McGuire murder book released
Book documents Woodbridge murder through McGuire's eventual conviction
BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer
Ayear and a half after Melanie McGuire, now 36, was sentenced to a lifetime in prison for fatally shooting her husband, William McGuire, in their Woodbridge Plaza Drive apartment in 2004, a book has been published on the gruesome murder.

John Glatt, author of 17 books, and with 30 years of experience as an investigative journalist, has authored "To Have and to Kill" under New York-based publisher St. Martin's Press, detailing the lives of Melanie McGuire and her husband, William, an adjunct professor and senior programmer analyst with the Information Resource Development Department at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), through interviews with their family and friends. William was 39 years old at the time of his death.

The book goes through details of the McGuires' tumultuous marriage, their illicit affairs, the murder, the murder investigation, the seven-week trial that led to McGuire's conviction, and the aftermath.

Glatt will discuss and sign his new book at the Barnes & Noble bookstore at the Brunswick Square Mall, East Brunswick, today at 7:30 p.m. The book was released to the public yesterday.

The author said he does not know what to expect at the book signing tonight, citing possible visits from some of the ninewoman, three-man jury that convicted McGuire. Four jurors were among the people in attendance inside the packed courtroom at McGuire's sentencing in New Brunswick, July 2007.

"This is the first time I'm doing something like this," he said.

The case attracted national attention through media outlets, including "48 Hours Mystery" on CBS, "Dateline NBC," "ABC News: Primetime," Court TV, which is now TruTV, and People magazine.

Missing from the people he interviewed for the book is Melanie McGuire and her parents, Michael and Linda Cappararo.

"Unfortunately, after some consideration, Melanie McGuire, and her parents, Linda and Michael Cappararo, declined to be interviewed," wrote Glatt in his acknowledgements.

On April 23, 2007, the jury found McGuire guilty of first-degree murder, which carries a sentence of 30 years to life; a second-degree charge of desecrating human remains, which carries a sentence of five to 10 years; a second-degree charge of possession of a weapon — a .38-caliber handgun — for an unlawful purpose, which carries a sentence of five to 10 years; and a third-degree charge of perjury, which carries a sentence of three to five years.

McGuire will be almost 101 years old when she is eligible for parole.

Authorities alleged that McGuire shot her husband on or about April 29, 2004, chopped up his body in three pieces, and put them in black plastic trash bags inside three suitcases, which were later deposited in the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia.

The jury found McGuire not guilty of two third-degree charges of hindering prosecution regarding a letter sent to then-state Attorney General Peter Harvey in August 2005 and a Federal Express package sent to then-assistant Attorney General Patricia Prezioso in October 2005 that the prosecution contended McGuire sent to thwart investigators.

Since the McGuire case, Prezioso has left the state Attorney General's Office and is now a partner with McCusker, Anselmi, Rosen, & Carvelli law firm located in Chatham.

McGuire was also acquitted of a fourthdegree charge of tampering with, or fabricating physical evidence; and a third-degree charge for possession of a controlled dangerous substance - Xanax - found in the Federal Express package.

Since her conviction, McGuire has been serving her sentence at Edna Mahan Correctional facility for Women in Hunterdon County. McGuire's appeal is still in the works under the direction of Jamie Kilberg, of the Washington, D.C.-based legal firm Baker Botts.

Details of the grisly murder surfaced when a local fisherman discovered a small piece of luggage floating in the water between the fourth island and the high-rise bridge near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel at 11:30 a.m. on May 5, 2004. A second suitcase was discovered almost a week later on May 11 and the third suitcase was found on May 16.

Investigators determined the remains found in all three suitcases belonged to one man, William T. McGuire.

The investigation was coordinated by the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice and the New Jersey State Police. It also included the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, the Woodbridge Police Department and the Virginia Beach Police Department.

Contact Kathy Chang at

kchang@gmnews.com.