July 26, 2023 • 31 mins
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On October 13, 2021, the savage murder of a 41-year old woman shocked the sleepy town of Greer, South Carolina. The body of Christina Parcell was discovered shortly after 11:00 a.m. in the front living room of a suburban home owned by her sister.. She was found, unresponsive, by her fiance, Bradly Post.
According to Post, he had placed multiple calls to Christina on the morning of her murder – calls which went unanswered. Post told authorities he drove to her sister’s home to check on her and when he arrived, he found her savagely slain
Parcell’s cause of death was recorded by the Greenville county coroner as a homicide caused by “multiple sharp force injuries.”
While the details of the homicide were shocking, what truly shocked investigators was the disturbing ritualistic components observed at the crime scene. FITSNews has learned the killer allegedly sprinkled rose petals around Parcell’s body after dragging and posing her in the front living room of the modest 2,100-square foot home.
Six days after Christina’s murder - her fiance, Bradley Post was arrested. But to the shock of the community, the charges weren’t for murder.
The twist and turns in this case will shock you!
FITSNews is an independent, unapologetic media outlet covering news and politics in South Carolina.
From its humble origins as a state government blog, FITSNews has gained national acclaim after breaking both the Murdaugh Murders crime and corruption saga and the Rockstar Cheer scandal – two major national news stories.
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If you believe in the value of independent news organizations, we encourage you to support FITSNews by going to FITSNews.com and subscribing.
The Rose Petal Murder is the first of many true crime & corruption stories we plan to cover and our articles play a vital role in our recorded content.
All articles and documents referenced in this podcast are available on FITSNews.com:
https://www.fitsnews.com/2023/03/16/rose-petal-murder-south-carolinas-next-true-crime-saga/
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Episode Transcript
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Unknown (00:00):
This episode contains graphic content that may be
(00:02):
disturbing or traumatizing tosome audiences. Listener
discretion is advised.
On November 3 2021, deputiesfrom the Greenville County South
Carolina sheriff's office issuedan arrest warrant for Zachary
David Hughes in connection witha horrific rose petal murder.
Hughes was charged with murderin use of a weapon in the
(00:25):
commission of a violent crime.
During the savage October13 2021, slain a 41 year old
Christina Purcell in Greer,South Carolina. Parcels body was
found by her fiance Bradleyposed at the home of her sister
Tina Purcell, the veterinarytechnician had been stabbed 31
times in the face and neck area,and in a shocking ritualistic
(00:46):
display. Her killer allegedlysprinkled rose petals around her
body after dragging and posingher in the front living room of
this 2100 square foot suburbanhome. This shocking crime shook
South Carolina, people wantedjustice and they wanted to know
Purcell's killer was off thestreets. When Bradley post was
(01:07):
arrested just six days after themurder on unrelated charges tied
to a child pornography andexploitation investigation. Many
believe the investigation wouldsoon reveal him as the murder
suspect. But the community wasshocked when the arrest of
Hughes was announced instead.
(01:28):
Like we said on last week'sepisode, this was a bolt from
the blue. By all accountsZachary David Hughes, a
California native and graduateat the prestigious Juilliard
School in New York City was anunlikely suspect. Impossible
suspect a human, a classicallytrained concert pianist who
studied and performed concertoswritten by famed composer Ludwig
(01:51):
von Beethoven. He was preparingto begin his new job as a
pianist on an internationalcruise line and was in Detroit,
Michigan, awaiting a flight toEurope the following day, when
he learned warrants had beenissued for his arrest, according
to a motion filed by his defenseteam, when Hughes found out he
was wanted in connection withParcells murder, he didn't try
(02:14):
and board his flight, skipacross the border into Canada,
or attempt to flee into middleAmerica. There was no manhunt no
Chase, no Stakeout, no drama.
Instead, Hughes rented a cardrove nearly 700 miles from
Detroit to Greenville, andpromptly turned himself in to
authorities. With no apparentconnections to Christina
(02:38):
Purcell. Hughes's motive was acomplete mystery, but as we
noted last week, the evidenceagainst him was seemingly
damning.
During an April 2022 bondhearing before Circuit Court
Judge Edward W. Miller, SouthCarolina 13th circuit solicitor
Walt Wilkins, detailed some ofthis evidence. Here again, is
(03:02):
solicitor Wilkins.
The facts that that show theshows that he's tied to this
case and the basis of the arrestwarrant show that about 10
o'clock that morning, a ringcamera from across the street,
shows the defendant dressed in ablack hoodie in a backpack
entering the front door. Thedefendant is seen on camera from
(03:27):
another ring camera leaving thesubdivision on a bicycle.
The investigation moved to flatcameras, which are cameras that
are located around Rebo Countyand these cameras located that
huge truck with a bicycle in theback of the truck matching the
exact bicycle leading to theneighborhood at the time of the
(03:48):
murder.
The bicycle was located at aresidence where the defendant
was living with another familyhere briefly the city of Brea.
A resident of that house statedthat it was his bicycle and it
had recently been moved. Whileit has not been used for a long
time. Hughes's attorney MarkMoyer disputed that video
(04:10):
evidence though, claiming theclips are a case of mistaken
identity. Videos, as I watcheddon't show don't show that.
However, prosecutors havefurther asserted that DNA
collected from under parcelsfingernails belong to us, which
would definitively link him tothe crime scene. And then
(04:33):
finally, Your Honor. The victimsfingernails were processed for
DNA. And the DNA conclusivelyshows that that fuse DNA was
under the fingernails of thevictim. The premeditation and
calculation planning that had togo into this crime was was was
pretty incredible.
(04:55):
Who is sakrete David Hughes? Howwas he
connected to Christina Marcel inwhat could have possibly
motivated this talented youngman with no known ties to the
victim to murder her in such abrutal and ritualistic manner?
Those are the questions we hopeto start answering in this. Our
(05:16):
second bits Biles episodededicated to the mysteriously
McCobb rose pedal murder.
