When a gangland hit turned into something much darker | Forensic Files

parenting is no joke as listeners who have kids will know sometimes you'll find yourself saying things you never
thought you'd ever have to say that's why our friends at audio boom and main event media wanted us to let you know
about their brand new parenting podcast on never thought I'd say this fuller house star Jodi Sweden and her best
friend Celia Bay ha a life coach get together each week to recap the ridiculous in their parenting lives Jodi
and Celia tackle parenting taboos interview other celebrity parents and dive into the real issues that all
parents face today fellow famous parents you can expect to hear from include Christine Lacan who starred in the
sitcom step-by-step Melissa Joe Sony mother of Maddie and Mackenzie Ziegler and Andrea barber of Full House and
Netflix's fuller house never thought I'd say this is a co-production from audio boom and main event media with new
episodes every week be sure to search for and subscribe - never thought I'd say this on Apple podcasts Spotify
stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts [Music] our episodes deal with serious and often
distressing incidents if you feel at anytime you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested
phone numbers for confidential support please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website
the month of April marks the beginning of the spring trophy fishing season throughout the United States the warmer
weather attracts a wide variety of deepwater fish to the shallows to spawn into recreational anglers across the
country flocked to lakes rivers and beaches hoping to really in a valuable catch one such popular fishing spot is
Chesapeake Bay in the country's East a 200 mile long estuary that encompasses the states of Maryland and Virginia
eventually meeting with the Atlantic Ocean at its outlet the bay boasts a wide range of marine life with
delicacies like striped bass crabs and oysters among the most prized bounty trophy fishing season was well underway
by May 5 2004 yet that particular Wednesday presented a miserable morning for those casting a line into Chesapeake
Bay local hobby fishermen and a longtime friends Chris Henkel and addy Connors had taken to the water by boat but the
rough weather had forced them to drop anchor at fisherman Island the meeting point between the bay and the ocean the
area was offering little apart from mud sharks and small fryer which was a disappointment especially for these two
young children Sam and Claire who had come along for their inaugural fishing trip by 10 a.m. the rain and the wind
finally subsided restoring calm to the waves and bringing a welcomed touch of Sun
when the clouds finally parted the men saw an opportunity to set sail for more fruitful waters where they were
guaranteed a better catch stretching above and below their boat was the Chesapeake Bay bridge-tunnel a seventeen
point six mile transit complex comprising of two bridges and two underwater tunnels the facilitated
traffic between Virginia's detached a coastline allowing travelers of faster and more direct route from the mainland
to adjoining States a series of four artificial islands marked the points where the bridge dipped below the
surface of the water transforming into the tunnel before re-emerging Chris and D directed their boat past the fourth
island where they caught sight of something floating in the water alongside their vessel it was a dark
green suitcase given its proximity to the bridge the men assumed there must have blown off the luggage rack of a
Beatle driving above and hauled it on board twelve-year-old Sam expressed his excitement a thinking they had stumbled
upon pirate's treasure and hastily zipped to the bag open finding it held items wrapped in thick black garbage
bags sealed with blue adhesive tape before anyone could stop him Sam tore open one of the bags and screamed in
horror as he discovered what lay inside [Music] the garbage bags contains the pale legs
of an adult human male severed at the knee joints the suitcase didn't appear to have been in Chesapeake Bay for long
that featured the branding of American fashion house and designer Kenneth Cole who sold a wide range of clothing shoes
and accessories the medium sized bag was a part of the casual and affordable reaction collection and featured a
retractable handle wheels and black detailing the following day the local newspaper The Virginian Pilot ran a
short three sentence article on the grim discovery but the lack of details ensured a garnered a little attention
many suspected the lack of media coverage was an intentional act to ensure the gruesome homicide would have
not impact a visitor numbers to the fiend of Virginia Beach six days later at around midday on Monday May 10 a
graduate student cleaning up litter on the shores of fishermen islands bird sanctuary spotted a large dark green
suitcase lying on the sand she ignored the item only to notice it was still there when she returned to the shoreline
the following day giving in to her curiosity she unzipped the bag and released the nauseating stench of rot
from within it contained an item wrapped in black garbage bags that upon closer inspection
made the student recoil in horror police arrived and immediately recognized the suitcase as a larger version of the one
found days earlier that contained the severed legs this one was in worse condition having been beached in the hot
Sun for days with the surf causing it to become severely waterlogged and filled with sand
two layers of garbage bags concealed a human torso with the head and arms still attached the victim was a Caucasian male
aged between 30 and 40 with a muscular physique and short brown hair several gunshot wounds were found throughout his
body with those in the skull and abdomen proving fatal x-ray imagery revealed two
bullets still nestled in the victims chest than to waste one was covered in green fibers having passed through
