And about a week later, suitcases containing his body parts began to float to the surface in the Chesapeake Bay. 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. Suitcase Killer The Melanie McGuire Story is available to watch in Canada with a Philo subscription! [13] She was also convicted of the lesser charges of perjury, desecration of human remains, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. Melanies not the only person who believes that the police got it wrong. These documents exist. That same year, she married her husband, a U.S. Navy veteran named William Bill McGuire. 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. I just burst into tears, Melanie said of learning about her husbands death in a 2007 interview. McGuire went through a lengthy trial, which was televised on Court TV, from February to April 2007. The prescription for chloral hydrate came from Millers prescription pad. He had been married to Melanie Lyn Slate McGuire for about five years had two beautiful sons with her. [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. 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. Meghan Sacks, host of podcast "Direct Appeal" and Fairleigh Dickinson University criminology professor questions Melanie McGuire's guilt. She was indicted on four additional, relatively smaller charges in October. If I wanted to look for something like that, I have a [physicians' desk reference]. 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.. Prezioso is certain that Bill McGuires murderer is the woman who was convicted and is now sitting in prison. Prosecutors believed that McGuire forged the prescription as she had access to this prescription pad. [9] Similarly, a medical grade towel found with Bill's body matched those stocked at the clinic where Melanie worked. Melanie McGuire, a New Jersey woman who was sentenced to life in prison, in 2007, for the murder of her husband Bill McGuire, discusses the case and maintains her innocence; Do you know how hard it is to cut through bone? 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. Another important development for investigators was the discovery of Bill McGuire's car. Though a jury agreed and sentenced Melanie McGuire to life in prison, the so-called Suitcase Killer has long insisted upon her innocence. Melanie McGuire is currently in a New Jersey jail, awaiting sentencing on July 19. She was later charged with other offences including perjury and desecration of human remains, for which she also pled not guilt. 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. They opened it and found a mans dismembered legs, cut off at the knee. 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/Bill McGuire. Prison inmates are in a closed environment. However, the state's expert disagreed, testifying that he ran the tests he believed were necessary to link the bags. They searched gun records in the state but found nothing. In April 2004, defendant conducted internet research to learn about buying a gun and about poisons, sedative drugs, and murder. Data from the New Jersey Department of Corrections details cases since they implemented additional measures. 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 . 3d 948 - NJ: Supreme Court 2011 - Google Scholar", "N.J. Supreme Court won't hear appeal of convicted 'suitcase killer', "Convicted killer Melanie McGuire seeking post-conviction relief in June hearing", "Suitcase killer Melanie McGuire seeks new review of evidence", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Melanie_McGuire&oldid=1142209125, This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 02:58. Melanie Mcguire has been languishing in a prison cell for the past 13 years. 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. This stuff exists. Police quickly found his car in a parking lot there. McGuire, now 47, was convicted of killing and dismembering her husband after a lengthy trial in 2007. She may be eligible for parole after serving 66 years in prison, court documents filed in her case said. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. 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. 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. The media soon dubbed the case the Suitcase Murder.. "There was no evidence connecting him to this crime.. Melanie McGuire told the podcast "Direct Appeal" that she is not the suitcase killer, and that the true murderer is still on the loose. She is currently incarcerated at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Clinton, New Jersey, according to her prison records. Melanie McGuire denies this, pointing to the fact that there are hundreds of miles between Delaware and Virginia Beach. The 47-year-old is currently serving a life sentence at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Clinton, New Jersey . "And I'm driving down, and I take the first pass on this, on this highway, and I see a dark sedan, and lo and behold, there it is, Melanie McGuire said. "Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story" premieres June 18 at 8 pm on Lifetime. 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. Yesterday, more than a year after the three grisly discoveries, Melanie McGuire, 32, of Brick, N.J., was charged with first-degree murder in the April 29, 2004, slaying of her husband of four. 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. Her trial began in March 5, 2007. 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. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Therefore, more than a year after the incident, on June 7, 2005, Melanie was officially arrested and charged with first-degree murder. 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 . Melanie McGuire Today: Where Is the Suitcase Killer Now in 2020? Like, how could somebody think that I did that?". [Watch on your phone with the ABC GO Digital App found here. After all these years, I still feel hurt. 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. Friday on #ABC2020: The co-hosts of the @directappeal podcast tell @ARobach why they believe Melanie McGuire was wrongfully convicted: I dont think that there was enough evidence to convict her. https://t.co/ZGewROXCaQ pic.twitter.com/qJfD3ATBkD. Family and friends can send flowers and/or light a candle as a loving gesture for their loved one. [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. However, not much else about the day was typical. Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. Her 2007 trial became a nationally televised event. Background Bill McGuire was born in September of 1964. Bill's body parts were discovered in three suitcases floating in the Chesapeake Bay near Virginia. 3d 411 - NJ: Appellate Div. After they released a sketch to the public, one of Bill McGuires friends soon came forward. "After all these years, I still feel hurt. Prosecutors have always maintained that they believed Melanie McGuire likely had an accomplice. Fairleigh Dickinson University criminology professors Meghan Sacks and Amy Shlosberg have an entire podcast called Direct Appeal dedicated to questioning Melanies conviction. 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 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." Watch new at 9/8c on ABC. 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.