[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. 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. Melanie McGuire is serving a life sentence in the murder of her husband, Bill McGuire, at a women's correctional facility in New Jersey. It was the 28th of April 2004. She told her sons, now adults, to look into the case for themselves. 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". 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. She drugged him, shot him (in the head and chest) to death, and subsequently dismembered his remains. Also if the crime scene didnt happen [at the family home] and shes home with her children all night, where is this happening? She pleaded not guilty to all indictments and soon posted an accumulated bail of over $2 million. "People ask me, 'Explain this. 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. [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. 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. Lifetime is planning to release a movie about her case, Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story in June 2022. Melanie McGuire was victim Bill's wife, who was accused of his murder and dubbed the "Suitcase Killer" when the case went to trial. It sounds beyond ridiculous sitting here saying it and I acknowledge that Its the truth, she later told 20/20. Leave a sympathy message to the family in the guestbook . [13] She was also convicted of the lesser charges of perjury, desecration of human remains, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. Getty Images. During her arraignment on murder charges, McGuire's case was dubbed the "Suitcase Murder" by various media outlets. 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. During the investigation, incriminating evidence against Melanie was uncovered. She became known as the "Suitcase Killer" during her televised 2007 trial. 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." 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 . [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 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. I still feel bothered. The day before his disappearance, the couple closed on the purchase of their first home. However, not much else about the day was typical. They opened it and found a mans dismembered legs, cut off at the knee. Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. A staff writer for All That's Interesting, Kaleena Fraga has also had her work featured in The Washington Post and Gastro Obscura, and she published a book on the Seattle food scene for the Eat Like A Local series. Don't accept what you're just being told on the surface. The true crime drama sees Candice King take on the role of Melanie McGuire, and here is everything you need to know about her and her role in the case. A few weeks later, once Bills body was discovered and Melanie was identified as the prime suspect, Dr. Bradley had asked her to swear upon her childrens life that she had no hand in this homicide, which she did. I'm a nurse or I was a nurse, and I don't need to look up things like that. These documents exist. I cannot even think about that. READ NEXT: Melanie McGuire Was Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder of Husband Bill. McGuire told 20/20 she did not commit the crimes for which she was convicted. Miller, however, claimed that the prescription was written in Melanies handwriting. After all these years, I still feel hurt, Melanie said. says the actress. 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. 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 . [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. Miller was also married with children. 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 . Melanie did not incapacitate, shoot [or] use a saw to dismember her husband, said Sacks. She didn't fit the profile, I guess, of a murderer, Shlosberg said. Melanie McGuire has had no contact with them since before the verdict. At least the prison conversations won't be, ahem, boring for Amy Locane. Meghan Sacks, host of podcast "Direct Appeal" and Fairleigh Dickinson University criminology professor questions Melanie McGuire's guilt. Then, they looked in Pennsylvania. The podcast hosts and Melanie McGuire herself, raise questions about whether it's even possible the gun she purchased was the murder weapon. "After all these years, I still feel hurt. 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." Dig, dig." Suitcase Killer: The. Bill had a gambling problem, Melanie explained, and after their fight she knew he would be at the casino. She will not be eligible for parole until she has served 66 years in prison. 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? She was indicted on four additional, relatively smaller charges in October. The appeal details the murder, the night of Bill McGuires disappearance, and the disposal of his body. And then, two years later, they were blessed with another baby boy. Actress Candice King who is best known for her work in the Vampire Diaries will play McGuire. She maintains her innocence and . 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. https://t.co/ZGewRPfd2o pic.twitter.com/i4dBUBR7PJ. She will not be eligible for parole until she is 100 years old. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Like, how could somebody think that I did that? https://t.co/f9HrMsbxkY. 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". New Jersey Department of Corrections/Find a Grave Melanie McGuire is serving a life sentence in the murder of her husband, Bill McGuire, at a women's correctional facility in New Jersey. At the time, the case created a media sensation, with McGuire dubbed the "suitcase killer.". While she admitted to her affair with Miller, she maintains she did not kill Bill McGuire. Melanie McGuire, the 34-year-old fertility clinic nurse convicted of killing her husband and stuffing his remains into suitcases, was sentenced to life in prison this morning. Indeed, she spent most of her time bringing new life into the world. Dig, dig. My job is to convince the jury. 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. by Chilling Crimes July 20, 2020. The bullets that came out of my husband had six lands and grooves," said Melanie McGuire. After all these years, I still feel hurt. After finishing high school, she enrolled at Rutgers University for a double major in math and psychology, which she achieved in 1994. Bill called his friends to happily tell them the news. I still feel bothered. Prezioso said the evidence presented by the states computer forensic expert at trial was robust and Melanie McGuires legal team presented their own expert as well. On July 19, 2007 she was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole until she is 100 years old. Prezioso said she believed that Melanie McGuire was planting the car in Atlantic City to create an illusion that Bill McGuire was still alive. [9] McGuire persisted in claiming she was innocent, and claimed her husband had become increasingly moody and unpredictable and was a compulsive gambler. Would love your thoughts, please comment. 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. 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. 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. Few, if any, knew that McGuire, a mother of two young sons, was having an affair with her physician boss, Dr. Bradley Miller. 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. Melanie McGuire listens to testimony today during her murder trial.