20/20 - The After Show: The Rose Petal Murder

Episode Date: May 5, 2025

Deborah Roberts talks with ABC Senior National Correspondent Eva Pilgrim about getting an early tip to follow a strange case in South Carolina and how she began doing interviews not knowing where they would lead.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi there everybody and welcome to 2020 The After Show. I'm Deborah Roberts and today we're going to take you behind the scenes on a story that is so fascinating. It's a story we're calling the Rose Petal Murder. Christina Parcell was a young woman living in Greer, South Carolina and then her fiance finds her stabbed to death in her home in what was a gruesome scene. And then there's a bizarre twist. Rose petals scattered all around her. While police zero in on a suspect, Juilliard-trained pianist Zach Hughes, who's a friend of Christina's

ex-boyfriend John Mello. And when Hughes goes to trial, there is a shocking development. He confesses on the stand to killing Christina and then accuses her ex-boyfriend of offering him money to do it, something Mello denies. Hughes says he did it to protect Christina's daughter, whom he alleges was being abused. This is truly an unbelievable story of twists and turns. And joining me today to share some of the details about this strange case is my friend and Colleague and ABC senior national correspondent Eva Pilgrim. Hey Eva. Hey Deborah. Well, this is good

We always run into each other in the hallway and just chit chat about stuff But rarely do we get a chance to sit down like this and actually chat and actually really chat Well this story I mean, what was it that just grabbed you right away about the story? Because you were involved in the beginning. Yeah, I mean, we, one, it's my home state, so I feel like I'm very comfortable there. And it took place in Greer, South Carolina, which isn't too far from Greenville, sort of to place it in everyone's mind. Bob Jones University is in that area, very religious, very conservative area of the state. We found out about it right away.

So in a lot of ways, it reminds me of Alec Murdoch's case. Which you covered as well. Because we didn't know what was gonna happen. We were literally along for the ride with investigators as they were trying to figure out what was going on. And the twists and the turns. We had interviews that we didn't know when we talked to them what would develop later down the road.

Yeah, you got a tip though kind of early on to watch out for this story, right? Yeah, I mean, everyone in my home state was paying attention to it. It was a talker locally. And so it was flat to us, Hey, pay attention to this one. It could be really interesting also because this guy went to Juilliard. Yeah. It was a train pianist.

Yeah. So you just thought, how did this happen? He didn't know this girl. Why would they have been involved with each other? It made no sense. And then also there's an Italy component to it too. And it just was like this really bizarre story. Well, let's play a clip from the episode

just to remind listeners of what unfolded. I've been doing this 15 years and it was pretty gruesome. And what could you see happened? First thing I noticed was the rose petals everywhere. I thought that was kind of weird. They were just kind of all over the floor. In no particular, not a pattern. It was just kind of everywhere.

This is weird, dude. There was also a chemical odor and just a lot of blood. A lot of blood. Could you tell that it was a stabbing or a shooting or? I couldn't tell at that point. Was there anything else about that room that seemed odd to you? You could tell there was a struggle

inside the house at some point. Eva, this story, what do we know about Christina's life before her death? She was 41. She was the mother to one little girl. She was a vet tech. She was clearly very bright. She'd gone to the governor's school for math and science.

Being from South Carolina, I know that's a really prestigious thing, right? So, but somehow she didn't graduate from college. She didn't seem to have very good choices of partners that at least according to her sister. And she had this really contentious custody battle with her ex boyfriend, John Mello.. At one point Mello had taken their daughter to Italy which caused this whole thing for her to try to get her daughter back. But he had dual citizenship? Right he was also Italian so he could be in both places. Aha aha got it. He wanted to have the daughter to himself. And so remind viewers a little bit about Christina Parcell and then you

know we go to her sister Tina Parcell. And then we go to her sister, Tina Parcell. So when we're trying to figure out what happened here, you go to everyone who you think knows these people. And who would have known Christina Parcell? Her sister, who she was living with, and her ex, who she was in this custody battle with. I mean, the custody battle was really bad, Deborah. When John Mello took the daughter to Italy,

Christina Parcell then appealed to the Hague, because this was an international custody dispute to try to get back her daughter. And they did eventually grant her that. So her daughter was able to come back to America, back to South Carolina with her. But we were just reaching out to everyone that might know her to be able to put some context

into why this would have happened. Yeah, and so many of these stories, Eva, and you've covered so many of them, and I have too, when you go to these places, small towns, people are saying, you know, this is so unusual, this never would have happened here. Talk to me a little bit about the flavor of the community. You talked about the Bob Jones University,

this is a religious place. This is kind of small town America, right? Yeah, I mean, Greenville, Greer area, I would say in South Carolina feels like a big city. I would have said that too growing up, I agree, but compared to New York. But it is still the kind of place that you know kind of everyone around and it's really, you very quickly have connections. I mean, even with this story, some of the lawyers from Murdoch, I reached out to to

get connections with people who are working on this case. So, you know, you're two degrees removed from everybody, if that. So now, we talk about in the story and viewers who saw it, of course, were mesmerized by it, listeners now get a chance to get updated on it. So take me into the interview room with Mello. We sat down with him in this apartment in downtown Greenville, South Carolina, and we just asked him questions about his relationship with Christina Parcell. How did he know Zach Hughes?

