TRUE CRIME

Rose Petal Murder: John Mello Files Civil Lawsuit

Key player in South Carolina true crime saga pushes back…

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John Mello – a key figure in one of South Carolina’s most shocking, ritualistic homicides – is suing multiple parties in connection with a criminal charge he was acquitted of earlier this year. Mello, a music producer with international connections, fathered a daughter with Christina Parcell – the victim of the brutal 2021 “Rose Petal Murder.”

Mello and the man accused of killing Parcell – concert pianist Zach Hughes – were both charged last fall with first degree conspiracy and harassment after they allegedly coordinated the dissemination of nude images of Parcell. This alleged harassment was tied to the ongoing and highly volatile custody battle between Mello and Parcell over their young daughter – a battle which preceded Parcell’s grisly murder in a Greer, S.C. suburb on a crisp fall morning three years ago.

This week, Mello sued the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO), the S.C. thirteenth circuit solicitor’s office and Greenville attorney/guardian ad litem Vanessa Kormylo.

Mello’s lawsuit alleged that custodial interference charges pursued against him in the aftermath of Parcell’s murder were “initiated without probable cause, and with malice and were based on false, misleading or insufficient information.” His civil filing (.pdf) comes just six months after the custodial interference charge against him was summarily dismissed by S.C. circuit court judge Perry Gravely.

Mello remains on the hook for the conspiracy and harassment charges, however.

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The Rose Petal saga has gripped the South Carolina Upstate – and Mello’s purported proximity to the murderer of his former girlfriend has spawned all manner of conspiracy theories about this case.

To recap: Parcell was found savagely slain on the morning of October 13, 2021 in a suburban neighborhood in Greer, S.C. As FITSNews previously reported, details of the crime scene were “disturbingly ritualistic.” For starters, the killer allegedly sprinkled rose petals around Parcell’s body after dragging (and posing) her in the front living room of a 2,100-square foot home owned by her sister.

“Rose petals were sprinkled around her body,” a source familiar with the killing told this news outlet. “She was dragged – there were drag marks. The scene was staged.”

Other sources cited the presence of multiple “deadheaded roses” around Parcell’s lifeless body.

Parcell – who had sustained more than thirty stab wounds to the head and neck area – was discovered shortly after 11:00 a.m. EST on the morning of the murder by her fiancée, Bradly Post, who has since been arrested (but not for killing Parcell). Instead, Post is currently facing five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor in the first degree, one count of sexual exploitation of a minor in the third degree, one count of third degree criminal sexual content with a minor and one count of buggery (you can read more about that last charge here).

Post and the estate of the late Christina Parcell are also the focus of multiple civil suits related to their alleged production of pornographic material involving minor children.

That’s right … the victim of this attack was accused of creating child pornography, including images which featured her own daughter.

In November 2021, prosecutors in the office of S.C. thirteenth circuit solicitor Walt Wilkins charged Hughes with this graphic crime.

The arrest of Hughes for Parcell’s murder shocked the Upstate seeing as he had no known connection with the victim. A California native and graduate of the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City, Hughes is a classically trained concert pianist who studied and performed piano sonatas and concertos written by famed composer Ludwig van Beethoven. I published an expansive piece on his background back in late March – and Hughes was the focus of an episode of FITSFiles last year.

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Mello and Hughes were “very close friends,” according to prosecutors, routinely using the encrypted smartphone application WhatsApp to communicate with each other. In fact, Mello and Hughes are said to have exchanged at least 1,769 encrypted WhatsApp messages – many of which have been unlocked by investigators.

Subsequently, prosecutors have hinted Mello and Hughes enjoyed an “intense emotional connection.”

In one conversation via WhatsApp on April 17, 2021, Mello indicated he had obtained Christina’s private number and instructed Hughes to “harass the shit out of her” with it.

Authorities also uncovered numerous conversations between Mello and Zachary Hughes via WhatsApp between October 8 and October 13, 2021 – the day of Christina Parcell’s murder. On October 13, for example, there is a conversation in which Mello asked Hughes “how did the music research go?”

“Good,” Hughes responded. “I’ll tell you over the phone.”

Mello, who was out of the country when Parcell’s murder took place, was involved in a bitter, ongoing custody battle with Parcell at the time of her death. It was this dispute which led to the custodial interference charge against Mello after he fled to Italy with the girl in the fall of 2020.

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According to the complaint filed by Mello’s attorney – Monier Abusaft of Spartanburg, S.C. – Mello was arrested on a “false premise” after GCSO officers and Wilkins’ office “became obsessed with (him) and the idea that he murdered Ms. Parcell.” 

While investigators were attempting to unlock Hughes’ phone for evidence, Mello claimed his custodial interference arrest was intended to prevent him from leaving the country while police tried to build a case against him.

According to the lawsuit, that plan backfired.

“Zachary Hughes’s phone was eventually unlocked yielding no evidence that (Mello) was involved in the death of Ms. Parcell,” the complaint alleged.

Mello claims he was nonetheless “subjected to arrest, detention, bail conditions and other consequences causing (him) to suffer great emotional distress, humiliation and financial loss.”

After a delay due to pretrial motions, Zachary Hughes’ murder trial is now expected to begin in January of 2025. As the trial approaches, count on our media outlet to closely follow this case — as well as all the criminal cases tied to this gruesome murder — and provide updated coverage. For more on the Rose Petal Murder, be sure to check out the first six episodes of our crime and corruption podcast FITSFiles (AppleSpotifyGoogle) and check out this landing page…

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THE COMPLAINT…

(S.C. Thirteenth Judicial Circuit)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Jenn Wood (Provided)

Jenn Wood is FITSNews’ incomparable research director. She’s also the producer of the FITSFiles and Cheer Incorporated podcasts and leading expert on all things Murdaugh/ South Carolina justice. A former private investigator with a criminal justice degree, evildoers beware, Jenn Wood is far from your average journalist! A deep dive researcher with a passion for truth and a heart for victims, this mom of two is pretty much a superhero in FITSNews country. Did we mention she’s married to a rocket scientist? (Lucky guy!) Got a story idea or a tip for Jenn? Email her at jenn@fitsnews.com.

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