Welcome back to FITS files TrueCrime podcast hosted and
produced by the news team atFitz news.com. Where the crew
that broke the Murdoch murders,crime and corruption saga and
America's cheer incorporated sexabuse scandal wide open. This
(05:40):
news is an independent tenaciousmedia outlet covering the
intersection of crime, justice,politics and corruption in South
Carolina and beyond. I'm yourhost Fitz, founding editor will
folks I'll be joined on the showby Dylan Nolan Ginn Wood, who
you just heard from, and therest of our news team as we dive
deeper into the stories we coveron fits news.com Our goal is to
(06:04):
go beyond the headlines,uncovering facts, deciphering
their meaning, and holdingeveryone involved accountable,
including ourselves will followthese stories, no matter where
they take us. And no matter whowe managed to piss off. Because
on this podcast, it's not aboutagendas, and it's not about
egos. It's about seeking thetruth and finding true justice.
(06:27):
That FITS files. We're fierceadvocates for justice and
justice reform. With a proventrack record of clean up dirty
cops, crooked judges, and thecorrupt politicians who propped
them up. The horrific rose petalmurder you're hearing about now.
It's the first of many truecrime stories we'll be covering
this season. In our articles onfits news.com plays a vital role
(06:49):
in supporting these episodes. Soin addition to subscribing and
reviewing this podcast,positively, I hope I'd make a
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going to Fitz, news.com andsubscribing today, all the
articles, documents and soundclips you hear on this episode
(07:12):
are available for your review onFIS news.com. Again, that's fits
in ews.com Thanks for tuning inand supporting us. Now. Back to
Jen and the story of Zack usethe accused killer in the rose
pedal murder.
30 year old Zachary David Hugheswas born in Morro Bay,
(07:35):
California to Dave and MindyHughes. Dave and Mindy, who have
been married for over 46 yearshave another son named Eli, who
was 23 years old. According tocourt documents David Mindy both
were born and raised inCalifornia. During his bond
hearing on the murder charge inApril 2022 Hughes's attorney
Mark Moyer told the court aboutthe family's cross country move
(07:59):
to Virginia two decades ago, hisparents moved the family to
Virginia, southeastern Virginia,where the family lived on a farm
for a number of years when Zachwas 11. This is where Zach
learned by hard work anddiscipline, he was homeschool
through the joint effort andsacrifice of both of his
(08:20):
parents. After moving young Zachand Eli to Virginia, the Hughes
parents made a major decisionwhich appears to have had a
profound impact on their eldestson. In 2005, David and Mindy
adopted five children, allsiblings, all from Russia, in
the hopes of providing thesechildren with a better life.
(08:40):
According to Hughes's attorneys,the addition of these children
to the family had a profoundimpact on Zach, and not for the
better.
A significant feature of hisupbringing was that his parents
adopted five siblings fromRussia when Zach was young, and
a lot of the burden of raisingand taking care of these
troubled youth fell on Zach.
(09:03):
Unbeknown to any of the US atthe time, several of these
children suffered fromsignificant emotional,
psychological and or physicaldamage due to the maltreatment
they allegedly received andRussia. Given this damage, the
children had difficulty adaptingto life in America in general,
and specifically to family lifein the Hughes's household. The
(09:25):
trouble transition placedtremendous stress on each member
of the US family, but especiallyon Zach. Unlike so many young
children in this situation,though, Zach had an outlet of
release, a sanctuary, a safeplace where he was able to
discover and develop a gift,which would come to define his
entire life, or at least defineit prior to that murder is
(09:49):
morning of October 13 2021.
When Zachary was five or sixyears old, his parents purchased
a used piano at a yard sale.
His attorney spoke of thatmoment during the 2022 bond
hearing.
As a state and as I think isclear from the record, Zack
(10:11):
began his act as an amazingpianist. He began playing when
he was about five years old whenhis father brought home,
a piano from a yard sale cameclear he was he was gifted and
he began taking lessons withwith some very prominent musical
teachers.
(10:33):
It soon became obvious Zach hadan aptitude for music, but when
his adopted siblings joined thefamily music became an all
consuming passion was thatcompletely losing himself in the
piano, his parents till thecourt he devoted his entire life
to it, using it as an escapefrom the stress of a suddenly
upside down home life. With thesupport of David Mindy Hughes
(10:55):
began entering pianocompetitions, and when he was
still in high school, he wonfirst place in a prestigious
regional competition. This prizeearned him a solos performance
with the California PhilharmonicOrchestra, where he's delivered
a command performance ofBeethoven's Emperor concerto.
You Hughes's talent wasundeniable. In 2010, he applied
(11:18):
to the Juilliard School forpiano performance. Juilliard is
a highly competitive performingarts Conservatory in New York
City. entrance into hisprestigious program is coveted
and incredibly selective.
Despite his humble upbringing,his his talent was immediately
noticed by the school. Not onlywas he admitted, he was offered
numerous scholarships in thehopes of encouraging him to
(11:41):
attend and attend he did. Wellat Juilliard, Hughes Thrive both
academically and socially.
letters sent from his formerclassmates for his bond hearing,
were called the loyal friendwith a great sense of humor in
deep love of music. One formerclassmate named Rachel wrote, If
(12:01):
I were described Zack in a fewwords, it would be loyal friend,
strong sense of what is morallyright and wrong, a big heart for
defending those who is close tofrom harm. In a very patient
listener. Rachel described howHughes would often use his
talent to brighten the lives ofthose need by playing hospitals
and nursing homes. Anotherclassmate named Jules wrote,
(12:25):
what struck me the most when wefirst met was not only his deep
kindness and great ability tolaugh, and make laugh, but also
his profound and rare interestsfor the core of musical grammar,
as well as for new music. Duringhis time at Juilliard used was
born on one of only 12 studentsaround the world, and the only
(12:46):
one from the United Stateschosen to play in the Kyoto
international musical festival.
Indeed, by all accounts, Hugheswas thriving. It wasn't just
music that drove us though, in2018, while attending graduate
school at the University ofTennessee, in pursuit of a
master's degree in pianoperformance, he volunteered to
serve in the Marine Corps. Hisattorney detailed bad experience
(13:09):
in his bond hearing, in 2018,Zach decided to undertake
going into the military, heapproached the recruiter to join
the Marines. The recruiter,saw that he was there was
something different and alsolooked into his background. And
he encouraged that to go into anapply for Officer Candidate
(13:33):
School. Zach did seven he wasthe only person from the
Tennessee jurisdiction thatadmitted someone into the
officer candidate school, hewent to Quantico, Virginia. He
was in the midst of trainingwhen he ended up with stress
fractures in both of his legs.