Well, you ultimately spoke with John Mello. Here's an extended clip from your interview with him. Are you worried? Because, you know, in cases like this, they always look at the fiancee, the husband, the father of the child, that at some point they're going to come and they're going to arrest you in connection with this murder. Two years I've been here. They arrested me for harassment from it. The mailings two years ago did everything.

DNA, fingerprints, there's no they're there You know Okay. Well, he must have sent Zac Hughes a crap load of money. Well, where's that? Wasn't his axe accounts They talked about the telephone and the messages and what they've got it open. There's nothing there. But you know either and the messages and what, they've got it open. There's nothing there. But you know, either you had some part of this or you were caught in the craziest murder case

that any of us have ever heard of. Yeah, yeah. That's it. I'm caught up in it. All I did was try to do the right thing. Did you have anything at all to do with the murder of Christina Parson? No, absolutely not. No, no. So his tone is pretty strident there. What did you make of his tone during the interview?

Debra, it's so interesting to listen to it back. You hear how confident he is. We knew he had a rock-solid alibi because he was in Italy. So it couldn't have been him. I should also point out that those harassing mailings that he's talking about, he's denied sending them and he's still facing charges and awaiting trial as far as all that goes. How did he appear to you? I mean, you know, obviously when we saw him and when you hear his voice, he sounds like a very self-possessed guy, very sharp. How did he appear when you first met with him?

He was very confident. He wanted to talk to us. He wanted to tell his story. He was convinced that people were out for him. And so he had a lot he wanted to say. And with him, it was interesting. There were parts of his story that left us with questions. I think he thought he was smarter than us, to be honest

about it. He's one of those people who genuinely I think feels like he's the smartest one in the room, if not one of the smartest people in the room. And I think he thought it would help his custody dispute because he was in the midst of a still custody dispute with now Christina Parcell's sister, Tina. and he was trying to like help his case a bit. In the court of public opinion. Right. We're going to take a quick break and after that we're going to dive into this strange

story of the convicted killer, Zach Hughes. So stay with us. Hello, it's Robin Roberts here. Hey guys, it's George Stephanopoulos here. Hey everybody, it's Michael Strahan here. Wake up with Good Morning America. Robin, George, Michael, GMA, America's favorite number one morning show. The morning's first breaking news, exclusive interviews, what everyone will be talking

about that day. Put some good in your morning and start your day with GMA. Good morning America. Put the good in your morning. GMA 7A on ABC. The cultural phenomenon, the secret lives of Mormon wives is back with an all new season coming to Hulu May 15th.

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This is so toxic. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, streaming on Hulu May 15th. And it's the best Marvel movie since Avengers Endgame. Marvel Studios Thunderbolts now playing. Rated PG-13. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. All right, we're back with the 2020 After Show and Eva Pilgrim is here with me with this unusual story for 2020, particularly because Zach Hughes, this enigmatic figure in this case, but you know, there was a major twist, I mean, in the courtroom with him. Tell us about Zach. This was crazy. Defendants take the stand all the time, but you don't expect a defendant to

take the stand who's pleaded not guilty and confess sitting on the stand. And so he gets up there and he tells the jury exactly what he did, literally detail by detail, how he rides a bicycle, he shows up with flowers to trick her to open the door, and then he stabs her. This brutal scene, if you can just imagine. And the logic behind it in his mind was that he needed to protect her daughter. And that was what he said was the motive behind it all. And his attorneys, that was really their argument was that he was doing this so that he could

protect the daughter. And in the state of South Carolina, the way the law is written in order for it to be considered murder, you have to commit the act, but also you have to have malice in your heart. And they kept saying that he didn't have malice in his heart. But, you know, we've spoken to some members of the jury who had a very different view of that. So Zach was this unusual fellow. I mean, this is a classically trained musician. His dad bought him a piano when he was younger from a yard sale. He had this love of music. Talk about him a little bit and what you learned about him. Yeah. I mean, he grew up in this very religious family, and his parents, you know, adopted

some children from overseas to take care of them. Faith was such a huge part of it, and this whole instrument, the $300 piano at a yard sale was sort of the start of his whole piano career. He went to Juilliard on a scholarship. So just insanely talented. And then he played for a year at the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra before coming to Greenville, South Carolina. And he was on this mission to play

all of the Beethoven sonatas from memorization. He was calling it the Beethoven Odyssey. The original plan was for him to play on a stage, but COVID happened. So he started recording them. And John Mello met him as he was playing at a public space on a keyboard. And that's how their friendship started. So they didn't even know each other.

