TRENTON
— New Jersey Attorney General Peter
C. Harvey today announced that the ongoing
homicide investigation into the murder
of a Middlesex County man whose severed
remains were found in three suitcases
off the Virginia coast in May, 2004, has
resulted in a State Grand Jury indictment
charging the murder victim’s wife
with First Degree Murder.
“This
intensive ‘cold case’ investigation
utilized the latest criminal forensic
investigative techniques and is an example
of what can be accomplished by veteran
homicide prosecutors, State Investigators,
State Police detectives, and forensic
scientists,” said Attorney General
Harvey. “The investigation has uncovered
deliberate attempts by the defendant to
thwart investigative inquiry, including
authoring letters sent to the news media.
While we cannot detail all of the investigative
results at this time, it is important
to note that there was sufficient evidence
for the State Grand Jury to indict on
first degree murder and related charges.
The investigation continues.”
Division of Criminal Justice Director
Vaughn L. McKoy said the State Grand Jury
indictment charges Melanie McGuire, 32,
753 Constitution Drive, Brick, Ocean County,
New Jersey, with First Degree Murder,
desecrating human remains, possession
of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and
perjury. McGuire, a nurse formerly employed
at Reproductive Medical Associates of
New Jersey, Morristown, Morris County,
New Jersey, is slated to appear before
Middlesex County Superior Court Judge
Frederick P. DeVesa today at 1:30 p.m.
for arraignment on the charges contained
in the State Grand Jury indictment. The
Division of Criminal Justice will seek
an increase in bail to three million dollars.
Middlesex County Superior Court Judge
Deborah J. Venezia previously set bail
at $750,000. McGuire faces 30 years to
life if convicted on the murder count.
McGuire was arrested by State Investigators
from the Division of Criminal Justice
and State Police detectives on June 2.
The arrest took place on Factory Street,
Metuchen, Middlesex County, after McGuire’s
1999 Nissan Pathfinder was stopped by
a marked State Police vehicle.
The State Grand Jury indictment alleges
that McGuire killed her husband, William
T. McGuire, 39, inside their Woodbridge,
Middlesex County, residence located at
2902 Plaza Drive, between April 28 and
May 5, 2004. The indictment alleges that
after the murder, Melanie McGuire dismembered
the body, placed the remains in black
plastic trash bags inside three suitcases,
and dumped the remains in the Chesapeake
Bay. On May 5, 11, and 16, 2004, the Virginia
Beach Police Department responded to the
area of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and
recovered the three suitcases containing
McGuire’s remains. The Norfolk (VA)
Medical Examiner determined that the contents
of the three suitcases were the human
remains of one person, subsequently identified
on May 22 through fingerprint comparison,
as William McGuire. The Virginia Medical
Examiner determined that McGuire sustained
at least two gun shot wounds - one to
the head and the second to the chest.
McGuire was employed at the New Jersey
Institute of Technology at the time of
his death
The indictment also charges that McGuire
committed perjury on April 30, 2004 when
she testified under oath in a Family Court
proceeding seeking a restraining order
against William McGuire. It is charged
that Melanie McGuire testified that her
husband (William McGuire) was a threat
to her safety and that she required the
protection of a restraining order. It
is alleged that at the time of the Family
Court proceeding, William McGuire was
either incapacitated or dead by the defendant’s
doing.
Criminal Justice Director McKoy noted
that the homicide investigation was forwarded
to the New Jersey Attorney General’s
Office by the Commonwealth of Virginia
Attorney in September, 2004. The joint-agency
investigation, coordinated by the Division
of Criminal Justice and the New Jersey
State Police, includes law enforcement
representatives from the Middlesex County
Prosecutor’s Office, the Woodbridge
Police Department, and the Virginia Beach
Police Department.
The investigation is being coordinated
by Assistant Attorney General Patricia
Prezioso, Division of Criminal Justice,
Deputy Chief State Investigator Joseph
Buttich, Division of Criminal Justice,
and Lt. Paul Morris, New Jersey State
Police Major Crime Unit. The investigation
is conducted by State Police DSFC Sgt.
David Dalrymple, State Police Major Crime
Unit and State Investigator Donald Macciocca,
Division of Criminal Justice, along with
specialized state investigators and detectives
from both agencies. Deputy Attorney General
Lewis Korngut, and Deputy Attorney General
John Higgins are assisting. The Middlesex
County Prosecutors Office, the Woodbridge
Police Department, the Virginia Beach
Police Department, and the Commonwealth’s
(VA) Attorney provided investigative assistance.
A copy of the State Grand Jury indictment
and arrest warrant is available via the
Division of Criminal Justice Web site
at www.njdcj.org.
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