Julia Phillips is shown here standing between police officers during a Monday court appearance in Cherokee County. (Ledger photo / TIM GULLA) A Gaffney woman accused of murdering her longtime boyfriend was set to be released Thursday afternoon from a York County jail after a Circuit Court judge granted her a $75,000 bond, but freedom apparently was another day away.

Julia Phillips, 66, of Overbrook Drive, recently was accused of murder in connection with the Feb. 4 strangulation death of prominent York attorney Melvin Roberts, whom she dated for the past 10 years.

Circuit Court Judge Derham Cole, who presided over a bond hearing Monday in Cherokee County General Sessions Court, granted Phillips a $75,000 bond in a court order filed Thursday. While the bond paperwork was processed within the next few hours, Phillips remained in custody as of press time, though a York County jail official couldn’t confirm why Phillips was still being held.

City of Gaffney Police Chief Rick Turner confirmed Thursday evening Phillips still has to face an unrelated breach of trust charge in Gaffney, though he couldn’t say definitively that York County was holding Phillips for his department. He also couldn’t say if his department would be going to York on Thursday evening to pick her up, but said the department’s duty officer would go if York County gave his department a call. A bond hearing on the Gaffney charge would likely be held on Friday if she’s returned here, the chief believed.

According to Judge Cole’s decision on the murder charge bond, Phillips will have to abide by numerous restrictions during her release.

Judge Cole ordered that Phillips will be subject to home detention with electronic monitoring by Global Positioning Satellite technology and must pay for the electronic monitoring. In addition, she may not change her address or leave Cherokee County for any reason except for court appearances, conferences with her lawyer, and/or “necessary medical treatment and/or attendance at Sunday religious services.”

Phillips also cannot have “actual or constructive” possession of a firearm, and cannot have any direct or indirect contact with Melvin Roberts’ family or prosecution witnesses, Judge Cole ruled.

16th Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett, as well as Roberts’ sons, all opposed Phillips’ release on bond during Monday’s hearing.

Brackett and a York County detective outlined some of the evidence against Phillips during Monday’s hearing and they also provided the court with what they said were several motives for the killing, among them a contention that Roberts was in the process of ending his relationship with Phillips.

Phillips stood to inherit a downtown Gaffney building that houses the cosmetics store she ran, along with a car of her choice, according to Roberts’ will.

Brackett claimed Phillips had every “right” to believe she was going to be written out of the will once the relationship ended.

Judge Cole, who typically presides over cases in Spartanburg and Cherokee counties, was assigned to Phillips’ murder case because of Melvin Roberts’ long ties to the legal community in York County.

Roberts was killed outside his York home with a zip tie that was bound tightly around his throat. Phillips claimed an unknown attacker came to Roberts’ home on Feb. 4 and first attacked and bound her and then waited for Roberts to come home.

While she claimed the attacker was demanding “money, money,” prosecutors and police said nothing was stolen from either Phillips or Roberts.

Phillips’ defense attorney argued the smallstatured woman loved Roberts and was physically incapable of killing him.

Prosecutors acknowledged in court on Monday their belief a “coconspirator” was involved.