Then he hired congregant Len Jenoff and Paul Danielsto beat his wife to death and make it look like a botched robbery. Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for WomenMelanie McGuire prison record. In 2004, three separate dark green Kenneth Cole suitcases, containing pieces of a dismembered body, were found in and around the Chesapeake Bay, near Virginia Beach, Virginia. Although detectives did not find what they were looking for on the surveillance footage, they were able to find something curious on Melanie McGuires statement from her electronic toll payment company, EZ Pass. There were two charges, totaling 90 cents, on her statement that proved she had driven to Atlantic City after her husband went missing. 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. Dr. Prosecutors have always maintained that they believed Melanie McGuire likely had an accomplice. The state will close the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Hunterdon County, Gov. 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. Data from the New Jersey Department of Corrections details cases since they implemented additional measures. Where are they now? Both are in New Jersey State Prison in Trenton. (AP Photo/Department of Corrections). Watch new at 9/8c on ABC. Next: What is the Lifetime movie Dirty . Per ABC News, she received a life sentence and is now incarcerated at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in New Jersey . 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. The state Department of Corrections in 2011 rejected his request for a transfer to a prison Illinois so he could be closer to his family. Locane said she worries that her daughters and the public will forget her. Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story premieres Saturday, June 18 on Lifetime. Shes now a 47-year-old inmate at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Clinton, New Jersey, where she claims that shes not only innocent of killing her husband but that his real killer is still out there. 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. FindNJ.com on Facebook. After all these years, I still feel hurt. 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. Per Asbury Park Press, Melanie and William "Bill" McGuire married in 1999. She may be eligible for parole after serving 66 years in prison, court. Tell us. [9] A witness testified that Melanie used the same towels to protect furniture when she moved. McGuire's conviction was affirmed by an appeals court on March 16, 2011. 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. A 46-second preview of the movie shows a woman finding a suitcase on the beach and then moving away as she opens it. Name: Richard Cottingham Crime: Cottingham, a Lodi resident,killed six women in New Jersey and New York between 1967 and 1980. 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. James Zarateappealed for years to have his sentence reduced, with his attorney claiming he was influenced by his older brother. However, McGuire was acquitted of the two counts of hindering apprehension, as well as tampering with evidence and possession of Xanax without prescription. Cullen has not appealed his convictions in New Jersey, court records indicate. What's happened with their appeals? Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Bill became a computer technician, while Melanie sought out a career path as a fertility clinic nurse. After all these years, I still feel hurt. In addition to 20/20, her case is being examined in a podcast, Direct Appeal. She filed an appeal to the New Jersey Superior Court, which affirmed her conviction and sentence in 2011. Prosecutors also pointed to Melanie McGuire's supposed internet searches in the days leading up to Bill McGuires disappearance. She purchased a gun just two days before he was shot, so the timing was suspicious but she claimed Bill had asked her to buy the gun for him, and she agreed. On April 23, 2007, McGuire's murder trial jury found her guilty of first-degree murder, finding that the evidence established her culpability for the murder beyond a reasonable doubt. I looked down and theres my 2-year-old. 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. Investigators searched the home for evidence multiple times, checking to see if Bill McGuire had been killed and dismembered there. [6][7] She enrolled at Rutgers University with a double major in math and psychology and graduated in 1994. 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. Protesters call for transgender women to be removed from all-female NJ Melanie McGuire v. Attorney General New Jersey, et al