fabric before penetrating the body a blanket tucked behind the victim's head featured a tag that read property of H
CSC initials but us-based healthcare organization hospital Central Services cooperative the organization provided a
variety of services including an expensive laundry division the supplier to linen to medical clinics across the
country a five and a half pound wait marked with the fitness brand name wieder was stored in an outside pocket
of the suitcase in a bid to weight it down both recovered cases were part of a three piece luggage set sold by Kenneth
Cole the third and final case in the set the smallest one typically used as carry-on luggage by passengers on
long-haul flights was still unaccounted for the perpetrators use of a firearm and the clinical dismemberment of the
victim led Virginia police to theorized that the killing was a gangland style here as for identifying their John Doe
officers checked recent missing persons reports and to turn to their attention to the state's large military population
as his cropped hair cut and a muscular physique were akin to the conditions required for serving members of the
Armed Forces the suitcases were believed to have been discarded into Chesapeake Bay from the
bridge above but as the structure lacked security cameras no such act was caught
on film the midsection of the victim was still missing from the belly button to the kneecaps raising the collective
concerns of police media and the locals that more body parts remained undiscovered within the bay six days
later on Sunday May 16 the Virginia Beach Marine Patrol were alerted to the sighting of a small green suitcase
floating in the current near the second artificial island of the Chesapeake Bay bridge-tunnel in the worst condition of
the lot this suitcase was completely waterlogged and contained a black garbage bag covering the final piece of
the unknown victims body the abdomen and thighs dressed in a purple pair of Fruit
of the Loom Brenda briefs his skull nose and teeth were still intact preserving the overall look of his face and
facilitating the creation of the composite sketch which was featured throughout regional news reports the
image caught the attention of a local couple John and Susan Rice who believed it looked to like their close friend
William McGuire better known as Bill the rice has arrived to the Virginia Beach Police Headquarters to view autopsy
photos of the suitcase victim in an effort to confirm their identification sue was convinced it was bill but her
husband was less certain believing his best friend was alive even though he hadn't heard from him in almost a month
police ran bill McGuire's name through their database and found no record of the men having been reported missing he
did have a minor felony offense dating back to the early 80s for adopting aliases to write fraudulent checks
although he was never charged bills fingerprints had been kept on file which detectives sent for comparison against
the suitcase victim as they awaited the results of the fingerprint analysis investigators dug further into Bill
McGuire's history the 39 year old who lived in a rental apartment three states North in the New Jersey township of
Woodbridge with his wife and two young sons a navy veteran bill was currently employed as an adjunct professor at the
New Jersey Institute of Technology and was the co-owner of software consulting company Jay Vista software weeks earlier
on Wednesday April 28th he finalized the purchase of a two-story colonial style homestead in the rural New Jersey
township of Asbury two days later on Thursday April 30 a domestic violence restraining order had been filed against
him by his wife Melanie bill and Melanie had met while working in the hospitality
industry and quickly fell head-over-heels in love by 1997 the pair moved in together as they concentrated
on their long-term career goals and by the end of the year they were engaged Melanie was already two months pregnant
with their firstborn by the time their wedding took place in June 1999 and felt pregnant again two years later many
reported the pair seemed a perfect and eight ball match sharing a sharp and sarcastic wit they played off one
another bill was the mischievous practical joker who took immense pride in being a family
man Melanie who was 8 years his junior was an intelligent and headstrong woman with a caring and compassionate side
displayed through her work as a fertility nurse yet the Maguire's unsteady marriage seemed indicative of a
near decade long relationship that had gone through its fair share of difficulties the couple were not immune
to squabbles and even fell foul of the law with bill caught driving with a suspended license and Melanie later
lying under oath to protect him police discovered the restraining order Melanie had taken out against her husband had
not yet been served meaning bill would not have been notified of it furthermore a court they
had not been set to make it permanent detectives contacted Melanie to inform her and she explained that bill hadn't
been in contact since he left their apartment three weeks earlier she suspected he was having an affair and
was convinced he was either in Atlantic City where he was known to frequent the casinos or Virginia Beach where he had
always wanted to live she had divorce papers ready having filed the documentation with the state that
described to bill as a volatile husband with a crippling gambling and drinking problem
Melanie explained that his behavior had recently become more erratic with the desire to purchase a dream family home
becoming an obsession as he stayed awake for 48 hours at a time scrolling through real estate listings
she also claimed he threatened to kill her resulting in her fleeing the apartment and placing their children in
the care of her parents the final straw came during a fight in the early morning
hours of Thursday April 29 Melanie stated bill had quote threatened to disappear work under a false name and