(13:54):
And he had to come back toGreenville to to heal, and he
was encouraged to come back. Infact, he was told he was in the
top 3% of his class while he wasthere. It was then that he had
some other musical opportunitiesarise that led him to not pursue
and continue with the militarycareer. As Jim noted, it was a
(14:16):
piano purchased at a yard salein southeastern Virginia to
enable the young Zachary DavidHughes, to discover himself to
escape from the stresses andstrains of his tumultuous
childhood and find a purpose forhis life. Well, it was another
piano that led us to Greenville,South Carolina, instead of going
back to the Marine Corps.
(14:37):
The Greenville UnitarianUniversalist fellowship is a
church located on State ParkRoad, approximately three and a
half miles north of Greenvilleis booming downtown. Right
around the time he used wasdeciding what to do with his
life. This church came inpossession of what has been
described as the Rolls Royce ofpianos, a Bosendorfer Imperial
(14:59):
concert grandand stretching nine feet six
inches and weighingapproximately 1217 pounds. The
Imperial grand is an absolutebeast. It contains 97 keys, nine
more than most concert pianos,and most Models list for
anywhere between 250,300 $50,000This particular piano was built
(15:22):
in 1988 in Vienna, whereBeethoven Hugh's idol, premiered
his most famous symphonies atthe city's famed tiata
incontinence store. house foryears in the Chicago concert
hall. The piano was gifted tothis congregation by the late
room Stokes, a Clemson graduate,who was raised and schooled in
(15:42):
Greenville during the latteryears of the Great Depression.
Stokes passed away in 2022, atthe age of 91. But before he
died, the church hosted aconcert to dedicate this
incredible gift it had receivedfrom him.
The piano Stokes gave the churchhas been described by reviewers
(16:02):
as quote, a temperamental estarsounding harsh and jarring in
the hands of pianists who do notunderstand how to play it. And
marvelously refined in the handsof those who do.
marvelously refined hands. Thosewere exactly what the Unitarian
fellowship was looking for, in2019, ahead of the pianos
(16:23):
dedication concert, and theyfound them on Zack us. Here
again, is used friend,Greenville attorney Marshall
when my wife Jeanette, and I metZach, when we were searching for
a fine pianist, to give aninaugural concert on one of the
finest pianos made in the worldthat was given to our
(16:45):
congregation by a generous andnearly anonymous donor, who also
is an amateur pianist.
That's how we met Zack.
We got to know him. I used to bea fairly decent young pianist
myself, never in that category.
But I know enough about music toknow who is good and what is
good. And I believe I knowenough about human beings to
(17:08):
know who is good, and what isgood and a human being.
To make a long story short, wecame to know that well,
particularly when you practiceat our house
later on after that InauguralConcert. And many of the people
(17:29):
who are here were attending thatconcert that
told us about his dreamof performing all 32 of
Beethoven's piano sonata is thatis something that is rare, even
for well known professionalmusicians, recording artists,
very few have done all 32. Thatis a very difficult undertaking.
(17:52):
And he said he wanted to do themall in the 200th year of
Beethoven's birth.
COVID cut that shortas Mr. Moyer has already
mentioned, but that did notstop. You finish those and make
them publicly available throughthe Civil Music Museum.
(18:16):
Dr. Strange cannot be here fromthe museum, unfortunately. But
Ms is straining to also runsthat museum is here. It's
actuallynot only that, Zack bought a
used but good electronic pianoand played on the streets of
Greenville, for the public. Helater used that piano in our
(18:37):
front yard for a series of longconcerts open to everybody.
And many of the people who arehere attended some of those
concerts. He did that because hethought it was important. He
wanted to give that back to thecommunity.
Zack lived with us for over twoyears. We talked with him every
(19:00):
day. He practiced on our pianoevery day, for hours. That's
what professional pianists do.
He taught students at our house,we met those students. We met
their families.
He also taught to make a littlemoney. He was recruited to teach
online over the internet at theBronx conservatory, which is a
(19:25):
famous institution thatspecializes in providing musical
teaching to underprivilegedchildren from the Bronx. He did
this we observed this.
This is the character of the manwe're talking about here today.
Clearly, none of this adds up.
We have a phenomenally giftedmusician, one generally regarded
(19:45):
to be a good person whovolunteered to serve his country
who was seemingly on the cusp ofgreatness. He was welcomed with
open arms into the Greenvillecommunity a place people are
flocking in droves to livegiven work, it makes no sense.
How did it happen? How in theworld did this kind dutiful
(20:09):
prodigious ly gifted young manwhom Prince described his loyal
with a big heart? How did he endup as the primary suspect in
such a savage, seeminglysenseless slain, and not just
that the slain of a woman withwhom he had zero known
connections? What could havepossibly led Zack us to stab
(20:30):
Christina Parsa nearly threedozen times in the head and neck
and then ritualistically poseher body around rose petals.
Investigators believe themystery of Zach Hughes's
involvement in this crime couldbe answered through an
exploration of his relationshipwith John Mello, the father of
(20:50):
Christina Parcells, youngdaughter, Christina and Melo had
been embroiled in a contentiouscourt battle for years over the
custody of the young daughterthey shared, which we'll be
diving into in detail in laterepisodes. Melo, a self described
music producer lived on the WestCoast prior to moving to
(21:11):
Greenville with his family twodecades ago. It's not clear how
he met Christina Purcell. Butthe custody battle for their
young daughter began in earnestin 2016, and is continuing even
after Purcell's death. Accordingto investigators, Zachary Hughes
worked for Melo cleaning hishouse and performing other add
(21:33):
tasks, beginning in 2020, andcontinuing through the date of
the murder. It is unknown howthey met but they both share a
love of music. On October5 2020, Melo took his young
daughter with him to Italy inthe midst of his ongoing custody
battle with Christina violatinga court order. This led to
(21:56):
criminal charges being filedagainst him for custodial
interference in GreenvilleCounty on October 21 2021. A
year later and just a week afterChristina's death, Melo returned
to Greenville from Italy and wasserved a warrant for these
charges and arrested. Upon beingarrest in arrested in the
Greenville County DetentionCenter. mellows listed Zachary
(22:19):
Hughes on the relationshipportion of his intake form,
allowing the two of them tocommunicate while he was
incarcerated. Melo also made aniPhone video with us, giving him
permission to retrieve hisluggage and medication from the
Charlotte airport following hisarrest. How did authorities link
(22:41):
Melo in Hughes, you'll rememberwe discussed the ring camera
footage obtained from neighborsin the Keene breaks subdivision
where Christina Purcell wasmurdered, and how it showed a
man in a gray hoodie with abackpack entering the residence
at around 10 o'clock AM. You'llalso remember the same
(23:01):
individuals soon leaving theresidence on a bike wearing an N
95 mask with a hoodie over hishead.
