he adored her and he adored her. united in life, divided in murder. this is nothing but green lights. and it s not good. she was with him that night, found bruise, and wrapped in duct date. he said if you say anything, i ll kill you. so what was the motive was it money or maybe revenge? there was a thick file of suspects. he could definitely have a laundry list of people who would want to kill him. but was his killer and enemy or a friend? those could be fighting worse for somebody. pretty strong words i can see where someone could be upset. and the mystery that haunts a small southern town is a killer still walking free. i would say tiktok, you re coming. and we re not giving up. hello and welcome to dateline. hello and welcome to dateline. melvin roberts was a vip in his tight-knit community, and julia phillips was the light of his life. the couple seemed inseparable, then, a murder shattered the love affair and exposed the dark underbelly of a
Self. a year since her arrest had taken a toll. but he urged the jury not to be fooled by the for a woman in the courtroom. if you believe that the defendant is guilty of doing one thing, just one thing, on the night melvin roberts was murdered, to aid in that murder, then she is guilty. have a seat for me, miss julia. the prosecutor began by showing the jurors julia s interview with police. she wanted them to hear one of the first thing julia said on the night of the murder. here you go. they put a blanket on her and asked if they could take some photographs. can i get some pictures real quick while we re in the warmth? now you re not gonna use these four playboy? no. the first thing the woman says, are these going to be used for playboy? right there. boom. that was inappropriate. then, the prosecution dropped a bombshell. they found a witness to testify that this was not the first time julia had melvin s murder on her mind. a police informant name guy blinken ship
A police informant name guy blinken ship, a man with a criminal past claim that a few years after melvin died, julia tried to hire him to do the hit. we had now an actual person who had heard her say that and even offered him money to kill mr. roberts. hodge built her case leading to one question most jurors wanted answered, what was the motive? the granddaughter thought she knew the answer to that. what did he leave her? the building, and any car that she wanted from his car lot. the building was worth about $150, 000, it housed her store, julia s, in south carolina and a small community that would take you far? yes. the state believed julia was worried that she was never going to see that money, the reason? the relationship between julia and melvin was over, said prosecutors and she knew it. they put a friend of melvin s on the stand to back up their claims.