. 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. Don't accept what you're just being told on the surface. Born on October 8, 1972, Melanie Lyn Slate has spent all of her life in New Jersey growing up in Ridgewood and Middletown Township. After finishing high school, she enrolled at Rutgers University for a double major in math and psychology, which she achieved in 1994. A top priority for New Jersey investigators was determining if Melanie McGuire had ever owned a gun. On July 19, 2007 she was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole until she is 100 years old. The 47-year-old is currently serving a life sentence at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Clinton, New Jersey . McGuire had been married for five years by April 2004. 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. 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. On camera, Melanie tells them: Make up your mind. But just 48 hours later, 31-year-old Melanie requested a restraining order against him, alleging that he'd gotten violent during a fight the night before inside their New Jersey home. McGuire's conviction was affirmed by an appeals court on March 16, 2011. 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. The evidence in this case points to a well-organized, meticulously planned execution of a murder, Prezioso said during the trial. After all these years, I still feel hurt. 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 married her husband in 1999 and later alleged that he had a gambling problem and a violent temper. After exiting the older child's school, Melanie started walking toward her vehicle when law enforcement emerged from the bushes, taking her into custody without incident. According to state records, she must serve at least 85% of her sentence before she can even be considered for parole, which means shell become eligible for it on May 20, 2073. 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 maintains her innocence, having recently told 20/20 that "after all these years, I still feel hurt. She was indicted on four additional, relatively smaller charges in October. Dubbed the Suitcase Killer, she was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison on July 19, 2007, at the age of 34. Dig, dig., 20/20 airs Fridays at 9 pm on ABC, right after Americas Funniest Home Videos at 8 pm. 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. 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. ET on Saturday, June 18 on the Lifetime network. After they released a sketch to the public, one of Bill McGuires friends soon came forward. 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? It premiered on 17th June 2022 and is airing exclusively on Lifetime.The show follows the shocking murder of Bill McGuire, so don't miss it - learn how to watch Suitcase Killer The Melanie McGuire Story in Canada on Lifetime.. No matter where you live, the alluring Suitcase Killer The . [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. 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. 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. Melanie McGuire was a former nurse in the United States who was found guilty of murdering her husband on April 28, 2004. Download is FREE. She will not be eligible for parole until she is 100 years old. She didnt fit the profile, I guess, of a murderer, Shlosberg told 20/20. A Wednesday. [22] She must serve more than 63 years before she is eligible for parole. During the 20/20 interview, Melanie sends a message to her now adult sons, whom she hasnt had contact with since her 2007 trial. Of course, since we do not know either of their names, we have no way of digging up any other credible information concerning their current standing. 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. The prosecution argued McGuires motive was her affair with Dr. Bradley Miller, a partner at the medical practice RMA Associates. Soon after William and Melanie McGuire tied the knot in 1999, they welcomed their first child, a son, in 2000. Melanie McGuire went on trial on March 5, 2007. But despite her apparent grief, police soon began to suspect that Melanie McGuire had murdered her husband. [1], By April 2004, the McGuires had been married for five years. After all these years, I still feel hurt. Melanie McGuire denies this, pointing to the fact that there are hundreds of miles between Delaware and Virginia Beach. She pleaded not guilty. Getty Images. She graduated from Oberlin College, where she earned a double degree in American History and French. So she drove around until she found his car and then moved it as a prank. 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. A New Jersey grand jury indicted McGuire on charges of first-degree murder, second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, second-degree desecration of human remains and third-degree perjury in October 2005. 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. 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. I still feel bothered. To drive from New Jersey to the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia requires driving through Delaware, and the first suitcase turned up the very next day, Prezioso said. So if you wish to learn more about her and her current whereabouts, heres what we know. Her defense lawyers have not said if McGuire will testify . This stuff exists. Fairleigh Dickinson University criminology professors Meghan Sacks and Amy Shlosberg have an entire podcast called Direct Appeal dedicated to questioning Melanies conviction. Melanie McGuire admitted to having an affair with Miller. The Superior Court of New Jersey affirmed her verdict and sentence in 2011. Though a jury agreed and sentenced Melanie McGuire to life in prison, the so-called Suitcase Killer has long insisted upon her innocence. I still feel bothered. 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. During her conversation with ABCs Amy Robach, Melanie continued to insist on her innocence. 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. She is currently incarcerated at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Clinton, New Jersey, according to her prison records. Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. On June 2, 2005, more than a year after the fact, Melanie was charged with first-degree murder, leading to her sons being taken and placed into a much safer home for them to grow up in. It was while Melanie was pregnant for the second time, during the 38th week, that her affair with Dr. Bradley Miller, her co-worker in the fertility clinic where she worked as a nurse, began. Her trial began in March 5, 2007. There were times I wanted him gone, she told 20/20. I looked down and theres my 2-year-old. On June 2, 2005, more than a year after the murder, Melanie dropped her children off at child care and preschool. The body was eventually identified as 39 year-old Bill McGuire, an employee of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, who lived more than 300 miles away in Woodbridge, New Jersey. The podcast, hosted by Fairleigh Dickinson University criminology professors Meghan Sacks and Amy Schlosberg questions Melanie McGuire's guilt and suggests that there is evidence in the case that never received the legal scrutiny it deserved. Miller agreed to cooperate with investigators and was never charged in the crime. "I panicked. Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story airs at 8 p.m. Like, how could somebody think that I did that?. Investigators also found Bills car where Melanie suggested it would be Atlantic City. 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. 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. Making matters worse, Melanie McGuire had called the company and attempted to have those charges removed. 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.. After a nearly month and a half long trial, Melanie McGuire was found guilty. One contained a torso and a head, the other a mans thighs and pelvis, according to Oxygen. And then, two years later, they were blessed with another baby boy. When investigators discovered the affair, they approached Miller. 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 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. Upon further investigation, police discovered a security video of the car being moved in the early morning hours of April 30, 2004. After re-examining her murder conviction over a decade later, Sacks and Shlosberg, believe Melanie McGuire was wrongfully convicted. ", Through her attorney Jim Wronko, Locane describes McGuire as "very nice and pleasant and smart and helpful.". 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. Youre talking about hours [of driving] and there isnt enough time, said McGuire. Thirteen years have passed since Melanie McGuire's conviction. Melanie McGuire is serving a life sentence in the murder of her husband, Bill McGuire, at a womens correctional facility in New Jersey. 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. Over a period of 12 days in May 2004, three dark green suitcases were discovered in and near the Chesapeake Bay. Melanie and Bill McGuire pictured in Atlantic City, New Jersey at an unknown date. Police also learned that Melanie had been having a long-term affair with a co-worker named Bradley Miller. This stuff exists, she said on the show. 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. Melanie did not incapacitate, shoot [or] use a saw to dismember her husband, said Sacks. 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. These documents exist. Therefore, more than a year after the incident, on June 7, 2005, Melanie was officially arrested and charged with first-degree murder. I still feel bothered. He probably would have broken my cheek if [the hit] had been a closed fist, Melanie McGuire said. McGuire told 20/20 she did not commit the crimes for which she was convicted. Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. The medical examiner determined that the body had been shot multiple times. 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. The grainy images appeared to show Bill McGuire's car being pulled into a spot, but did not capture who the driver was. [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. There were two charges, totaling 90 cents, on her statement that proved she had driven to Atlantic City after her husband went missing. For the first time in years, she says she has hope that an explosive new podcast, "Direct Appeal," could help exonerate her. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Powered by. Make up your mind. 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. Watch the full story on "20/20" Friday, Sept. 25, at 9 p.m. 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? I still feel bothered. Bills car contained a bottle of chloral hydrate, a sedative, and two syringes, which had been prescribed by Bradley Miller. Melanie McGuire. A dramatization of the romance and marriage of the McGuires, the 2004 murder of Bill, the investigation, and the subsequent trial of Melanie, who who dismembered and disposed of her husband's body in suitcases. I dont know how you would dismember a body and effectively clean that up, said McGuire. I believe that the evidence presented to the jury told the jury what happened," Prezioso said. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. 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. ABC News also reported that other evidence included McGuire's purported internet search history, which amongst others included "undetectable poisons.". They recorded her calls with family and friends, including Miller, with whom she was having the affair. 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. She says she is innocent. On June 5, 2005, investigators arrested Melanie McGuire and charged her with first-degree murder. Melanie McGuire is a former nurse who worked at a fertility clinic in New Jersey. Family and friends can send flowers and/or light a candle as a loving gesture for their loved one. Bill McGuire, 39, went missing on April 29, 2004. Melanie McGuire Today: Where Is the Suitcase Killer Now in 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. There are times when podcasts and media can shine a light on certain cases where what the government did was not right. YouTubeMelanie McGuire says shes innocent and that someone else killed her husband, Bill, in 2004. I panicked, Melanie told 20/20. They searched gun records in the state but found nothing. Don't accept what you're just being told on the surface. Miller looked at the prescription and he said, Thats not my signature and it appears to be Melanie McGuires handwriting, recalled Prezioso. 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. Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. YouTube 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. Melanie McGuire Was Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder of Husband Bill, Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. In September 2020 McGuire took part in a rare interview with ABC News, in which she continued to profess her innocence for the crime. The 2004 case was dubbed the suitcase murder because the victims legs were found in a suitcase that washed up in Virginia Beach. ", Credit: Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage; ABC, Amy Locane's prison cell roommate is the notorious Suitcase Killer. Melanie remembers this as. 