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For Immediate Release:  
For Further Information Contact:
June 2, 2005

Office of The Attorney General
- Peter C. Harvey, Attorney General
Division of Criminal Justice
- Vaughn L. McKoy, Director

 

John R. Hagerty
609-984-1936
Capt. Albert Della Fave (NJSP)
609-882-2000 ext. 6514

 

New Jersey Attorney General’s Office Charges Wife with Murder of Husband... Woodbridge Man’s Body Found in Suitcases Along Va Coast in 2004...
“Cold Case” Murder Investigation Utilized Criminal Forensic Science and Dogged Detective Work...

TRENTON — New Jersey Attorney General Peter C. Harvey today announced that the “cold case” investigation into the homicide of a Middlesex County man whose remains were found in three suitcases off the VA coast in May, 2004, has resulted in the arrest of the murder victim’s wife. The homicide investigation remains ongoing and additional arrests and charges are possible.

Attorney General Harvey 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, included the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Woodbridge Police Department, and the Virginia Beach Police Department. Joining the Attorney General in making the announcement were Vaughn L. McKoy, Director, Division of Criminal Justice and Colonel Joseph R. Fuentes, Superintendent, New Jersey State Police.

“This intensive ‘cold case’ investigation utilized the latest criminal forensic investigative techniques and is an example of what can be accomplished by a veteran homicide prosecutor, detectives, investigators, and forensic scientists doggedly pursuing justice,” Attorney General Harvey said. “The investigation uncovered deliberate attempts by the defendant to thwart investigative inquiry and to steer the investigation away from the principal suspects. While we cannot detail all of the investigative results at this time, it is important to note that there is sufficient evidence to charge the wife with first degree murder. The investigation continues.”

Col. Fuentes and Director McKoy said the arrest warrant and criminal complaint charged Melanie McGuire, 32, 753 Constitution Drive, Brick, Ocean County, New Jersey, with First Degree Murder. McGuire, a nurse employed at Reproductive Medical Associates of New Jersey, Morristown, Morris County, NJ, was arrested by State Police detectives and State Investigators from the Division of Criminal Justice at approximately 9:30 a.m. today (Thurs., June 2). The arrest took place on Factory Street, Metchun, Middlesex County, after McGuire’s 1999 Nissan Pathfinder was stopped by a marked State Police vehicle. McGuire was taken into custody and transported to the Somerville State Police Station for processing. McGuire is scheduled to appear before Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Deborah J. Venezia at 3:30 p.m. today (Thurs., June 2) for arraignment and bail. The Division of Criminal Justice is seeking $750,000 cash bail.

McKoy and Fuentes noted that in addition to McGuire’s early morning arrest, court authorized search warrants were executed at McGuire’s Brick Township residence as well as at 22 Aqua View Lane, Barnegat, Ocean County, NJ - the residence of Michael and Linda Cappararo (Melanie McGuire’s mother and stepfather). The search warrants, approved by Mercer County Superior Court Judge Linda R. Feinberg, were executed by forensic experts assigned to the State Police Crime Scene Unit and the Division of Criminal Justice.

The arrest warrant and complaint alleges that on May 5, 11, and 16, 2004, the Virginia Beach Police Department responded to the area of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and recovered three suitcases containing human 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 T. McGuire, 39, 2902 Plaza Drive, Woodbridge, Middlesex County, NJ. McGuire was employed at the New Jersey Institute of Technology at the time of his death. The Virginia ME determined that McGuire sustained at least two gun shot wounds - one to the head and the second to the chest. The complaint alleges that McGuire was killed on or about April 29, 2004. The death has been ruled a homicide.

The complaint alleges that Melanie McGuire was the last person to see William McGuire alive on April 29. On April 30, McGuire’s 2002 Nissan Maxima was located at the Flamingo Motel in Atlantic City, Atlantic County, NJ. Evidence recovered and/or developed by the investigation include three suitcases and a number of plastic trash bags which contained McGuire’s severed remains; a report prepared by the New Jersey State Police Forensic Science laboratory comparing black trash bags obtained from the McGuire’s Woodbridge apartment residence with the trash bags containing the severed body parts; a ballistics report prepared by a Virginia forensic scientist which determined that the bullets taken from the body of William T. McGuire were .38 caliber bullets; records from an Easton, PA gun shop which recorded Melanie McGuire’s purchase of a .38 caliber handgun on April 26, 2004; and the identification of a paint chip from the tape that the killer or killers used to seal one of the trash bags recovered from the suitcases containing McGuire’s body - the paint chip is consistent with fingernail polish.

The investigation was coordinated by Assistant Attorney General Patricia Prezioso, assigned to the Division of Criminal Justice, Lt. Paul Morris, New Jersey State Police Major Crime Unit, and Deputy Chief State Investigator Joseph Buttich, Division of Criminal Justice. The investigation was conducted by State Police Det. Sgt. David Dalrymple, State Police Major Crime Unit and State Investigator Donald Macciocca, Division of Criminal Justice, along with specialized investigators from both agencies. 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 arrest warrant is available via the Division of Criminal Justice Web site at www.NJDCJ.org

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