ABC News Melanie Addie speaks to "20/20."
Melanie Addie is the ex-wife of James Addie, who was convicted of murdering his fiance, Molly Watson, while he was still married. Today, she is mostly staying out of the public light after the divorce and following her testimony at his murder trial.
It took three years for Addie to face trial. He was convicted of first-degree murder in April 2021 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 10 years, in July. Melanie Addie filed for divorce from her husband just weeks after he was arrested, according to the Courier Post.
ABC 20/20 is looking into the case in a new episode airing tonight, Friday, January 7, 2022, at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Melanie Addie spoke to 20/20 for the two-hour special.
Here’s what you need to know:
Melanie Addie Says Today Her Ex-Husband Was ‘Controlling & Intimidating’
James Addie GUILTY 1st Degree Murder
While Melanie Addie told authorities she had no knowledge of her husband’s affair, she told ABC 20/20 she believed he was capable of murder.
“He was a pretty selfish person … He could be controlling and intimidating … it could be challenging,” she said on the show. “It just seemed like something he would do to fix a problem.”
Authorities said on the show that James Addie claimed he and Melanie Addie had divorced, and that she died from injuries she suffered in a car accident after she had been removed from life support. He claimed to be planning her funeral at the same time as his wedding. Melanie Addie was never in a serious car accident, officials said.
Melanie Addie Testified Against Her Ex-Husband at Trial, Saying She Found Items in a Locked Box After Police Arrived at Their Home
Addie testified against her ex-husband at his murder trial, saying she did not know about his affair until she awoke to police lights the night of Watson’s murder. At the time, she was sleeping on the couch because of her husband’s snoring, she said during her testimony, which you can watch here.
The night of the murder, James Addie told his wife he was going to see a friend at about 7 p.m., and Melanie Addie went to bed about 30 minutes later. She woke up at about 2:30 a.m. to police lights in the driveway, she said at the trial.
After the police left, she testified that she searched the house further to see if there was anything else that her husband had been hiding from her.
“I just wanted to see if there was anything else that I could find,” she said at the trial. “I found some boxes of things that had belonged to Molly. I found a locked chest and that when I opened it, it had a photo album.”
She said that her husband made trips to Florida and Mexico without her, claiming he was going to Florida on business and to Mexico with work friends. When investigators showed her a second phone used by her husband to communicate with Watson, she said she had never seen it before.
Melanie Addie and her husband fought about money, she said, which her ex-husband’s defense attorney questioned her about during the trial.
“I wanted him to be more responsible,” she said during cross-examination.
“We would argue,” she said when asked whether she would “punish” her husband for buying things without her agreement. The attorney asked if she set fire to things her husband bought, which she denied.
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