In the fall of 2021, a 41-year-old veterinary technician and mom was found murdered at her residence in Greer, South Carolina, the crime scene covered in rose petals. As investigators learned more about the victim, they found a history of relationships with controlling, older men and shocking evidence on USB drives in the home, along with a perpetrator who appeared to be on what he believed was a mission from God. We’ll also discuss the kidnapping and murder of South Carolina paramedic Phonesia Machado-Fore, who died senselessly when an intruder broke into her home and then embarked on a cross country crime spree all the way into New Mexico.
I first learned about the 2021 murder of Christina Parcell in South Carolina through a People Magazine post on Instagram. The magazine covers a lot of true crime and the headline of the post, “Pianist Who Made Shocking Claim About Why He Killed Vet Tech is Convicted of Murdering Her.” When I saw the crime had occurred in South Carolina, I put it in my files for further research.
Once I began looking into the details, I was led to even more disturbing evidence than I was expecting. Not only that, I immediately knew this was a crime I had to write about carefully, because the perpetrators of the murder accused the victim of a lot of questionable and unsavory activity and she’s no longer here to speak for herself. I’ll try to share the facts as I understand them to be true, as objectively as possible. I do want to note that I checked out a lot of different sources for this episode, and it was interesting to see how information was covered or downplayed depending on what the news source was.
A Bloody Crime Scene Covered in Rose Petals
On October 13, 2021, 65-year-old Bradley Post discovered his fiancée covered in blood and unresponsive in the front room of her sister’s home in Greer, S.C. Post had been trying to contact the 41-year-old Christina earlier that day by phone, but his calls to her remained unanswered. Concerned, he went to the home of her sister Tina, and that’s where he walked into a crime scene. His fiancée had been dragged throughout the home, placed in the front room, posed, and covered in rose petals. The Greenville County coroner later ruled Christina’s death a homicide due to multiple sharp force injuries. She was stabbed at least 31 times with a sharp object.
At the time of her death, Christina, who was also the mother to a 9-year-old daughter in elementary school, was working at the Foothills Veterinary Hospital in Greenville, South Carolina. She got glowing reviews from both her co-workers and the owners of the pets she helped care for at the clinic.
At the home, investigators found memory cards and a laptop computer near Christina’s body, along with a clear Ziplock bag that contained a white powder substance. The Ziplock had spots of dried blood on it. Her cell phone and purse were also located inside the home, with two envelopes each containing $500 in cash. They also discovered a firearm inside a bag located in a suitcase in one of the bedrooms. Police found more USB drives and a plethora of paperwork related to an ongoing custody battle with the father of Christina’s daughter, a music producer named John Mello.
A Contentious Child Custody Battle
Mello had waged a vicious harassment campaign against Christina after they separated, and she accused him of stalking her. Mello had a history of this type of behavior leading back to his first wife. According to an episode of 20/20 that covered this case, Mello took Christina to court in 2016 and requested primary custody, alleging Christina was mentally unstable and not able to provide adequately for their daughter. He received primary custody with Christina having regular visitations. After a few years, she obtained an attorney to help her obtain more visitations.
In October of 2020, Mello took their daughter of the country to Italy during his custody battle with Christina. While at first, she had no idea where he had gone with her daughter, a Facebook post helped her determine which country they were in. He faced criminal charges for custodial interference in Greenville County. She was reunited with her daughter in 2021 and moved in with her sister, Tina. Mello continued with threatening Christina and sending her harassing messages via e-mail.
On October 19, 2021, six days after Christina was murdered, her fiancé Bradley Post was arrested and charged not with the murder of Christina Parcell, but as part of a child sexual abuse material (or CSAM) investigation. Investigators had discovered evidence of this child sexual abuse material during the search of the home where they discovered Christina’s body, and obtained images from his cell phone, which he had turned over to police as part of the investigation.
According to FITS News, police discovered more than 15,000 images and video of child sexual abuse material on nine electronic storage devices while searching the home where Christina was murdered.
In February 2022, Christina’s daughter and one of her female friends were listed as defendants in two civil lawsuits alleging Christina Parcell and Bradley Post took pictures and videos in states of undress and in sexually provocative positions.
