Melvin Roberts: Killing, Conviction, and the Missing Suspect

The Melvin Roberts murder remains partially unsolved more than fourteen years after the former York, South Carolina mayor was killed outside his home on February 4, 2010. His longtime girlfriend, Julia Phillips, was convicted as an accomplice in 2013 and sentenced to life in prison, but the person who actually carried out the killing has never been identified or charged.¹

What Happened on the Night of the Killing

Roberts, 79, was found dead in the driveway of his York home on an evening of icy rain. He had been shot at, struck in the head, and strangled with a plastic zip tie.¹ Phillips, his girlfriend of ten years, was found at the scene with duct tape wrapped around her head and wrists. She told police that a stranger had ambushed the couple, held her behind a brick retaining wall, and killed Roberts while she was restrained.

Roberts had been a lawyer in York for more than 55 years, served on the city council for eight years in the 1960s, and was elected mayor in 1972.² His prominence in the local bar led Greenville prosecutors to take over the case to avoid conflicts of interest.³

Why Investigators Doubted Phillips’ Story

The physical evidence did not match her account. Phillips said she had been dragged through wet, muddy grass, but her clothing was clean and dry. The duct tape binding her was loose and appeared to have been neatly cut rather than torn. Phone records showed she called her son, William Hunter Stephens, twice before dialing 911. A forensic examination also found gunshot residue on her blouse, which prosecutors later argued placed her near the gun when it was fired.⁴ Nothing had been taken from the home or from a money bag Phillips had brought from her store, which undercut her claim of a robbery.³

Phillips was arrested in May 2010, about three months after the killing. The York Police Department and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division led the investigation, with help from federal agencies and county detectives.³

The Trial and Conviction of Julia Phillips

Phillips was charged as an accomplice to murder and pleaded not guilty on May 18, 2010. In a separate proceeding that July, she pleaded guilty to stealing $2,000 from Roberts’ realty company.⁵

The murder trial took place in late August and early September 2013 at the Moss Justice Center in York, with Judge Derham Cole presiding after being brought in from Spartanburg.⁶ The case was entirely circumstantial. Prosecutors acknowledged that someone else had physically carried out the killing. Over roughly a week of testimony, the state presented more than 100 pieces of evidence, including Roberts’ jacket with a bullet hole, and called twelve witnesses who described Phillips’ shifting statements to police and her repeatedly changing descriptions of the attacker. One witness testified that Phillips had previously tried to hire him to kill Roberts.⁴

Prosecutors argued the motive was money. Roberts had ended the relationship and planned to remove Phillips from his will, which included a $150,000 inheritance. Phillips, whom prosecutors described as a prescription pill addict, feared being cut off. Assistant Solicitor Kris Hodge called her “cunning, very manipulative, very greedy, very desperate, lying, scheming.”⁴ The state also alleged that Phillips had hired a person described as a “black-market plastic surgeon who owned an antiques shop” to carry out the killing in exchange for $10,000.⁷

Defense attorney Bobby Frederick told jurors the case was “built on motive, not evidence” and argued that police had rushed to charge Phillips because the victim was a prominent former mayor and attorney. He maintained there was no direct evidence linking her to the killing and said her unusual behavior during interrogations reflected her personality and heavy medication use. “She’s grandiose. She’s attention-seeking. She doesn’t act normal, and she’s on a lot of medications,” he said.⁸ The defense also argued that the gunshot residue on her blouse could have transferred from another source. Judge Cole twice denied defense motions for a directed verdict.⁹

After a few hours of deliberation, the jury found Phillips guilty on September 5, 2013. She received the maximum sentence of life in prison.⁵ She filed a notice of appeal with the South Carolina Court of Appeals on September 16, 2013, arguing the state had failed to meet its burden of proof.⁶ Phillips died of natural causes in prison on July 6, 2016, at age 72, reported to be the state’s oldest female convicted killer at the time. She never confessed or named an accomplice.¹⁰

The Second Suspect Who Was Never Found

From the start, investigators believed Phillips had help. She stood about five feet tall and weighed roughly 100 pounds, while Roberts was significantly larger. Police questioned how she could have single-handedly overpowered him with a pipe, a gun, and a zip tie while staging the scene to make herself look like a victim.³

Her son, William Hunter Stephens, was identified in court documents as a suspect but was never charged. Stephens took a lie detector test and sat for multiple police interviews. A retired Gaffney police officer provided an alibi placing him miles from the crime scene that night, and investigators said they did not believe he was present when Roberts was killed. Stephens, who was serving time for unrelated drug and fraud convictions, claimed those charges were brought to pressure him about the Roberts case. York police said he was someone they were “not finished with.”¹¹

Police focused their search for an accomplice on Gaffney, South Carolina, where Phillips had grown up, managed a downtown boutique, and where Roberts owned property.⁷ By June 2014, investigators reported roughly a dozen credible leads pointing to individuals in Gaffney, Columbia, and Spartanburg, and described a “significant break” in the case. That break did not lead to an arrest.¹²

Police Chief Brian Trail called it the most extensive investigation in the history of the York Police Department. Officers collected more than 80 DNA swabs from the cable tie used to strangle Roberts and found no matches. Cell tower data analysis, interviews with people who might have carried grudges from Roberts’ legal or business dealings, and a private investigation funded by Roberts’ son Ronnie all failed to identify a second person. Every individual interviewed produced a verified alibi. The bullet that missed Roberts was destroyed on impact, and the murder weapon was never recovered.³

Where the Case Stands Now

As of July 2024, the case remains cold. Lt. Kevin Hoffman, assigned to the investigation in the late 2010s to provide a fresh perspective, re-interviewed witnesses, reviewed trial transcripts, and resubmitted DNA evidence using updated technology. None of it produced a new suspect. “I can’t rule out there was a second suspect,” Hoffman said, noting the prevailing theory that the crime scene was staged and that Phillips likely had help.³

Roberts’ sons, Ronnie and David, maintain a $10,000 reward through York County Crimestoppers for information leading to the conviction of anyone else involved. Ronnie Roberts has kept his father’s house preserved as it was in 2010 in case future investigators need access. David Roberts has urged anyone who saw his father between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on the evening of the killing to come forward, saying a critical clue may still be out there.³

1
The Charlotte Observer. Former York Mayor Melvin Roberts Murder Case
2
WBTV. Former Mayor Dead in Homicide, Girlfriend Assaulted
3
The Herald Online. No New Leads in Melvin Roberts Murder
4
WBTV. Witness: Relationship Strained Before Former York Mayor Murdered
5
Yahoo News. No Leads: Did Second Killer Escape Justice in Former Mayor’s Death
6
The Island Packet. Julia Phillips Files Appeal in Roberts Murder Case
7
The Island Packet. Roberts Murder Investigation Continues
8
ABA Journal. Girlfriend, 69, Is Found Guilty of Murder in Slaying of Lawyer, 79
9
WYFF4. Woman Convicted in Former Mayor’s Death Seeks Acquittal
10
The Herald Online. Julia Phillips Dies in Prison
11
The State. Roberts Murder Investigation: William Hunter Stephens
12
WBTV. Murder of Former Mayor of York Gets National Spotlight