I dont know how you would dismember a body and effectively clean that up, said McGuire. After all these years, I still feel hurt, Melanie said. 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 Twisted Case of Melanie McGuire That Chapter 1.81M subscribers Subscribe 64K 1.8M views 9 months ago 2004, Chesapeake Bay. I absolutely tried to have those charges taken off because I feared that people would look and think what they ultimately ended up thinking.. Melanie McGuire is serving a life sentence in the murder of her husband, Bill McGuire, at a women's correctional facility in New Jersey. Welcome to the Quantum Realm. "I won't be home until my oldest is 18 and my youngest is 16," she told EW. Her defense lawyers have not said if McGuire will testify . Melanie McGuire was convicted in the grisly murder of her husband, Bill McGuire, whose body was found dismembered in suitcases in the Chesapeake Bay. "After all these years, I still feel hurt. YouTubeMelanie McGuire married her husband in 1999 and later alleged that he had a gambling problem and a violent temper. 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. For the first time in years, she says she has hope that an explosive new podcast, "Direct Appeal," could help exonerate her. ABCs 20/20: Interview with Melanie McGuire is a two-hour broadcast wherein the suitcase killer opens up about the circumstances that landed her in prison for the rest of her life. Custody of McGuire's two sons was given to her husband's sister, Cindy Ligosh, when she was convicted, and McGuire has not seen them since. He ran tests, but he didn't do all the tests that you actually need to definitively say whether these bags match, added Sacks. Watch new at 9/8c on ABC. 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. Who Is Melanie McGuire? However, McGuire was acquitted of the two counts of hindering apprehension, as well as tampering with evidence and possession of Xanax without prescription. William McGuire was 39 when he died. Melanie McGuire, now 47, maintains her innocence from the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Clinton, New Jersey, the state's only women's prison where there are approximately 500. Lifetime is planning to release a movie about her case, Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story in June 2022. [29], Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women, Possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, Fisherman Island National Wildlife Refuge, Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story, "Melanie McGuire Found Guilty of Murder in 2004 Shooting Death and Dismemberment of Her Husband", "Melanie McGuire, SBI Number: 000319833C", "Author to sign copies of Melanie McGuire book", "Case 120: Bill McGuire from Casefile True Crime", "Wife arrested in gory dismemberment murder", "General Discussion - Melanie McGuire guilty as hell", "Defense to withdraw motion for McGuire retrial", "Bit player in infamous N.J. murder case charged in bizarre murder-for-hire plot", "Man gets jail for plotting to kill online crush", https://www.state.nj.us/grc/decisions/pdf/2014-275.pdf, "McGuire sentenced to life in prison for suitcase murder", "State v. McGuire, 16 A. When investigators processed Bill McGuire's car, they also found a bottle of the sedative chloral hydrate and two syringes. She said her husband left and that she never saw him again. How Marvel went big with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. So I think the police said, Well, prove it. The 48-year-old actress and mother of two has been sober since the 2010 crash. 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. Melanie McGuire married her husband in 1999 and later alleged that he had a gambling problem and a violent temper. In 2007, McGuire was convicted of killing and dismembering her husband, Bill. They pulled out the piping, pulling floorboards up, said Sacks. 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. It never made sense.. As improbable as it sounds, Melanie McGuire said she actually stumbled upon her husband's car. Powered by. But though Bill and Melanie had two sons together, their marriage swiftly soured. 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. ], 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. I have a book that I can look in that doesn't leave an internet history, Melanie McGuire told "20/20.". Prosecutors called 64 witnesses, and the defense called 16 witnesses. Two years later, in 1999, she married William Bill McGuire, a US Navy veteran, and started a life with him in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. 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. One of the three suitcases that contained parts of Bill McGuires body. After finishing high school, she enrolled at Rutgers University for a double major in math and psychology, which she achieved in 1994. The 2004 case was dubbed the suitcase murder because the victims legs were found in a suitcase that washed up in Virginia Beach. She was given a life sentence on July 19, 2007, and she is currently in jail at the Edna Mahan . At the time, the local media also reported this detail about the parking lot's surveillance cameras. [9] Similarly, a medical grade towel found with Bill's body matched those stocked at the clinic where Melanie worked. 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. It doesn't make any sense.' This is not one of those cases, said Prezioso. There are just too many holes in this story.. 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. She claims that someone went after Bill because of his gambling debts and that the real perpetrator of the Suitcase Murder is still out there. Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. She didnt fit the profile, I guess, of a murderer, Shlosberg told 20/20. Her trial began in March 5, 2007. "After all these years, I still feel hurt. 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. 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. Dig, dig. If youre willing to wear a wire, well believe you, said Sacks. Miller eventually testified against Melanie McGuire at her trial. 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? Wronko, who is also Locane's boyfriend, is appealing the new sentence, which he believes violates her double jeopardy protections. Actress Candice King who is best known for her work in the Vampire Diaries will play McGuire. 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. Dont accept what youre just being told on the surface. I looked down and theres my 2-year-old. In September 2020 McGuire took part in a rare interview with ABC News, in which she continued to profess her innocence for the crime. Like, how could somebody think that I did that?. 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. Melanies not the only person who believes that the police got it wrong. Thats what happened the night of April 28, 2004, the day Bill McGuire disappeared, according to his wife. But Melanie maintains that she did not commit the infamous Suitcase Murder. 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. She may be eligible for parole after serving 66 years in prison, court documents filed in her case said. 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. The evidence that was at trial was from ballistic experts.. From Austin Butler and Cate Blanchett to a potential Best Supporting Actress toss-up, see who EW thinks will win at the 2023 Oscars. 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. After all these years, I still feel hurt. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. McGuire had been married for five years by April 2004. 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. Now her children have neither a mother or a father, neither one, because of Melanie McGuire. Melanie then became the prime suspect in the investigation. Bill McGuire, 39, went missing on April 29, 2004. by Chilling Crimes July 20, 2020. All we know is that they havent been in touch with their mother since before she was convicted. Getty Images. Fairleigh Dickinson University criminology professors Meghan Sacks and Amy Shlosberg have an entire podcast called Direct Appeal dedicated to questioning Melanies conviction. 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. [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. One contained legs, another a pelvis, and the third a torso and head. Bill's body parts were discovered in three suitcases floating in the Chesapeake Bay near Virginia. But despite her apparent grief, police soon began to suspect that Melanie McGuire had murdered her husband. She was later charged with other offences including perjury and desecration of human remains, for which she also pled not guilt. The 47-year-old is currently serving a life sentence at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Clinton, New Jersey . YouTubeMelanie McGuire says shes innocent and that someone else killed her husband, Bill, in 2004. She also made inquiries of a friend about how to buy a gun. [23] On September 20, 2011, the New Jersey Supreme Court declined to hear her further appeal. Melanie Lyn McGuire (ne Slate; born October 8, 1972) is an American former nurse who was convicted of murdering her husband on April 28, 2004, in what media dubbed the "suitcase murder". Thirteen years have passed since Melanie McGuire's conviction. Melanie McGuire. She later told police that she believed he'd gone to Atlantic City to gamble as he had a penchant for doing so. The Secret in the Suitcase: With David Muir, Amy Robach, Melanie McGuire, William 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. Like, how could somebody think that I did that? she said on 20/20. 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. Melanie McGuire listens to testimony today during her murder trial. 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. I grabbed the baby and went to the bathroom right behind me and shut the door. However, after five years and two kids, their marriage ended on April 28, 2004, with Melanie killing her husband. She pleaded not guilty to all indictments and soon posted an accumulated bail of over $2 million. 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. She was sentenced to life in prison on July 19, 2007 and is serving her sentence at the Edna. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. [9] The footage was blurry and the police weren't able to identify the person in the video. At least the prison conversations won't be, ahem, boring for Amy Locane. 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. The podcast hosts and Melanie McGuire herself, raise questions about whether it's even possible the gun she purchased was the murder weapon. Upon further investigation, police discovered a security video of the car being moved in the early morning hours of April 30, 2004. 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.. They insisted he was a compulsive gambler who had become increasingly moody, unpredictable, and tempestuous in the months before his passing. The medical examiner determined that the body had been shot multiple times. Because the murder did not occur in Virginia, however, authorities turned over their investigation to the New Jersey State Police.[10]. His wife, Melanie McGuire, a fertility nurse and the mother of his two sons, was eventually convicted of murdering him and dumping his body. https://t.co/ZGewRPfd2o pic.twitter.com/i4dBUBR7PJ. 0:45. Melanie did not incapacitate, shoot [or] use a saw to dismember her husband, said Sacks.