Based on these lawsuits, the motive for Christina’s murder emerges.
The Arrest of an Unlikely Suspect
On November 3, 2021, 32-year-old Zachary David Hughes, a Julliard-trained pianist was arrested and charged with Christina’s murder. Prior to him turning himself in to authorities, Hughes had been preparing to begin a new job on an international cruise line.
Prosecutors in the murder case had obtained Ring camera footage from the home across the street showing Hughes dressed in a black hoodie and a backpack entering the front door of Christina’s residence at the time of the murder. DNA collected from underneath Christina’s fingernails matched that of Zachary Hughes.
Investigators also used information gleaned from Flock camera footage to put together a timeline of Hughes’ whereabouts at the time of the murder. Flock cameras are license plate recognition cameras that capture vehicle images and license plate data, which is then used by law enforcement and local communities.
Now, on a side note, Flock cameras have also garnered complaints from people who don’t like being surveilled without their permission, because law enforcement does not need a search warrant to pull date from Flock’s cloud storage. Also, these cameras differ from red light cameras because they aren’t triggered by a specific violation. Instead, they use AI technology to create a fingerprint of each vehicle surveilled, including the demographics of the vehicle and building a profile of where it has been. Currently Flock cameras are located in more than 5,000 communities across 47 states.
In Greer, police found that Flock camera footage showed a bicycle in the bed of Zachary Hughes’ truck. That bicycle matched the description of one used by the killer exiting the home after Christina was stabbed to death.
Investigators also uncovered that Hughes and Mello had been communicating through the WhatApp messaging service, and the cryptic conversations led them to believe the two men had been discussing a plan to murder Christina.
Who Was Zachary Hughes?
So who was Zachary Hughes and how was he connected to this case? Hughes was born in California and raised with six other siblings, five of which were children his parents adopted from Russia. The family moved to a small farm in Virginia and Hughes’ parents soon realized they needed additional income to sustain themselves and their large family. Hughes stepped into the role of primary caregiver for his younger siblings, which, as you can imagine, caused him a lot of stress. He began playing music on an upright piano his parents had purchased at a yard sale and soon found he had an aptitude for the instrument, especially in the realm of classical music. It also provided him an escape from the pressure of his family life.
He entered competitions while in high school and son picked up multiple prestigious awards before applying to The Julliard School for piano performance in 2010. He received several different scholarships after his acceptance.
According to the reporting by FITS News, after graduation, he attended the University of Tennessee to work on a master’s degree in piano performance, but for some reason he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps during 2018. While in officer candidate school, he received stress fractures in both his legs, forcing him to withdraw from the training. He was recruited by the Greenville Unitarian Universalist Church to play piano in a performance they had scheduled. He moved to Greenville and with the support of the church, planned to perform all 32 of Beethoven’s sonatas from memory during a 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth in 2020. The church and Hughes agreed to request donations at these performances, and would split the proceeds evenly. But just after his third performance, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down live performances.
At some point after this time period Hughes crossed paths with John Mello, who billed himself as a music producer. Hughes was working for Mello cleaning his house and taking on other odd jobs for the man when Christina was murdered.
The trial of Zachary Hughes began on Feb. 11, 2025. On the second day of the trial, the judge ruled that any evidence of the child sexual abuse material involving Christina and her daughter was not allowed to be introduced as evidence, despite objections by Hughes’ attorneys.
On Day 3, according to Court TV, the jurors heard from an investigator that had nude pictures of Christina linked to an escort website, along with a letter that said the victim worked under the pseudonym Carolina Warren. It wasn’t clear when she was working as an escort, because at the time of the trial, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office said the escort website was no longer active.
Now, the 20/20 episode about this case featured a representative from the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office refuting this information. He said from what they could tell, the nude photos were from Christina’s time when she was in a relationship with Mello, and it looked like someone had tried to copy and paste her information onto an escort website through photocopying. They didn’t seem to think the listing was legitimate.
Suspicious Messages
Jurors also heard about the hundreds of messages Mello and Hughes exchanged on WhatsApp. The messages contained a lot of coded language and the use of numbers in place of characters. Prosecutors determined that the two men had conspired to send out packets containing nude photos of Christina, including the attorney assisting Christina with her child custody case. Mello was still living overseas at the time, but Hughes helped him with his campaign of harassment. Cell phone records showed the two men talked for two hours the day before the murder and an hour and 20 minutes on the afternoon after the stabbing.
Zachary Hughes had hoped to convince the judge and jury that he had committed the murder “in defense of others” because John Mello believed his daughter was being sexually exploited by Christina and Bradley Post. However, his defense team failed once again to get the evidence about explicit images introduced as evidence into the trial.
On the sixth day of the trial Hughes testified and shared all the details of the day of the murder—how he bought a gun, knife, and a gift box to hide the gun and the roses. He put together a “murder kit” with gloves and paint thinner. Mello had told him their daughter would be in school that morning and Christina would be alone in the house. Hughes knocked on the door and told Christina he had a delivery for Lutina Parcell, her sister. When Christina told him Tina wasn’t home, he forced her inside with the gun.
He told the jury he had reservations about carrying out the murder, but felt it was the only way to protect Mello and Christina’s daughter. Christina tried to fight back against the attack, but he overpowered her and stabbed her to death, fearing the gun would cause too much noise and alert the neighbors. He tried to use the paint thinner to wipe his DNA from her fingers after she had died from her injuries because she had scratched his face during the assault. Notes from Court TV showed Hughes presented no signs of remorse during his testimony.
He told the jury John Mello had offered to pay him to take the life of Christina Parcell on two different occasions but that he refused.
Although the judge had warned Hughes not to make any references to the sexual abuse or images, he violated that order three different times. By the end of the day, the judge found him in contempt of court and sentenced him to six months in jail. Later that evening, John Mello was arrested at his home and charged with Accessory Before the Fact to a Felony and Solicitation to Commit a Felony.
On Feb. 20, 2025, Zachary David Hughes was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Christina Parcell. The jury, which consisted of seven men and five women, also convicted him of burglary, 2nd degree harassment, conspiracy to commit 2nd degree harassment, and possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a crime. The jury deliberated less than three hours.
Bradley Post remains incarcerated at a South Carolina detention center awaiting trial for third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. John Mello is also still incarcerated and awaiting trial for his involvement in Christina’s death. The custodial interference charges against him were dropped in April of 2024.
Attorneys for Zachary Hughes, Mark Moyer and Andy Moorman, have filed a motion with an appellate court for an appeal.
Mello and Christina’s daughter is now living with family friends of John Mello’s.
While I personally don’t believe in vigilante justice, I do believe there is more to this story than what was allowed into Zachary Hughes’s trial. But I hesitate to speculate too much because we still don’t have all the facts related to the CSAM case. I’ll keep you updated on any new developments in Hughes’ appeal and the possible trials of John Mello and Bradley Post.
Phonesia Machado-Fore Disappears
Phonesia Machado-Fore was a 52-year-old mother and grandmother from Pee Dee, S.C. She had worked as a paramedic for Florence County EMS since 2017, and her EMS director described as being very happy-go-lucky. He said that “She was always around, always had a smile, and just loved her job and loved people.” Phonesia had recently accepted a job in Minnesota, where one of her daughters lived, and her family had planned to help her move.
Prior to her disappearance, Phonesia was last seen on March 12, 2024 in her home. When her family couldn’t reach her, they reported her missing two days later.
Her body was found near an abandoned home on Jones Drive in Dillon County, the same day that she was reported missing. She lay face-down in her pajamas and slippers. She was restrained with zip ties and duct tape, and had a dog shock collar around her neck. The shock collar was presumably to keep her from calling out for help. She had been shot in the back of the head execution-style, which the autopsy determined was the cause of death.
On March 15, Phonesia’s white BMW was located in Tucumcari, New Mexico, over 1,000 miles away from the scene of the crime. Jaremy Smith, a 33-year-old from Marion County with a lengthy criminal record, had possession of the car. Smith had been barred from purchasing any firearms due to his criminal record.
