Dig, dig. Melanie McGuire denies this, pointing to the fact that there are hundreds of miles between Delaware and Virginia Beach. Sacks firmly believes that prosecutors failed to answer key questions in the case. Upon further investigation, police discovered a security video of the car being moved in the early morning hours of April 30, 2004. On May 11, another suitcase was discovered. 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. Like, how could somebody think that I did that? [15][16][17][18][19] On July 19, 2007, at the age of 34, McGuire was sentenced to life in prison.[20]. She was later charged with other offences including perjury and desecration of human remains, for which she also pled not guilt. Thats what happened the night of April 28, 2004, the day Bill McGuire disappeared, according to his wife. After all these years, I still feel hurt. 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. Leave a sympathy message to the family in the guestbook . It says: The State alleged that defendant wanted to end her marriage to Bill but also had concerns about divorce. 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. [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 is now serving a lifetime sentence at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in New Jersey, as Entertainment Weekly reports. Do you know how hard it is to cut through bone? A Wednesday. Bill McGuire was murdered by his wife Melanie McGuire, and his body was found near Virginia Beach's Chesapeake Bay in 2004. Dig, dig.". 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. Make up your mind. In this special, she speaks up about her innocence, her troubled marriage, her affair with Dr. Bradley Miller, and how she wishes she could still be a part of her childrens lives. 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. 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. I panicked, Melanie told 20/20. She actually obtained the means to incapacitate Bill from her workplace, which eventually became her downfall. However, after five years and two kids, their marriage ended on April 28, 2004, with Melanie killing her husband. Bill called his friends to happily tell them the news. They were confident Miller was not involved in the crime but were never able to bring charges against anyone else. 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. Prison inmates are in a closed environment. "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. Its out there.. Melanie McGuire, the Suitcase Killer, gave a rare interview to Amy Robach of ABC News in September 2020. She said she was unhappy in her marriage. She said her husband left and that she never saw him again. Melanie remembers this as. She was indicted on four additional, relatively smaller charges in October. Melanie McGuire, 34-years old, sentenced to life in prison for murdering her husband Photo Source: NJ.com (website) They searched gun records in the state but found nothing. 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. McGuire went through a lengthy trial, which was televised on Court TV, from February to April 2007. Miller, however, claimed that the prescription was written in Melanies handwriting. "I have this Forrest Gump-ian way of touching something and it becomes a hit!" Prosecutors argued that she killed her husband so. 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 news outlet reported in June, 2020, COVID-19 was spreading because of a low supply of protective masks, poorly enforced social distancing measures, and inadequate quarantining of infected inmates. [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. He did not return a call from the seller later that evening. 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. However, not much else about the day was typical. Like, how could somebody think that I did that? https://t.co/f9HrMsbxkY. There are times when podcasts and media can shine a light on certain cases where what the government did was not right. Background Bill McGuire was born in September of 1964. Melanie McGuire Today: Where Is the Suitcase Killer Now in 2020? Check out what's clicking today in entertainment. McGuire had been married for five years by April 2004. [B]ut gone doesnt mean dead.. More than a year later, on October 26, 2006, McGuire was charged with two counts of hindering apprehension for allegedly writing letters to police aimed at getting them off her trail. 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. Bill McGuire, 39, went missing on April 29, 2004. The medical examiner determined that the body had been shot multiple times. 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. She graduated from Oberlin College, where she earned a double degree in American History and French. Melanie Lyn McGuire (ne Slate; born October 8, 1972)[3] is an American former nurse who was convicted of murdering her husband on April 28, 2004, in what media dubbed the "suitcase murder". Investigators also found Bills car where Melanie suggested it would be Atlantic City. 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. 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. For her part, Melanie insisted that her husband had stormed out after a fight. [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. (The court awarded custody to Bill McGuires sister, Cindy Ligosh.) 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. She became known as the Suitcase Killer during her televised 2007 trial. If youre willing to wear a wire, well believe you, said Sacks. 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. A top priority for New Jersey investigators was determining if Melanie McGuire had ever owned a gun. He probably would have broken my cheek if [the hit] had been a closed fist, Melanie McGuire said. "After all these years, I still feel hurt. Wronko, who is also Locane's boyfriend, is appealing the new sentence, which he believes violates her double jeopardy protections. Dr. 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. Like, how could somebody think that I did that? she said on 20/20. 0:45. His business partner described him as a good father . But despite her apparent grief, police soon began to suspect that Melanie McGuire had murdered her husband. Prosecutors called 64 witnesses, and the defense called 16 witnesses. She's now a 47-year-old inmate at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Clinton, New Jersey, where she claims that she's not only innocent of killing her husband but that his real killer is still out there. On June 5, 2005, investigators arrested Melanie McGuire and charged her with first-degree murder. Over a period of 12 days in May 2004, three dark green suitcases were discovered in and near the Chesapeake Bay. Sara James. ], 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. It's out there," she said. 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. But though Bill and Melanie had two sons together, their marriage swiftly soured. She then called Miller the next morning, and he said "she was upset" and had told him about the fight they'd had. Thirteen years have passed since Melanie McGuire's conviction. 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. Nothing in Melanie McGuires early life suggested shed turn to murder. After all these years, I still feel hurt. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. One of the three suitcases that contained parts of Bill McGuires body. 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." 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. From Austin Butler and Cate Blanchett to a potential Best Supporting Actress toss-up, see who EW thinks will win at the 2023 Oscars. 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. Melanie McGuire was victim Bill's wife, who was accused of his murder and dubbed the "Suitcase Killer" when the case went to trial. https://t.co/ZGewRPfd2o pic.twitter.com/i4dBUBR7PJ. Sacks seconded her co-host, saying: Melanie did not incapacitate, shoot [or] use a saw to dismember her husband. 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.