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