Suspect Kills Police Officer Across the Country
Smith was apparently trying to change a tire on the BMW when 35-year-old Justin Hare, who was a New Mexico state police officer, approached him to offer help. Smith proceeded to ambush and murder Officer Hare before stealing his patrol car and fleeing. Smith crashed the patrol car 14 miles away, near mile marker 304 on I-40. The BMW linked the murder of Officer Hare in New Mexico to Phonesia back in South Carolina. Authorities launched a manhunt in multiple states.
On March 17, authorities located Smith in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He had been recognized by a store clerk, who proceeded to alert the authorities. Smith attempted to flee when the officers approached, and a brief pursuit followed. Smith was captured after some exchange of gunfire, and he was taken to a nearby hospital so that his injuries could be treated. He was kept under armed guard for the entirety of his hospital stay.
In Marion County, the police filed 17 charges against Smith. These charges included murder, kidnapping, carjacking, conspiracy, burglary, gun charges, and grand larceny. Charges were also filed in New Mexico.
The police investigation revealed the circumstances around the abduction and murder of Phonesia. The GPS in her BMW was useful in the investigation, as it revealed the timeline of events. Law enforcement did run into problems due to the investigation involving multiple states.
They believed Smith had worked with an accomplice, and this was confirmed. Joshua Johnson, a 30-year-old man, had joined Smith after Phonesia was murdered. The two met up at Phonesia’s house and proceeded to commit burglary. The men stole several firearms, as well as her roommate’s 2011 Chevrolet Silverado. The two continued on a crime spree within Marion County before leaving the state. Smith and Johnson split up in Texas, with Smith continuing to New Mexico.
Due to the interstate nature of Smith’s crimes, he had to stand trial in multiple states. The first one was in New Mexico, and the second one in South Carolina. Smith initially plead Not Guilty to the crimes. The trial in New Mexico was set for June 10 in 2024. However, it was delayed due to Smith’s defense requesting more time. The trial would be delayed several more times, pushing it all the way into 2025. In August, prosecutors decided that Smith would not face the death penalty in New Mexico.
Jaremy Smith pleaded guilty to the murder of Officer Justin Hare on January 17 of this year, and he was sentenced to life without parole in April.
The South Carolina Case Still Needs Closure
The case in New Mexico for the murder of Officer Hare has come to a close, but Smith has yet to stand trial for his crimes in South Carolina as the charges are still pending. It is unknown whether or not South Carolina prosecutors will seek the death penalty.
The actions of Jaremy Smith devastated two communities. The New Mexico State Police were grieving the loss of their colleague, as was the Marion County EMS.
A representative from Marion County’s sheriff’s office made the trip to New Mexico to attend Officer Hare’s funeral. The New Mexico State Police did the same, sending several representatives to Phonesia’s funeral. Sheriff Brian Wallace said on the department’s Facebook page that Fore’s family was presented with a New Mexico state flag and a photograph of Ofc. Justin Hare. Sheriff Wallace also stated that the Fore family was “hurt, angry, and they want justice for their loved one just as much as we do.”
This brings us to the conclusion of this Episode of Missing in the Carolinas. Thanks to Mia Roberson for her help with the segment about Phonesia Machado-Fore.
Show Sources:
Christina Parcell Murder
https://www.wyff4.com/article/canebrake-murder-update-fiance-charged-child-porn/38036882
https://www.wyff4.com/article/court-order-details-evidence-canebrake-murder/41536302
https://www.wspa.com/news/canebrake-murder-trial-leads-to-more-arrests-questions
https://www.wyff4.com/article/john-mello-arrest-canebrake-murder-investigation/63844201
https://www.wspa.com/news/local-news/another-arrest-made-in-christina-parcell-murder-case
https://www.courttv.com/news/sc-v-zachary-hughes-rose-petal-murder-trial
https://www.foxcarolina.com/2025/04/29/killing-canebrake-attorneys-prepare-convicted-killers-appeal
https://abc.com/episode/9e9b153c-a032-44a5-8efa-ffbe949321a1
Phonesia Machado-Fore Murder
https://www.abqjournal.com/article_6286b854-eade-11ee-80ce-bf3b0fb61bf4.html