Just a chance meeting and they connected over music. And so at some point, Zach Hughes goes to Italy to visit John Mello. Although when we talked to John Mello, he sort of blew off all the WhatsApp messages that existed. And we didn't, at that time, know the nature of those messages because Zach Hughes had deleted those messages. So investigators were still trying to get them. And they were encrypted.

There were people who, supporters, right? Who turned out for him. I mean, even at his trial, up until the moment that he took the stand and confessed to this murder, people kept telling us there's just no way. I mean, this guy didn't even have like a traffic ticket, no prior criminal history, no even like angry outbursts that people could speak of people who had known him for a really long time from childhood on had nothing they couldn't wrap their brains around the idea

that he could possibly have been the person who did this very violent, brutal, I mean, this was a very, you know, messy scene. Well, you talked earlier about the courtroom twist and we have that twist here where Zack implicates John Mello in his testimony on the stand. We're gonna play a clip from Zach in court. He's just alleged that Mello offered him $5,000 to kill

Christina. He was becoming increasingly more worried and distressed about the safety of his daughter. I was as well. The more I learned about this situation and everything and a lot more than what I've told you. I was also sustained. What was the second offer? The second offer he asked me again if I became convinced that his daughter was in danger would I be willing to kill Christina Parcell for $10,000? What did you, or how did you respond to that offer? I told him, John, there's no amount of money that would ever tempt me to do something like this.

And I told him I was insulted that he even thought that would be something I would consider. So I told him I would never do something like this for money. I told him the only way I would ever consider taking action like this is if I was absolutely convinced that his daughter was not only in danger, but that the only way to rescue her from that danger would be to take Christina Purcell's wife. Mounds must have just dropped open in the courtroom. Here he is, he's confessed to this killing and now he's implicating someone else. And

we were like, what? One of our producers was in the courtroom, so she immediately started texting John Mello that this just occurred in court and he wrote back to her almost right away. It never happened. But then I'm texting with another one of our producers as well, floored, mind blown that this is going on. Because nobody saw this part coming. Nobody saw, I mean nobody saw any of these parts coming. Well I'm just struck by Zach Hughes, your story about his backstory, you know, this guy who was just obsessed with music. I mean how would he even get implicated in something like this? It's one thing when it's a crime of passion, but he didn't even really know

Christina. How could he get involved in something like this? That's the thing that I think we all were really trying to figure out. How? Why? Why would he put himself in the middle of this custody dispute? He didn't know Christina Parcell. He'd never met her before that day, right? He just walked up to her house, didn't have a conversation with her, and admits to stabbing her. A stranger. And so I mean that's the sort of lingering question that exists is, and I think really only Zach Hughes could answer, why did he, and when you hear him on the stand, you hear how quiet, like calm and just certain

he is of what he's saying. He, from what we could gather on the stand, seems very sure that this child is in a bad situation. And what about the rose petals? So there was so much made of the rose petals because, you know, when you hear that you think like almost like romantic or ritualistic, they were chopped off, like not strewn about in a romantic way, very kind of haphazard chopped. And he said the roses were just a ruse, flowers at the door when he got there. They meant nothing more than that.

I've covered stories like that where somebody shows up at the house with flowers and it's kind of a ruse. Well, we know that Hughes is in prison. What's happening with Mellow? Update the listeners. Yes, Zach Hughes is serving a life sentence. He's appealing his conviction. John Mellow was arrested soon after Hughes testified and is charged with

solicitation to commit a felony, an accessory, before the fact of murder. He has not yet entered a plea. We reached out to John Mello's attorney, but he declined to answer our questions and says he looks forward to his day in court. Wow. So we are going to have to stay tuned. We will be following. We know you'll be following along. There are probably more surprises to be revealed. Yeah. I'm very curious to hear what happens in John Mello's trial. It's so fascinating, Eva. Thank you so much for coming on and giving us a little bit more of the background. Thanks for having me. And as always, make sure to tune in on Friday nights for 2020 at nine o'clock. The 2020 After Show is produced by Cameron

Shurtavian, Amira Williams, and Sasha Aslanian with Nora Hanna and Sean Dooley, Brian Mazursky, and Alex Berenfeld of 2020. Theme music by Evan Viola. Janis Johnston is the executive producer of 2020. Josh Cohen is the director of podcasting at ABC Audio. Laura Mayer is the executive producer. MUSIC Hello, it's Robin Roberts here. Hey guys, it's George Cephonopoulos here. Hey everybody, it's Michael Strahan here. Wake up with Good Morning America.

Robin, George, Michael, GMA, America's favorite number one morning show. The morning's first breaking news, exclusive interviews, what everyone will be talking about that day. Put some good in your morning and start your day with GMA. Good morning America. Put the good in your morning. G your day with GMA. Good morning America. Put the good in your morning. GMA 7A on ABC.

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