He ultimately was convicted of two murders and three kidnappings in New Jersey, in addition to the murder of three women in New York. Police quickly found his car in a parking lot there. The film stars Candice King as Melanie McGuire, Michael Roark as William McGuire, Jackson Hurst as Bradley Miller, and Wendie Malick as Patricia Prezioso.[29]. Sentence: After being convicted in 2008, Miraglia was sentenced to two life sentences without possibility of parole, plus one day each on weapons charges. FindNJ.com on Facebook. What's happened with their appeals? Jonathan Zarate's earliest parole date is Nov. 10, 2071, when he will be 84. Name: Steven Fortin Crime: Fortin has twice been convicted for the Aug. 3, 1994, sexual assault and murder of Melissa Padilla, a 25-year-old mother of four who was grabbed off the street as she carried a bag of groceries home. After being released on bail, Melanie faced additional charges on October 11, 2005. On June 5, 2005, authorities arrested Melanie McGuire on first-degree murder charges. Where are they now? AP Among the trans women inmates housed at Edna Mahan are Michelle. [15][16][17][18][19] On July 19, 2007, at the age of 34, McGuire was sentenced to life in prison.[20]. (Robert Sciarrino/Alex Remnick/Department of Corrections), Brothers caught dumping body after grisly killing of teen girl. [10] Prosecutors contended her motive for murder was to take up a new life with her lover. A state appeals court in 2011 rejected McGuire's argument she was denied a fair trial. Protesters call for transgender women to be removed from all-female NJ [23] On September 20, 2011, the New Jersey Supreme Court declined to hear her further appeal. She says she is innocent. Possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women, 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. Creato hasn't filed any appeals, but his father vowed to hire a private investigator to find "the real killer.". Where are they now? The Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Clinton, NJ, is the only state prison for women in New Jersey. Days later, an unidentified man, believed by many to be her stepfather, also contacted E-ZPass and attempted to have the charge removed. It was the timing of that purchase, though, that really caught the eye of investigators: It happened just two days before Bill McGuire went missing. This stuff exists. After all these years, I still feel hurt. 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. 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. Brothers Jonathan Zarate (top left and top right) and his little brother James Zarate (bottom left and bottom right) were convicted of killing their neighbor in 2005 in Randolph. Prosecutors believed that McGuire forged the prescription as she had access to this prescription pad. 2011 - Google Scholar", "N.J. appeals court upholds life sentence for convicted suitcase killer Melanie McGuire", "State v. McGuire, 27 A. (Photos from The Record via Northeast News Consortium and the state Department of Corrections), Bergen County serial killer serving time in Trenton for 3 slayings. Prosecutors also pointed to Melanie McGuire's supposed internet searches in the days leading up to Bill McGuires disappearance. I dont know how you would dismember a body and effectively clean that up, said McGuire. Melanie McGuire is now serving a lifetime sentence at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in New Jersey, as Entertainment Weekly reports. Where are they now? . A Morris County judge in Decembergranted Koedatich's request for a new test of DNA evidence recovered from Hoffman's body, as part of Koedatich's bid for a new trial in that killing. [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]. He said he was leaving and he wasnt coming back and [that] I could tell my children they didnt have a father.. Note: This story has been corrected to reflect the six life sentences Charles Cullen faces in Pennsylvania. 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. "I panicked. Youre talking about hours [of driving] and there isnt enough time, said McGuire. After a nearly month and a half long trial, Melanie McGuire was found guilty. [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. At the time, the local media also reported this detail about the parking lot's surveillance cameras. She may be eligible for parole after serving 66 years in prison, court. Melanie McGuire defends her innocence from inside prison in 2019, over a decade after she was convicted. There were two charges, totaling 90 cents, on her statement that proved she had driven to Atlantic City after her husband went missing. 'Suitcase Killer' Melanie McGuire defends innocence from inside prison State Superior Court Judge Angela Borkowski gave Locane more time after the punishmentfor her original conviction (second-degree vehicular homicide and assault by an auto), which was deemed too lenient. Sentence: McGuire was sentenced to life in prison and must serve more than 63 years before she is eligible for parole. 