When authorities learned of therelationship between mellow and
Hughes, they began looking atfootage from flock cameras,
flock cameras or license platereading cameras that store data
in a searchable database withtime and date information in a
(23:24):
photo of the car. Flock camerasare located throughout
Greenville County. Whatinvestigators discovered was
chilling on the day before themurder and the date of the
murder. Flock footage showedZachary Hughes's truck with a
bicycle loaded in its bed. Thisbicycle matched the description
(23:45):
of the bicycle scene leavingChristina parcels neighborhood
at the time of her murder. Lawenforcement officials use this
footage obtained a searchwarrant on the home in which
Zachary Hughes was living.
During the search a bicycle wasdiscovered matching the one seen
in the back of Zachary Hughes'strap and caught on camera in the
neighborhood after parcelsmurder. A Windows and Zachary
(24:06):
Hughes's home stated he ownedthe recovered bicycle and had
recently used it. During thesearch authorities also located
Hughes's iPhone and obtained aseparate search warrant for the
phone required a six digitpasscode and law enforcement
technicians were unable to lockthe device. Although they were
(24:27):
successful in extracting parcelcontents from it.
According to prosecutors knownwho's communicated with each
other through WhatsApp, an appwhich encrypts messages and is
often used to send text videosand place phone calls securely
(24:47):
and surreptitiously. WhatsApp isalso commonly used when one
person in the conversation isresiding outside the United
States and at the time ofChristina Parcells, Homicide.
John MelHello was in Italy. Some of the
WhatsApp messages between us andMelo have been able to be
download, but many others havenot. The messages investigators
(25:08):
have been able to obtain werepresented to a South Carolina
judge in June of 2022. Inemotion, compelling us to
provide authorities with thepasscode to his phone.
The messages were concerning.
And one conversation on April17 2021. Melo told us that he
had obtained Christina parcelsprivate number and instructed
(25:33):
him to quote, harass the shitout of her.
In addition, authorities foundnumerous conversations between
mellow and Hughes on October13 2021, the day of Christina
Parcells murder. Specifically,in one conversation, Melo asked
(25:53):
us quote, how did the musicresearch go? Hughes responded,
good. I'll tell you over thephone.
That was the day of ChristinaParcells murder.
A partial extraction from hisiPhone shows it was placed in
airplane mode five times twiceon the day before the murders
(26:15):
twice on the day of the murders,and once a week later, without
the passcode though,investigators cannot access any
of the encrypted messages or thegeolocation data for the phone.
Completely unlocking the devicecould take nearly four years,
leaving officials waiting wellpast us trial day to obtain
(26:35):
valuable data.
On September 2020 22, soft costCircuit Court Judge Leticia
Verdun ruled in favor ofprosecutors and ordered us to
turn over the passcode to hisiPhone. Hughes refused, putting
them in violation of the court'sorder. And owing to this refusal
on April 6 2023, prosecutorsfiled a motion seeking criminal
(27:00):
contempt charges and sanctionsagainst us, in addition to the
murder and weapons charges hewas already facing.
Specifically, prosecutorsrequested an active incarcerated
sentence, arguing that he's notonly failed to provide the right
passcode but sent prosecutors ona wild goose chase regarding a
fake passcode.
(27:23):
The April 2023 motion indicatedthat investigators were finally
able to unlock the device, butthat there were still hundreds
of WhatsApp messages between usand Melo, that they couldn't
access. This this episode airson July 26 2023. Hughes iPhone
is enhanced of a digitalforensic expert who's attempting
(27:45):
to retrieve those encryptedmessages. That search may come
up empty, though, because policeand prosecutors think many of
the relevant messages thatthey're seeking were deleted
from the app.
If there's so much evidencesupporting the solicitor's case
against us, why is this bonedata so important? Again,
(28:08):
everything ties back to Johnmellow. Did the bitter custody
battle between him and ChristinaPurcell gets so ugly that mellow
had us kill the mother of hisyoung child. In if so, what
could have possibly compelledthe talented young musician to
commit such a brutal crime onthe behalf of someone else,
(28:30):
someone for whom he only workedupon occasion could the arrest
of Christina's fiance Bradleyposts in connection with a child
pornography and exploitationinvestigation involving melos
daughter had provided motivecould multiple unfounded
complaints have sent a worriedfather over the edge as we
(28:50):
mentioned in our previousepisode, post was arrested just
one week after Christina'smurder, and is currently facing
six counts of sexualexploitation of a minor five of
them in the first degree, onecount of third degree criminal
sexual content with a minor andone count of buggery, which is a
whole new layer to the storythat I promise we will get into
(29:13):
soon. Post is currentlyincarcerated in the same
detention facility as the killerof us fiance. Our previous
episode also noted how post andthe estate of Christina parcel
are listed as defendants in twocivil lawsuits. One bra on
behalf of parcels owned daughterand the other bra on behalf of
(29:34):
another minor female allegedlyvictimized by the couple. These
lawsuits implicated Christina inthe alleged abuse and
exploitation of both young girlsand both lawsuits were filed
based on materials obtained atthe murder scene. Could the
acrimonious custody battlebetween John mellow and
Christina Purcell and therelated child porn and
(29:56):
exploitation allegations be thereal root This crime
could the motive behind theviolent stabbing line years of
family court litigation, andmelos unsuccessful attempts to
expose the abuse his daughterwas enduring. That certainly
would explain a lot, but itwouldn't explain Zach Hughes's
(30:18):
involvement in the slain what?
And the next rose petal episodeof Fitz files. We will dig
deeper into the into John Meloin the caustic custody case that
may have served as the motivefor Parcells murder.
