Central Figure In ‘Rose Petal Murder’ Case Pushes Back

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Of all the key players connected to the ‘Rose Petal Murder’ – a ritualistic homicide which shocked the South Carolina Upstate three-and-a-half years ago – none is more mysterious (misunderstood?) than music producer John Mello.

Mello is intimately linked to almost everyone involved in this chillingly convoluted narrative… and yet his true role in the story remains infuriatingly elusive.

We know Mello’s ex-girlfriend, Christina Parcell, was the 41-year-old veterinary assistant who was brutally stabbed to death prior to 11:00 a.m. EST on the morning of October 13, 2021 at her sister’s home in suburban Greer, S.C. Rose petals – or deadheaded roses – were reportedly sprinkled around her body, which sources say had been dragged and posed in a front room of the home.

Mello is also the father of Parcell’s young daughter, who was the victim of what appears to have been an expansive child pornography operation allegedly orchestrated by both Parcell and her fiancée, Bradly Post.

Finally, Mello is friends with the most unlikely murder suspect we’ve ever encountered – a 32-year-old concert pianist named Zachary David Hughes whose DNA, according to prosecutors, was found underneath the fingernails of 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.

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Hughes was arrested and charged with Parcell’s murder in November 2021 and has remained incarcerated at the Greenville County detention center ever since. He and Mello have subsequently been charged with harassment and conspiracy related to the dissemination of nude photos of Parcell in the weeks prior to her death.

Mello and Hughes were “very close friends,” according to prosecutors, and routinely used the encrypted smartphone application WhatsApp to communicate with each other. In fact, at last count Mello and Hughes are said to have exchanged at least 1,769 encrypted WhatsApp messages.

I say “at last count” because investigators with the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) – and prosecutors in the office of S.C. thirteenth circuit solicitor Walt Wilkins – haven’t been able to uncover all of the WhatsApp messages between the two men.

The messages which have been referenced in court documents raise serious questions. In one conversation via WhatsApp on April 17, 2021, Mello indicated he had obtained Christina’s private number and instructed Hughes to use it to “harass the shit out of her.”

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.”

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RELATED | ROSE PETAL TRIAL DELAYED

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While prosecutors have hinted at Mello’s potential ties to this savage slaying, the 64-year-old has not been charged in any form or fashion related to Parcell’s murder. As of this writing, it is not even clear whether Mello will be called to the stand at Hughes’ murder trial – which is scheduled to commence this coming Monday (February 10, 2025) at the Greenville County, S.C. courthouse after numerous delays.

I recently spoke with attorney Mo Abusaft of Spartanburg, S.C., who is representing Mello.

“Law enforcement has got it in their heads that he’s involved with this murder,” Abusaft told me, even though according to him there is “no evidence” to support that theory.

Abusaft said that despite police cracking Hughes’ cell phone – and gaining access to additional WhatsApp exchanges between Mello and the accused killer – police have still not charged his client in connection with Parcell’s death.

“They get in the phone and there’s no evidence of a murder conspiracy which is why he hasn’t been charged,” Abusaft said.

According to Abusaft, police have based their entire theory of the crime on a “hunch.”

“This is not a story of some murderer who has gotten off, this is a story of overzealous government operating on hunches, seeking headlines and being absolutely wrong,” he said. “This is why you don’t go on hunches. You screw up his life and you’re completely wrong.”

“At this point we’ve got to take a step back from personalities and recognize the place he was put in as a father,” Abusaft added. “And the place he’s now been put in by law enforcement and prosecutors.”

Abusaft said Mello has always been the sole custodian of his young daughter – which is somewhat unusual for men. He further stated Mello began immediately sounding the alarm about the child pornography abuse she was allegedly enduring at the hands of Parcell and Post as soon as he was made aware of the allegations – alerting local law enforcement, the S.C. Department of Social Services (SCDSS) and the court-appointed guardian ad litem for his daughter.

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“He tells everybody in the world – DSS, law enforcement, guardian ad litem – but no one listens,” Abusaft said. “Nobody listens to him that his daughter’s being victimized.”

Not only that, Abusaft said Mello was actually required by the court to repeatedly return his daughter to the very location where the alleged abuse was taking place.

“He’s having to drop his daughter off to be victimized,” Abusaft said.

Eventually, Mello got “fed up with it” and took his daughter to Italy. At that point, he claimed police and family court officials “manufactured” a custodial interference charge against him.

“He’s the sole custodian, that has nothing to do with visitation – that’s enforced by family court via contempt orders,” Abusaft said. “But the guardian ad litem and law enforcement come together and create this theory of interference. They manufacture this change of custodial interference – forgetting that you can’t interfere with rights that are solely Mr. Mello’s.”

“This is the definition of malicious prosecution,” Abusaft added. “They are using a criminal prosecution for means outside of seeking justice. They know he has not committed a crime.”

Abusaft was correct. Months later, S.C. circuit court judge Perry Gravely dismissed the custodial interference charges against Mello – entering a rare directed verdict against the state.

In addition to being vindicated on that charge, Mello was “right the whole damn time” about Christina Parcell, according to Abusaft.

“If she was alive today she would have to be incarcerated,” he said, referring to evidence seized by police in the aftermath of Parcell’s murder.

Questioned about the harassment charges Mello and Hughes are currently facing, Abusaft said any illicit images of Parcell sent by his client were already placed in the public domain – by her.

“She was putting these photos online to sell sex,” Abusaft said. “Those pictures were already on the internet. (He was) disseminating something she’s already put in the public domain.”

Speaking of allegations related to illicit photos, our special projects director Dylan Nolan filed a report this week concerning claims made by Mello against Christina Parcell’s sister, Lutina “Tina” Parcell. Also, during our latest ‘Week in Review‘ episode, Dylan, Jenn Wood and I discussed allegations Mello has leveled against GCSO – which he has accused of framing Hughes in an attempt to conceal the involvement of one of its own deputies in Christina Parcell’s murder.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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