social security number and to never provide her with any financial support he left the apartment that day then
since then had made no effort to return contact her or provide financial support
to his family on Wednesday May 26 2004 bill McGuire was finally located the fingerprints stored in his police
records were a match to the dismembered remains found in Chesapeake Bay deciding which police jurisdiction
should front the investigation into bills murder was complicated given there was no crime scene and he was last seen
in his home state of New Jersey but his body had surfaced in Virginia furthermore the whereabouts of his
Blackberry smartphone and vehicle a blue 2002 Nissan Maxima were unknown police began tracing bills final movements
paying a visit to the New Jersey Institute of Technology to interview his colleagues their reports were unanimous
bill was regarded as a model employee and they were unable to imagine a scenario where the devoted father would
elect to leave his family this sentiment was shared by Bill's business partner and co-founder of Jay Vista software Jay
tandava who described him as the best friend a person could ever have bill had scheduled to take two weeks leave from
May 3 to 17 to facilitate moving his family and their possessions from their apartment into their new homestead this
timeframe later served as the period Bill's remains were discovered in Chesapeake Bay at the time Jay Tandava
received two handwritten notes from Melanie McGuire that she had left a wedged in his front door the first the
detailed a fight that occurred between her and Bill and explained they would no longer be moving into their new home
Melanie wrote that she hadn't heard from her husband in days adding that he had been quote behaving very erratically and
strangely lately and she was now seeking a divorce the second note appeared four days later
inquiring if J had heard from bill as melanie was trying to figure things out financially and asked whether he had
taken any money from the je vais de software company account detectives also spoke with bill's direct supervisor who
reported that in the days following news of her husband's death melanie inquired
about his life insurance policy the Institute of Technology's life insurance policy
provided up to three and a half times and employees annual salary making bills payout over two hundred and twenty seven
thousand dollars Melanie McGuire agreed to speak with detectives organizing a meeting at her divorce attorneys office
upon their arrival the detectives were led into a conference room where they were joined by Melanie her divorce
attorney and to their surprise a criminal attorney Melanie was aloof and evasive during questioning
giving clipped defensive responses she maintained that her marriage was bleak and said bill wasn't well-liked
despite his family friends and co-workers stating otherwise she called bill an unfriendly person who had a
habit of pissing people off and insinuated that his boss had wanted to fire him as for the fight that had
resulted in bills departure Melanie explained that bill was asleep on the couch in their apartment when he awoke
at around 4:00 a.m. on April 29 and instigated an argument with her he threatened to leave her and berated her
for being a bad mother before shoving her against the wall the attack awoke her two-year-old son who went at the
room Melanie scooped him up and took shelter in a bathroom listening as bill moved around the apartment gathering his
things before leaving the next day she filed a restraining order and moved into her parents house
she denied owning a Kenneth Cole reaction three piece luggage set or a gun as for bills missing car she
believed it could likely be found in her husband's gambling Horn of Atlantic City
after questioning Melanie detectives retrieved the keys to the Maguire's former apartment in Woodbridge to
conduct a search Melanie had since vacated the property and if the superintendent hadn't cleaned the
apartment in preparation for new tenants so the empty space remained exactly as the family had left it the detectives
were therefore surprised to find the interior in immaculate condition the walls had been repainted and the
hardwood floors gleamed as if polished with one detective remarking he could evade off the floor had almost looked a
brand new inside forensic testing revealed no traces of blood hair or saliva or anywhere and luminol tests
performed in the bathrooms resulted in false positives which can occur when heavy amounts of bleach have been used
detectives questioned neighbors one described Melanie as a quiet lady and bill as the best neighbor no one
reported hearing any arguing or gunshots on April 29 the next morning detectives
met with Melanie and her criminal attorney at the storage unit that contained the Maguire's furniture and
belongings when asked to see anything that may have belonged to bill Melanie pointed to a small blue plastic
Tupperware container that held mementos from his time in the Navy and some family photographs Melanie had since
given away most of her deceased husband's things including his clothing weight set and dumbbells the exercise
equipment was tracked down but it did not match the five and a half pound weight from the suitcase that can
to Bill's torso Melanie told investigators that after taking some time to think after her police interview
she could now recall owning a set of matching Breen suitcases she asserted they would have been designer because
bill preferred brand to name things when detectives showed Melanie a picture of one of the Kenneth Cole suitcases that
had held bills remains she agreed it looked a lot like the ones they owned but offered no explanation as to their
current whereabouts detectives were informed by the storage facility manager the Melanie owned a second smaller
Locker that she had failed to inform them about when asked if they could search this second Locker
Melanie appeared surprised but consented inside detectives found bills wallet which contained his social security and
