Ervin “Tip” Roeder was a Los Angeles divorce attorney who, according to the LAPD detective who ran the case, arranged the murder-for-hire plot that killed him on June 10, 1981, alongside his estranged wife, actress Jenny Maxwell. Investigators concluded Roeder hired a gunman to kill Maxwell and wound him just enough to deflect suspicion, but the shooter killed them both outside Maxwell’s Beverly Grove condominium. No one has ever been charged, and the case remains officially open.1Los Angeles Magazine. The Tragic Murder of Jenny Maxwell
What Happened Outside the Condo on South Holt Avenue
On the afternoon of June 10, 1981, a nearby store clerk heard three gunshots and Roeder’s cries for help on South Holt Avenue. Roeder, 60, was found on the sidewalk on his hands and knees with a gunshot wound to his stomach. He died from the injury. Maxwell, 39, was found dead in the lobby of her condominium building with a fatal head wound.1Los Angeles Magazine. The Tragic Murder of Jenny Maxwell
The Los Angeles Times initially reported the killings as an attempted robbery gone wrong. That theory fell apart quickly. Nothing had been taken from either victim, and police never developed any description of the gunman or any leads pointing to a robber.
Why Detectives Concluded Roeder Set It Up
Retired LAPD detective Mike Thies, who led the investigation out of the Wilshire Detective Bureau, called the robbery story “bunk.” He said the evidence pointed to a murder-for-hire plot that Roeder himself had put in motion, and that detectives had effectively solved the case within about ten days of the shootings. The findings were never publicly announced, and media coverage never moved past the original robbery narrative.2The Livingston Post. New Book Solves the Murder of Elvis Presley’s Blue Hawaii Co-Star Jenny Maxwell
Several pieces of evidence drove that conclusion:
- In the months before the killings, Roeder had approached at least three separate associates looking for someone willing to kill Maxwell. Some accounts said he also asked the hitman to wound or kill him to deflect suspicion.1Los Angeles Magazine. The Tragic Murder of Jenny Maxwell
- Rounds of rare ammunition matching the type used to kill both victims were found inside Roeder’s Lincoln Continental.
- Less than a year before the murders, Roeder had claimed a “prowler” shot him in his own backyard. The wound was a superficial graze, and he was initially reluctant to report it. Associates suspected it was self-inflicted. Thies described it as groundwork for “plausible deniability.”
The theory Thies developed was that the gunman was supposed to kill Maxwell and only graze Roeder, leaving him as an apparent second victim. Instead, the shooter killed them both. The motive, Thies believed, was Roeder’s determination to avoid paying a large divorce settlement.3Hillsdale Collegian. Video Journalism Teacher Writes Book on Movie Actress Mystery Death
Who Roeder Was and Why He Wanted Maxwell Dead
Before practicing law, Roeder worked as a sheriff’s deputy. He later joined the firm of Louis C. Blau, a Hollywood attorney whose clients included Stanley Kubrick, Lana Turner, and Berry Gordy. Roeder became known as the attorney, business manager, and close friend of actor Nick Adams, and built his own practice representing various Hollywood figures in divorce matters. People who knew him described him as “loud, brash, obnoxious and rich,” and he was a regular at Red Tracton’s, a La Cienega steakhouse frequented by mobsters. Whether he had real organized-crime ties or just cultivated the impression was disputed; Thies and others said Roeder encouraged people to believe he was mob-connected.1Los Angeles Magazine. The Tragic Murder of Jenny Maxwell
Roeder married Maxwell, best known for her role opposite Elvis Presley in Blue Hawaii, on February 17, 1970. He was more than 20 years her senior. Friends described the marriage as a “disaster,” with constant arguments and infidelity on both sides. Maxwell had decided to leave by 1978 but reportedly waited past their ten-year anniversary to file, hoping for a larger financial settlement. By June 1981, the couple was living apart, Maxwell had bought her own condominium, and she had formally filed for divorce.
Roeder, reportedly furious at the prospect of paying spousal support, disinherited Maxwell in his will. He wrote: “It is my intention that Jennifer Helene Roeder will receive nothing upon my passing. I do not want a lying, cheating, deceitful woman to profit.”
Why No One Was Ever Charged
Even after detectives concluded Roeder had orchestrated the plot, they were never able to identify the gunman. Without the shooter, there was no case to bring, and no co-conspirator was ever charged either. The file sat without a public resolution for decades, and most media accounts continued to describe the deaths as a probable robbery.
Because Roeder outlived Maxwell by a few hours and Maxwell died without a will, her possessions and her share of the marital assets passed to Roeder’s estate and then to his daughters from previous relationships. Her son Brian Rapp reportedly received nothing.4Deena’s Days. Murder of an Elvis Girl: Solving the Jenny Maxwell Case by Buddy Moorehouse
How the Murder-for-Hire Theory Became Public
In 2021, journalist and documentarian Buddy Moorehouse, a relative of Maxwell’s, published Murder of an Elvis Girl: Solving the Jenny Maxwell Case. Moorehouse tracked down the original LAPD case file at the Wilshire Detective Bureau and met with Thies in May 2019 at a coffee shop near the crime scene on South Holt Avenue.5The Livingston Post. My Mom’s Famous Hollywood Cousin Was Murdered in 1981 Thies confirmed the murder-for-hire theory directly, telling Moorehouse: “Yeah, we solved that case back in 1981. I know exactly what happened.”
Thies acknowledged that without identifying the gunman the case could never be formally closed, but said investigators had “achieved a level of satisfaction in ferreting out the underlying issue in the case.” As of 2026, no charges have been filed, and the case remains officially open.