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. I have a book that I can look in that doesn't leave an internet history, Melanie McGuire told "20/20.". Once Melanie spots Bills car from the highway, she decides shes going to move his car, said Shlosberg. As improbable as it sounds, Melanie McGuire said she actually stumbled upon her husband's car. She said her marriage to Bill McGuire was not going well and claimed that he was violent. [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. Lands and grooves are rifling characteristics that are machine pressed into the barrel of a gun. Bill's body parts were discovered in three suitcases floating in the Chesapeake Bay near Virginia. https://t.co/ZGewROXCaQ pic.twitter.com/hlzcKR96Ss. Nevertheless, because all the evidence was against her, a jury found her guilty of murder, unlawful possession of a weapon, desecrating human remains, and perjury on April 23, 2007. During her interview with ABC News, McGuire shared a message for her sons, saying: "Make up your mind. Welcome to the Quantum Realm. It says: The State alleged that defendant wanted to end her marriage to Bill but also had concerns about divorce. She had apparently grown worried about their well-being upon noticing their behavior and got them tested. New Jersey Attorney Generals OfficeOne of the three suitcases that contained parts of Bill McGuires body. ABC News correspondent Amy Roach sits down for the first on-camera interview with Melanie McGuire since she was sentenced 13 years ago in 2007 to life in prison for the murder of her husband and father of her two children, William Bill McGuire. McGuire and Miller began their affair in 2002 when she was pregnant with her second child, and their relationship continued until June 2005 when she was charged with her husband's murder. Prosecutors argued that she killed her husband so. They shared two children together but their marriage was seemingly not a happy one as McGuire embarked on an affair with Dr. Bradley Miller, who was then a partner at the clinic she worked in, per Fox News. Who Is Melanie McGuire? Would love your thoughts, please comment. Melanie McGuire told the podcast "Direct Appeal" that she is not the suitcase killer, and that the true murderer is still on the loose. 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. But Melanie maintains that she did not commit the infamous Suitcase Murder. On June 5, 2005, investigators arrested Melanie McGuire and charged her with first-degree murder. I grabbed the baby and went to the bathroom right behind me and shut the door. The investigation into who killed Bill McGuire began in Virginia but eventually moved to New Jersey. I still feel bothered. The Secret in the Suitcase: With David Muir, Amy Robach, Melanie McGuire, William McGuire. In the evening hours of April 28, 2004, after the closing on the new house, she allegedly drugged and incapacitated Bill and then shot him sometime during April 28-29. Sacks firmly believes that prosecutors failed to answer key questions in the case. (Video By Bumper. McGuire appealed her case, saying she did not receive a fair trial. [9] The third and smallest suitcase, containing arms, was recovered floating in the water near the Chesapeake Bay BridgeTunnel's second artificial island on May 16. by 2Paragraphs in Culture, True Crime Murder TV | September 25, 2020. 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. Melanie McGuire, born October 8, 1972, is an American former nurse who was convicted of murdering her husband on April 28, 2004, in what media dubbed the "suitcase murder". I still feel bothered. If youre willing to wear a wire, well believe you, said Sacks. The New Jersey fertility nurse was sentenced to life in prison back in 2007 for murdering her husband Bill in April 2004. During her interview with ABC News, McGuire shared a message for her sons, saying: "Make up your mind. Bill McGuire, 39, put a down payment down on a $500,000 house for the couple and their two young sons in April 2004. 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. McGuire, now 47, was convicted of killing and dismembering her husband after a lengthy trial in 2007. 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. Offers may be subject to change without notice. The case involved 21 witnesses qualified as experts, hundreds of pieces of evidence and 21 days of testimony. 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. Like, how could somebody think that I did that? 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. After all these years, I still feel hurt. Melanie McGuire, The Suitcase Killer Who Murdered And Dismembered Her Husband. 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). In the meantime, the two young McGuire children, ages 5 and 7, are being raised by Bill's sister, Cindy Ligosh. Melanie McGuire was victim Bill's wife, who was accused of his murder and dubbed the "Suitcase Killer" when the case went to trial. READ NEXT: Melanie McGuire Was Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder of Husband Bill. He was 39 years old. She offered explanations for the stories she told police,. 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. But Melanie maintains that she did not commit the infamous Suitcase Murder. 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 didn't fit the profile, I guess, of a murderer, Shlosberg said. They were confident Miller was not involved in the crime but were never able to bring charges against anyone else. Wronko, who is also Locane's boyfriend, is appealing the new sentence, which he believes violates her double jeopardy protections. Suitcase Killer The Melanie McGuire Story is available to watch in Canada with a Philo subscription! She said her husband left and that she never saw him again. Nothing in Melanie McGuires early life suggested shed turn to murder. The prescription for chloral hydrate came from Millers prescription pad. "After all these years, I still feel hurt. Melanie Mcguire has been languishing in a prison cell for the past 13 years. After all these years, I still feel hurt. Miller, however, claimed that the prescription was written in Melanies handwriting. Because the murder did not occur in Virginia, however, authorities turned over their investigation to the New Jersey State Police.[10]. With the story debunked, the request for a new trial was withdrawn. 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 . 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. 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. Her bail was raised to $2.1million ($2.9 million today), but she was again released. [9] McGuire persisted in claiming she was innocent, and claimed her husband had become increasingly moody and unpredictable and was a compulsive gambler. 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. The Melrose Place actresswho is now serving a second sentence at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in New Jerseyshares a prison cell with Melanie McGuire, the infamous "Suitcase. [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 these years, I still feel hurt, Melanie said. 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.She will not be eligible for parole until she is 100 . When investigators processed Bill McGuire's car, they also found a bottle of the sedative chloral hydrate and two syringes. 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.