health insurance cards a few business cards and pictures of his family although it was a curious find they left
the wallet in the storage locker for the time being meanwhile an employee for a private
telling company contacted police and explained that on Saturday May a just over a week after bill disappeared they
removed a blue late-model missin Maxima from the parking lot of the infamous Flamingo motel in Atlantic City located
on the busy casino strip of Pacific Avenue the motel was a near two-hour drive away from the Maguire's apartment
and retained a poor reputation as a haven for delinquents according to the towing company employee they were
summoned to pick up cars after they were left stationary for at least four or five days
detectives arrived to the rundown Flamingo motel and found no record of Bill having stayed there CCTV footage
showed Bill's car entering the parking lot at 12:41 a.m. on April 30 before a man emerged from the vehicle and exited
the frame the grainy low quality footage prevented investigators from confirming the men
was Bill the car remained abandoned in the same space until it was towed eight days later police seized Bill's car and
Wallace showed no signs of tampering had contained several items of interest his
Blackberry smartphone and a laptop were in the trunk and to most notably the glove compartment contained a glass pile
of translucent pink tinged liquid and a hypodermic syringe with the needle missing without knowing exactly which
drugs to test for forensic toxicologist s' were at a loss as to what the liquid could be as investigations progressed
Melanie's negative portrayal of Bill's character was reflected in several front-page and news stories several
alluded to the incidents described in her divorce filing including bills erratic manic behavior abuse and
gambling addiction bills first wife also spoke to the media describing her former
husband as abusive and manipulative she claimed the dissolution of their marriage began when bill initiated an
affair with Melanie and described filing a restraining order against him a year later after he allegedly threw rocks
through her windows these statements were in stark contrast to those provided by Bill's friends family and colleagues
who consistently maintained he was a likable and kind man who cared deeply for his wife and children
the varied characterization of bill McGuire left many questioning what to believe with the head of the Virginia
Beach homicide unit telling reporters we've run into the same paradoxes as you have we have very different opinions on
what this gentleman was like on Monday July 12 2004 the day of Bill McGuire's funeral a massive storm pounded New
Jersey flooding streets and inhibiting travel the service was pushed back several hours to allow additional time
for Interstate mourners to arrive the queue of cars formed at the Brigadier General William C Doyle Veterans
Memorial Cemetery as guests waited in their vehicles for a break in the weather at around 4:00 p.m.
Melanie McGuire announced that she was going to leave to pick up her two young sons from daycare it wasn't the first
time she had shown disinterest in the service expressing beforehand that the event should not go ahead due to the
possible media presence she provided no flowers or any photographs of bill leaving his friends and siblings to
organize some decor to adorn his urn at the front of the chapel Melanie was convinced to stay and to the funeral
eventually commenced with the military chaplain piecing together his sermon on what little information she had provided
at one point he turned to her to ask what her husband's name was John Ross's eulogy to his best friend provided a
much-needed personal touch to the uncomfortably hallow service he described to bill as a loving father and
proud military man John fondly lamented Bill's wild sense of humor which ensured
he was always the center of attention saying I could tell you a hundred different
stories about Bill bill and I shared a lot of great memories like me bill was not a perfect person but he was a
perfect friend the service lasted only 20 minutes and the following wake Melanie put the Maguire's Asbury
homestead on the market listing it for slightly more than it had initially cost four months after Bill's body had
surfaced full responsibility of the languishing case was handed to one central police agency the New Jersey
Division of Criminal Justice they began the arduous task of rereading over the case reports re-interviewing witnesses
reviewing all 221 pieces of evidence enter retrieving bills blood urine and body tissue samples they reexamined the
suitcases with the discovery of a long brown hair a purple fiber and a scrap of red nail polish elevating the theory
that a woman may have been involved in the crime the manufacturer of the blanket that was found around Bill's
head hospital central services cooperative provided investigators with a list of
their clients it included the Reproductive Medicine Associates clinic in Morristown where Melanie McGuire
worked a witness recalled Melanie had used some of the blankets to protectively wrap a dining table whilst
clearing out her apartment following bills death investigators also retrieved six black garbage bags Melanie had
filled with bills clothing and offloaded to a friend they were compared to the garbage bags that contained his remains
with dire patents and perforation marks similar across all meaning that were likely manufactured on the same assembly
line within hours of one another they also combed through bills emails noting that at 6:17 a.m. on the morning
of his disappearance an email was sent to his boss that read I'll be out sick today
despite co-workers describing Bill as a power user of his blackberry he had entered his boss's email address
incorrectly and out of character mistake that caused the message to go once sent
ballistics experts identified the bullets extracted from Phil's body as flat-nosed 38 caliber wad-cutters
