Before Melanie McGuire — who’s infamously known as the “Suitcase Killer” — was convicted of murdering her late husband, Bill McGuire, and stuffing his remains in suitcases in April 2004, she was having an affair with her co-worker, Dr. Bradley Miller.
More than two decades after the shocking crime took place, people are still fascinated with the murder and everything that went down in Melanie’s life before she was ultimately found guilty in her husband’s killing.
Us Weekly breaks down all the details about Melanie and Miller’s affair, below.
Inside Melanie McGuire and Dr. Bradley Miller’s Affair
After Melanie was arrested in connection to Bill’s death, Miller testified in court that they were having an ongoing affair at the time of the murder.
Melanie was 38 weeks pregnant with her and Bill’s second child when she began her affair with Miller, according to CentralJersey.com.
The pair’s relationship turned romantic while Melanie worked as a nurse at Miller’s infertility clinic.
During the trial, Miller said they planned to move in together and possibly even start a family together. “She was going to divorce Bill, and a while later I was going to divorce [his wife] Charlotte,” Miller said during the trial, per NBC News.
Also, during his testimony, Miller said that both he and Melanie were equally to blame for their romantic relationship.
“We would be flirtatious toward each other and exchange e-mails. We confided in each other. I was in love with her,” he said of their relationship, according to CentralJersey.com.
Melanie McGuire Was Convicted of Killing Her Husband
Despite seeming like a happy couple, issues in their marriage came to light when Melanie told her friends and family that Bill attacked her on April 29, 2004. She went to family court the next day to get a restraining order against him.
Then on May 5, May 11 and May 16, 2004, a man’s dismembered body was found inside three matching suitcases in the Chesapeake Bay. Virginia Beach police identified Bill as the victim later that month.
Melanie quickly became a suspect in the case, and she was arrested on June 2, 2005, according to A&E.
The nurse’s affair with Miller acted as one of the theories for the motive behind the murder, with prosecutors arguing that she may have killed her husband in order to be with the doctor.
Meanwhile, Melanie’s defense team argued that Bill’s gambling habits could have led to him being killed by someone else. Additionally, they said that crime scene investigators found no blood or other evidence at Melanie’s home to connect her to the murder.
Despite her defense team’s arguments, the jury found Melanie guilty of murder, desecrating her husband’s remains and unlawful possession of a firearm on April 23, 2007. Additionally, she was convicted of perjury for her testimony to obtain a restraining order against Bill.
However, Melanie was found not guilty on multiple counts of trying to misdirect the investigation as well as possessing medication without a prescription.
She was given a life sentence on July 19, 2007.
Melanie McGuire Has Maintained Her Innocence
Several years after the sentencing, Melanie has maintained her innocence. “After all these years, I still feel hurt. I still feel bothered. Like, how could somebody think that I did that?” she said during a 20/20 interview in 2020.
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