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. As improbable as it sounds, Melanie McGuire said she actually stumbled upon her husband's car. Justin Robinson, at left, appears in court to face a murder charge. To this day, Melanie, the mother of William's two sons, is serving her sentence at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Clinton, New Jersey. Where are they now:Records show Timmendequas, now 57, is serving his sentence at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton. [27][28], In 2022, Lifetime produced a movie called Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story as part of its "Ripped from the Headlines" series of movies for television. and more than 40 hours of new interviews with Melanie McGuire Rebecca Everett may be reached atreverett@njadvancemedia.com. McGuire, now 45, is serving her sentence at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Hunterdon County. They really turned this place upside down a number of times They couldn't find any forensic evidence whatsoever to establish this was a crime scene.. Follow him on Twitter at@ThomasDMoriarty. There were five lands and grooves that my weapon was said to have made based on the company's website. Melanie then became the prime suspect in the investigation. Prezioso is certain that Bill McGuires murderer is the woman who was convicted and is now sitting in prison. The 49-year-old insists that Bill's gambling habits got him into trouble with the wrong crowd (via YouTube). Supreme Court declined to hear it in 2016. At this point, it was clear that the man had been shot multiple times in the torso and once in the head (via YouTube). Making a splash: A deep dive into the live-action Little Mermaid with a new generation's Ariel. [9] The couple had two sons and lived in a Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, apartment, but planned to move that month to a larger home in Warren County. Melanie McGuire denies this, pointing to the fact that there are hundreds of miles between Delaware and Virginia Beach. 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 was found guilty and the former nurse remains held at the troubled Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Clinton, where she is serving a life sentence. As Melanie tells it, Bill accused her of not watching their child while doing laundry, saying that there was a choking hazard from a dryer sheet (via YouTube). Her defense attorneys argued that anyone could have conducted the searches. Locane said she worries that her daughters and the public will forget her. His conviction and sentence was upheld in 1999. Cooper appealed for post-conviction relief, taking his case to the state's Supreme Court, but the court ruled against him in 2006. What Happened To Melanie McGuire, The Suitcase Killer? The movie also stars Michael Roark as William McGuire, Jackson Hurst as Dr. Bradley Miller and Wendie Malick as Patricia Prezioso,who formerly served in the New Jersey Attorney Generals Office and was lead prosecutor in the McGuire case. She's serving a life sentence at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility. 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. Fortin's appeal was rejected first by a state appellate court in 2015 and then by the state Supreme Court the following year. Crime: Cullen, a nurse who worked at a number of hospitals in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in 2005 to killing a total of 29 patients between the two states, beginning in 1988. They recorded her calls with family and friends, including Miller, with whom she was having the affair. She was immediately booked into the Middlesex County Adult Correctional Center on first-degree murder charges, but made her $750,000 bail ($1.04 million today). Once Melanie spots Bills car from the highway, she decides shes going to move his car, said Shlosberg. "My job is not to convince the world. While Sacks and Shlosberg will come to their own conclusions about whether they believe Melanie McGuire is innocent, their investigations aim to explore how her case was handled and the fairness of her trial . Harris, who has served 24 years, is held in New Jersey State Prison in Trenton. He remained on death row for years while he appealed, and the death sentence was abolished in 2007. 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". Fortin, now 53, is serving his sentence at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton. David "DJ" Creato Jr. appears in court in 2016 and in a recent prison photo. What's happened with their appeals? 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. Investigators said Cullen killed the patients with overdoses of various drugs injected into their IV bags. Neulander appealed for post-conviction relief but was denied in 2012. What's happened with their appeals? People explains that she did this all in an effort to maintain her relationship with Mills. Some will spend the rest of their days within prison walls. A jury convicted McGuire in 2007, and she was sentenced to life in prison plus five years. Creato is held in Garden State Youth Correctional Facility in Chesterfield Township. The state will close the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Hunterdon County, Gov. Melanie McGuire, the notorious "suitcase killer" convicted in 2007 of slaying her husband, has given a lengthy podcast interview and has spoken in a rare TV interview with "20/20" to proclaim her innocence in a quixotic bid for exoneration, ABC News reports. Sentence: Judge Dennis Cavanaugh gave Bergrin six life sentences, plus multiple concurrent sentences, for the 23 charges. Her earliest possible parole date is May 20, 2073, according to the Department of. (Star-Ledger and state Department of Corrections photos), Woman who killed, dismembered husband doing life in women's prison. Have a tip? As My Central Jersey reports, Melanie McGuire allegedly dismembered Bill's body and brought the trio of suitcases to a bridge. It doesn't make any sense.' Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Philip Seidle, a former Neptune police sergeant, is pictured in court in 2016, and in his most recent prison mugshot. Miller looked at the prescription and he said, Thats not my signature and it appears to be Melanie McGuires handwriting, recalled Prezioso. 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." Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. The remains belonged to Bill McGuire, who was 39 years old and had two sons. William McGuire died from gunshot wounds to the head and chest. Crime: Bergrin was formerly an Army major, a federal prosecutor and a high-profile Newark-based defense attorney whose clients were rappers and drug kingpins.