BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
NEW BRUNSWICK – John Rice testified last week that he had hoped the body parts that were found in three separate matching suitcases floating down the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia in 2004 were not of his best friend, William McGuire.
Through tears, Rice, who resides in Virginia with his wife, Susan, and children, described McGuire as his best friend whom he met in California in 1983. The two went on to join the U.S. Navy and kept in touch through the years. McGuire became the godfather of Rice’s son and Rice was the best man at William and Melanie McGuire’s wedding in 1999.
“My wife [Susan] and I went on their honeymoon with them [William and Melanie],” said Rice, who had to compose himself several times during his testimony. “Billy was my best friend.”
Rice testified that he and his wife took an overnight trip to Atlantic City with the McGuires in October 2003. Cindy Ligosh, William McGuire’s sister, testified that she baby-sat the McGuires’ two young sons when they went to Atlantic City with the Rices. A photograph of William and Melanie McGuire smiling at the Borgata Hotel Casino was displayed to the 12-woman and four-man jury.
“Bill’s comps at the [Trump] Taj Mahal Casino paid for the tickets for the shows and our stay,” said Rice. “Bill showed us around Atlantic City. We took a taxi to the Borgata. It was a nice place and we took pictures.”
Leon Sarao, who is the casino supervisor at the Taj Mahal, testified that from its records, McGuire took a total of 12 trips over a 24-day period to the casino in 2003 and took one trip in 2004. McGuire won $30,775 in table games and lost $56 in slots in 2003. In 2004, McGuire lost $4,100.
Stephen Turano, one of the defense lawyers for Melanie McGuire, argued that these records only show rated play, which means play using a casino card. A Currency Transaction Report that is required to be done by law shows transactions over $10,000. In 2003, it showed that William McGuire had a total buy in [of chips] of $97,000.
The jury learned that state police found William McGuire’s Trump Taj Mahal Casino card in Melanie McGuire’s parents, Michael and Linda Cappararo’s, residence in Barnegat during a search on June 2, 2005.
Rice said after the trip to Atlantic City, they went back to the McGuires’ Woodbridge apartment after dinner and that he remembered that the furnace was not working.
“We went down to the basement,” said Rice. “There was a lot of old couches, some mismatched barbells, and some brand-named weights in the basement. The only name that I could remember was the name Weider.”
A 5.5-pound Weider weight was found in the second suitcase that contained the torso of William McGuire’s body on May 11, 2004. Melanie McGuire, 34, a former fertility-clinic nurse, is on trial for killing her husband, William McGuire, in their Woodbridge Center Plaza apartment and later dismembering his body between April 28 and May 5, 2004. McGuire, who resides in Brick Township, remains free on $2.1 million bail.
Rice said that since he lived in Virginia and McGuire lived in New Jersey, they would talk frequently on the phone. Rice told the jury that his friend had a real drive for his achievements.
“He was very excited and going through all the emotions of buying his new home,” he said. Phone records show that a phone call was placed from the McGuires’ Woodbridge apartment to Rice at his home at 5:59 p.m. on April 28, 2004.
“Bill had just closed on his home [in Asbury, Warren County],” said Rice. “He was excited, kind of in-your-face and joked, ‘When are you coming up and moving in,’ ” said Rice. “Susan was not home and we had lost the dog, but I didn’t want to cut Bill short. We talked for about 10 minutes.”
That’s the last time Rice heard from his best friend. A couple days later, Rice received a phone call from McGuire’s sister.
“Billy’s sister, Cindy, had called me and asked if I knew where Billy was and if I did, if I would tell her where he was,” said Rice. “I told her that I didn’t know where he was, and if I did, I would tell her. I called Melanie to see how she was doing because I was worried for her.”
Assistant Attorney General Patricia Prezioso asked if Rice had received a phone call from William McGuire at 5:41 p.m. on April 30 and if a voice message was left. McGuire’s phone records show that William McGuire’s cell phone placed a call to Rice’s home, which lasted a minute.
“No, I didn’t receive a phone call,” said Rice. “If he would call, he would usually leave a voice message, and no message was left.”
Rice got in contact with Melanie McGuire.
“She told me that her and Bill got into an argument that got physical,” said Rice. “She said that she grabbed the kids and went into the bathroom and waited for him to leave. She said Bill withdrew a large sum of money from their bank account and left town. She also said that if Bill came back, she would not take him back.”
Rice called William McGuire’s cell phones and even paged his friend over the Internet.
“I figured if he saw my number that he would see that it was me and would call me back and I would help him,” he said.
In May 2004, word had spread that body parts were found in three separate suitcases floating in the Chesapeake Bay.
“It was all over the news,” said Rice. “There was a sketch that went out and I didn’t believe that it was Billy. My wife had done comparisons of the sketch while I was at work and called me and said, ‘John, I think you should look at the sketch again.’ At that time I thought it was a black man and did not put much further thought into it.”
At the time, Susan Rice had already called the tip number for the Virginia Beach police to inquire if the body that was found was William McGuire. On May 21, 2004, the Rices met with Virginia Beach Homicide Detective Ray Pickell, who became the leading investigator for the McGuire case on May 19, 2004, and saw photographs.
“He was bloated,” said Rice with tears. “I did not think that it was Billy.”
Melanie McGuire’s stepfather, Michael Cappararo, called the Rices on May 26, 2004, to inform them that the body that was found was indeed John Rice’s best friend.
The jury also heard testimony from Hayes Penn, another friend of William McGuire. Penn, who resides in Reading, Pa., with his family, met McGuire in 1994 when both of them were working at the Metuchen Inn. The men spoke off and on through the years. In January 2004, the McGuire family visited the Penn family in Pennsylvania. Phone records show that a phone call from the McGuires’ Woodbridge apartment was made to Penn’s cell phone at 5:44 p.m. on April 28, 2004. The phone call lasted for 14 minutes.
“He was very happy he had just closed on his new house,” said Penn. “We were just talking about how his new home would be closer to where my family lives. They would only be an hour away. And also how good it was to be reacquainted.”