McGuire gets life for murder, dismemberment She will be 101 years old when she is eligible for parole BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer Melanie McGuire, a 34-year-old former fertility clinic nurse who was found guilty in the first degree of killing her husband, William McGuire, in their Woodbridge Center Plaza apartment in April, was sentenced to life in prison July 19. McGuire will be almost 101 years old when she is eligible for parole. State Superior Court Judge Frederick P. DeVesa, sitting in New Brunswick, set the maximum sentence of 30 years to life in prison for count one for the first-degree murder charge. McGuire will have to serve 85 percent of the life sentence. "The depravity of this murder by the defendant simply shocks the conscience of the court," DeVesa said. "In this case, the crime was so heinous, so cruel and so depraved that the court finds that the maximum sentence should be imposed." McGuire sobbed as the judge read her sentence. "The nature, complexity and scope of this criminal episode involved many, many overt actions committed by the defendant over a three-week period, spanning over four different states," he said. "It reflected a woefulness and a malice that goes far beyond the elements of the crime of murder in our [New Jersey] law." The total number of years McGuire will serve in prison is 66 1/4 years. McGuire, who made her second appearance in the courtroom since her conviction April 23, walked sheepishly into the courtroom and smiled slightly at her family and friends. Spectators, as well as four women of the nine-woman and three-man jury, also packed the small courtroom. McGuire, who wore business attire throughout the seven-week trial, was handcuffed with a loose-fitting, long-sleeve, bright green shirt, darker green pants and sneakers without laces. DeVesa set the maximum sentence of 10 years for count two for the second-degree charge of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. DeVesa merged the sentences for count one and two. DeVesa set the maximum sentence of 10 years for count three for the second-degree charge of desecrating human remains but said the sentence will be served concurrent to count one. DeVesa set the maximum sentence of five years for count four for the third-degree charge of perjury, which he merged with counts one and two. The jury of nine women and three men found Melanie McGuire guilty of first-degree murder of her husband and later dismembering his body between April 28 and May 5, 2004. William McGuire's remains were found in the couple's three green matching suitcases, which washed up along the Virginia coast on May 5, 11 and 16, 2004. McGuire, through her attorneys Joseph Tacopina and Stephen Turano, has maintained her innocence. She did not speak during her sentencing. Allison LiCalsi, a friend of Melanie McGuire's who came to support her friend throughout the trial, spoke on behalf of McGuire's family and friends, who piled into the third row of the courtroom. Melanie McGuire's mother, Linda Cappararo, was not present in the courtroom. "I have known Melanie for 20 years and I have come to know the person who she truly is," said LiCalsi, who choked back tears. "I can honestly say that Melanie is not the person depicted by the prosecution and depicted by the media and Internet blogs. That creation, that fiction bears no resemblance to Melanie." "It is so difficult to hear because the real Melanie, the Melanie I know is kind, caring, has a sense of humor, is sassy and has a quick wit," she said. "She is a beloved daughter, a loyal friend, and is a loving and caring mother." The court received more than a dozen letters from family and friends of McGuire, the mother of two small boys, expressing that McGuire was just that. "[While she has been incarcerated], she has become a tutor to a woman who has dropped out of high school, she has been using her nursing skills, and has helped an inmate withdraw from heroin," LiCalsi said. "And for anyone who has been through that knows that is such a selfless act," she said. McGuire sobbed while LiCalsi spoke to the court. Cindy Ligosh, William McGuire's older sister, her daughter Laura Ligosh, and William McGuire's best friend, John Rice, with his wife, Susan, by his side spoke on behalf of their dead brother, uncle and friend. "I have been crying for three years," said Cindy Ligosh as she fought back tears. "This woman has displayed a haughty arrogance for three years, and since she has committed this crime, she has not shown an ounce of remorse, shame or compassion. Give her a sentence that will wipe her arrogance off her face." Ligosh, who has not spoken to the media since the verdict, said it was unfortunate that the [speech] she was about to give was a eulogy her younger brother never received. "I knew for a long time that this day would come, but I dreaded it," she said. "And I am sharing my personal memories with some I really don't want to share with. There is an empty hole in my heart. I lost my only brother and now my sister [Nancy] and I are alone." Ligosh said she misses her brother, who always made her laugh, who always smiled, was sensitive at times, and always gave his honest opinion. "He was always on your side," she said. "He would make sure everybody was OK, he never held a grudge and was the peacemaker of the family." Ligosh gave the harshest words to her former sister-in-law when she spoke of McGuire's two sons, who were only four and two at the time of their father's murder. McGuire sobbed as Ligosh, who cares for the two boys, spoke to the court. "They will be forever stigmatized by the heinous crime she has committed not just against their father, but against them because someday they will learn the truth of what happened to their father," said Ligosh. "They will learn that this woman did not love them because no one who truly loved their children would have ever taken their father away from them, but she did." Ligosh's daughter Laura said when Melanie McGuire took her Uncle Billy, she took their family's "innocence, faith in humanity, and willingness to trust people." "When I remember my uncle, all I see is a water-logged suitcase," said Laura as she was crying. "Then the black plastic trash bags and then the long pale objects that were inside the trash bags - the iciest objects that were Uncle Billy's legs. "Those same legs that we used to tease him about wearing those silly shorts parading around his pasty white legs," she said. "When I remember my uncle's wedding day I don't see him smiling in his tux - I see his body carved up into three pieces," she said, wiping away tears. John Rice, William McGuire's best friend, said they have had to endure his friend's reputation being dragged through the mud. "Bill's minor imperfections were magnified to cover the acts of a selfish, arrogant and manipulative individual," he said. "I will never have another best friend like the one I found in Bill." Assistant Attorney General Patricia Prezioso, who prosecuted Melanie McGuire along with Deputy Attorney General Christopher Romanyshyn, said the state is relieved by the outcome of the sentencing and hopes the sentencing gives William McGuire's family a sense of peace and closure. Tacopina said it was a tough day for his client, but said their team was ready to move forward with the appeals process. "This is the first day of Phase 2," he said. "I am not surprised with the sentence. It is not inconsistent with the depravity of the crime, but it's just not Melanie who should have been sentenced. She in no way, shape or form had to show remorse or apologize because she did not do it. There has been an absolute and complete injustice that has been done here. It's not over." Melanie McGuire was transported to a correctional facility in Clinton for classification and will be assigned either to the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Hunterdon County or New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, which has a women's facility. The defense - Joseph Tacopina, Stephen Turano and Jamie Kilberg of Baker Botts LLP in Washington, D.C. - said they plan to file an appeal within 45 days. "We are optimistic and have the fullest confidence that the case will come back so we can target the means to an end," Tacopina said.