Following a long holiday weekend, attorneys for concert pianist turned calculating killer Zachary David Hughes began presenting his case to jurors as the high-profile ‘Rose Petal Murder’ trial resumed in Greenville, South Carolina on Tuesday (February 18, 2025).
As you may have noted, the lede to this article omitted the word “accused” ahead of “killer” – as a key component of Hughes’ defense is a belated acknowledgment that he did, in fact, commit the homicide at the heart of this saga.
Homicide… but not murder, his attorneys claim.
Hughes stands accused of stabbing 41-year-old veterinary tech Christina Parcell of Greer, S.C. nearly three dozen times on the morning of October 13, 2021 – and then sprinkling rose petals around her brutalized body. S.C. thirteenth circuit solicitor Walt Wilkins concluded the state’s case against the 32-year-old Californian last Friday after introducing damning DNA evidence which definitively placed the classically trained pianist at the scene of this graphic, ritualistic crime.
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After a weekend of speculation as to what Hughes’ defense strategy might be, his lawyers finally laid their cards on the table Tuesday. But with S.C. circuit court judge Patrick C. Fant III denying yet another key defense motion prior to the trial reconvening, attorneys Mark Moyer and Andrew Moorman were playing what amounted to a forced hand on behalf of their client.
Prior to bringing the jury into the courtroom, Fant considered a motion filed by Moyer and Moorman in response to prosecutors’ attempts to “prevent the defendant from defending himself in this case.” Submitted just moments before the start of court, the motion (.pdf) focused once again on a massive cache of child sex abuse material (a.k.a. “CSAM” or child porn) discovered at the crime scene.
Judge Fant ruled this material inadmissible prior to the start of the trial and has steadfastly resisted efforts by Moyer and Moorman to have it introduced.
This time, Moyer and Moorman argued the evidence was central to their planned defense – namely that Hughes acted to protect a minor child (the victim of the child porn) from imminent danger.
Assistant S.C. thirteenth circuit solicitor Jake Hofferth argued that utilizing this defense as justification for Parcell’s murder wouldn’t apply as she was not in imminent danger at the time — stating the child was at school when her mother was murdered.
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Key excerpt from #RosePetalMurder killer Zach Hughes "defense of others" motion. "I thought I had to act to save the child's life," Hughes said. "I told myself I can't go on with my great life, and leave her to drown." Hughes is ADMITTING to the murder, but citing an affirmative… pic.twitter.com/U1ZratVOkr
— FITSNews (@fitsnews) February 18, 2025
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Hughes’ lawyers insisted her presence at the home wasn’t required in order for them to demonstrate the existence of an “imminent” danger.
“This is a very unique case with very unique facts,” Moorman argued in proposing this line of defense, insisting Hughes believed the young girl – the daughter of Christina Parcell and John Mello – was likely to be harmed by her mother and her mother’s fiancée, Bradly Post.
Moorman also argued that upon finding the child porn images on Post’s phone following Parcell’s murder, the state utilized a law (S.C. Code § 63-7-20) which allowed its agents to take emergency custody of Parcell’s daughter — a law which explicitly states that a child can be placed in emergency custody “to protect the child from imminent danger.”
His argument: If the state took the young girl into emergency custody due to her being in imminent danger, how were Hughes’ actions any different?
After hearing arguments from both sides, Fant retreated to his chambers to consider the matter before reemerging and issuing his decision against the defense – determining there was not an imminent need for Hughes to act in the minor’s defense,
“The defendant (Hughes) traveled to the house and sought out Parcell — who he does not know — and murdered her,” Fant said.
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DEFENSE OPENING STATEMENTS
After this setback, jurors were brought back into the courtroom for Moyer’s opening statement. After giving jurors insight into Hughes’ background, Moyer told them the state has the burden of proving the case against Hughes “in every element of every charge beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Moyer told the jury they don’t have to put any witnesses on the stand and Hughes doesn’t have to testify, “but we are going to do so, and Zach is going to testify, because Zach has been waiting for this opportunity to tell the people, to tell a group of people like you, what really happened, which is that he took the life of Christina Parcell.”
Moyer continued, “and crucially, he’s been waiting and wanting to tell you why.”
Instead of attacking “the sufficiency of the state’s case,” Moyer told jurors Hughes will take the stand to show them he acted with just cause and not malice. As malice aforethought is the distinguishing factor in a murder charge, the defense will argue Hughes did not act out of anger, jealousy, greed or for personal gain – but with a justified, selfless reason.
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Today's bombshell Rose Petal revelation – Zachary Hughes' attorney admits Hughes killed Parcell, and promises Hughes will explain why when he takes the stand this week. Stay tuned…@IndyJenn_ @Dnolan2000 pic.twitter.com/AiE3kVeXmE
— FITSNews (@fitsnews) February 18, 2025
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THE WITNESS…
The first and only witness heard by the jurors on Tuesday was Greenville County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) investigator Dan Bevill. The veteran detective had previously testified for the state regarding his involvement in the investigation into harassing mailings Parcell received in the weeks prior to her murder. After reestablishing both his law enforcement history and involvement with this case, Moorman began by asking him about his previous testimony regarding the nude photos mailed to individuals and addresses tied to Parcell in the months prior to her murder.
After a series of questions, Moorman asked Bevill about a statement in his investigative report which indicated he found nude photos of Parcell when he went to the escort website on the photos within the mailings despite his prior testimony that he had not. Wilkins quickly objected to Moorman calling a witness solely for the purpose of impeaching his prior testimony. After Fant overruled the objection, Bevill testified the statement contained in the incident report was poorly worded on his part and he meant he located the same photos contained within the envelopes mailed with the intent to harass Parcell.
After a series of objections by the state, defense attorneys presented their summaries of proffered testimony regarding the CSAM that was excluded by the judge’s ruling. These witnesses did not take the stand, instead the attorneys summarized for the court record what they would have elicited from them during the testimony — to preserve the record so that Hughes can appeal his convictions in the event he is found guilty.
Among the testimonies summarized were those of the owner of Outman’s Cigar Bar in Greenville, guardian ad litem Vanessa Kormylo, GCSO investigator Wayne Arnett, and a digital forensic expert. All the summaries dealt exclusively with the CSAM materials which the judge ruled inadmissible.
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HUGHES WILL TAKE THE STAND…
After the jury had been dismissed, the judge took a moment to go over Hughes’ Fifth Amendment rights with him as he prepared to take the stand in his own defense. He asked Hughes if he still needed time to consider if he wanted to take the stand or if he had made a decision. Hughes calmly told the judge he planned to testify.
Court resumes at 9:30 a.m. EST on Wednesday (February 19, 2025) at which point the jury will hear directly from Hughes about why his murder of Parcell was justified despite the fact he cannot tell the jury his actions were justified to protect a child from sexual abuse.
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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.”
According to forensic pathologist Claire Rose, “there were thirty-five sharp force injuries to Ms. Parcell,” including 27 to the head and neck area. Among those wounds were six separate stab wounds to the right side of Parcell’s neck – wounds which perforated both her right carotid artery and her right jugular vein.
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 of his arrest. Hughes has been held without bond at the Greenville County detention center since his apprehension.
At the time of her murder, Parcell was involved in an extremely contentious custody battle with 64-year-old John Mello – her ex-boyfriend and the father of her young daughter. Mello and Hughes were “very close friends,” Wilkins has claimed, and the two reportedly used 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.
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.
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DEFENSE RESPONSE TO THE STATE’S MOTION…
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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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4 comments
Dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. His attorney just admitted that he did it, so even if they can force a mistrial, it’s on the record. The imminent danger ploy won’t work because the daughter wasn’t present. If what he claims is true why not admit it up front, the CSAM and buggery were already known about by the time he was arrested?
How many times do you have to stab someone in the neck before you cross the line to being malicious?
Probably their best shot at a light sentence. Trick is for the defense to prove Hughes had prior knowledge of the child’s porn abuse? This will be hard …
DEPORT HIM! Oh, wait…he’s a homegrown murderer. If his beliefs align with Dear Leader he might be a candidate for a pardon and job in Musk’s intel army.