Murder of an Elvis Girl

Book excerpt: It's one of the most brutal unsolved murders in the Elvis Presley universe - the 1981 slaying of his beautiful "Blue Hawaii" co-star, Jenny Maxwell. It was reported at the time that the murder was part of a botched robbery in Beverly Hills, but that's not at all what happened. Forty years after the murder, thanks to this book, it's finally been solved. Who killed Jenny Maxwell, and why? For the first time, the truth is revealed in "Murder of an Elvis Girl: Solving the Jenny Maxwell Case," And the truth is incredible.Jenny Maxwell was one of the hottest young actresses in Hollywood in the early 1960s, and she became best known as an Elvis Girl, playing the bratty Ellie Corbett in Elvis Presley's classic 1961 film, "Blue Hawaii." The performance made her one of the most memorable Elvis Girls ever and endeared her to generations of the King's fans. She appeared in dozens of TV shows, as well - everything from "Bonanza" and "My Three Sons" to "Father Knows Best" and "The Twilight Zone." In the 1960s, Jenny Maxwell's career was red-hot. She was friends with Sharon Tate and Peggy Lipton and dated a slew of young Hollywood stars.Off the screen, though, her personal life was a mess. She married film director Paul Rapp when she was just seventeen and became a mom at nineteen. Her marriage and her motherhood fell apart thanks to a lifestyle of Hollywood parties, drugs and sex. In an effort to win back her son, she quit Hollywood altogether in 1968 and married Ervin "Tip" Roeder, a high-powered and mobbed-up Los Angeles divorce attorney who was twenty years her senior. Their marriage was a rocky one, and by the time 1981 came around, they were separated and heading for divorce. Tip Roeder was at Jenny's side that fateful day in Beverly Hills, as they were both gunned down by the assassin outside her condo."Murder of an Elvis Girl" tells the amazing Hollywood life story of a true Elvis legend. Jenny Maxwell shared the screen with the likes of Jimmy Stewart, Robert Conrad, Joey Bishop. Bob Hope and Joan Crawford. She rubbed elbows with Frank Sinatra and Sandra Dee. And biggest of all, she was an Elvis Girl.The story of how this book came about is just as incredible. "Murder of an Elvis Girl" is written by Buddy Moorehouse, a longtime journalist from Michigan who is actually Jenny's first cousin, once removed (his grandfather and her father were brothers). The family had always been told that Jenny's murder was part of a botched robbery, but they never quite believed that, so Buddy embarked on a journey in 2019 to learn the truth of what really happened to their famous cousin. He eventually struck pay dirt when he found the detective who had investigated - and solved - the murder.This is the untold story of a long-forgotten Hollywood legend - how she lived, how she loved, and how she died.