typically used in close range target practice there was an odd choice for a killer and led one detective to believe
the gunman was inexperienced records showed that no one in connection to the bill McGuire case owned or had recently
purchased the 38 caliber firearm in New Jersey but as the gun laws in the neighboring state of Pennsylvania were
far more lacks these records were also searched revealing a link three days before bill went missing a model lady
fire four blue metal 38 caliber special Taurus handgun with a 2-inch barrel was purchased at John's gun and tackle store
in the Pennsylvanian city of Easton weighing just thirteen and a half ounces the light weapon was small enough to fit
inside a handbag it was one of only five gun models on the market that could use
38 caliber wadcutter bullets the sale receipt also listed an unspecified purchase valued at nine dollars 95 to
items in the store marked with that price one of which was a box of wad cutter bullets
when the shop owner was shown a photo lineup and asked to identify the person who had purchased the weapon and demo he
singled out the image of Melanie McGuire he remembered her vividly as he didn't get many female customers and she was
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evidence implicating Melanie McGuire in the murder of her husband was piling up but investigators were not convinced she
acted alone in March they began covertly monitoring her phone calls and during conversations with her stepfather
Michael it appeared as though the two were speaking in coded language she also spoke frequently with her boss at the
fertility clinic dr. Bradley Miller although Miller was a married family man the phone conversations between the pair
were indicated a level of familiarity that extended beyond a professional relationship and it soon became apparent
they were having an affair Milla was subsequently ambushed and interrogated by investigators but he
refused to speak without a lawyer present he was issued with a subpoena to appear before a grand jury and released
on Sunday March 13 Miller and his lawyer met with detectives to negotiate immunity for providing truthful
information about Melanie McGuire in an ensuing four hour interview the doctor confessed that the two had been having
an ongoing affair despite his partnership agreement with the fertility clinic expressly
forbidding fraternization with colleagues their intimate relationship began in March 2002 when melanie was 38
weeks pregnant with her second child over the next three years the pair frequented motels throughout New Jersey
and too communicated via secret cell phones they called their love lines they talked constantly professing their love
and making plans to leave their families to start a new life together according to Miller on the night the Maguire's had
finalized the purchase of their Asbury home Melanie called to inform him that she was going to tell bill she wanted a
divorce Miller tried calling her several times over the next few hours desperate
to know the outcome of the discussion that was met with her voicemail at 9:00 the next morning of April 29 Melanie
finally rang him back relaying the fight between her and Bill and saying she wanted to move out of the apartment and
file a restraining order against him Melanie and Miller continued to me for rendevouz throughout May even after bill
was discovered murdered the day her husband's car was recovered Melanie called Miller to inform him that
blurry CCTV footage captured in the Flamingo motel parking lot had reported a man driving Bill's vehicle but it
hadn't been a man in the footage at all it was her she explained that the night after Bill left their apartment she
drove to Atlantic City looking for him and found his car in the parking lot of the Taj Mahal casino enraged she decided
to move it a mile and a half away to the Flamingo motel so he wouldn't be able to
find it afterwards she couldn't remember where she had parked her own car so she
took a cab back to the McGuire apartment by the time she arrived home Melanie felt energized enough to return to
Atlantic City so she hailed an off-duty cab and returned straightaway to pick up
her vehicle yet police discovered there was no record of any local cab companies
taking a lone female passenger the near two hour drive between Atlantic City and
Woodbridge at the Times Melanie claimed to have taken the journey Melanie told Milla she returned to
Atlantic City days later with her stepfather to check if bills car had been moved but it was still where she
had left it she returned again on her own on Tuesday May 18 but the car was no longer there
Melanie claimed she hadn't told Miller this sooner because she didn't want to upset him or make him think she wanted
bill back months later she admitted another secret a few days before the settlement of the Maguire's new home
bill had asked her to purchase a gun since their new home was in a rural area he wanted a firearm to protect their
family but his criminal record prevented him from buying one Melanie obliged and
made the purchase despite the strangeness of these stories doctor Miller admitted his infatuation
with Melanie had blinded him to skepticism [Music] Melanie's phone conversations revealed
she was also in regular contact with a man named - James Finn the two had attended nursing school together in the
mid nineties and although the nature of their current relationship was unclear their conversations were often
flirtatious in early April 2005 James was questioned by police for close to 80 hours during which he claimed the two
had reconnected in September 2004 after he reached out to Melanie to offer his sympathies for the loss of her husband
he initially denied having romantic feelings for her but when he was informed Melanie had purchased the gun
less than a week before Bill's murder he cracked admitting he had been in love with Melanie since nursing school back
then he had professed his love to her but she kindly rejected him and too they remained close friends according to the