Fits News continues to worktirelessly to try and unravel
this incredibly complex storyahead of Zack Hughes upcoming
(30:41):
murder trial, tentativelyscheduled for early 2024 in
Greenville, South Carolina. Wehope you'll continue to count on
our news team to keep digginginto all aspects of this saga.
Weaving in everything we knowabout its key players, their
actions, motivations, theinvestigations, the
consequences. Our goal is tocontinue telling the story both
(31:03):
as it has happened already. Andas it unfolds ahead of us. We're
glad you've joined us on thisjourney. And hope you'll be back
next week for more. Don't forgetthough, please subscribe and
leave a review for Fitz files.
Your new home for true crimewherever you download podcasts.
Also, please subscribe to Fitznews.com. The media outlet
(31:23):
that's bringing you thiscoverage and where you can
access all the articles, filesand clips from this episode.
That's fit s in e w s.com.
This episode contains graphic content that may be
(00:02):
disturbing or traumatizing tosome audiences. Listener
discretion is advised.
On November 3 2021, deputiesfrom the Greenville County South
Carolina sheriff's office issuedan arrest warrant for Zachary
David Hughes in connection witha horrific rose petal murder.
Hughes was charged with murderin use of a weapon in the
(00:25):
commission of a violent crime.
During the savage October13 2021, slain a 41 year old
Christina Purcell in Greer,South Carolina. Parcels body was
found by her fiance Bradleyposed at the home of her sister
Tina Purcell, the veterinarytechnician had been stabbed 31
times in the face and neck area,and in a shocking ritualistic
(00:46):
display. Her killer allegedlysprinkled rose petals around her
body after dragging and posingher in the front living room of
this 2100 square foot suburbanhome. This shocking crime shook
South Carolina, people wantedjustice and they wanted to know
Purcell's killer was off thestreets. When Bradley post was
(01:07):
arrested just six days after themurder on unrelated charges tied
to a child pornography andexploitation investigation. Many
believe the investigation wouldsoon reveal him as the murder
suspect. But the community wasshocked when the arrest of
Hughes was announced instead.
(01:28):
Like we said on last week'sepisode, this was a bolt from
the blue. By all accountsZachary David Hughes, a
California native and graduateat the prestigious Juilliard
School in New York City was anunlikely suspect. Impossible
suspect a human, a classicallytrained concert pianist who
studied and performed concertoswritten by famed composer Ludwig
(01:51):
von Beethoven. He was preparingto begin his new job as a
pianist on an internationalcruise line and was in Detroit,
Michigan, awaiting a flight toEurope the following day, when
he learned warrants had beenissued for his arrest, according
to a motion filed by his defenseteam, when Hughes found out he
was wanted in connection withParcells murder, he didn't try
(02:14):
and board his flight, skipacross the border into Canada,
or attempt to flee into middleAmerica. There was no manhunt no
Chase, no Stakeout, no drama.
Instead, Hughes rented a cardrove nearly 700 miles from
Detroit to Greenville, andpromptly turned himself in to
authorities. With no apparentconnections to Christina
(02:38):
Purcell. Hughes's motive was acomplete mystery, but as we
noted last week, the evidenceagainst him was seemingly
damning.
During an April 2022 bondhearing before Circuit Court
Judge Edward W. Miller, SouthCarolina 13th circuit solicitor
Walt Wilkins, detailed some ofthis evidence. Here again, is
(03:02):
solicitor Wilkins.
The facts that that show theshows that he's tied to this
case and the basis of the arrestwarrant show that about 10
o'clock that morning, a ringcamera from across the street,
shows the defendant dressed in ablack hoodie in a backpack
entering the front door. Thedefendant is seen on camera from
(03:27):
another ring camera leaving thesubdivision on a bicycle.
The investigation moved to flatcameras, which are cameras that
are located around Rebo Countyand these cameras located that
huge truck with a bicycle in theback of the truck matching the
exact bicycle leading to theneighborhood at the time of the
(03:48):
murder.
The bicycle was located at aresidence where the defendant
was living with another familyhere briefly the city of Brea.
A resident of that house statedthat it was his bicycle and it
had recently been moved. Whileit has not been used for a long
time. Hughes's attorney MarkMoyer disputed that video
(04:10):
evidence though, claiming theclips are a case of mistaken
identity. Videos, as I watcheddon't show don't show that.
However, prosecutors havefurther asserted that DNA
collected from under parcelsfingernails belong to us, which
would definitively link him tothe crime scene. And then
(04:33):
finally, Your Honor. The victimsfingernails were processed for
DNA. And the DNA conclusivelyshows that that fuse DNA was
under the fingernails of thevictim. The premeditation and
calculation planning that had togo into this crime was was was
pretty incredible.
(04:55):
Who is sakrete David Hughes? Howwas he
connected to Christina Marcel inwhat could have possibly
motivated this talented youngman with no known ties to the
victim to murder her in such abrutal and ritualistic manner?
Those are the questions we hopeto start answering in this. Our
(05:16):
second bits Biles episodededicated to the mysteriously
McCobb rose pedal murder.
Welcome back to FITS files TrueCrime podcast hosted and
produced by the news team atFitz news.com. Where the crew
that broke the Murdoch murders,crime and corruption saga and
America's cheer incorporated sexabuse scandal wide open. This
(05:40):
news is an independent tenaciousmedia outlet covering the
intersection of crime, justice,politics and corruption in South
Carolina and beyond. I'm yourhost Fitz, founding editor will
folks I'll be joined on the showby Dylan Nolan Ginn Wood, who
you just heard from, and therest of our news team as we dive
deeper into the stories we coveron fits news.com Our goal is to
(06:04):
go beyond the headlines,uncovering facts, deciphering
their meaning, and holdingeveryone involved accountable,
including ourselves will followthese stories, no matter where
they take us. And no matter whowe managed to piss off. Because
on this podcast, it's not aboutagendas, and it's not about
egos. It's about seeking thetruth and finding true justice.
(06:27):
That FITS files. We're fierceadvocates for justice and
justice reform. With a proventrack record of clean up dirty
cops, crooked judges, and thecorrupt politicians who propped
them up. The horrific rose petalmurder you're hearing about now.
