20/20 - The Rose Petal Murder

Episode Date: May 3, 2025

Music, a bicycle and rose petals are clues to catch the killer of a South Carolina mom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sheriff's office. I do smell something. This was a slaughter. Make no mistake about it. And what did you find when you got inside? Alright, I got her feet right here. This is weird, dude. First thing I noticed was the rose petals everywhere.

Something I've never seen before. I definitely thought that whoever killed her brought those flowers in. Now the stunning court case making big headlines. It's the last time you talked to your sister. She was gone. She got a young daughter that's nine. So you had to tell her that her mother was dead. And her response was, who did it? I have great fear for my daughter's safety. Why do you think I left the country? There's been a custody battle. Where were you when Cristina was murdered? Italy. But at this point I'm getting worried about where we are. I really don't know if I want

to comment more if this is what I think it is. Rarely do you ever have a murder where you get to see the bad guy walk through the front door. The whole thing seemed surreal. Sheriff's office. I saw like a flower rose turn up. Absolutely impossible. It makes utterly no sense. Many of us just were shocked and amazed about the capacity of someone to cause such destruction. This was the manifestation of hate.

This was the manifestation of hate. We've come here to this quiet suburban street in South Carolina to cover one of the strangest crime stories we've ever come across. It's a story of love, betrayal, classical music, murder, a crime scene strewn with rose petals. And it all began at this house on an October morning in 2021 with a 911 call. Gravel County 911, what's the address of your emergency? Can't break drives. I think I might have a death. Walk into my fiance's house, he wouldn't answer my call.

There's a very weird smell and I can't get her to come around. The man making the call is 65 year old Bradley Post, a local retired engineer. His 41 year old fiance is inside the house. And he basically said he had found her and he needed help, he needed an ambulance, he needed law enforcement. So, is she alive or what did they do? Is she breathing? No. And we're gonna start CPR sir. Okay, I think she's gone. Do you think she's gone? No. And we're going to start CPR, sir. Okay, I think she's gone. You think she's gone? Yeah.

Because you made a mistake about her. I don't know. Like somebody had shot her? Okay. All right. And tell me why you think she's dead. So she won't respond. You won't respond?

Eyes are open. Eyes are open? All right. There's a lot of blood. And a lot of blood. Okay. Yeah. And so they dispatched law enforcement immediately, ambulances.

And so he just continued to give as much information as he could to 911. It looks like somebody may have broken and shot her in the head. Maybe. I don't know. Okay. I understand. Okay. I'm sorry. Say it again. I've got some people coming, okay. What the f*** is going on? I'm sorry, say it again. Get somebody here now. I've got some people coming, sir.

I have everybody coming. I'm sending the paramedics to help now step out of the house and that way, wait for the paramedics and the police at the front of the house and leave everything as you found it. Master Deputy Chris Robinson rushes to the scene. He's the first to arrive.

And then when law enforcement arrived, Bradley Post was standing in the driveway to the scene. He's the first to arrive. And then when law enforcement arrived, Bradley Post is standing in the driveway of the house. So he talks to Deputy Chris Robinson with his body camera on. Hey, man. So when you pulled up, was he just, just like standing there waiting for you? Yes, man.

He was just kind of standing to the side over here, just waiting. He was on the phone with someone. How'd you get in the house? You gotta come home right now. Emergency home come home we just started talking briefly about what was going on inside the basic info about when's the last time you saw her and last time we talked to her she went for a job interview okay she left and came back I call her today twice yeah just like night like I've got her on a tracker. Yeah. She didn't

respond. So I went to the door. No response. So the back door is always unlocked. Okay. So I walked around the back door and I walked in. There was a smell like a pesticide smell. Yeah. And I walked in and I didn't see anything on. I saw like a flower rose tore up and then I walked in the living room and she's laying on her back. There's a lot of blood. Okay. Do you live here? I don't know.

You stay here occasionally? Yeah. Okay. I'm with her most days. Alright, do me a favor. Just stand right here. You went in the back. You want to help me clear it real quick? Yeah.

And what did you find when you got inside? So I went in with another deputy. We started clearing. Sheriff's office. I do smell something. All right, let me see what we got. There's a smelly. You wanna hold right and I'll clear this on the left. We didn't know who was inside.

Barely see and I could see her feet at that point. So I kind of knew what was going on. All right, I got her feet right here in front of me. Continued clearing, made it up to her. Saw that there was no signs of life. We kept moving and cleared the rest of the house. Yes ma'am, we're clearing the house now. Just to make sure there's no one in the house.

Correct. Pushing in. Sheriff's office. Take one, I'll take the other. Sheriff's office. 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 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. Our protocol is not to really touch anything. If there's no signs of human life, I don't have to render aid. We try not to contaminate the scene. 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. Looked like she was pulled by her ankles or removed somehow. Let's get out of here with that smell. And then you came back outside? Came back outside, kind of locked the house down so nobody in or out. Just lock it down.

Definitely not a death odor. Anyway, I gotta go, Tani. Get home as soon as you can. He's the owner of the house. Her sister lives here. Is she dead? As far as I can tell, I'm not EMS, man. And this is your girlfriend? Well, she, my fiance. What's her name?

Christina Lorraine Parcell. Christina Parcell, a single mother of one who police quickly discover has not been shot but has been stabbed 35 times. We learned that she was a vet tech and that she was engaged to be married to Bradley Post. And the other residents of there were her sister, Christina Parcell, and Christina Parcell's daughter. Son of a b****. She's got a young daughtercell's daughter. Son of a b****.

She's got a young daughter that's nine. Lead investigator Jared Sparkman arrives to the scene shortly after Deputy Robinson. When you pull up to the scene, what do you see? There's a lot of deputies, investigators already here. Describe to us this crime scene. So it was very unique. First of all, you don't have many murders that are stabbings. You also see rose petals scattered around in the room where she's at.

Something I've never seen before. I definitely thought that whoever killed her brought those flowers in. People think of stabbings as really intimate, right? But did this seem like a fight, like this was a crime of passion? That was something that crossed our minds, especially with the rose petals on the ground.

This was no ordinary murder because the nature of the crime was so close and personal, so brutal that either somebody was really mad at this particular person or something went terribly wrong. Obviously the first person that you want to talk to is the person that discovers the body. The fiance of the person is definitely someone that we want to talk to quickly. What was he like?

Pompous. Always wanted to be the smartest person in the room or the richest person in the room, preferably both. This five-bedroom ranch house was home for veterinary technician Christina Parcell, her nine-year-old daughter, and her sister Tina, who says October 13, 2021 was a typical busy weekday morning. It was just so exceedingly normal. Not a day you would have thought anything of. Never.

