Looking through her eyes: The Melanie McGuire Story/ The Murder of Bill McGuire.

Updated: Sep 21, 2021

Let me begin by saying up front that I am in no way victim blaming or shaming. I do however, believe that Melanie McGuire was wrongly convicted and is serving a prison sentence based on NO real evidence. I am writing about this because from the moment I heard this case covered on the podcast Direct Appeal , I knew that Melanie needed advocates. People that believed in her and her innocence . Bill McGuire was murdered, his body cut into pieces, and thrown into the Chesapeake Bay in 3 suitcases. Someone needs to pay for this crime, but not Melanie.

1999. The year William "Bill" McGuire and Melanie Slate said I do. The marriage was tumultuous from the very start . Bill was a former Navy vet who thrived on having his entire life planned out and Melanie, who was carefree, liked to live her life the same way. Bill wanted Melanie to be a stay at home mom and wife, but Melanie had dreams. She had graduated from nursing school , 2nd in her class, in 1997. She had worked so hard and did not want to spend her life being a homebody. She wanted to be a fertility nurse. In public, life for the McGuire's looked very close to perfect but behind closed doors , the problems stacked. During the course of the marriage, Bill was emotionally, mentally, and at times physically abusive. He would frequently go to Atlantic City to gamble away thousands of dollars at a time. Tiring of Bill's abuse and reckless spending, Melanie had started to see the doctor she currently worked for at RMA, the fertility clinic where she was one of the most beloved nurses that cared deeply for her patient's and the struggles they went through. Dr. Brad Miller and Melanie McGuire fell in love. Well, at least she did. In my opinion, if Brad Miller had TRUELY loved her, he would have never attempted to throw her under the bus and tape their conversations in order to "help" police catch her in a lie. I think Dr. Miller loved her simply because she loved him so much. Melanie loved him unconditionally and selflessly. They both talked about about having a future together but neither of them were ready to leave their homes, kids, and spouses.

On April 28, 2004, The McGuire's closed on a house they were buying. Melanie has said in interviews that even though she was very unhappy with Bill, she was on board with buying the expensive new home as an investment for the large down payment they had saved. She feared that Bill would take the money and run to Atlantic City and it would be gone. After that, the couple returned to the apartment in Woodbridge. Deciding it was time to come clean, Melanie told Bill about her affair with Dr. Miller after he awoke in the middle of the night ( Melanie told me via email that they were arguing about the house that night, not about Brad Miller) . She also told me that Bill would attack her mothering and try and make her feel guilty about not being a stay at home mom. They two argued and according to Melanie , Bill hit her and shoved a dryer sheet in her mouth before storming out and driving to Atlantic City. That would be the last time he would be seen alive.

Between May 5th and May 16th of 2004, 3 suitcases were found in the water near the Chesapeake Tunnel Bridge. The first suitcase contained legs that had been blood drained, put in a black trash bag, and then a green suitcase. The second suitcase, larger in size, contained his head and torso complete with two bullet wounds. The final suitcase contained his arms. Because of the condition of the body and the bloating from the water, police had to draw a facial reconstruction of the head to release to the media. Friends of Bill McGuire happened to be watching the news and immediately recognized the drawing as Bill McGuire.

Now, let's go over the evidence. As we do, I will be stating fact and opinion.