book to have venta killed by John glass for Christmas in 1995 Melanie bought James a copy of Stephen King's thriller
novel Dolores Claiborne which tells the story of an abused woman who kills her husband and gets away with it inside
Melanie scrawled now here is a story of a woman with true strength and wisdom you can learn a lot from her I did after
Melanie married bill she and James fell out of touch but she began writing him letters in February 2004 which increased
in frequency over the following months she complained of her dissolving marriage described her husband's erratic
behavior and expressed the fear of him according to James Melanie made it sound like a bill was a substance abuser or
experiencing a psychotic break the week before bill went missing James responded to a particularly disturbing
email from Melanie by advising her to leave the house with her kids and stay with her parents he recommended she buy
a small handgun for protection suggesting a 40 caliber 9-millimeter semi-automatic as it was a more
manageable weapon for someone with her diminutive five-foot-three stature when he later questioned Melanie about
whether she had made the purchase she categorically denied it now realizing she had lied to him James Ben
also negotiated immunity with investigators and consented to engage in several wiretapped phone conversations
with Melanie during one call James begged her to reveal the location of the gun she had purchased but Melanie said
the last time she saw it was in a lockbox in her old apartment she claimed to have checked the lockbox
after discovering bill had been murdered but it was empty on the morning of Thursday June 2 2005 a little over a
year since Bill's body parts surfaced Melanie McGuire was formally charged with his first-degree murder she pleaded
not guilty and in a subsequent press conference it was announced that additional arrests were possible and
that the prosecution may seek the death penalty New Jersey State Police Superintendent Joseph Fuentes said the
investigation has woven a very strange tale of Lies deceit infidelity and murder at the time of her arrest
Melanie lived in the township of brick New Jersey and detectives immediately secured a warrant to search her
residence they left with multiple items including her personal computer DVDs and
a circular saw Melanie's Nissan Pathfinder car was also processed for evidence as were her two storage units
with detectives finding the lockbox she mentioned during her phone conversation with the James Finn it didn't contain
the gun but instead Bill's wallet meaning it had since been placed in there after detectives caught sight of
it in the storage unit a year earlier five days after her arrest Melanie's parents used their home as collateral to
secure her seven hundred and fifty thousand dollar bail two months later strange letters were
sent to several recipients including the State Attorney General local newspaper at the Trento nyan Melanie McGuire's
lover dr. Bradley Miller her divorce attorney and Melanie herself four pages of rambling text implicated organized
crime groups in bills murder citing his gambling addiction as the cause and accusing him have been
rampant Cheeta and pathological liar the letters mentioned three significant details that had not been released to
the public throughout the course of the investigation that bill was wearing purple briefs at the time he was killed
that his arms were still attached to his torso and that a dumbbell had been used
to weigh down one of the suitcases the letter referred to Melanie as a lousy lay and said she quote couldn't do what
it took to and at one point three men to do investigators believed Melanie wrote
the letters to divert the attention away from her as the murderer on Tuesday October 11 2005 a grand jury hearing
commenced to determine whether there was enough evidence to indict Melanie for first-degree murder
the prosecution were interviewing their final witness when a FedEx package arrived at the courthouse proceedings
halted and the jurors filed out of the chamber while the contents of the package were inspected it contained a
silver bracelet and wedding ring suspected to have been bills the lockbox K and Neeson Karki a calendar with the
words set her up written on the back a plastic bag of prescription medications and attorney amounts of marijuana
an anonymous letter addressed to the assistant attorney general claim to the author worked at the same real estate
office as Cindy one of bill McGuire's older sisters and claimed to have uncovered the articles in the package in
the trash along with two handwritten to-do lists titled final stages and set her up they alleged were penned by Cindy
they detailed a plan to implicate Melanie and her family in bills murder to inevitably claim his life insurance
and adopt his children clearly in reference to the fact that Cindy had taken custody of Bill and Melanie's sons
following the latter's arrest the handwriting on the lists did not match Cindy's nor that of any of her
co-workers furthermore the phone number for her office was wrong as was the return address the office also didn't
use FedEx as a carrier it was clear the lists were penned by someone else entirely
so FBI forensic linguist James Fitzgerald was brought in to determine the true author he was responsible for
bringing infamous Unabomber Ted Kaczynski to justice and concluded that the lists and anonymous four-page
letters sent in August shared stylistic markers and punctuation commonalities with samples of Melanie McGuire's and
writing to an 85 to 95 percent degree of certainty the FedEx package was determined to have
been sent two days prior paid for with an American Express gift card purchased at a Rite Aid drugstore in the New
Jersey city of Passaic detectives reviewed the pharmacies CCTV and spotted a woman matching Melanie's description
enter the store at 3:48 p.m. the gift card was purchased three minutes later the prosecution believed there was no
coincidence the FedEx package showed up during Melanie's hearing calling it a mockery of the investigation and the
last acts of a desperate woman on Wednesday October 12 the grand jury handed Melanie McGuire a four count
indictment for first-degree murder second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose second-degree
offense for desecration of human remains and third degree perjury for making false material statements to the family
court accusing her husband of being a threat to his family's health and safety her bail was increased to two million
dollars Melanie hired hotshot Madison Avenue lawyer Joseph taka Pina described in the New
York Times newspaper as the Donald Trump of the new york defense bar taka Pina was notoriously flashy with a flair for
the dramatic although he wasn't licensed to practice law in New Jersey he was given permission to serve alongside a
local attorney taka Pina was quick to direct the media's attention to the overwhelming
support shown to his client by her friends family and nursing patients saying I would not have come into the
case if I did not have 100% confidence in Melanie McGuire's innocence and 100% confidence in my ability to represent
her a website titled the Friends of Melanie legal defense fund was set up with donations from Melanie's support
network and anonymous contributors securing her 2 million dollar bail by November results the forensic testing
revealed traces of Melanie's DNA on the floor of Bill's abandoned to Nissan Maxima microscopic human tissue and bone
particles had also been discovered on the driver's side floor mat described as human sawdust a forensic anthropologist
deduced the beveled knife had likely been used to cut bills flesh and then a reciprocating saw to get through the
bone the prosecution believed the Melanie must have stepped in the human sawdust half the dismembering Bill's
body and attracted into his car before she abandoned that in Atlantic City in January 2006 a forensic team searched
the Maguire's former apartment for a third time looking for a possible source for green fibers found on a bullet
recovered from Bill's body they had been identified as polyester fill a common material found in
household furniture leading investigators to theorized that Melanie may have used the pillow to muffle the
sound of the gun as she shot her husband a list of furniture that had belonged to
the Maguire's mentioned the green couch cushions that hadn't been seen since the
murder the forensic team extensively swept the apartment vacuuming air vents crevices at the base of the walls and
even electric outlets but to no result on Monday March 13 2006 Melanie's defense team moved to have her
indictment dismissed - due to a lack of concrete evidence the prosecution argued
that whilst there was still unknown aspects in the investigation and their case relied strongly on circumstantial
evidence Melanie quote doesn't get the benefit of doing a good job of killing the judge
agreed affirming Melanie was likely the last person to see bill alive and scheduled her trial for January the
following year meanwhile digital investigators processed the various electronic devices removed from the home
of Melanie McGuire and that of her parents which included eight handheld devices three laptops and eight
computers several salacious messages sent between Melanie and dr. Bradley Miller proved their long-standing love
affair an internet search conducted on the Maguire's laptop 10 days before bill was last seen alive read how to commit
murder this was followed by searches but where to purchase a gun without a permit
and how to purchase a gun in Pennsylvania as well as instant and undetectable poisons fatal insulin doses
and the highly effective fast-acting sedative chloral hydrate investigators had long believed the bill
had been incapacitated prior to being shot with suspicion centered on the vial of unknown pink liquid found in his car
the internet search for chlorohydrate gave forensic toxicologist something specific to test for and to their
analysis of the liquid tested positive for the sedative investigators began combing through every prescription
written out at the Reproductive Medicine Associates clinic and discovered one had
been made out for 500 milligrams of chloral hydrate signed by dr. Bradley Miller the prescription was for a
patient with the initials TB who visited dr. Miller in March and April of 2004 to
get a second opinion on a medical issue detectives met with tibi who revealed she had never received a prescription
for any medication from the clinic detectives question to dr. Miller who denied of writing the script saying he
would never prescribe chlorohydrate to a fertility patient he did explain that nurses were given prescription writing
privileges so it was possible that Melanie had filled the script out herself this was further corroborated by
the managing partner of the practice who verified it was not unusual for a nurse
to sign a doctor's name on a prescription the prescription was filled at a Walgreens pharmacy in Edison New
Jersey the store's pharmacist confirmed filling out the prescription on Wednesday April 28 2004 the day before
bill allegedly left his apartment the store was a mile and a half drive away from the day care center where Melanie
had dropped her children off twelve minutes before the prescription was filled given the discovery of new
evidence Melanie was hit with an additional 8 count indictment charging her with hindering prosecution evidence
tampering filing false reports and possession of substances the judge increased her bail
by $100,000 which she secured the following day over the following months the legal teams disputed the admissible
'ti of evidence resulting in court delays then on Monday March 5 2007 after nearly three years of investigations
Melanie McGuire's trial finally began the prosecution asserted the motive for the murder
rested in Melanie's affair with dr. Bradley Miller they presented the mountain of circumstantial evidence