I remember every bit of it now. She had a job interview that morning. She was trying to find a job with more hours, better pay. Did you see her that morning as she was getting ready for it? I'm finishing my morning coffee sitting on the couch. We talk just normal people things. What have you got going on today other than your interview? I've got a hair appointment.

Then I think they had gymnastics that afternoon. Okay, have a great day. You too. Love you. That's the last time you talked to your sister. I knew she was gone. Love you. That's the last time you talked to your sister. She was gone.

So Christina Parcell had a very quick interview at a local veterinarian clinic. Hey, I'm Christina. Nice to meet you. We actually have a video of the interview. It did not last very long. And she texted me, you know, she felt good, it went well. It was talk me through your qualifications, etc, etc. Very short. And then she drove back and she returned back about 907. And we know that because

she passes by a ring camera three doors down, and we see her car pass by. Meanwhile, Tina is at her office, 20 minutes away. I was at work and my phone says, you have a voicemail. And it was Post telling me there was an emergency at the house and I needed to come home. Tina, this is Brad. You need to call me quick. There's a problem with Christina at the house. Please call me now. So I call him back and he says, you have to get here. I think she's dead.

Like what happened? He's like, I don't know. I can't tell. So you race home? Absolutely race home. I get there about 11.30. They wouldn't tell me that she was actually dead for the first hour, maybe hour and a half. It's a tragic end to a sibling relationship

that survived ups and downs, beginning with an incredibly close bond. She was younger, I was older. Two years apart. Two years and four days. Our birthdays were four days apart, so we would have birthday parties kind of around the same time.

We were each other's best friends, basically, growing up. She was smart. She was quick-witted and she was kind. Her sister says Christina loved running and gifting friends with her professional-looking homemade chocolates. And she had ambitions for a new career. She had gone back to school for nursing. She seemed exceptionally devoted to her daughter. to her daughter. Christina Parcell shared custody with her ex-boyfriend, John Mello. Five months before her death, she and her daughter had moved into Tina's home in Greer,

a suburb 12 miles from the city of Greenville. Greenville, South Carolina is a city nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It's one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. It's known for its southern charm, its tree-lined streets, and its vibrant art and music scene. We're a medium-sized city. We have more cultural and artistic offerings than someone might expect to see in a city of this size. In theater, in dance, in the visual arts, in music. Classical music is very popular here in Griebel. As you walk down Main Street, you'll see street musicians.

You hear some of the best music you would hear anywhere in the world. It is a wonderful place to come and raise children. It's a very safe place. The neighborhood where the murder occurred is usually considered a very safe neighborhood. It's an upper scale, low crime area. And luckily we're able to solve the vast majority of our homicides. We have one of the highest clearance rates in the country. But clearing the county's latest homicide could pose a challenge. Back at the house, police are scrubbing the crime scene for more details.

So one of the first things we do when we get there is secure the crime scene. Once it's secured, we call our forensics unit to come. With Christina, we collected her fingernails. We swabbed her hands anywhere that DNA could have been left. Once her body is removed from the scene, we can really start searching that house for any clues and really kind of figure out what happened. This was a slaughter.

Make no mistake about it. 19 slices to the neck and face. That's personal. Do you think she fought? I hope like hell she fought. Adding to the mystery, those scattered rose petals. Were there roses in the house before? Any idea where that came from?

No, I mean, it had to have been brought by the person that was in my home. Leading to the question, who was that person in the home? Police first want to talk to Parcell's fiance, Bradley Post. And I saw her sunglasses in the hallway, so it looks like she was surprised somehow. Post is a retired engineer and business owner. He and Christina Parcell had been dating for six years. He'd owned several

businesses and sold them, retired. He's very wealthy, he drives fancy sports cars, lives in a big house. What was he like? Pompous. Always wanted to be the smartest person in the room or the richest person in the room, preferably both. You didn't like him? No, not, no. He's very particular. He likes things the way he likes them. Does she seem happy?

Sometimes. She was becoming less and less happy with Post and less and less enamored with the thought of marrying him. Two days after the murder, once the crime scene was released, Tina and Bradley Post do a walkthrough with police. What'd you think of him and his demeanor that day? He was calm.

You know, he wanted to be helpful. Anything unusual? I remember him putting on gloves. He had on gloves when he showed up. He just said he was trying to be careful. Seems strange to you? You don't see that much. Did you find that to be weird?

No, because he was a fastidious, persnickety man. Didn't surprise me at all that he didn't want to touch anything icky. While Tina may have found post-off putting, it's another man she thinks police need to investigate. I can only think of one person in the world that I would instantly think of who would have interest in seeing my sister murdered I've told you person of interest will be John Mello In the aftermath of Christina Parcell's murder, it's her sister, Tina, who's left to tell

her nine-year-old niece the tragic news. So you had to tell her that her mother was dead? Mm-hmm. She wailed. And she was inconsolable sobbing. I told her there had been an accident, mommy had been hurt very, very badly and she died. She didn't make it. And her response was, who did it?

When police talked to Christina's fiance, Bradley Post, after the murder, Tell me about this other dude. he immediately brings up somebody he thinks should be a person of interest. So you asked him, do you know who would do this? Right, yes. So I was like do you know anybody that would be like our suspect in this or anything like that? I'm telling you, person of interest will be John Mello. And then he did mention John Mello's name at that point. There's been a custody battle.

And what did he say about John Mello? It was her ex, and they were having some issues. With that, we started looking into John Mello. John Mello says he's a music producer. He met Christina in 2004. He was a 43-year-old married father of two. She was 24 Both cameras have it. Yep. Okay. Okay So I guess let's start at the beginning

How did you come to meet? Christina I met her at a cigar shop. We just became friends. She was very intelligent, very, very beautiful, very fun to be around. We just hit it off as people in general. Were you trying to have a relationship? No, no, I was married.

I just like talking to people and throughout my life most of my closest friends have been females so it's just, I just, you know, easier to look at but no, not at all. It just kind of evolved later. At what point did it become a romantic relationship? I'd say 2009, you know, relationship? I'd say 2009. Mm-hmm. You know, my marriage was not good so it just happens. Mello and Christina dated for the next six years. So you had a discussion, decided you were gonna try to have a baby? Yes, yeah, planned it. That's a little surprising to me because you were married. It is to most people. Yeah, no, we planned her. She was born phenomenal.

And things were pretty good at the beginning, you know, with all that. But while things were going well with the new baby, by then, Christina had become estranged from her sister and the rest of her family. Between April and May of 2010, my sister cut off ties with our whole immediate family. She sent a letter to my parents, addressed it to all of us.

