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The third day of the ‘Rose Petal Murder’ trial unfolded with chilling testimony and contentious legal battles, as prosecutors laid out gruesome details from this savage slaying and put forward compelling witnesses pointing to a possible motive.
Wednesday’s proceedings focused on forensic evidence, harrowing crime scene photos, and explosive testimony from the victim’s sister – who detailed a history of custody disputes, international legal battles and eerie harassment leading up to this brutal murder in a South Carolina suburban subdivision in the fall of 2021.
Thirty-two-year-old Zachary David Hughes – a most unlikely defendant – stands accused of stabbing 41-year-old veterinary tech Christina Parcell of Greer, S.C. more than thirty times in the head and neck area on the morning of October 13, 2021. This, despite the fact that Hughes – a classically trained pianist – had no known connection to the victim at the time of her murder. After numerous delays in these proceedings, Hughes is finally standing trial in Greenville, S.C. – although as previously noted his prosecution could devolve into chaos at any moment given the myriad complexities of this convoluted tale.
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Before a jury was brought in to hear the state’s case against Hughes, S.C. circuit court judge Patrick C. Fant III heard arguments related photos of Parcell’s body. Hughes’ attorneys objected to the jury seeing some of the photos prosecutors intended to present. Defense attorney Mark Moyer argued there was very little probative value to showing the jury some of the photos of the gruesome crime scene – claiming the witnesses could describe what they saw without showing the photos.
Assistant S.C. thirteenth circuit solicitor Jake Hofferth argued the photos were highly probative as they depicted the actions allegedly taken by Hughes both during and after Parcell’s murder – which, according to Hofferth, showed his state of mind and deliberation.
Judge Fant briefly left the courtroom to consider the arguments before ultimately deciding that two of the images were cumulative. After announcing his ruling, the jury was brought into the courtroom.
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THE CRIME SCENE…
Prosecutors began the day focusing on details about this horrific slaying. Greenville County forensic technician Kaelyn Ford was the first witness called to the stand. Ford — who was assigned the role of primary crime scene investigator in the murder investigation — answered questions about the processing of the scene for the jury. Ford’s testimony marked the first time the jury heard details about the rose petals — along with wildflowers — found at the crime scene.
The jury was also shown a photo of a bunch of flower stems that were bound by a rubber band. Ford told the jury in the course of their scene investigation no vase or container for flowers was located within the home.
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Forensic technician Kaelyn Ford testifies about rose petals and stems found throughout the scene of Christina Parcell's murder. @FITSNews pic.twitter.com/NBe0M6menX
— Dylan Nolan (@dnolan2000) February 12, 2025
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The photos the jurors were shown showed a large pool of blood under a blue couch with drag marks that led to Parcell’s body. Parcell was found laying on her back with another large pool of blood under the upper part of her body.
As jurors were shown a photo of Parcell’s right hand, Ford said she noted the fingernail on her thumb appeared to be torn – which she testified is often an indication of defensive wounds. As a result of the torn fingernail, clippings were taken to test for DNA.
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THE VICTIM’S SISTER…
After hearing details about the harrowing crime scene, prosecutors called Christina’s older sister, Lutina Parcell, to the stand. In her testimony, Lutina detailed the years of custody disputes between her sister and John Mello, a music producer who was Parcell’s ex-boyfriend and the father of her young daughter.
Lutina provided the jury with details about the relationship between Mello and Parcell, stating after the two began dating in December of 2008, Christina wrote a letter cutting off contact with her whole family. Lutina testified that from 2010 to 2014, her family had no contact with Christina. In 2014, Christina began attempting to reconnect with her family at which point they learned she had a daughter who was born in 2012. According to Lutina, while the two had reconnected in 2014, the two grew closer after their mother was diagnosed with stage four lymphoma in 2020.
S.C. thirteenth circuit solicitor Walt Wilkins questioned Lutina about Mello taking Christina’s daughter to Italy in October of 2020 – ostensibly in violation of their existing custody agreement. According to Tina, when they realized Mello was in Italy with their daughter, Christina acted quickly contacting local, state and federal authorities for assistance. With assistance from the U.S. Department of State, they learned of the Hague Convention which is a treaty designed to facilitate the return of children taken across borders without parental consent.
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After two hearings and two trips to Italy, on April 22, 2021 Christina and her daughter were finally repatriated to the U.S. and moved in with Lutina Parcell – who had just purchased the home at 122 Canebrake Drive.
According to Lutina, though cautious due to concerns for the safety of Christina’s daughter, after they returned from Italy the three lived a fairly normal life — until suspicious envelopes containing explicit materials involving Christina began arriving in the mail… materials she described as “revenge porn.” Lutina testified based on her sister’s haircut and tattoos visible in the photos, she believed they were taken between 2010 and 2011.
Lutina Parcell’s matter of fact testimony during direct examination turned contentious during Mark Moyer’s cross-examination. When asked if the contents of the envelopes contained photos from an escort service website, she responded, “I saw that there was something textual, but I didn’t lend credence to it.”
When Moyer pressed Lutina about if she was aware of that part of her sister’s past, she replied, “I was aware of the allegations that had been made in family court, just like there had been allegations made I was going to kidnap my niece, so I didn’t lend credence to them.”
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THE INVESTIGATION…
Following the testimony of Parcell’s sister, prosecutors returned to the investigation conducted in the aftermath of the homicide. Their first witness was GCSO master deputy Blake Wolfe who was assigned to assist in the investigation. Wolfe testified that after a geofence warrant did not provide investigators with leads, the team focused on John Mello. As investigators were able to confirm Mello was in Italy at the time of Parcell’s murder, they focused on individuals with ties to the father of Parcell’s daughter which brought them to a man named Michael Manigault.
While on the stand, a visibly nervous Manigault testified that he had been hired by Mello to complete work on his home. The man working along side Manigault was Zachary Hughes.
Wolfe testified this lead prompted investigators to look into Hughes — beginning with pulling his file from the S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles (SCDMV). Upon discovering Hughes had a 1999 gold Ford Ranger registered in his name, Wolfe ran the license plate through the city of Greenville’s Flock camera system which led them to an image of Hughes’ vehicle taken at 2:31 p.m. EDT on the day of the murder… with a bike in the bed of the truck.
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After noting the similarities between a bike seen in neighborhood surveillance footage and the bike in the bed of the truck, Wolfe obtained a search warrant for the home at which Hughes was residing at 200 Tindal Street in Greenville, S.C. – a residence owned by Jeanette and Marshall Winn.
Upon executing the search warrant, Wolfe told the court they located a number of bikes in the garage of the home. All the bikes in the garage were covered in dust except one bike which Wolfe said “looked like it had just rolled off the showroom floor.”
When forensic analyst Kaelyn Ford was recalled as a witness later in the day, she testified that when she processed the bike after it was found with BlueStar, its handlebars, seat and pedals all tested presumptive positive for blood.
Wolfe told the jury investigators were able to obtain location data from Hughes’ phone after they unlocked it in April of 2023. This location data led them to obtain a search warrant for a home owned by the Winns on Indian Flats Trail in Marietta, S.C. Upon executing that search warrant, investigators located a trail camera which contained photos of Hughes two days prior to the murder of Parcell wearing a hoodie that looked very similar to the one the suspect was seen wearing at Parcell’s home the day of the murder.
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During cross-examination, defense attorney Andrew Moorman asked Wolfe if the photos from the trail camera show a person who was clean shaven.
“It’s hard to tell, there is a shadow on it,” Wolfe responded.
When pressed as to whether Wolfe could see a beard, he responded, “no.”
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Prosecutors are building their case accusing Zachary Hughes of murdering Christina Parcell, noting the similarity between clothing the alleged killer wore and clothes Huges was recorded wearing before the homicide. @FITSNews @IndyJenn_ pic.twitter.com/47Zksc6ZsS
— Dylan Nolan (@dnolan2000) February 12, 2025
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THE GUARDIAN AD LITEM…
The final witness of the day was Vanessa Kormylo — the guardian ad litem (GAL) appointed to the daughter of John Mello and Christina Parcell. Kormylo’s testimony focused on the contentious custody battle between the two leading up to Parcell’s murder.
Kormylo’s testified she was appointed to be the child’s GAL in October of 2020 while she was in Italy with Mello. According to her, other than one phone call during the time Mello had the child in Italy, the two only communicated by email. When asked how many emails they exchanged, Kormylo said that while she couldn’t possibly count them, when they printed them for family court they used three or four reams of paper.
Kormylo described Mello as a “very difficult litigant to manage.”
After Mello’s daughter was returned from Italy, Kormylo told the court he was “continuing to communicate, harass, threaten, intimidate, bully.”
“His communications were unlike anything she’s ever encountered,” she said. “They continued to escalate. And I was, I was pretty concerned.”
“He (Mello) would tell me that I always needed to be looking over my shoulder, that he was coming after my license, that I was going to get arrested for criminal charges, civil charges, and I was definitely going to jail,” Kormylo said. “He mentioned my children to me by name, with specific information about them.”
Kormylo said she started receiving emails from different individuals on Mello’s behalf. Her office had suspicions that many of the emails received from these accounts were actually from Mello based on the content.
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RELATED | EYEWITNESS PUTS ACCUSED KILLER AT THE SCENE
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“This was the worst case I’ve ever worked on as far as representing a child’s interest,” she said.
In May of 2021, things got so bad Kormylo said she brought a motion to the court as the child’s guardian asking for a psychological evaluation of Mello. While Kormylo said Mello’s behavior was disturbing, she also had a duty to investigate the allegations he was making against Parcell, “I didn’t just write them off because he was, you know, so unstable.”
When asked if at the time of Parcell’s murder Mello would have been aware of any negative report recommendations against him, Kormylo responded, “he was definitely, would definitely have been aware of my motion to have him psychologically evaluated.”
Kormylo said the last time Mello saw his daughter was in April of 2021 when Christina brought her home from Italy. When asked if there was any significance to the day Parcell was murdered — October 13, 2021 — Kormylo noted S.C. family court has a statute that says if a parent doesn’t visit a child or pay child support for six months, they can lose their parental rights. She then testified the six-month mark for Mello was in October of 2021.
Kormylo then testified that prior to the murder, Hughes was listed by Mello as a character witness in his custody case and also submitted an affidavit on his behalf on September 21, 2021 — notable because there were no court dates pending at that time. While in court after the murder to determine where the child would live, Hughes’ affidavit was submitted on October 22, 2021 in support of Mello gaining custody of his daughter.
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During their examination of Kormylo, prosecutors asked the GAL what her recommendation would have been regarding custody of Parcell and Mello’s daughter. She responded it would have been Parcell had the case gone to trial before her murder. After the state concluded its direct examination, Hughes’ attorneys immediately motioned for the judge to allow evidence and testimony related to Parcell’s involvement in child pornography (a.k.a. child sex abuse material, or “CSAM”) – which the judge previously excluded.
According to Hughes’ lawyers, Kormylo’s answer opened the door to a key question, namely what custody decision she would have recommended after the murder.
Following arguments from both sides, Fant took a break to consider the matter. Moments later, he denied the defense’s motion – arguing Kormylo’s opinion about the custody of Parcell’s young child was based on what she knew at the time of the murder.
As testimony continues, Hughes’ deft defense team will likely continue to seek opportunities to get evidence related to the CSAM material in front of the jury. As previously reported, the admission of such evidence would likely be an atomic bomb on the prosecution’s case against Hughes due to it’s potential to nullify the jury.
Prior to dismissing court for the day, prosecutors noted the first witness for Thursday (February 13, 2025) would be GCSO investigator Dan Bevill – who handled many of the investigations into the allegations lobbed between Parcell and Mello prior to the murder (including the investigation into the mailings sent during the summer of 2021).
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BACKGROUND…
The body of Christina Parcel was discovered shortly after 11:00 a.m. EST on October 13, 2021 in the front living room of a suburban home owned by her sister. She was found, unresponsive, by her fiancée, Bradly Post. According to Post, he placed multiple calls to Parcell on the morning of her murder – calls which went unanswered. When he drove to the home to check on her, he found her savagely slain.
Greenville County sheriff Hobart Lewis confirmed Parcell had been “brutally stabbed multiple times” and “murdered in a very violent way.”
As we exclusively reported at the time, the killer sprinkled rose petals – or deadheaded roses – around Parcell’s body after dragging (and posing) her in the front living room of the 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.”
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Officially, Parcell’s cause of death was recorded by the Greenville county coroner as a homicide due to “multiple sharp force injuries.” During an April 6, 2022 court hearing related to this case, Wilkins indicated Parcell had been “brutally stabbed to death in her neck and head area” – sustaining “approximately 31 different stab wounds by a sharp object.”
Hughes was arrested on November 3, 2021 by GCSO deputies and charged with Parcell’s murder. The arrest shocked the Upstate seeing as he had no known connection to Parcell at the time. Hughes has been held without bond at the Greenville County detention center since his arrest.
As for Mello, prosecutors have previously claimed he and Hughes were “very close friends. They have also asserted the two reportedly used the encrypted smartphone application WhatsApp to communicate with each other.
Hughes and Mello were jointly charged with harassment and conspiracy tied to the dissemination of nude photos of Parcell in the weeks prior to her death. Described by prosecutors as “very close friends,” the two men 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.
In September of 2023, Hughes and Mello were charged with first degree harassment and conspiracy for allegedly disseminating nude photos of Parcell to an undisclosed group of recipients. Those charges are pending.
Hughes was originally scheduled to stand trial for Parcell’s murder on October 28, 2024, but those proceedings were delayed by a discovery battle tied to one of the key witnesses for the prosecution – Parcell’s boyfriend, Bradly Post.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
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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1 comment
This case is fascinating and scary! Thanks to Jenn and Dylan for keeping us updated as this trial unfolds.