. >> reporter: and the woman who called police to the scene was julia phillips melvin's long-time girlfriend. >> she was worried that melvin was dead. she said she didn't know what had happened to him. >> reporter: investigators of the scene told julia the devastating news melvin had been murdered. >> reporter: is that a little jolt melvin roberts was the victim? >> yeah. because melvin is not the type of a person to be a victim of anything. >> reporter: melvin was the longest practices lawyer in south carolina. he defended both the rich and poor for 55 years. he almost sounds like a bit of a small-town celebrity whether he liked it or not. >> the thing about melvin was he was into everything. >> reporter: he was so influential, the street where he lived was named after him, roberts avenue. a true renaissance man devoted to his family. >> he was everything to me. he was my best friend. he was my mentor. >> reporter: melvin had two sons david and ronny. >> he was instrumental in making me into who i am. >> reporter: the three men shared an unusually strong bond. >> dad, david and myself it wa