It's the first of many truecrime stories we'll be covering
this season. In our articles onfits news.com plays a vital role
(06:49):
in supporting these episodes. Soin addition to subscribing and
reviewing this podcast,positively, I hope I'd make a
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organizations like this one,please support Fitz News by
going to Fitz, news.com andsubscribing today, all the
articles, documents and soundclips you hear on this episode
(07:12):
are available for your review onFIS news.com. Again, that's fits
in ews.com Thanks for tuning inand supporting us. Now. Back to
Jen and the story of Zack usethe accused killer in the rose
pedal murder.
30 year old Zachary David Hugheswas born in Morro Bay,
(07:35):
California to Dave and MindyHughes. Dave and Mindy, who have
been married for over 46 yearshave another son named Eli, who
was 23 years old. According tocourt documents David Mindy both
were born and raised inCalifornia. During his bond
hearing on the murder charge inApril 2022 Hughes's attorney
Mark Moyer told the court aboutthe family's cross country move
(07:59):
to Virginia two decades ago, hisparents moved the family to
Virginia, southeastern Virginia,where the family lived on a farm
for a number of years when Zachwas 11. This is where Zach
learned by hard work anddiscipline, he was homeschool
through the joint effort andsacrifice of both of his
(08:20):
parents. After moving young Zachand Eli to Virginia, the Hughes
parents made a major decisionwhich appears to have had a
profound impact on their eldestson. In 2005, David and Mindy
adopted five children, allsiblings, all from Russia, in
the hopes of providing thesechildren with a better life.
(08:40):
According to Hughes's attorneys,the addition of these children
to the family had a profoundimpact on Zach, and not for the
better.
A significant feature of hisupbringing was that his parents
adopted five siblings fromRussia when Zach was young, and
a lot of the burden of raisingand taking care of these
troubled youth fell on Zach.
(09:03):
Unbeknown to any of the US atthe time, several of these
children suffered fromsignificant emotional,
psychological and or physicaldamage due to the maltreatment
they allegedly received andRussia. Given this damage, the
children had difficulty adaptingto life in America in general,
and specifically to family lifein the Hughes's household. The
(09:25):
trouble transition placedtremendous stress on each member
of the US family, but especiallyon Zach. Unlike so many young
children in this situation,though, Zach had an outlet of
release, a sanctuary, a safeplace where he was able to
discover and develop a gift,which would come to define his
entire life, or at least defineit prior to that murder is
(09:49):
morning of October 13 2021.
When Zachary was five or sixyears old, his parents purchased
a used piano at a yard sale.
His attorney spoke of thatmoment during the 2022 bond
hearing.
As a state and as I think isclear from the record, Zack
(10:11):
began his act as an amazingpianist. He began playing when
he was about five years old whenhis father brought home,
a piano from a yard sale cameclear he was he was gifted and
he began taking lessons withwith some very prominent musical
teachers.
(10:33):
It soon became obvious Zach hadan aptitude for music, but when
his adopted siblings joined thefamily music became an all
consuming passion was thatcompletely losing himself in the
piano, his parents till thecourt he devoted his entire life
to it, using it as an escapefrom the stress of a suddenly
upside down home life. With thesupport of David Mindy Hughes
(10:55):
began entering pianocompetitions, and when he was
still in high school, he wonfirst place in a prestigious
regional competition. This prizeearned him a solos performance
with the California PhilharmonicOrchestra, where he's delivered
a command performance ofBeethoven's Emperor concerto.
You Hughes's talent wasundeniable. In 2010, he applied
(11:18):
to the Juilliard School forpiano performance. Juilliard is
a highly competitive performingarts Conservatory in New York
City. entrance into hisprestigious program is coveted
and incredibly selective.
Despite his humble upbringing,his his talent was immediately
noticed by the school. Not onlywas he admitted, he was offered
numerous scholarships in thehopes of encouraging him to
(11:41):
attend and attend he did. Wellat Juilliard, Hughes Thrive both
academically and socially.
letters sent from his formerclassmates for his bond hearing,
were called the loyal friendwith a great sense of humor in
deep love of music. One formerclassmate named Rachel wrote, If
(12:01):
I were described Zack in a fewwords, it would be loyal friend,
strong sense of what is morallyright and wrong, a big heart for
defending those who is close tofrom harm. In a very patient
listener. Rachel described howHughes would often use his
talent to brighten the lives ofthose need by playing hospitals
and nursing homes. Anotherclassmate named Jules wrote,
(12:25):
what struck me the most when wefirst met was not only his deep
kindness and great ability tolaugh, and make laugh, but also
his profound and rare interestsfor the core of musical grammar,
as well as for new music. Duringhis time at Juilliard used was
born on one of only 12 studentsaround the world, and the only
(12:46):
one from the United Stateschosen to play in the Kyoto
international musical festival.
Indeed, by all accounts, Hugheswas thriving. It wasn't just
music that drove us though, in2018, while attending graduate
school at the University ofTennessee, in pursuit of a
master's degree in pianoperformance, he volunteered to
serve in the Marine Corps. Hisattorney detailed bad experience
(13:09):
in his bond hearing, in 2018,Zach decided to undertake
going into the military, heapproached the recruiter to join
the Marines. The recruiter,saw that he was there was
something different and alsolooked into his background. And
he encouraged that to go into anapply for Officer Candidate
(13:33):
School. Zach did seven he wasthe only person from the
Tennessee jurisdiction thatadmitted someone into the
officer candidate school, hewent to Quantico, Virginia. He
was in the midst of trainingwhen he ended up with stress
fractures in both of his legs.
(13:54):
And he had to come back toGreenville to to heal, and he
was encouraged to come back. Infact, he was told he was in the
top 3% of his class while he wasthere. It was then that he had
some other musical opportunitiesarise that led him to not pursue
and continue with the militarycareer. As Jim noted, it was a
(14:16):
piano purchased at a yard salein southeastern Virginia to
enable the young Zachary DavidHughes, to discover himself to
escape from the stresses andstrains of his tumultuous
childhood and find a purpose forhis life. Well, it was another
piano that led us to Greenville,South Carolina, instead of going
back to the Marine Corps.
