Woodbridge's Melanie McGuire Story Will Be Lifetime Movie June 18 His wife, Melanie McGuire, a fertility nurse and the mother of his two sons, was eventually convicted of murdering him and dumping his body. A more recent docket listing He's now serving two life sentences for the killings. The request was subsequently denied. 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. This suitcase was found to contain the head and torso with three bullet wounds, two in the chest and one in the head. But after 10, 20, or 30 years in prison, faces have faded from some memories. He took her out of the yard, sexually assaulted and strangled her, and left her body in a nearby yard. He had been married to Melanie McGuire and it was soon discovered that she was his killer. A state appellate court in 2011 rejected his first direct appeal, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case. This case was filed in U.S. Courts Of Appeals, U.S. Court Of Appeals, Third Circuit. His remains were found nearly a year later in a marshy area in Edison not far from her former workplace. 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. Melanie McGuire v. Attorney General New Jersey, et al The boy's body was foundon the bank of a streamless than a mile away, but his socks were clean, so prosecutor's say he must have been carried there. 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. Then he hired congregant Len Jenoff and Paul Danielsto beat his wife to death and make it look like a botched robbery. Melanie did not incapacitate, shoot [or] use a saw to dismember her husband, said Sacks. She said her marriage to Bill McGuire was not going well and claimed that he was violent. Investigators discovered that the parking lot had surveillance cameras, and they pulled the security footage thinking they had stumbled upon a smoking gun that would show who dumped Bill McGuire's car. The podcasters and Melanie McGuire also point to unexplained animal hair found on Bill McGuires dismembered body and noted in investigative reports. McGuire was arrested about a year after the suitcases were found in Virginia. The Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Clinton, NJ, is the only state prison for women in New Jersey. In the end, My Central Jersey reports that McGuire was found guilty in 2007 of murdering Bill and. She must serve 63 years of the sentence before she is eligible for parole. 'Suitcase Killer' TV movie takes on Melanie McGuire N.J. true-crime "Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story" starring Candice King as McGuire, is set to premiere at 8 p.m. June 18 on the Lifetime network. Crime: Autumn Pasquale, 12, disappeared after riding her bike to Robinson's home in Clayton, where he promised to work on her bike in 2012. Melanie McGuire defends her innocence from inside prison in 2019, over a decade after she was convicted. Her earliest release date is Aug. 3, 2044. [13] She was also convicted of the lesser charges of perjury, desecration of human remains, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. 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. Another important development for investigators was the discovery of Bill McGuire's car. A four-count indictment came down from a state grand jury. Melanie has claimed that she didn't have effective representation in the courtroom, reports My Central Jersey. His 2017 trial ended in a hung jury and he pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter a few months later, though he never said how he caused the boy's death. . I guess it is comforting [that people are interested]. These documents exist. When a bullet passes through, its smooth surface becomes imprinted with the same number of lands and grooves as the barrel. 3d 411 - NJ: Appellate Div. The medical examiner determined that the body had been shot multiple times. Melanie McGuire defends her innocence from inside prison in 2019, over a decade after she was convicted. The New Jersey couple occasionally had fights and broke up from time to time but always got back together (via YouTube). It took four years and two trials the first jury hung for federal prosecutors to convict him in 2013 of the 23 charges facing him. It wasn't until 2014 that prosecutors charged Lodzinski, who moved to Florida and had two more kids, with murder. Her bail was raised to $2.1million ($2.9 million today), but she was again released. Just months before the respective killings of Amie Hoffman and Deirdre O'Brien, the Morristown resident had been released from a prison in Florida after serving an 11-year sentence for strangling his roommate. She maintains her innocence, having recently told 20/20 that "after all these years, I still feel hurt. Prosecutors also pointed to Melanie McGuire's supposed internet searches in the days leading up to Bill McGuires disappearance. Rosario "Russell" Miraglia is pictured at a court appearance in 2008 and in a recent prison photo. Melanie McGuire never reported her husband was missing. (File photo from New Jersey News Photos). Over the next three weeks his dismembered body is found in suitcases in the bay. On an episode of "20/20," Melanie said (via My Central Jersey), "There were times I wanted him [Bill] gone, but gone doesn't mean dead.". She may be eligible for parole after serving 66 years in prison, court. Jonathan Zarate's earliest parole date is Nov. 10, 2071, when he will be 84. Daniels and Jenoff have both been released after serving 23-year terms. InMay 2004 his body parts were found stuffed into three matching black and green Kenneth Cole Reaction suitcases thrown into the Chesapeake Bay near Virginia Beach. Charles Cullen, shown left in court and at right in a Department of Corrections photo, pleaded guilty to killing 29 hospital patients while working as a nurse in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. [24][25] On April 29, 2014, McGuire filed a motion for post-conviction relief, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel and newly discovered evidence. Bergrin, now 62, is serving his sentence in the U.S. Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colorado. 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. Watch the full story on "20/20" Friday, Sept. 25, at 9 p.m. and more than 40 hours of new interviews with Melanie McGuire It was directed by Nicole Thompson, a Newark native. Ippolito "Lee" Gonzalez in 1995. 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. "I won't be home until my oldest is 18 and my youngest is 16," she told EW. 