attesting to Melanie's guilt and when they displayed the gruesome photos of the suitcases and their contents the
defendant eyed them with an impassive expression referring to the investigation as sloppy her defense team
went to work attacking bills character maintaining he was a volatile gambler and his death was in some way related
they relied on the fact that searches of the McGuire apartment had come up empty
and the murder weapon was still missing in his three-hour closing argument Joseph Takapuna
insisted Melanie could not be convicted on circumstantial evidence alone asserting the police hadn't even
bothered to look at any other suspects he pointed to the contradictory assumption that Melanie was somehow a
criminal mastermind yet neglected to cover her own tracks when it came to her incriminating online
searches and gun purchase the prosecution was certain Melanie had an accomplice yet was still unable to
identify who exactly at one point they left her mother and stepfather rattled when they indicated the ladder was
involved in the aftermath of the crime based on previous comments made by Melanie and their seemingly coded phone
conversations on Monday April 23 2007 after four days of deliberation the jury found Melanie
McGuire guilty of the murder of her husband they also found her guilty of possession
of a firearm for unlawful purposes desecration of human remains and perjury Melanie broke down into tears collapsing
into the arms of her attorney Bill's sister Cindy took a little joy in the ruling
despite her hatred for Melanie all she could think about whether two young boys who would have to live without a mother
or a father lamenting they only have each other now in the ensuing months Joseph's Takapuna
tried to ever turn Melanie's conviction his first appeal was denied On June 18 2007 he argued for a new trial claiming
a new witness had emerged that could prove the mob was responsible for Bill's death the witness was a prison inmate
who claimed to have once been a mob a bookkeeper and a loan shark he claimed Bill owed $90,000 to the
criminal organization but when he also claimed to be a descendant of medieval Emperor Charlemagne as well as 18 United
States presidents Melanie's defense quickly with the drew the motion for a retrial prior to sentencing victim
impact statements delivered by Cindy spoke of the impact to Bill's murder had on her life she said his sons were just
babies only two and four years old when the Sun rose on that April morning and their daddy was nowhere to be found they
were denied a chance to even say goodbye Bill's niece Laura described that her uncle's infectious grin and the boyish
mischief in his eyes were now marred by the police sketch of his lifeless expression
and thoughts of his dismembered body speaking of Melanie's actions Laura said she has stolen our smiles el laughter
out Joey she has also taken something deeper from all of us our innocence our faith in
humanity 34 year old Melanie McGuire was sentenced to life in prison judge Frederic diversa said the
desecration of William McGuire's remains was particularly heinous and depraved his body was treated as trash it was cut
and sawed apart and - then packaged in garbage bags his remains were left to decompose in the waters of another state
without identification so that his family and friends might always be deprived of a dignified funeral service
and burial Melanie challenged the ruling in March 2011 but to no avail in 2014 she filed a petition for
post-conviction relief accusing her lawyer Joseph Tucker pinna of denying her effective representation
she claimed he was high on prescription medications and too focused on extramarital affairs to concentrate on
her defense in January 2018 the Supreme Court officially denied her petition marking
the end of the line for her appeal process despite suspicions that an accomplice assisted with the disposal of
Bill's body they have never been identified and - no one else has ever been arrested or charged in relation to
his murder a reporter for New Jersey's Home News Tribune ken serrano provided extensive coverage of the murder from
the outset he said the verdict in this case confirmed the pretty dark view of what people are capable of you could be
compassionate and caring and at the same time be incredibly diabolical that was the truly chilling thing about this case
[Music] [Music] you

Case 120: Bill McGuire

It was a dark green suitcase. Given its proximity to the bridge, the men assumed it must have blown off the luggage rack of a vehicle driving above and hauled it onboard...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research – Flossie Arend Writing – Flossie Arend, Elsha McGill, and Milly Raso Production, scoring – Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-120-bill-mcguire

Brief Summary

Melanie McGuire was convicted of murdering her husband Bill, whose dismembered remains were found in Chesapeake Bay.

Key points

Never Thought I'd Say This Podcast. Join Jodi Sweden and Celia Bay as they tackle parenting taboos and interview celebrity parents.
Gruesome Discovery in Chesapeake Bay. Two fishermen find a suitcase containing severed human legs, leading to a chilling investigation.
Bill McGuire's Mysterious Disappearance. The search for Bill McGuire intensifies after his fingerprints match dismembered remains.
Melanie's Disinterest at the Funeral. Melanie McGuire shows disinterest in her husband's funeral, leaving early to pick up her sons.
Affair with Dr. Miller. Melanie's phone calls reveal an affair with her boss, Dr. Bradley Miller, complicating the investigation.
Melanie Charged with Murder. Melanie McGuire is formally charged with the first-degree murder of her husband Bill.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Sam expressed his excitement, thinking they had stumbled upon pirate's treasure!

4:30WatchAug 10, 2019

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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