Melanie had purchased a gun in April of 2004. She purchased this gun, according to her, because Bill wanted a gun, but could not buy one as he had a felony record. She purchased the gun in Pa, not NJ, because they had their cars and licenses registered under her aunt's address. Bill was killed with a .38 caliber gun using wadcutter bullets. Now, here is the thing. Yes, Melanie bought a .38 with wadcutter bullets. Bill left. The gun was never found. My theory is he was killed with his own gun, but by someone in Atlantic City. I think he took the gun with him and he either owed someone money or pissed someone off and they shot him with it. Melanie had no use for it. Melanie had to hide in the bathroom in her home the night this happened with her son because she was so afraid. She heard Bill going through stuff....wonder what he took?
Melanie was informed 4 weeks after Bill left that he had been murdered. Some people are saying that she should have reported him missing...what the fuck for? She knew he went to Atlantic City. She had driven down there the day after! He had abused her and ran off....why bother to look for him? Who looks for an abusive husband because he doesn't come back for 4 weeks? NO ONE!
Let's talk about Bill's car. Bill had parked at the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City. Melanie did drive down on April 29th to look for him and out of spite moved his car from there to the Flamingo Hotel. Personally, I would have also done some spiteful shit like that. Let's be honest...what woman do you know that has not done some stupid, crazy shit after an argument ? I know I have! Her heart probably hurt at the time and she wanted to hurt him back. Does this make her a killer? Nope. When the police found Bill's car, they obviously processed it. They only were able to life Bill's prints. They did not find Melanie's or anyone else's prints. They also found a syringe with Chloral Hydrate in it. This was brought up and used against Melanie because she worked for facility that used " similar" syringes and there had been a prescription sent in to a Walgreens close to the daycare Melanie used for her children. The Rx had come from an RMA prescription pad and was in the name of one of the patient's from the fertility clinic. Dr. Miller states he never wrote the prescription and the handwriting expert stated Melanie didn't either. Evidence just doesn't add up. Chloral Hydrate is a powerful sleeping medication. I had it at one point in my life and I just had to stop using it because of how powerful it was. The state claims Melanie drugged him with it. IN a glass of wine. Where is the wineglass? Was the chloral hydrate found in Bill's system? Nope.
I am not going to touch on the EZ Pass evidence as I am not familiar with that being here in the south in a very small town. We do have those in VA, just not where I live. It can be accessed in multiple articles online and in the public case files if you would like to look it up.
The stupid garbage bags. Oh..My..God. Bill's body parts were wrapped up in garbage bags inside the suitcases. Melanie had given away the clothes that Bill had left behind to a person helping her in an industrial type black garbage bag. The state had two witnesses ( experts) that determined that the bags from the suitcases and the bags that contained the clothes given away by Melanie were made on the same production line and within hours of each other. This means nothing! AND the defense had a VOLUNTEER witness, not a witness that was PAID, contact them because she stated that information was incorrect! To me, the garbage bags were slated as a smoking gun type of evidence but to me, it didn't mean shit?!
The police had Dr. Brad Miller and friend of Melanie, Finn, tape conversations with her for over a year in hopes they could convict her from something said. She said nothing, NOTHING. They got nothing. You know why? SHE IS INNOCENT. It hurts me because it is obvious the only man in her life that didn't try to betray her for his own good was her dad Michael. How ironic that the State tried to make him out to be the accomplice that never existed...

This is just a sampling of evidence that did not add up. The state had NO physical evidence that tied Melanie to the murder. No blood, fingerprints, cuts on her hands from "cutting or sawing" Bill.

How in the world did a jury feel that without a doubt ,Melanie was guilty???? I could have never made that decision and lived with myself...but on April 23rd 2007 the jury convicted her of 1st degree murder, perjury, desecration of human remains, and possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes. How I will never know.

Melanie has exhausted her appeals in the State system but still has a change to get a new trial or her conviction overturned on the Federal level. She has a new legal team and I am praying that things for her change.

I had the pleasure of talking to Melanie through email and found her to be smart, articulate, humble, and honest. She spoke to me about how she hurts for her two sons to have lost their mother and father and about how her family has not been able to contact or see the boys for years. She thanked me for writing her and offered to help me in anyway she could by answering any questions. I haven't heard back from her as of yet, but I plan to do several follow up blogs as the case progresses and hopefully one day, I can write that she has been deemed innocent and has been freed. I encourage you to watch the 20/20 special, read the case files, watch the Dateline episode, listen to Direct Appeal, and even read the book.

Tell me what you think happened to Bill McGuire. I think he was killed by someone in Atlantic City that he either owed money to or by the mob. A co worker of mine thinks that Dr. Miller , threatened by his wife, either had something to do with it or had him killed in an attempt to frame Melanie to get her out of the picture. A jealous wife of a cheating husband can be a very dangerous thing...I wanna know, who do you think killed Bill? And why?

Melanie is currently serving her sentence at The Edna Mahan Corrections Facility in New Jersey. Her earliest release date is 2073. Please, if you have any information about the case, you can contact NJ crime stoppers. There is also a government website that you can send tips into as well. Both are listed below: