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killer still walking free. >> i would say tiktok, you'r coming and we're not giving up. >> hello and welcome t

dateline melvin roberts was a vip in hi tight-knit community, and juli phillips was the light of hi life the couple seemed inseparable, then, a murder shattered the love affair and exposed th dark underbelly of a zip code, where it's considered polite t smile at your friends and your enemies. here is andrea campaigning wit death in the driveway. awesome >> york, south carolina, a town seeped with america history and southern manners its charm is deeply embedded a the pride of the people wh live here. >> it's a nice southern count, it's very quiet. >> it's not the sort of plac you'd expect evil to com knocking >> my life just changed, forever. >> and these are not the sor of people you'd expect to be victims of a vicious crime >> he's a prominent man in a small town she's a good christian woman sweet southern belle >> and in the end, what woul forever haunt this peacefu place was the who, and the why of it all. >> shock complete shock >> it all started around dinnertime february 4th, 2010. on the outskirts of town at th

end of a long winding driv way. >> your county 9-1-1 do you need police >> it was 7:30 pm when the cal came into police dispatch. >> listen to me carefully, i'v been robbed, he tied me up >> between sobs, a femal caller described her bruta attack, she begged for help. >> oh please - please come and help me. >> police on-duty raced throug the rainy night, dashboard cam rolling, expected to investigate a robbery. but what they found, had thi detective ringing as he sa down to dinner >> i was called at home and was told that i needed to come in and there was a robbery tha occurred >> when the detective one of the driveway to the back of th house, he discovered a woman huddled in her car she had been bound and duc taped.

>> walk up to the car and noticed she had ducked or on her head and she still had som duct around her wrist. >> and not more than a few fee from this blue and white suburban, police found a bloodied and lifeless gray haired man it was a bit of a shot for detective, the victim wa someone he knew well >> for it was pretty surreal >> the man on the ground was melvin roberts, and everybod knew him he was a former mayor of york, one of the towns wealthies businessmen, and the legendary defense attorney >> i had a few cases with him, he's a stern man, but always friendly >> and the woman who calle police to the scene, was julia phillips melvin's longtime girlfriend >> she was worried that melvin was dead she said she didn't know wha had happened to him. >> investigators at the scen told julia the devastating news, melvin had been murdered >> is that a little jolt melvin roberts is the victim >> yes, because melvin is no the type of person to be a victim of anything >> melvin was the longes practicing lawyer in south carolina, he had defended both the rich and poor for 55 years >> he sounds like a small town celebrity, rather he liked i or not >> the thing about melvin is

that he was friendly t everyone >> the street where he lived was named after him, roberts avenue >> a true renaissance ma devoted to his family. >> he was everything to me he was my best friend, he wa my mentor. >> melvin had two sons >> david and ronny >> he was instrumental i making me into who i am. >> the three men shared an unusually strong bond. >> dad, david and myself, it was our normal routine to have lunch every day. >> you all sound thick a thieves, the three of you? >> absolutely. the last thing i did every day was i gave dad a big hug and told him i love him, and h told me the same thing every single day >> he loved to take me out t the farm >> melvin's only grandchild, recalled how her granddad ha our way of keeping the famil close. >> we would always g vacationing, different countries, fishing in cost rica, for my graduation, fro college, or scuba diving and really bonding together. it was an amazing relationship

>> and then there was julia. she and melvin started datin ten years earlier. he was divorced and she ha recently been widowed. >> they quickly become a fixture around town? >> yes, immediately. he adored her, and she adore him. she loved travel, she spunky she's fun, what he thought was his perfect match. >> she fit right into th tight-knit family. >> she was bubbly, she was a good cook -- >> away to a man's heart >> or woman. >> they became a team. melvin even help julia start her own business >> he eventually bought her he own store, so that she could sell her cosmetics and women's clothing >> she opened the store in thi town where she had grown up, she called it julia's. >> she started to become par

of the family? >> yes we were really happy for that. >> but now, everything has changed as investigators wor the crime scene, tommy jenkins then your police captain knocked on brawny's door >> he says ronny i have to tel you something, your father i dead and i said no tommy, that is not true. and he said it is your father, i've known him most of you life and it's him. >> wrong and his brother david drove to the father's hous hoping it was all a mistake. >> i looked over to the side and i see coroner written on the back and that's when you know that's when you know, he's not coming back. >> as the news of julia' attack in melvin's murde spread, so too did fear. if it could happen to this prominent couple, who might be

next >> someone came here with th intention to murder him, and then i'm thinking, this person is still on the loose. are we safe? >> coming up police had one thing going for them, a witness. >> he pushed me back down on the ground and he said, if you say anything, i'll kill you. >> but there was a lot investigators did not have this would not be an eas murder to solve. >> everything was taken from the scene. there were no cuttin instruments, no rolls of tape, no gun, nothing, it was al gone >> when dateline continues just leaving you a voicemail. my number is 618-437-7425. okay. can anyone tell me what julie did wrong there? you got to repeat the number. i mean, no one's ever gonna get it the first time. -nope. -didn't leave her last name. no, the -- the phone tells you who called. she didn't mention a good time to call her back. how am i supposed to know when to call her back? no. she just shouldn't have left a voicemail. 9 out of 10 times, a text will do. progressive can't save you from becoming your parents, but we can save you money when you bundle home and auto with us. [ music playing ]

when we first arrived at st. jude, it was just claire and i. she was still recovering from her brain surgery. and side effects of that surgery meant that she had to relearn how to walk and how to speak. ♪♪ [ male announcer ] you can join the battle to save lives by supporting st. jude children's research hospital. two months after we arrived, my three-year-old came to visit, and claire lit up. she was quiet before. and i thought it was just because cancer's hard, but she was really missing her siblings, and i didn't realize how much. all right, young lady. we're going to see how much you weigh, and how tall you are real quick. ♪♪ mama. hey, claire. [ laughter ] ♪♪ [ male announcer ] families never receive a bill from st. jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food, so they can focus on helping their child live.

when you call or go online with your credit or debit card right now, we'll send you this st. jude t-shirt you can wear to show your support to help st. jude save the lives of these children. i experienced life at st. jude. every dollar that goes to st. jude goes to a good place. it's keeping families together during the hardest thing they'll ever face. ♪♪ the first thing i'm going to do when i get home is pet my dog. ♪♪ [ woman ] st. jude saved my daughter's life. [ claire ] i love st. jude. [ male announcer ] please call or go online right now and become a st. jude partner in hope today. when you're through with powering through, it's time for theraflu hot liquid medicine.

powerful relief so you can restore and recover. theraflu hot beats cold. when cold symptoms keep you up, try vicks nyquil severe. just one dose starts to relieve 9 of your worst cold and flu symptoms, to help take you from 9 to none. for max-strength nighttime relief, nyquil severe. >> detective billy stood on th

driveway that cold februar night trying to figure out who killed prominent lawyer, melvi roberts. the -- he got a close look at melvin' body >> could you tell immediatel what had happened? >> he had a couple of abrasion one on top of his head, on next to his ear, and they were good licks, somebody beat hi up pretty good with a meta object >> the detective could als tell that melvin was shot at the bullet had only grazed his ear. so what killed him >> as i'm looking down at hi he had a zip tie that wa wrapped around his neck and it was cinch down pretty good

>> 79-year-old melvin robert had been strangled police quickly searched th scene and spotted their firs clue the prosecution who woul handle the case, thought it wa a big one. >> they found footprints bac to his house, they were in mud and muddy water and still ha tread. that told us that it was super fresh. >> investigators believe tha the footprints most likely cam from a man, they quickly calle in the canine unit hoping dogs could track down the killer if

he was still in the wood around melbourne's house >> the dogs had picked up on fresh scent, they go out to an enjoining neighborhood where the dog loses the scent, which implies that the person go into a car and left. >> and that's where the trai vanished >> everything was taken, fro the scene. there was no cutting instruments, no rules of tape, no empty tape, certainly no zi ties, no gun, nothing, it wa all gone >> but detectives did have a witness, maybe she could hel solve the crime. julia was gently escorted away still wrapped in duct a. >> have a seat for me. >> she arrived at the police station. >> are you okay sweetheart >> cold and shaken she had cuts on her arms and elbows and bruises on her hand and face, but despite all th trauma, julia told investigators she was ready to help find melvin's killer. >> she's your best witness a that point >> correct and she's our only witness >> i can see that man. >> she took detective throug the details of the attack. it began here behind melvin' house in the large circula driveway surrounded by a red brick wall she was getting groceries ou of the back of her suv when sh realized she was not alone >> and that's when the man came it and he grabbed me he put his hand over my mouth. and shocked me to the back o the car. >> then, he made a demand. >> he kept saying, money

money. >> the next thing she knew, he was tying her up with ducked a >> and then he taped up my eyes, my mouth, put my hands together >> she said he dropped her 6 feet to the back of the parkin area behind the brick wall >> he drugged me to the bric wall, and he pushed me down. >> lying on the wet ground, sh soon heard melvin's car pull up >> i could see the car lights. and he pushed me back down o the ground and he said, if you say anything, i'll kill you. >> a short time later, she heard a violent struggle >> i thought i heard something like a pipe or something tha somebody picked up >> why do you think you hear something that sounded like pipe >> i don't know because i hear it hit the ground. >> okay. >> and then, i heard a shot. >> you heard a shot? >> it had to have been shot. >> after that, julia did not hear anything else she stayed behind the bric wall, hoping the killer wa gone then made her escape >> and if the tape hadn't go wet from the rain, i don't kno if i had gotten off. >> with the duck tape loose,

she was able to use a key to break free >> i never let go of my ca key. >> julie explain to police, sh wanted to get help for melvin, but a part of her new it was too late >> he was laying on that concrete, and i knew that wa him. and i knew with my heart tha he wasn't alive, but i didn' want to believe it >> still wet and muddy, sh told the police should staye at this long as she needed to, she was grateful to be alive >> i'm the type of person come up at 5:00 in the mornin reading my bible and i honestly believe that go protect me from all of this. i really do. >> she said -- i believe she left at around one, two or three in the morning.

>> a few days went by and th cops were no closer to finding the killer so they did somethin unconventional >> i'm driving home. >> since julia was ready and willing, they took her back to the crime scene. >> i'm pulling my car, here. >> we believe that if we too her back to the scene that w could get a more clear, concis picture of exactly wha happened >> they wanted julia to show them where the assailant had thrown into the mud. >> he put me in a position lik this >> maybe they had miscue behind the wall. they also wanted to revisit th sound of that pipe she'd heard detectives asked her to clos her eyes just listen. >> it's not the type of soun you heard? >> not exactly >> they were hoping it might unlock any suppressed memories from that night. she did remember more detail about her attacker's voice >> he said it with a dialect he wasn't american like i am speaking with english. >> detectives continue t gently guide julia through the crime scene, but she often became emotional it all seems to be taking toll on, and melvin's family worried about her. >> i called julia on several

occasions to check on her an she was shaken up a bit. >> she was worried that someon was still out there? >> yes, to the point where a her store, they would leave th door locked and not let anybod in until they saw who was at the door >> so who could've done this t julia and melvin detectives were about to discover the number of possibl suspects was daunting. >> turns out, melvin was a man with a lot of friends and a lo of enemies coming up. >> putting a list together anything or anyone who could'v

had a conflict with that >> how long was the list >> it was at least 75 names. >> was melvin's killer on that list when dateline continues. nergy bill? how? the lower the temp, the lower your bill. tide cleans great in cold and saves money? i am so in. save $150 when you turn to cold with tide. peaceful state. full plate. wait, are you my blind date? dancing crew. trip for two. nail the final interview. buy or lease? masterpiece. inside joke. artichoke. game with doug. brand new mug. come here, kid. gimme a hug. have you gotten your updated covid-19 booster? they're designed to help protect against recent omicron variants. schedule yours at vaccines.gov. ♪ flu symptoms hit harder than the common cold. so it takes the right tool for the job... to keep it together. now there's new theraflu flu relief

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closer look, the clues at th crime scene told a different story. >> no money was taken, the money bag that julia had brought with her had roughly $80 in it. also melvin, i believe he ha in the neighborhood $400 >> this prosecutor believe tha this was a premeditated hit. >> we had to figure out wh would have any motive. we had to hone in on people wh knew melvin, and anybody who had a beef with him. >> that wouldn't be easy because melvin was no ordinary man. as detective started looking into mountains relationships with people around town, the learned that he had two sides, while he could be incredibly kind and generous, he also had an edge. >> he had no problem telling you what he thought of you o what you should do, or what yo could do better. he was known to have a bit of temper >> police wondered if that temper might have given someon

a reason to kill they also took a close look at melvin's business dealings besides being a defensiv tierney, melvin earned multipl properties and a used car lot. they asked his sons to come up with a list of potential sub specks anyone who might have a grudge >> i had all the people wh worked for a dad put a lis together of clients that he ha represented or had a cas against him. rental properties, evictions any thing that anyone could've had a conflict with dad about. >> how long used a list? >> it was at least 75 names, a least. >> he's been an attorney for 5 years, he had made people pa child support who may not want to pay child support >> raise their children. in a divorce >> there were people who may want to see harm to your dad >> potentially >> working from that list,

police began knocking on doors they brought people in for questioning. detectives also pursued promising lead from their only witness, melvin's girlfriend julia. they focus on a key details sh had given them the killers accent >> maybe he couldn't speak goo english. >> one of the descriptions tha she had given us is that it wa an indian type, with an accent >> he had learned about couple who had run to the hous from melvin, the husband had a indian accent and his wife had a nasty fight with melvin. >> i had found out about a wee before that melvin had a argument with a large female tenant, she had complained tha the floor was cracking near th kitchen sink >> melvin told her that if she weren't such a fat woman she wouldn't be breaking the floor >> those could be fighting words for someone? >> there are strong words fo husband to take and i can se him getting pretty upset wit that, and maybe goin overboard. >> when the detective went t the house to speak to th husband, the man told him that

he was at work at the time o the murder investigators set out to check his story. this police were also very interested in someone else melvin's handyman, jeanne moss david said he walked in on his dad and moss having an argumen in the conference room on th night of the murder. >> that had been having some issues with jean, and i though that they were gonna have conversation, and i said by dad, i'll see you tomorrow. and i walked out of the door >> that was the last time davi saw his dad alive. >> jeanne wasn't doing with da was doing to >> was jeanne gonna get th boot >> i thought so. i thought that dad was being a little too hard on gene. dad maybe you should back it down a notch, if you're gonn fire him just fire him >> he was one of the mai suspects >> police got a break. they discovered dna on that zi tie found around melbourne's neck they immediately started

swapping suspects, hoping to find a match >> i have over 80 dna sample that i have collected from everybody connected to thi case >> did you interview all those people as well >> all those people had been interviewed by me or at leas one of the other 3 to detectives that had assisted with that case >> 80 people >> yes >> clearly it would be a tough case to crack. is it like fighting a suspec in a haystack? >> in a stack of her specs probably >> but worthy looking in the right haystack >> coming up a secret kept in a bedroom >> free found a lot of empty prescription pill bottles and lot of pharmacy receipts >> had the police also found the motive for melvin's murder when dateline continues. eww, the toilet sneeze. every flush spews harmful bacteria onto surfaces. that when touched, can quickly spread throughout your home. help stop the spread with microban24.

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state have been killed in storm that's tipping america among, them 16 dead in the buffalo area, hit by the mos devastating snowstorm. and it's a history over in the cut the oka's. that the death toll is expecte to rise. and, the extreme weather has also wreaked havoc on americas travel plans this holida weekend. around the thousand flight were canceled this sunday. around 900 are alrdyea cancele for today. now, back to dateline. >> welcome back to dateline. i'm craig melvin melvin roberts was murdere outside his secluded souther home and investigators believe he had been targeted police quickly learned melvi had plenty of enemies. now, they were about to uncove a suspect hiding in plai sight. here again is andrea canning with death in the driveway >> four days after his murder, melvin roberts was laid to res in that town he'd called hom for the last 60 years. >> did it feel like the whol town came to the funeral >> it did, yes everybody was there. from all over. >> versus if he was the go-t

guy in your. if you need to figure somethin out. he was afraid to take on anybody. he never backed down he always looked out for the little guy because i think he always sa himself as the little guy. >> but as hundreds gathered to say goodbye to melvin, and odd 's feeling settled over th mourners was a fear was it suspicion could someone amongst them b the killer melvin's granddaughter and emily started looking over her shoulder >> who could this be how could this have happened who would want him dead? >> was it putting the town o edge >> yes, there is a killer on the loose. we've got to figure out wh this is. >> detectives were working around the clock, trying t

narrow down the long list of potential suspects they learned that the angr tenet who fit the descriptio of the man they were looking for couldn't possibly be the color. he was at work prosecutor chris hodge >> you had to clock in nin clock out. and his employer verified at the time he was there, that he had not left stayed until a shift was over. so he an airtight alibi. >> then there was the handyman jeanne mosque, who'd had a argument with melvin shortly before the murder. when detective billy mumaw question mosque, he said he wa at home with his wife. >> that's kind of a shaky alibi, your wife? >> yes, a phone call was mad to him by another fellow later he said he heard his wife in the background >> on the home line? >> correct that was just after the murder >> moss was cross off the list detectives were running into nothing but dead ends. they spent a lot of time delving into melvin's life now detectives wanted to loo for clues in julia's background they took a ride 40 kilometers west as daphne to look at her business. as they poked around her store things were exactly what they. seem >> a started out as a big

fancy store. and then basically, it had jus declined into a thrift store >> perhaps even more concernin to detectives, was the reaso julian store was filling investigators learned julia ha a problem with pills >> she was taking money out of the till she was buying chris corruptio drugs for people off the street >> we found a lot of empty prescription pill bottles and lot of pharmacy receipts >> this was a woman with a serious addiction? >> she was >> but it turns out, julia's financial troubles and pil addiction were no secret a few years earlier, emily sai her grandfather had even stepped in to help >> he sent her to rehab. >> and she willingly went? >> correct >> that must have made melvi really happy >> that he could help change her life and spin around to be a positive, yes. >> when word got out that cops were asking tough question

about julia, many around tow thought the police were wastin their time >> everybody thought there was an outside person. there's no way that julia woul kill melvin. he was the love of her life. >> and julia said that was the case, right up to melvin's death. she told police she had planne a celebration for that night turns out, it was her birthday and julia had a few surprise for melded >> melvin collected matchboo covers and she had gotten a fe of those and gotten him present for her birthday she >> also bought mics hard lemonade and was wearing special victoria's secre underwear.

julia painted a picture of two people in love >> how is yours and melvin's relationship >> great is sort of a private thing but melvin was you know physically active, in every way >> sure enough, detectives found evidence to back that up >> during the investigation we did low-key a few items that suggested that their sex lif was quite active >> still, detective for mumaw' read or was. up he thought back to the firs moment he saw julia huddled in her suv. there was something about th way she was wrapped in tha ducked a that didn't sit right >> the doctor that went around her hands basically looked lik she had held her arms out an it all looked like it wa placed on there with clear a to not hurt her. >> so right away, you coul just tell this wasn't a typica dictate wrap >> it was odd. the amount of duct that wa around her feet did not matc

somebody who would normally be dumped it was just wasn't enough of it >> this got the detectiv wondering, was there anythin else about julia story on that fateful night that didn't make sense? >> coming up a strange reaction to a simple request. >> can i get some pictures right quick. >> no, we're gonna use these four playboy >> no. >> did yulia just reveal the naked truth? when dateline continues. at pfizer, we're driven by this impulse. we've reached hundreds of millions of lives with our covid-19 response. and we keep innovating. whatever comes next, we will respond fiercely. like family. ♪ [ music playing ] when we first arrived at st. jude, it was just claire and i. she was still recovering from her brain surgery. and side effects of that surgery meant that she had to relearn how to walk and how to speak. ♪♪ [ male announcer ] you can join the battle to save lives by supporting st. jude children's research hospital.

two months after we arrived, my three-year-old came to visit, and claire lit up. she was quiet before. and i thought it was just because cancer's hard, but she was really missing her siblings, and i didn't realize how much. all right, young lady. we're going to see how much you weigh, and how tall you are real quick. ♪♪ mama. hey, claire. [ laughter ] ♪♪ [ male announcer ] families never receive a bill from st. jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food, so they can focus on helping their child live. when you call or go online with your credit or debit card right now, we'll send you this st. jude t-shirt you can wear to show your support to help st. jude save the lives of these children. i experienced life at st. jude.

every dollar that goes to st. jude goes to a good place. it's keeping families together during the hardest thing they'll ever face. ♪♪ the first thing i'm going to do when i get home is pet my dog. ♪♪ [ woman ] st. jude saved my daughter's life. [ claire ] i love st. jude. [ male announcer ] please call or go online right now and become a st. jude partner in hope today. the holidays were awkward for romeo and juliet. ♪♪ thankfully, amazon had just the gift to bring the families together. ♪♪ shop legendary deals. when a cold comes on strong, knock it out with vicks dayquil severe. just one dose starts to relieve 9 of your worst cold and flu symptoms. to help take you from 9 to none.

power through with vicks dayquil severe. >> on the night of the murder, julia phillips, the sass southern belle, sat in the police station and was gentl asked a routine question >> i really don't want to as it

>> did you do anything t melvin >> absolutely not. >> still, investigators were bothered by a few things besides the way julio had been gingerly wrapped with duct a detective mumaw wondered about the amount of mud on her clothes. during one interview she sai she had been dragged 60 feas and force face down into the ground >> he's taking my face and he' pushing it down into this mud. >> so you would expect mud head to toe? >> correct >> and basically what we got was, if she would've sat dow into the grass, her but and he pant legs at the bottom were muddled, like she would've sat down >> the police weren't the only

ones grown suspicious. melvin's grand daughter looked back at something that happene at the funeral home. julia, who was there with he son hunter, approached emily >> immediately, she wants to tell her story about what ha happened that night. >> the timing was a bi inappropriate, emily thought but more disturbing, julia stu knew the story better than she did. >> she tells us that her hands were bound from behind, and he goes no mama, your hands wer bound in the front >> it wasn't surprising that julia might be confused abou small details from that violen night. but when detectives went t verify one thing, she wa crystal clear on, alarm bell went on. julia told police she heard gunshots and said she wa nowhere near the gun but forensic evidence told mumaw a very different story you did a gunshot residue test the moment you've got to the police department? >> correct her hands come back negative >> but you found it on her sleeves. >> correct >> if she 60 feet away, behind the wall and the assailant i shooting him - >> gunshot residue is not gonn

travel 60 feet >> an epiphany moment for th detective, when he added the gunshot residue on julius clos with all the other parts of he story he found questionable, h was convinced, julia wasn't victim but the mastermind wh arranged and help carry ou melvin's murder. so three months after that col rainy night, police arrested julia phillips in the parkin lot outside her store an charged with murder. >> probably the best day of my life my dad called me and said they got her. >> police and prosecutors di not think julia actually kille melvin, but that she hired someone else to do it. >> the fresh footprints. that was really how we kne

that she absolutely had someon else >> their theory painted juli as pure evil the reason she was relativel dry, they surmised, was becaus she stood under an embroil watching as her accomplice struck, shot and strangled melvin before carefull wrapping her induct tape >> we've always assume tha there was a second perso assisting in the actua physical hands on part of th murder >> so who could be there was one person who polic learned was close to her, had criminal record, and, like julia, had a drug problem. her son, hunter. >> he was a suspect just for the simple fact that who, is most likely to help her? >> was he shady character? >> he was always involved with scams to get his pills >> drugs really drove him? >> correct >> but hunter had a soli alibi. he was with a former cop at th time of the murder 40 minutes away, preparing his home computer. >> we could not put him in yor at the time of the murder. >> hunter was never charged, i fact, investigators couldn't

find anyone to charge. and the prosecutor worried tha that would make this murder fo hire case a tough one to prove >> there is no evidence, whatsoever, linking julia to a hit man? >> that's right. nothing. we tracked her bank records, w saw no exchanges of any type she kept her phone clean there are no odd calls, an that was the hurdle that i fel like we faced having an empt chair. you're trying julia and th empty chair. >> after three and a half years, working to build a case, i august 2015, julia phillip

went on trial for murder the once polished bell of york was now a shell of her old self a year since her arrest ha taken a toll but he urged the jury not to b fooled by the for a woman in the courtroom. >> if you believe that the defendant is guilty of doing one thing, just one thing, o the night melvin roberts was murdered, to aid in that murder, then she is guilty >> have a seat for me, mis 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 o 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 rea quick while we're in the warmth? >> now you're not gonna us these four playboy >> no. >> the first thing the woman

says, are these going to b used for playboy right there. boom that was inappropriate >> then, the prosecution dropped a bombshell. they found a witness to testif that this was not the firs time julia had melvin's murder on her mind. a police informant name gu blinken ship, a man with a criminal past claim that a few years after melvin died, julia tried to hire him to do th 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 leadin to one question most juror wanted answered, what was th motive the granddaughter thought sh 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 abou $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 wa

worried that she was never going to see that money, the reason the relationship between julia and melvin was over, sai prosecutors and she knew it. they put a friend of melvin' on the stand to back up thei claims >> he wasn't paying her bill anymore,, and he wasn't having anything to do with her. >> and with prosecutors believ what the final straw, that witness told the jury, melvi had led julian know that he ha booked a cruise with another woman. >> that must have really gotte under julia skin >> i would think he made it very clear to her that she was being replaced. >> and it was no coincidence that the costs cuter argue that melville -- julia had melvin killed on his birthday do you think that this was a possibility that this was juli 's present to julia? >> absolutely. >> now they thought so too ronny and david sat in the courtroom every day hoping for one thing -- >> i wanted to hear one word three and a half years, i just wanted one word. >> guilty? >> guilty. >> but would they get thei wish now it was the defenses turn they have an explanation for the duct up, the mud, th gunshot residue. in the end, they said, the state's case was all smoke and mirrors. >> coming up another twist, authorities wondered was there one murde or two >> there was enough suspicio presented to me that i wante to body exhumed. >> when dateline continues in a clinical study, once-daily rybelsus®

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had people talking, and ha melvin sons worried. could julia's defense team convince the jury she ha nothing to do with them eart hour of her longtime love? her attorney and his wife joy, prepared the legal case an said they had no doubt tha julie was innocent >> we believed in julia, fro the beginning. she is kind, and caring an there is no question in my min that she was in love wit melvin >> the defense set out to show the jury the very differen version of julia her comments that seemed inappropriate, they argued

we're just part of her quirk personality. >> now you're gonna use this for playboy? >> no. >> after the man you loved jus die, you're gonna be makin jokes about play boy >> i can say that she wa traumatized. that's just how she is and how she talks. >> they even told the jury tha julio was weird. >> her conversation style is unlike most people, weird wa something to open the jury u to - she might be weird, she migh be inconsistent but look, she' not a killer >> the defense also reminded the jury, julia was a victim she had been attack and that she told police there was perfectly good reason why that deducting pushed loose >> and if the tape hadn't go wet from the rain, i don't kno if i've gotten off >> but wouldn't have still pul some skin or some hair

>> it was raining the night of the incident, so as it's raining it's getting wet, it's not sticking as much as usuall does >> and since it was rainin that buys, the prosecution had asked why wasn't julia wet and muddy? easy the defense said, she was >> on the video, you can see her jeans are soaking wet. she is not dry she has mud all over her pants which was from the rain and th dirt >> the defense also addresse the gunshot residue found on julius close, which seemed t undermine her story that she was behind a wall, 60 feet awa from where the gun went off. julia's lawyer argued that there wasn't enough residu found on julia to do a accurate test. >> if this had been the fbi lab, any of our military labs, they could not have justified tha the gunshots residue were ther

because a number of particle were there did not meet th trash hold >> the defense team continue to pound home the notion tha there was no physical as it an linking her to the murder. and if this was a murder for hire, they asked, where was th killer >> they built a case based o no evidence. they want to say to you, w have no idea what happened, bu we want you to guess at th victim that's not how it works. >> next, the defense attacke the prosecution star witness guy blankenship, the man who said julia had hired him t kill melfort and they said he was a criminal, and not to mention he wa motivated by money you went so far to call gu blankenship a magnet >> i don't remember. >> but this maggot fit >> at the time much i sure did >> finally defends had t counter the heart of the defense case, motive the state case - she was about to be dumped and written out of melvin's we'll. but he argued that they were a happy couple

>> she picked up lemonade an wanted to meet melvin on her birthday - >> it was supposed to be a hot steamy night >> the idea that julia was broke and needed melvin's money, also not true, said th defense. julius lawyer argued, he family had plenty of money and was willing to spend it. >> her family came and pai

substantial attorney fees. >> her family is paying he medical bills, her familie bringing her food, taking care of her, taking her where she needs to go. >> in the end, the defense decided not to call julia to testify, they said she was suffering from dementia. after seven days of testimony, both sides rested. >> by the end of the trial, th question was not is she in volley but how could she not be involved >> the jury took less than fou hours to reach a verdict >> we're all sitting around an everyone is killing time, then the ballot came's out and sa that the jury reached verdict. i thought i was going to throw up i was almost high preven prevailing >> the granddaughter was not i the room when the verdict wa read, her dad culture with the

news >> he called me and he sai she's guilty, murder >> julia phillips, the bell of york was now a convicted killer >> i was jumping up and down, remember waking up the nex morning and there were doubl rainbows, and i just thought this is awesome. >> julia has been called an ic queen, a femme fatale, cunning greedy murderous women >> yes >> it's not what comes to mind when you just look at her? >> right when you look at her, you thin oh, she's an attractive olde lady then she opens her mouth and you can see what's reall in their >> julia's arrest for melvin's murder triggered questions about another death. julia stepdaughter from anothe

marriage didn't believe sh just murdered one man, but to. >> my father is not here because of her as well the daughters insist that thei father, brian phillips, did no die of a heart attack, the think julia poisoned him when the daughters heard about her arrest, they took thei suspicion to the police. >> there was enough suspicio that was presented to me, that i want the body excellent. >> where their concern revolving around julia phillips? >> there were concerns >> julia denied she killed him and was not charged in tha case three years after he convention in 2016, julia died in prison, she was 72. for the family, that wasn't th end. ronny says the investigation i far from closed. >> now, we have to go after th next one the family believes there is a hitmen still out there and i offering a 10,000 reward t catch him. lieutenant rich cuddle heade the new investigation team tha took a fresh look at the case. >> either someone's gonna tell ushi