(14:37):
The Greenville UnitarianUniversalist fellowship is a
church located on State ParkRoad, approximately three and a
half miles north of Greenvilleis booming downtown. Right
around the time he used wasdeciding what to do with his
life. This church came inpossession of what has been
described as the Rolls Royce ofpianos, a Bosendorfer Imperial
(14:59):
concert grandand stretching nine feet six
inches and weighingapproximately 1217 pounds. The
Imperial grand is an absolutebeast. It contains 97 keys, nine
more than most concert pianos,and most Models list for
anywhere between 250,300 $50,000This particular piano was built
(15:22):
in 1988 in Vienna, whereBeethoven Hugh's idol, premiered
his most famous symphonies atthe city's famed tiata
incontinence store. house foryears in the Chicago concert
hall. The piano was gifted tothis congregation by the late
room Stokes, a Clemson graduate,who was raised and schooled in
(15:42):
Greenville during the latteryears of the Great Depression.
Stokes passed away in 2022, atthe age of 91. But before he
died, the church hosted aconcert to dedicate this
incredible gift it had receivedfrom him.
The piano Stokes gave the churchhas been described by reviewers
(16:02):
as quote, a temperamental estarsounding harsh and jarring in
the hands of pianists who do notunderstand how to play it. And
marvelously refined in the handsof those who do.
marvelously refined hands. Thosewere exactly what the Unitarian
fellowship was looking for, in2019, ahead of the pianos
(16:23):
dedication concert, and theyfound them on Zack us. Here
again, is used friend,Greenville attorney Marshall
when my wife Jeanette, and I metZach, when we were searching for
a fine pianist, to give aninaugural concert on one of the
finest pianos made in the worldthat was given to our
(16:45):
congregation by a generous andnearly anonymous donor, who also
is an amateur pianist.
That's how we met Zack.
We got to know him. I used to bea fairly decent young pianist
myself, never in that category.
But I know enough about music toknow who is good and what is
good. And I believe I knowenough about human beings to
(17:08):
know who is good, and what isgood and a human being.
To make a long story short, wecame to know that well,
particularly when you practiceat our house
later on after that InauguralConcert. And many of the people
(17:29):
who are here were attending thatconcert that
told us about his dreamof performing all 32 of
Beethoven's piano sonata is thatis something that is rare, even
for well known professionalmusicians, recording artists,
very few have done all 32. Thatis a very difficult undertaking.
(17:52):
And he said he wanted to do themall in the 200th year of
Beethoven's birth.
COVID cut that shortas Mr. Moyer has already
mentioned, but that did notstop. You finish those and make
them publicly available throughthe Civil Music Museum.
(18:16):
Dr. Strange cannot be here fromthe museum, unfortunately. But
Ms is straining to also runsthat museum is here. It's
actuallynot only that, Zack bought a
used but good electronic pianoand played on the streets of
Greenville, for the public. Helater used that piano in our
(18:37):
front yard for a series of longconcerts open to everybody.
And many of the people who arehere attended some of those
concerts. He did that because hethought it was important. He
wanted to give that back to thecommunity.
Zack lived with us for over twoyears. We talked with him every
(19:00):
day. He practiced on our pianoevery day, for hours. That's
what professional pianists do.
He taught students at our house,we met those students. We met
their families.
He also taught to make a littlemoney. He was recruited to teach
online over the internet at theBronx conservatory, which is a
(19:25):
famous institution thatspecializes in providing musical
teaching to underprivilegedchildren from the Bronx. He did
this we observed this.
This is the character of the manwe're talking about here today.
Clearly, none of this adds up.
We have a phenomenally giftedmusician, one generally regarded
(19:45):
to be a good person whovolunteered to serve his country
who was seemingly on the cusp ofgreatness. He was welcomed with
open arms into the Greenvillecommunity a place people are
flocking in droves to livegiven work, it makes no sense.
How did it happen? How in theworld did this kind dutiful
(20:09):
prodigious ly gifted young manwhom Prince described his loyal
with a big heart? How did he endup as the primary suspect in
such a savage, seeminglysenseless slain, and not just
that the slain of a woman withwhom he had zero known
connections? What could havepossibly led Zack us to stab
(20:30):
Christina Parsa nearly threedozen times in the head and neck
and then ritualistically poseher body around rose petals.
Investigators believe themystery of Zach Hughes's
involvement in this crime couldbe answered through an
exploration of his relationshipwith John Mello, the father of
(20:50):
Christina Parcells, youngdaughter, Christina and Melo had
been embroiled in a contentiouscourt battle for years over the
custody of the young daughterthey shared, which we'll be
diving into in detail in laterepisodes. Melo, a self described
music producer lived on the WestCoast prior to moving to
(21:11):
Greenville with his family twodecades ago. It's not clear how
he met Christina Purcell. Butthe custody battle for their
young daughter began in earnestin 2016, and is continuing even
after Purcell's death. Accordingto investigators, Zachary Hughes
worked for Melo cleaning hishouse and performing other add
(21:33):
tasks, beginning in 2020, andcontinuing through the date of
the murder. It is unknown howthey met but they both share a
love of music. On October5 2020, Melo took his young
daughter with him to Italy inthe midst of his ongoing custody
battle with Christina violatinga court order. This led to
(21:56):
criminal charges being filedagainst him for custodial
interference in GreenvilleCounty on October 21 2021. A
year later and just a week afterChristina's death, Melo returned
to Greenville from Italy and wasserved a warrant for these
charges and arrested. Upon beingarrest in arrested in the
Greenville County DetentionCenter. mellows listed Zachary
(22:19):
Hughes on the relationshipportion of his intake form,
allowing the two of them tocommunicate while he was
incarcerated. Melo also made aniPhone video with us, giving him
permission to retrieve hisluggage and medication from the
Charlotte airport following hisarrest. How did authorities link
(22:41):
Melo in Hughes, you'll rememberwe discussed the ring camera
footage obtained from neighborsin the Keene breaks subdivision
where Christina Purcell wasmurdered, and how it showed a
man in a gray hoodie with abackpack entering the residence
at around 10 o'clock AM. You'llalso remember the same
(23:01):
individuals soon leaving theresidence on a bike wearing an N
95 mask with a hoodie over hishead.
When authorities learned of therelationship between mellow and
Hughes, they began looking atfootage from flock cameras,
flock cameras or license platereading cameras that store data
in a searchable database withtime and date information in a
(23:24):
photo of the car. Flock camerasare located throughout
Greenville County. Whatinvestigators discovered was
chilling on the day before themurder and the date of the
murder. Flock footage showedZachary Hughes's truck with a
bicycle loaded in its bed. Thisbicycle matched the description
(23:45):
of the bicycle scene leavingChristina parcels neighborhood
at the time of her murder. Lawenforcement officials use this
footage obtained a searchwarrant on the home in which
Zachary Hughes was living.
During the search a bicycle wasdiscovered matching the one seen
in the back of Zachary Hughes'strap and caught on camera in the
neighborhood after parcelsmurder. A Windows and Zachary
(24:06):
Hughes's home stated he ownedthe recovered bicycle and had
recently used it. During thesearch authorities also located
Hughes's iPhone and obtained aseparate search warrant for the
phone required a six digitpasscode and law enforcement
technicians were unable to lockthe device. Although they were
(24:27):
successful in extracting parcelcontents from it.
According to prosecutors knownwho's communicated with each
other through WhatsApp, an appwhich encrypts messages and is
often used to send text videosand place phone calls securely
(24:47):
and surreptitiously. WhatsApp isalso commonly used when one
person in the conversation isresiding outside the United
States and at the time ofChristina Parcells, Homicide.
John MelHello was in Italy. Some of the
WhatsApp messages between us andMelo have been able to be
download, but many others havenot. The messages investigators
(25:08):
have been able to obtain werepresented to a South Carolina
judge in June of 2022. Inemotion, compelling us to
provide authorities with thepasscode to his phone.
The messages were concerning.
And one conversation on April17 2021. Melo told us that he
had obtained Christina parcelsprivate number and instructed
(25:33):
him to quote, harass the shitout of her.
In addition, authorities foundnumerous conversations between
mellow and Hughes on October13 2021, the day of Christina
Parcells murder. Specifically,in one conversation, Melo asked
(25:53):
us quote, how did the musicresearch go? Hughes responded,
good. I'll tell you over thephone.
That was the day of ChristinaParcells murder.
A partial extraction from hisiPhone shows it was placed in
airplane mode five times twiceon the day before the murders
(26:15):
twice on the day of the murders,and once a week later, without
the passcode though,investigators cannot access any
of the encrypted messages or thegeolocation data for the phone.
Completely unlocking the devicecould take nearly four years,
leaving officials waiting wellpast us trial day to obtain
(26:35):
valuable data.
On September 2020 22, soft costCircuit Court Judge Leticia
Verdun ruled in favor ofprosecutors and ordered us to
turn over the passcode to hisiPhone. Hughes refused, putting
them in violation of the court'sorder. And owing to this refusal
on April 6 2023, prosecutorsfiled a motion seeking criminal
(27:00):
contempt charges and sanctionsagainst us, in addition to the
murder and weapons charges hewas already facing.
Specifically, prosecutorsrequested an active incarcerated
sentence, arguing that he's notonly failed to provide the right
passcode but sent prosecutors ona wild goose chase regarding a
fake passcode.
(27:23):
The April 2023 motion indicatedthat investigators were finally
able to unlock the device, butthat there were still hundreds
of WhatsApp messages between usand Melo, that they couldn't
access. This this episode airson July 26 2023. Hughes iPhone
is enhanced of a digitalforensic expert who's attempting
(27:45):
to retrieve those encryptedmessages. That search may come
up empty, though, because policeand prosecutors think many of
the relevant messages thatthey're seeking were deleted
from the app.
If there's so much evidencesupporting the solicitor's case
against us, why is this bonedata so important? Again,
(28:08):
everything ties back to Johnmellow. Did the bitter custody
battle between him and ChristinaPurcell gets so ugly that mellow
had us kill the mother of hisyoung child. In if so, what
could have possibly compelledthe talented young musician to
commit such a brutal crime onthe behalf of someone else,
(28:30):
someone for whom he only workedupon occasion could the arrest
of Christina's fiance Bradleyposts in connection with a child
pornography and exploitationinvestigation involving melos
daughter had provided motivecould multiple unfounded
complaints have sent a worriedfather over the edge as we
(28:50):
mentioned in our previousepisode, post was arrested just
one week after Christina'smurder, and is currently facing
six counts of sexualexploitation of a minor five of
them in the first degree, onecount of third degree criminal
sexual content with a minor andone count of buggery, which is a
whole new layer to the storythat I promise we will get into
(29:13):
soon. Post is currentlyincarcerated in the same
detention facility as the killerof us fiance. Our previous
episode also noted how post andthe estate of Christina parcel
are listed as defendants in twocivil lawsuits. One bra on
behalf of parcels owned daughterand the other bra on behalf of
(29:34):
another minor female allegedlyvictimized by the couple. These
lawsuits implicated Christina inthe alleged abuse and
exploitation of both young girlsand both lawsuits were filed
based on materials obtained atthe murder scene. Could the
acrimonious custody battlebetween John mellow and
Christina Purcell and therelated child porn and
(29:56):
exploitation allegations be thereal root This crime
could the motive behind theviolent stabbing line years of
family court litigation, andmelos unsuccessful attempts to
expose the abuse his daughterwas enduring. That certainly
would explain a lot, but itwouldn't explain Zach Hughes's
(30:18):
involvement in the slain what?
And the next rose petal episodeof Fitz files. We will dig
deeper into the into John Meloin the caustic custody case that
may have served as the motivefor Parcells murder.
Fits News continues to worktirelessly to try and unravel
this incredibly complex storyahead of Zack Hughes upcoming
(30:41):
murder trial, tentativelyscheduled for early 2024 in
Greenville, South Carolina. Wehope you'll continue to count on
our news team to keep digginginto all aspects of this saga.
Weaving in everything we knowabout its key players, their
actions, motivations, theinvestigations, the
consequences. Our goal is tocontinue telling the story both
(31:03):
as it has happened already. Andas it unfolds ahead of us. We're
glad you've joined us on thisjourney. And hope you'll be back
next week for more. Don't forgetthough, please subscribe and
leave a review for Fitz files.
Your new home for true crimewherever you download podcasts.
Also, please subscribe to Fitznews.com. The media outlet
(31:23):
that's bringing you thiscoverage and where you can
access all the articles, filesand clips from this episode.
That's fit s in e w s.com.
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