Julia Phillips, convicted killer of former York Mayor Melvin Roberts, dies in prison at age 72
YORK Julia Phillips, who was serving a life prison sentence for killing former York Mayor Melvin Roberts in 2010,died late Wednesday, York police said.
Phillips was listed as 72 years old, and was believed to be the oldest female killer in South Carolina's prison system.
Phillips was convicted of accessory to murder in 2013 after a trial where prosecutors and police said she made up a phony story of being attacked when Roberts, 79, was killed. Authorities say Phillips, his former girlfriend, concocted a scheme to kill Roberts in an attempt to secure her financial future when Roberts was getting ready to dump her.
Yet her co-conspirator - or more than one - has never been caught or charged and the case remains open and actively under investigation.
Phillips' death was confirmed by the York Police Department.
York Police Chief Andy Robinson said late Wednesday he was told of Phillips' death and that the investigation to find anyone else connected with the crime remains open.
"We have never stopped investigating the case and will not end it now with the death of Ms. Phillips," Robinson said.
David Roberts said he was contacted by victim advocate officials late Wednesday and informed that Phillips died.
From June 23 through June 29, Phillips was out of the Graham prison for women in Columbia for an undisclosed medical problem, South Carolina Department of Corrections records show.
Her manner of death remains unclear.
The killing of Roberts, a legendary lawyer and Phillips live-in boyfriend for 10 years, stunned the York community. The arrest and conviction of Phillips following The Herald's coverage of Roberts' death, and Phillips' motive of murder for money, has spawned several television documentaries.
Phillips denied involvement in the killing and claimed to have been attacked in the same incident where Roberts was strangled after he was beaten over the head and shot at. Yet York police from the night of the incident in February 2010 believed Phillips' story was a sham and spent months accumulating evidence against her. Evidence included gunshot residue on her clothes.
Police and prosecutors said Roberts was going to cut off Phillips and she, after making overtures to hire a hit man while dealing with a narcotic drug problem, worked with a still uncaught accomplice or accomplices to kill Roberts.
She was arrested in May 2010 and then spent three years on bond under house arrest after admitting to stealing money from Roberts; she denied involvement in the murder.
While she was under house arrest Cherokee County coroner officials exhumed the body of her former husband, who died in 1999 after Phillips' stepdaughters demanded an investigation into that man's death. No charges were ever brought in that case.
Phillips' son, William Hunter Stephens, a convicted felon recently released from prison on unrelated fraud and drug charges, admitted in court documents that he was a suspect in the 2010 killing of Melvin Roberts, but he was never charged after having an alibi for the time on Feb. 4, 2010 that Roberts was killed.
After a week-long trial in York in 2013, Phillips was convicted of accessory to murder and sent to prison for life.
She had been a prison wardkeeper doing cleaning and maintenance and other duties while in prison. Although Phillips was listed as age 72, even her trial lawyer claimed she was likely older.
Phillips appealed the conviction claiming that York police - eager to find a scapegoat to ease the public's demand for an arrest - pinned the crime on her, but prosecutors balked at that claim. Her appeal was set to be heard later this year.
Andrew Dys 803-329-4065 @andrewdysherald
This story was originally published July 7, 2016 at 11:41 AM with the headline "Julia Phillips, convicted killer of former York Mayor Melvin Roberts, dies in prison at age 72."