Dear Mama, Daddy, and Tina, I am severing the ties of discontent and unhappiness that have haunted my life. Leave me to my peace and my newfound life. Please do not visit my home, do not call or email, and most importantly, please do not worry. She had been with John for a year when she sent this. She was being increasingly cut off from the world around her. So when you started to talk to her again how did she explain that letter? It's what John wanted. The estrangement would last over four years.

When she came back to our family, I mean, we found out she had a daughter. My niece was more than two when I met her the first time. By the time the child was three years old, relations between Mello and Christina were breaking down. So, at some point you guys end up in kind of a tough custody battle. Yeah. Yes. She became very combative and very untrustworthy. Child custody cases are always intense.

I would say that this one is probably up there really like a 10 out of 10. This one is probably as intense as they ever get. In 2016, Mello is granted sole custody, Christina just visitation. In court documents, Mello describes what he calls her erratic behavior and lack of consistent visitation, while Christina says she's afraid of Mello and doesn't earn enough money to support her daughter. She basically relinquished primary custody to John Mello. In the years that follow, Mello repeatedly contacts law enforcement and the Department

of Social Services about Christina, accusing her of prostitution, drug use, and even child sex abuse. 2018, my daughter had come to me complaining about her mom and Brad Post. She said they made me sleep in the same bed with them and all these things. I was just like, this is not right. So I went to the Greenville County Sheriff's Department and I filed a complaint. The investigators that handled those cases

found no evidence to substantiate his claims. Law enforcement DSS couldn't verify any of the information. In the course of their custody battle, Mello is arrested and charged with stalking and then harassment, accused of repeatedly making unfounded accusations against Christina. Both charges are ultimately dismissed.

John Mello, I can tell you that a lot of people at the sheriff's office knew who he was, and he was just difficult to deal with. He would always make crazy allegations, and then when you wouldn't take him serious, he would get angry. It's 2018 when attorney Maggie Bailey gets a visit from Christina. She came into my office to ask about possibly representing her to help her get expanded visitation with her child. She wanted to have more overnights with the child and to be able to be a regular mother.

We were successful and she obtained more visitation. She would do her visit weekends in my apartment. I got specifically a three-bedroom apartment so she and my niece could stay with me and we could spend time together, go to the pool, go to the playground. She would tell me how much she enjoyed once her time got expanded, how wonderful it was to be able to have her child overnight and spend time with her.

But then, in October 2020, the custody fight takes another explosive and, for Christina, terrifying turn. It was time for her visit weekend, and John said, we won't be back in time. I'll call you when I know more. His message reads, we are out of the country, phone not working, be advised we won't be able to fly back for Friday exchange.

Sorry, more later. She'd gone by John Mellor's house, she'd tried to text him, she'd tried to email him, she'd tried to call him. She'd tried to email him. She'd tried to call him. My sister reached out to the elementary school and found out John had withdrawn her from Granville County School System. She messages Mello,

please tell me anything you can about where our daughter is. I'm scared. She had no idea where John Mello and her daughter had gone. She was in tears because she was like, he's taken her, I don't know where he's gone, and I may never see my daughter again. This show is supported by Chime. It seems like everything is getting more expensive these days, and the last thing anyone has room for in the budget is credit card debt. Luckily, Chime's Credit Builder Visa Credit Card is here for you. There's no interest

and no annual fee, which leaves more room in your budget for the things you love. You can also use it anywhere Visa cards are accepted. And it comes with access to over 50,000 fee-free ATMs around the U.S. Turn your everyday purchases and on-time payments into steps toward your financial goals with Chime's secured Credit Builder Visa Credit Card. Get started today at Chime.com slash 20. Spelled out T-W-E-N-T-Y. That's Chime.com slash 20. Chime.

Feels like progress. The Chime Credit Builder Visa Credit Card is issued by the Bancorp NA or Stride Bank NA. Spot me eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Chime checking account required to apply. Out of network ATM withdrawal and OTC advance fees may apply. Hey, I'm Brad Milky. You may know me as the host of ABC Audio's daily news podcast, Start Here, but I'd like to add aspiring true crime expert to my resume. And here's how I'm going to make it happen. Every week, I'm going to unpack the biggest true crime story that everyone is talking about. ABC's

got some unique access here. So I'll talk to the reporters and producers who have followed these cases for months, sometimes years. We're bringing the latest developments and the larger context on the true crime stories you've been hearing about. Follow the crime scene for special access to the people who know these stories best. For Tina Parcell and John Mello, there's not much room for agreement except on one thing, the strangeness of those red roses found at the crime scene. It's just a hell of a lot of effort to create something so theatrical and intentional and rage-filled to send a message.

Tina even keeps an eye out for a special delivery at her sister's funeral. I had the funeral home hold every flower delivery so I could inspect them to make sure no red roses were sent, because I fully expected some to be sent. Why? Because that would be a mean and cruel thing to do.

And let's just be honest, mean and cruel kind of fits the whole bill for the situation. For her, the roses add to her suspicion of John Mello. She tells investigators what happened a year earlier. In 2020, the custody battle between Christina Parcell and John Mello had become an outright war after he took off with their eight-year-old daughter. Christina has no idea where she is and frantically searches social media for clues. She just poured over the internet and looking for everything, doing all kinds of searches.

And then Mello emails Christina, please do not bother people about us, saying their daughter is doing great. She is happy and healthy. It's just a new setup. That's all. New rules. Christina had no idea where her daughter or John was. She didn't know if they were in the United States or overseas.

The first clue that she got was a picture that he had posted. And it was in kind of like a courtyard surrounded by buildings and you could tell that on the building that it was in Italy. She had to blow that picture up in order to try to figure out what the sign said. John Mello took her child to Italy without any communication to Christina about their intentions. He and Christina's daughter moved to Italy permanently. She was inconsolable. She couldn't sleep, she couldn't eat.

She called county police, she called the FBI, she called the State Department. Mello claims he took their daughter to Italy to protect her from her mother. I have great fear for my daughter's safety, and I always have. So why do you think I left the country? That's why you took her and you went to Italy, because you were scared for her. Yes.

I watched her entire life, her mother being a horrific human being, provided evidence to everybody. And some people believe it, some people don't. So when you went to Italy with your daughter, did you think that you were breaking any laws? Absolutely not. I made certain that my custody order was written in such a way that there were no restrictions,

that I do not have to have permission to leave, that the mother just has zero, absolutely no custody. While Christina Parcell did not have full custody, she had dissertation rights. She decided to attempt to get her child back through the Hague Convention. So the Hague Convention governs international child custody disputes. You went to Italy with your sister to get your niece. She found out they scheduled a hearing

at essentially the equivalent of family court in Italy. I asked her, do you want me to go with you? And she said yes. So I instantly bought us two round trip tickets. This is video from their hotel room from the day before the hearing. Christina is on the bed. She went to Italy twice. It was the second time that the authorities in Italy handed her daughter to her and told her to take her back to the United States.

The court rules that Mello violated Christina's custody rights, even if limited, and acted against their daughter's interest. It's a victory for Christina, six months after Mello took their daughter out of the country. The family court in Venice, I'm not trying to sound the way it's going to sound, but they were all women. And her mom came and put on a very good show with the tears and the whole thing. And then they decided to let her go that night. John Mello stays in Italy while Christina heads back to South Carolina with their daughter. So when Christina came back from Italy with her daughter,

she brought her into the office and she was just like all smiles. This is literally the day after she got back. I took her to the playground. But just three months after the joy of being reunited, Christina Purcell is blindsided again. I walked into my office one morning, and my paralegal was opening the mail,

and she goes, look at this picture. And it was a nude picture of Christina. It was really, I would call it a pornographic picture. It's not just her attorney who has received the mail link. The photos were sent to our house, Post's house, all of our neighbors, all of his neighbors, Christina's work, the guardian ad litem. And Christina Parcell knew that the only person who had possession of these photos of her was John Mello. And they were taken when they were dating back in 2010 or 2011 when she was much younger. And there was also included in there a photo copy of an escort site.

And it was claiming that Christina Parcell had been posting on an escort site as a prostitute looking for business. None of the photos were connected to the escort site. They basically took a screenshot of an escort site and then copied and pasted the URL onto some private pictures that Christina and John had shared years ago. These packages all came from Greenville or Tennessee. And so we knew the person who sent them out or who put them in the mailbox and prepared them had to be living in the

Greenville area. John Mello was in Italy. She said it has to be John. She said, I just don't know who he would have gotten to send it. John Mello says he didn't arrange for the mailings to be sent out. Did you have those images mailed? No, no, no, I did not. No. I had them from years back and of course my intention was when I get to the states in this custody case, the judge needs to see her background. If you're in a custody case and you have photographic and internet evidence that the person in the

custody case with you is prostituting online, you want the judge to see that. Yeah, I absolutely was going to use that. There was no evidence that suggested that Christina was a prostitute or drug dealer or escort. Two and a half months after the mailings were sent, Christina Parcell is murdered. But it turns out the man so many people seem to suspect could not have been the killer. Where were you when Christina was murdered?

Italy. Yeah. I was in Italy. Did you have anything to do with it? No. Of course not. No. It's not my style.

You know what I mean? It's just, it's... No. We still were looking at Mr. Mello and people that he knew. But we did know that he's not the person that walked in the front door and killed Christina. And then a huge turning point in the case, thanks to a neighbor's ring camera.

Rarely do you ever get to see the bad guy walk through the front door before he engages in a horrific murder. And a shocking arrest, but it's not what you think. We were dumbfounded. Police are investigating Christina Parcell's murder. Her fiance Bradley Post tells them he's convinced John Mello, despite being in Italy, should be the prime suspect.

There's been a heavy custody battle. This guy's been a h***. He's a threat and he's a thug. Although authorities have their suspicions about Bradley Post himself, their investigation seems to be pointing away from him. Bradley Post was extremely cooperative. And when was the last time you just spoke with her? Well, that'll tell you exactly.

He said that he spoke with Christina that morning. Last time I talked to her was 8, 15 a.m., outgoing call, 10 minutes. She was on her way to a job interview. That they texted, and and he attempted to call her with no answer, which is the reason that he came to the house. And by looking at his phone, as well as Christina's phone,

we were able to confirm that he was in fact telling the truth. Normally when she leaves somewhere, she'll send me a text or something on my way back. I didn't hear from her. In addition, the way that he was dressed and the way he appeared in pristine condition, freshly showered in a sports coat, a white shirt, slacks. Not somebody that had just committed a horrific murder.

Even though he expresses some nervousness, Post continues to work with police. But at this point I'm getting worried about where we are. I really don't know if I want to comment more. I want to help you, but if this is what I think it is, that's fine. But then investigators stumble upon what they claim is evidence of an entirely different crime. Bradley Post agreed to allow us to look at his phone. He signed a consent form, a waiver, he gave us his password. We weren't expecting to find anything.

But while reviewing his phone, we found some material that resulted in him being arrested for criminal sexual conduct with a minor. An upstate man facing several charges of sexual exploitation with a minor will remain behind a bar. Investigators say they found sexually explicit images of children in Post's possession. According to court documents, Post had a high volume of child pornography on his phone and electronic devices. He has not yet entered a formal plea to those charges. I was personally dumbfounded. I couldn't believe that he just handed over that evidence. For these alleged crimes, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. So, although Bradley Post is now facing some serious charges,

police still don't think he's the person who killed Christina Parcell, and they now have a critical clue in the hunt for who did. As you start to go looking for evidence, what's the first thing that you do outside of the home? Cameras. Cameras. So where were the first cameras that you found?

Well, the first camera was actually right here behind you. Those are Ring Doorbell Camera. The camera is from the house directly across the street from where Christina Parcell lived. And so you get that camera. What do you see on that camera? So that camera, it shows a person walking up the steps and going into the house.

We were extremely lucky. The ring camera across the street was highly sensitive to cars driving by. And a white Ford Explorer drove by the exact moment that the individual was walking up the stairs and through the front door of the house at exactly 9.15. So if that vehicle hadn't driven by at that moment, you wouldn't have seen who walked in the house.

That's right. We were able to enhance the video. You can actually see the gray sweatshirt, the black pants, the build of the individual, an individual walking up, the black pants, the build of the individual, an individual walking up through the front door, getting ready to commit a horrific murder. We continued canvassing the whole neighborhood and came across some cameras that showed someone wearing the same type clothing, same stature, leaving the area.

The next evidence we have of this individual is a ring camera down the street and it shows an individual on a black bike, dressed in a black sweatshirt, black pants, with a N95 mask over their face, leaving on the bike at exactly 927. We believe that the suspect was in that house for about 12 minutes. Then at 928, we see the same individual passing a house in the exact same clothes on a black bike. They were wearing dark clothes. It was a nice day that day. Long sleeves, pants, just odd. And it was our first real clue.

The Ring camera offers another important development. While investigators don't know who the mysterious man is, they are now confident of who it isn't. After we found the cameras in the neighborhood, Bradley Post was ruled out. The build wasn't the same. It was pretty obvious that Bradley Post's stature does not match the stature of the person that went into that house. We were able to determine that Bradley Post could not have committed this crime. The next order of business, finding the man on the bike. So finding the person on the bicycle was a tall order.

Turns out the man on the bike will not remain a mystery for long. At the point you heard there was a suspect, were you surprised? Police zero in on somebody you'd never expect. Will this finally explain the crime and those odd rose petals? We had no suspects and then with a click of a button, it's like, well, we just figured out who did it. It felt like I just won the lot. The rose petal case was just a wild ride.

So many twists and turns. The manifestation of hate wrought upon a physical body. We still felt with the child custody dispute, there's motive. Where Zach Hughes began inserting himself into this custody battle. You don't think Zach is a killer. There's just no way.

The guy's heart is as big as the moon. We started receiving calls that we had arrested the wrong person. It makes utterly no sense. And there is proof to that that the state is hiding from you. It's time to be quiet. If there's no malice, there's no murder. How is that not murder? It was as close to a matlock moment as you're going to get.

Either you had some part of this or you were caught in the craziest murder case that any of us have ever heard of. Gravel County 911, what's your emergency? Is she breathing? No. I think she's gone. A lot of blood. There are flowers. I think somebody must have come here. After Christina Parcell is stabbed to death in the house she shares with her 9-year-old daughter and her sister Tina, investigators piece together camera footage from around their neighborhood that provides critical details about the person who did it. The ring camera across the street that called the suspect going into the house was huge.

Our immediate suspects were Bradley Post because he was Christina's fiance and found her deceased, and John Mello because they had a previous relationship and had a child together. From the ring and security camera footage in the neighborhood, we learned that our suspect appeared to be male, tall and slender with very good posture and arrived on a bike. It was pretty obvious that Bradley Post's stature does not match the stature of the person that went into that house. And John Mello was in Italy at the time, so we the stature of the person that went into that house. And John Mello was in Italy at the time, so we know he's not the person that walked into the door.

With Bradley Post and John Mello ruled out as the killer, investigators are working overtime to figure out who the man on the bike is. We had been working, I don't even know how many hours a day. We had been working, I don't even know how many hours a day. We had no suspects. Everywhere we were turning, we were just running into dead ends. Given John Mello's solid alibi,

investigators decide to dig a little deeper into his circle of friends and acquaintances. We still felt like we need to talk to people that know him. Why? He's not the one that killed her. But from the information we had with the child custody dispute, we just felt like there's motive there. We learned that an individual named Michael Manigault worked

for John Mello to clean his house. So we found Mr. Manigault, and we spoke with him. So we found Mr. Manigault and we spoke with him. Like Bradley Post, Michael Manigault does not match the ring camera footage of the man recorded entering the Parcel House. When we were able to blow up the footage, we were able to tell the person we were looking for is white. Mr. Manigault is African American.

But when investigators ask Manigault what he knows about Christina's death, he gives them a new name. Tell me again how you heard about Christina. A mutual friend of mine, John Hussack Hughes, he said about a week and a half ago that Christina had been found stabbed to death. He goes on to tell us that Hussack Hughes cleans John Mello's house with him. Is this him?

Is this Hussack? Yes, house with him. At that point, start looking into Zach Hughes, find out who he is. Master Deputy Wolfe, he did just a basic internet search in his YouTube video of Zachary Hughes. The videos are from a virtual concert series Hughes did with a local museum and posted on his YouTube channel. Zach is a pretty extraordinary musician. I noticed that he's a pianist and there's a lot of articles about him and his accomplishments. I was very surprised. He had no criminal record. I couldn't even find a speeding ticket.

Once I have his name, I can pull up every vehicle you have with your license plate within 10 minutes. We're able to learn that he in fact owned a gold Ford truck. that he in fact owned a gold Ford truck. Investigators discover a crucial clue not far from downtown Greenville. If you look up there, you'll see a camera. That's called a flock camera. It's an automated license plate reader that alerts law enforcement

if a wanted vehicle is detected. A little after 2 p.m. on the day of Christina's murder, there's a picture of his vehicle coming into the downtown area with a black bike in the bed of his truck. And that bike matched the exact description of the bike that we had on the ring cameras of the individual leaving the Canebrake neighborhood. The handlebars were the same,

the brakes were in the exact same place, the frame was the same. Felt like I just won the lottery. With all that information, we really honed in on Zachary Hughes as our main suspect. We get a search warrant for Zach Hughes' residence where he's staying. When we all get there, it's almost like Zach was waiting on us. He comes out calm, puts his hands up, and he backs up towards my direction.

I put handcuffs on him. Anybody else in the house? Yes, sir. He never asked why we were there or what we were doing. I set him in the back of Investigator Wolf's car, and he stayed there while we executed the search warrant. We obviously want his cell phone. We're looking for the bicycle.

We knew Christina Parcell had been stabbed, so we're looking for any objects that could have done that. They have a detached garage at this property, and then we were able to find the exact bike that is on the flat picture in the bed of his truck. The bike had been washed or cleaned before we were able to locate it. It was an absolute pristine condition.

Investigators don't have enough yet to make an arrest, so they let Zach Hughes go, but not before obtaining a sample of his DNA. Her fingernails were broken, which made us think she fought back. So we believed that DNA could possibly be under her fingernails of her killer. While they wait for the DNA results, authorities are trying to determine just how close Zach Hughes and John Mello really are. How did you come to know Zach. I was walking with my daughter down Main Street and that we

were just a couple of weeks away from moving full-time to Italy and he was playing piano on the street and so he finished and he said hello to her and she said hello and she says do you know Claire de Lune and he played Claire de Lune and it was fantastic. Clary DeLinn, and it was fantastic. And then days later, he was in a different location by false part playing, and we chatted quite a while and exchanged contact information, and that was it. And then we left, not long after that.

Mello says that once he takes his daughter to Italy, he loses touch with Hughes for a few months. But after Christina Parcell wins her case to bring their daughter back to the United States, he says the two men reconnect. I was unbelievably sad and distraught, and I reached out to him and I told him what was going on because he was just like, oh my God, not your little girl. You don't think Zach is a killer? There's just no way.

The guy's heart is as big as the moon. And what would his motive be? Even while investigators are zeroing in on Hughes, prosecutor Walt Wilkins has the same question. Why would Zach Hughes go kill somebody for John Mello? And if you do that for your friend, you must either be a really good friend or a really scary person.

Do you think I could talk him into doing something like that for free, throwing his life down the toilet at his age? Yeah, the NBA playoffs are here. And it's about to be ridiculous, unbelievable, unfair, damn right nasty, straight up, can't miss, don't blink, grab your popcorn and strap in cinema. This isn't about who's next.

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Rated PG-13. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. I don't know what to say about Zack. I love him. He's one of my best friends. Because I think he has the ability to become one of the greatest pianists of our century. Zach Hughes. You know a lot of people don't know who he is and kind of what his background is. How did he end up in Greenville? He was born in California. When he was roughly 10, 11 years old his family moved to Virginia on a small farm. They lived in Virginia until he was a teenager. Then they moved to the upstate of South Carolina. His parents could see an aptitude for music, so his

dad bought him a piano at a yard sale for $300. And that's where he started. And over the course of his childhood he just developed a passion for it, became very good at it. Like when you say good at it, like prodigy good? He consistently did things that were very extraordinary. He begins to compete in very prestigious music festivals. He decided to apply for Juilliard and was accepted in 2010. Juilliard is one of our most prestigious conservatories for musicians. To be received into the program suggests that a young artist is at the top of his or her game.

I met Zach in 2011 at Juilliard. And very quickly, we decided to build some projects, and he started playing my music. I always felt Zach treating everyone with this equal, profound kindness. He was devoted to his friends, devoted to his parents, devoted to everyone he was meeting, basically. In 2013, Zach came to Paris, especially to premiere my first sonata, which was called Sonata Mystica, the Oratoire du Louvre, which is a rather famous

place in Paris. And it was a huge success. As seen here in a video posted on YouTube, Zach Hughes graduates from Juilliard in 2015. He spends a season with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra before eventually settling in Greenville, South Carolina, amid its thriving local arts and music scene. We've always punched above our weight artistically, you might say, here in Greenville. In 2020, someone had contacted me to tell me about this young pianist who was going to attempt a really ambitious project, playing all 32 of Beethoven's piano sonatas in the space

of a year. He called his project The Beethoven Odyssey. Zach Hughes posted videos of The Beethoven Odyssey on his YouTube channel. He was playing them by heart and that was very, very impressive. Together they span 600 pages and more than 11 hours of music. I thought, based on his YouTube videos, as well as seeing him perform live and in person, that here was a young man with a very bright future ahead of him as a musician. During the COVID pandemic, Zachary Hughes could often be found here in downtown Greenville with his keyboard, sharing his Juilliard training and his love of Beethoven with the community. He started off doing some concerts live, but then when COVID hit, he was doing some busking down in downtown Greenville.

And one day a man walked up to him and asked if he would take a request. That man, of course, is John Mello. And this chance encounter is the start of their friendship. It was a pretty strong friendship from what I understood. It was in May of 2021. Zach actually goes to Italy to visit John Mello. What's that trip about? Mello said, why don't you recharge your batteries

and just come over and visit. I go, come to Italy. I go, I got a recording. I go, I could use you. So he came and we rehearsed a lot and spent a lot of time together. As he's just a really very well educated, very articulate, very fun, kind person. And we just really hit it off.

Cemented by the time in Italy, their connection continues when Zack Hughes returns home to South Carolina. Zack began doing yard work, just odds and ends around the house to help him out. Had he ever met Christina? Not once. How would he ever have an occasion to meet her? But investigators are starting to believe that Zach Hughes did, in fact, meet Christina Parcell on at least one occasion. And they say they've now got the evidence to prove it. and they say they've now got the evidence to prove it. The DNA results came back as Zach Hughes' DNA was under the fingernails of Christina Parcell.

And so as a result, we were able to get a warrant for his arrest. And he makes the decision to turn himself in. Typically, the people that we deal with for murders, they don't wear suits, they're not pianists. For us, this is just all very unusual. He just sat there. He wasn't rude, but he just had no emotion. And then after that, we took him to our detention center

and booked him. This man locked up tonight, charged with murder. We started receiving calls that we had arrested the wrong person. And at a bond hearing for Zach Hughes, the courtroom is packed with supporters insisting that he's not capable of murder. As a mother, I know him and there's no doubt that Zach had any part of this. We were convinced that we had the correct person

and that he just made everybody believe he was something that he wasn't. Ultimately, the judge denies Hughes bond and now it's up to the state of South Carolina to prove to a jury that this 29-year-old piano virtuoso is also a cold-blooded killer. John Mello had a problem. He had a custody problem. And Zach Hughes solved the problem for him. And prosecutors now think they have evidence implicating Mello in the murder. There was a text exchange between you and Zach

where you asked him, how's the music research going? Right, yeah. On the day of the murder. On the day of the murder. It was two musicians discussing the music project. So were the men discussing music or murder? Three years after Christina Parcell's murder, Zachary Hughes' trial begins.

Family and friends pile in here to the Greenville County Courthouse to see if this accomplished musician might also be a killer. We will now begin the trial. State. The state intends to prove that Zachary Hughes did in fact murder Christina Parcell. Typically in opening statements you want to lay out a little bit of a roadmap for the jury. Christina Parcell had been going through a very tremendous child custody dispute with John Mello. Zach Hughes began inserting himself into this custody at the battle at the behest of John Mello. The evidence will show that Zach Hughes is a cold-blooded killer.

The state calls Bradley Post. One of the first witnesses to take the stand clad in an orange jail jumpsuit is Christina Parcell's fiance, Bradley Post. Prosecutors want to ask him about that morning he found her dead. Good afternoon, Mr. Post. Where do you currently reside? Greenville County Detention Center. Prior to the start of the trial, the judge ruled that jurors would not be allowed to hear that investigators had allegedly found a high volume of child pornography on post-electronic devices, or that he was facing charges of sexual exploitation of a minor.

Child pornography is extremely prejudicial. Nobody in America thinks that that's okay, but the purposes of us being there was to determine whether Zach Hughes murdered Christina Parcell. When you arrived, what did you do? I went to the front door and rang the doorbell. She didn't answer. I walked into the front door and rang the doorbell. She didn't answer. I walked into the back door. I saw her on her back.

When you saw her on her back, was there a lot of blood around the room? Yes. The medical examiner testifies to just how violent the attack appeared to be. What jumped out at you in your finding? There were 35 sharp force injuries to Miss Parcell. And then based on the appearances of the wounds, it is most consistent with a knife being used. The chipped thumb fingernail,

something that really stood out to me on scene. Why does it stand out to you? Broken fingernails can be a sign that the person tried to defend themselves. Next, a court-appointed attorney for the child in the custody dispute takes the stand to address the conflict that prosecutors say is at the heart of this case. What findings did you make as to the lengths that Mr. Mello would go to get custody. He was very clear that there was nothing off limits.

This was the worst case I've ever worked on as far as representing a child's interest. At the time of the murder, remember John Mello was still in Italy and that, prosecutors say, is why Mello needed Zach Hughes. When John Mello left for Italy, they began using WhatsApp to communicate with each other. After Christina Parcell was able to retrieve her child from Italy and return back to the United States, their communications increased by 10,000%.

When we downloaded Mr. Hughes' phone, we obtained over 1,700 WhatsApp messages between Mr. Hughes and John Mello. But because Zach Hughes had deleted those encrypted WhatsApp messages before authorities got his phone, when they were able to retrieve them, they came back scrambled. The longer ones, obviously, we couldn were able to retrieve them, they came back scrambled.

The longer ones, obviously we couldn't make sense out of, but some of the shorter ones you can determine what they said. Two states 184, do you recognize that? Yes sir. This is a message from John Mello. It says harass of her 5142. We can the out. I believe he's providing Christina's phone number which ends in 5142. He's saying harass the hell of her.

When I spoke to John Mello prior to Zach Hughes' trial, he told me about sending this message. They had the text of me saying, you know, to Zach, I got a private phone or something, you know, use it, harass whatever kind of thing. But his response was, no, I'm not gonna get in trouble for you. But prosecutors argue at trial,

this is when John Mello convinced Zach Hughes to help him in that alleged campaign of harassment against Christina, sending those explicit photos from a supposed escort website. We were reviewing the gmails of John Mello and Zachary Hughes. And inside there was an email that came from Mullen Investigations, which we believe to be John Mello,

because we couldn't ever find Mullen Investigations, and included two of the photos of Christina Parcell in a state of undress that were found in those envelopes. The most significant communication between the two men, prosecutors say, was their last whatsapp message sent just hours after Christina Parcell was killed. October 13th, 2021, that did research on music, how go. 2.53 p.m., the message reads, phone over, tell you good, the aisle. The question John Mello asked about how the music research was going to me,

I thought they were speaking in code for killing Christina. There was a text exchange between you and Zach where you asked him how's the music research going. Right, yeah. On the day of the murder. And some people think that could be code for how did the murder go. Okay, yeah, I know. I know that's what they're thinking.

It was two musicians discussing the music project he was working on. Simple as that. That's what it is. he was working on. Simple as that. That's what it is. The prosecutors have one more damning piece of evidence against Hughes to put before the jury.

The cherry on top was the DNA evidence. Zach Hughes had no business being in Christina Parcell's house that day. They had no prior relationship, and his DNA under her fingernails slammed the door on this case. With the state's case laid out, it's now the defense's turn,

and in a twist, they announce Zach Hughes will be taking the stand. This state, your name, please. Zachary David Hughes. And what he tells the jury catches prosecutors and just about everyone else in the courtroom off guard. There is proof to that, that the state is hiding from you. You're all instructed to be quiet.

Why did you feel like it was important for you to be there? Part of me feels like by being there every day, every minute of this trial, maybe she got to be there too. Courtroom 8 got fuller and fuller as days went on. So we're standing outside the courtroom right now. It has been quite a sight to say the least. State rest, Your Honor. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Now it's our turn. We are honored and privileged to be representing Zack. Zack Hughes' defense team opens with a bombshell,

announcing not only will Hughes take the stand, but he's prepared to confess to killing Christina Parcell. Zack has been waiting for this opportunity. He's been waiting and wanting to tell you why. You're gonna hear that this was done for a just cause. We didn't know exactly what he was gonna say and how he was gonna do it and for what purpose. They state your name for the record.

Zachary David Hughes. Hughes first describes how he met John Mello and learned the details of the contentious custody battle that Mello was in with Christina. He says Mello told him that he was worried for his daughter's safety and in an attempt to help Hughes admits he was the one who mailed those envelopes with the explicit pictures of Christina. You sent multiple mailers beginning in June and going into July of 2020. Is that correct? Yes, I did. I wanted different people such as the Grand Antlytum to have access to this information

that clearly demonstrated that Christina Parcell was a danger to children and her own daughter. I'm curious why the concern for this child, the child that he doesn't really know that well. Well, he got to know the child somewhat. I think Zach is just naturally a caring person, just in general. Another point was Christina Parcell's fiance, who's a man named Brad Post,

and Zach was convinced that Christina Parcell was going to allow him to harm her. At the beginning of October 2021, did you conclude that you had to rescue and there was no other way? Yes, I did. I had been wrestling with this since June, feeling that I needed to do something to save her, and yet feeling this incredible reluctance to do the one thing that I knew would save her because of how terrible I knew it would be to do it. It's extremely rare for a defendant

to get up there and admit to killing somebody in cold blood. Almost as if he was doing something for the sake of humanity. I had prayed like I'd never prayed before. He testified it was something he just felt like he had to do to protect that child. But every fiber of his being was fighting him. When you arrived at the house, what did you do? I laid my bike down in the driveway. I took a bunch of roses and I walked up to the door and I rang the doorbell. According to Hughes, those roses found at the scene that caused so much speculation

were nothing more than a ruse and along with the flowers, he also had a gun. A woman came to the front. So I told her that I had a delivery for Lutina Purcell, her sister. And she told me that Lutina wasn't home. So I handed her the roses. And I took the revolver out and I pointed it at her and I told her to be quiet and to go back into the house.

She began to try to fight back and during this period of time the roses had dropped and the petals and stems had scattered. So I pulled out the knife I was wearing and just kept striking her and striking her until finally we fell on the floor and I stopped striking her when she stopped struggling. striking her when she stopped struggling. Zach Hughes says that he knew he didn't have time to clean up all of the now scattered rose petals. And I looked in a mirror before I left

and I saw that she had scratched my face in the struggle. And of course I realized that this could leave DNA. So I used the paint thinner to try to clean her hands. I do smell something. The paint thinner Hughes brought with him explains that odd smell the responding officer noticed. But even after his detailed testimony, Zach Hughes' defense attorneys insist

that he is not guilty of murder. Murder is defined as South Carolina as a killing of another with malice, a forethought. Malice is defined as having a dark heart, a wicked and depraved heart. Zach did this without malice. If there's no malice, there's no murder. He planned this.

He had a gun and a knife. He basically lied to get into the home and then he stabbed this woman. How is that not murder? It's very important to understand the motive. The entire motive behind what he did was to save this child, period. And the defense had argued that there were serious abuse allegations against Christina Parcell herself and that jurors should hear them. The judge

ruled those accusations were irrelevant and inadmissible, but that didn't stop Zach Hughes from repeatedly making them during his testimony. As soon as I left the house, I felt the most enormous wave of relief wash over me because I knew from that moment on, **** could be safe from the sexual abuse that her mother was perpetrating on her. And there is proof to that, that the state is hiding from you. You're out. Instruct him to be quiet.

Okay. You need to stop talking. That was his third sort of outburst, I believe, which I was able to strike from the record. We don't know the circumstances surrounding Christina Parcell and her child and their relationship with Brad Post. And as far as this case is concerned, it does not matter. Assuming it's all true, Christina Parcell doesn't deserve to die the way that she did.

Investigators say it's also important to note that nobody knew of the allegations against Bradley Post until his arrest after Christina Parcell's murder. Zach had never met Christina. The only thing that Zach knew about Christina was what he got from John Miller. We found no evidence that Zachary Hughes knew anything about Bradley Post's alleged behavior prior to the murder. But Zach Hughes' testimony isn't over yet. And there's one more bombshell to come. I was shocked and insulted.

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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. In this Greenville County Courthouse, classical pianist Zach Hughes has a wrapped audience as he takes jurors step by step through how he says he killed Christina Parcell. Did you take Christina Parcell's life? Yes. He made me think he just rehearsed it all. Which he is a performer. I felt like he was trying to put on a performance.

And if a confession from the witness stand wasn't shocking enough, Hughes drops another bombshell, testifying that his friend and Christina Parcell's ex, John Mello, offered to pay him on two separate occasions to kill her. He asked me, would I be willing to kill Christina Parcell for $10,000? It was as close to a matlock moment as you're going to get. I told him, John, there's no amount of money that would ever tempt me to do something like

this. 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 Parcell's wife. We reached out to John Mello about these allegations right after Zach Hughes' testimony, and he told us, quote, it never happened. I was incredulous to the absurdity of his statements that he is going to sit there and decide when somebody gets to live or somebody gets to die

based on his own personal judgments? That is absolutely absurd. Before he made the decision to do this, did he have any physical proof that this child was in harm's way? So I would say he did. He knew it with the information he had received from John Mello, with the documents he had received.

Zach Hughes says he also had the chance to see Christina's daughter while he was visiting John Mello in Italy. And Mello spoke to her over Zoom. He said that he could notice a profound change in her demeanor. The light went out of her eyes. So there were other things like that that corroborated what he believed. Now after a full day of testimony, it's the prosecutor's turn to question Zach Hughes.

This is the opportunity of a lifetime for a prosecutor. I have the ability to cross-examine a confessed murderer, but you have to understand the position that I was in. Zachary Hughes was stating things on his direct examination that he was ordered by the court not to say. The battle in his mind was telling this jury information that they had no business hearing. And so I came up with a strategic decision to ask one question. Husha Hughes, when you dragged Christina Parcell across the floor of the front room where you killed her, did you drag her by her arm or by her ankle?

I don't remember for certain, but I think by the ankle. That's all the questions I need to ask this year, huh? And I left Zac Hughes with the inability to say what he really wanted to say. We are about to begin closing arguments. He confessed to killing Christina Parcell, but that in and of itself does not make him guilty of murder. The state must prove beyond reasonable doubt malice. That is the intent, the knowledge, the mental part of murder. The state must prove beyond unreasonable doubt malice. That is the intent, the knowledge, the mental part of murder.

Just because Zachary Hughes' heart is so cold and so dead that it can't be angry, that is not a defense. Vigilante justice is not allowed in this state. The evidence is absolutely overwhelming. I'm going to ask you to find Zach Hughes guilty. The case is now in the hands of the jurors, one of whom was this man, David Collins. He confessed to the crime of taking Christina's life. None of us could believe what we were hearing.

I was actually wondering why we were in the courtroom and having a trial. After less than three hours of deliberations, the jury returns with a verdict. Your Honor, as to the charge of murder, we the jury find with a verdict. Your Honor, as to the charge of murder, we the jury find the defendant guilty. I don't understand how you could stab someone 30 times and be in a struggle with them without malice in your heart. He was trying to play God, and he was trying to play the judge, and he was trying to play the executor.

Before sentencing, Zach Hughes' father speaks to the court. Thank you, Your Honor, for the opportunity to speak a few words on my son's behalf. He has such a strong moral compass and a desire for the truth that sometimes he actually hurts himself. I love my son. I'm proud of my son. Thank you, Your Honor. Zachary David Hughes, here to be committed to the State Department of Corrections for life. You're to be committed to the State Department of Corrections for life.

The question now, will John Mello be the next person charged in this case? Are you worried they're going to arrest you in connection with this murder? Please state your name for the record. Zachary David Hughes. Zach Hughes' unexpected courtroom testimony has now put the spotlight back on John Mello, prompting investigators to take action. We discussed all the evidence we had against John Mello already, and then with Mr. Hughes' new statements, we believe there was enough to move forward with charges. John Mellon is charged with solicitation to commit a felony and accessory before the fact of murder.

Based on the nature of these charges and the situation involved in this case, I have been of no bond to you. One of the people in attendance at tonight's bond court hearing was Christina Parcell's sister. When I sat down with John Mello before Zach Hughes' trial, I asked him about the allegations swirling around him that he was somehow involved in this murder. Are you worried they're going to arrest you in connection with this murder?

Two years I've been here, did everything, DNA, fingerprints, you know, they talked about the telephone and the messages and there's nothing there. But 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 Percival?

No, absolutely not. No, no. 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. Mello has not yet entered a formal plea to these charges. Do you think in some ways that Zach was manipulated by John Mello? Zach is an extremely intelligent person. He's a very disciplined person. He's not going to be manipulated by a person. There should be justice.

People should be held accountable for their actions, for willfully, willingly, cruelly hurting people in this world, whether you know them or not, whether they're family or not, whether you love them or not. My lasting impression of this case is it was tragic. It was a heinous crime. It didn't have to happen. And at the center of this tragedy, an innocent little girl left without her mother.

Christina's daughter has been temporarily placed with friends of John Mello upon his request following a family court ruling. Her aunt Tina is currently fighting for custody of her. Your niece. What do you want for her? The same thing I've always wanted for her. My job is for her to be safe, healthy, and happy, specifically in that order. She deserves better than this. Remembering her sister tonight and with hopes for her niece. We should also note tonight that Zach Hughes has now appealed his conviction.

And David, as for John Mello and Bradley Post, both men remain in jail awaiting trials. That's our program for tonight. Thanks so much for watching. I'm Deborah Roberts. And I'm David Bure from all of us here at 2020 and ABC News. Good night. 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. This is Deborah Roberts. To hear the backstory to this episode, join me for the 2020 Aftershow. Every Monday, I'm going to talk with correspondents, producers, some of those folks behind the scenes who bring you these stories. And you're gonna hear bonus tape that's not necessarily included in the episode.

That's 2020 The After Show, Mondays in your 2020 podcast feed.