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. Follow him on Twitter at@ThomasDMoriarty. So where are New Jersey's infamous felons now? She dropped them into the water below, and just days later, the set of suitcases was discovered in quick succession. a judge in 2010 imposed the maximum sentence, Robinson, 15, and his brother, Dante Robinson, 17, were arrested, claiming in a 2017 interview with NJ.com that she started hitting him first, A jury found the killing was self defense, He claimed he was on a mission from God to "close the gates of hell", The most infamous event ever in each of N.J.'s 21 counties, Women who have killed: 12 of New Jersey's most notorious, Corruption Jersey style: Councilman may join long list of crooked officials, The 55 unsolved missing children cases in New Jersey. Her parole eligibility date is listed as May 20, 2073, according to the New Jersey Department of Corrections. Crime:Miraglia, then 31,killed andcut off the heads, hands and feet of hisgrandmotherJulia Miraglia, 88, and his ex-girlfriend, Leigh Martinez, 31, in their Ocean Township home on June 8, 2004. The chart below captures the current COVID cases within the inmate and staff population, following Phase 2 testing, which includes retesting those individuals who were previously negative. Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story Lifetime Candice King - MEAWW She was convicted at trial in 2016. ", a judge rejected a separate request for post-conviction relief. 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. It is the largest law enforcement agency in the state with approximately 10,500 employees. Kanka's death inspired Megan's Law statutes at the federal level and in states throughout the country, requiring sex offenders to register with local authorities. A top priority for New Jersey investigators was determining if Melanie McGuire had ever owned a gun. They brought in the luminol, and they also pulled down parts of the walls. Cooper, 47, is incarcerated in New Jersey State Prison in Trenton. Crime: Latasha Goodman, 6, was playing in a relative's yard in Asbury Park July 18, 1993 when Cooper, 22, approached and offered money for candy and ice cream if she went with him. [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. He was successful in 2017 and had his life sentence changed to 50 years. Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. . ABC dug into the case and interviewed McGuire in prison for their two-hour 20/20 special, Suitcase Killer, which airs at 9 p.m. Eastern time Friday, September 25, 2020. A jury convicted McGuire in 2007, and she was sentenced to life in prison plus five years. She was sentenced to life in prison on July 19, 2007. Steven Fortin, shown at left during one of his first court appearances in 1994, is serving life without parole for the killing of Melissa Padilla, a 25-year-old mother of four in Woodbridge. 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." Their appeals didn't get them anywhere. Melanie McGuire appears at Middlesex County Superior Court, fter serving seven years of a life sentence, Melanie McGuire - the former Woodbridge woman convicted of killing her husband, dismembering his body and packing it in suitcases and tossing it off a bridge in Virginia - returned to court Thursday, a prison interview in which McGuire maintainedher innocence, NJ case of 5-year-old's death and mom Michelle Lodzinski appears on NBC's 'Dateline', Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. 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". McGuire, now 45, is serving her sentence at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Hunterdon County. James Koedatich, shown at left in court in 1983, is serving two life sentences for killing 18-year-old Parsippany high school student Amie Hoffman and 25-year-old Mendham Township resident Deirdre O'Brien. 2011 - Google Scholar", "N.J. appeals court upholds life sentence for convicted suitcase killer Melanie McGuire", "State v. McGuire, 27 A. [9] A witness testified that Melanie used the same towels to protect furniture when she moved. Sentence: Judge Dennis Cavanaugh gave Bergrin six life sentences, plus multiple concurrent sentences, for the 23 charges. (AP Photo/Department of Corrections), Man escapes death penalty after killing 6-year-old girl. A 46-second preview of the movie shows a woman finding a suitcase on the beach and then moving away as she opens it. In 2017, he also unsuccessfully appealed sanctions he was given forpunching a prison officer and having gang recruitment material in his cell. [8] She married United States Navy veteran William T. "Bill" McGuire (born September 21, 1964) in 1999. In 2015, Seidle chased his wife, Tamara Wilson-Seidle, and opened fire on her car on an Asbury Park street, even though one of his children was in the car with her. On June 5, 2005, authorities arrested Melanie McGuire on first-degree murder charges. They searched gun records in the state but found nothing. 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. Dont accept what youre just being told on the surface. What's happened with their appeals? He probably would have broken my cheek if [the hit] had been a closed fist, Melanie McGuire said. She told her sons, now adults, to look into the case for themselves. (Patti Sapone/Department of Corrections), Neptune police sergeant kills wife in front of daughter. In 2015, a judge in Mercer Countyrejected Timmendequas' arguments that his defense attorney had provided insufficient counsel at trial. Where are they now? He had been givenchloral hydrate, shot, his body cut into three pieces and his blood drained. 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. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Name: Richard Cottingham Crime: Cottingham, a Lodi resident,killed six women in New Jersey and New York between 1967 and 1980. Melanie was a nurse at a fertility clinic and Bill was a computer programmer. Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women - Wikipedia At right, he talks about killing Autumn Pasquale in a jailhouse interview in 2017. Some will spend the rest of their days within prison walls. Whatever Happened To The Suitcase Killer Melanie McGuire's Two - MSN Watch the full story on "20/20" Friday, Sept. 25, at 9 p.m. "I can't even fathom that. Melanie says she yanked her child away and tried to hide in the bathroom, but this was a breaking point for Bill, who fumed out of the house. 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. Crime:James Zarate, 14, and Jonathan Zarate, 18, invited neighbor Jennifer Parks, 16, to their house and then gagged, stabbed,and dismembered her in 2005. What's happened with their appeals? A jury found the killing was self defense. It doesn't make any sense.' After all these years, I still feel hurt. Attorney Joe Tacopina defended Melanie McGuire against charges of murdering her husband in her 2007 trial. . 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. This chart demonstrates the significant drop in active cases from approximately 800 active inmate cases in DOC facilities at the peak of the pandemic, the DOC website says. Criminology professors Meghan Sacks and Amy Shlosberg argue there are pieces of evidence, such as ballistics, that raise questions. Phil Murphy announced in a press release Monday his intention to. Melanie McGuire denies this, pointing to the fact that there are hundreds of miles between Delaware and Virginia Beach. ABCNewsreports that Melanie had actually purchased an out-of-state firearm in Pennsylvania, although she lived in New Jersey.