Southeast
Juilliard-trained pianist convicted of murder after mid-trial confession leads to additional arrest
A Juilliard-trained pianist was found guilty of murdering a woman after he claimed he killed her in order to protect her daughter from abuse.
On Feb. 20, a South Carolina jury found Zachary Hughes, 32, guilty of murdering Christina Parcell, 41, in October 2021.
“I’ve never had a defendant get on the stand with the kind of attitude, ego, cold-faced sternness and explain a brutal murder in the way he did. It shook me a little bit,” prosecutor Walt Wilkins said.
Hughes testified during his trial that he killed Parcell, a pet hospital staffer, to protect her child from abuse. Parcell was locked in an ongoing custody battle with the child’s father, whom Hughes had befriended. While Hughes was on the stand, authorities also arrested Hughes’ friend, John Mello, 64, for his involvement in Parcell’s death.
JUILLIARD-TRAINED CONCERT PIANIST CHARGED IN SC PET HOSPITAL STAFFER’S ‘VERY VIOLENT’ STABBING DEATH
Zachary Hughes, 33, looks on as Judge Patrick Fant III instructs the jury at the trial for murder in the death of Christina Parcell at the Greenville County Courthouse in Greenville, South Carolina, on Feb. 20. (Ken Ruinard/The Anderson Independent Mail)
Parcell’s lifeless body was found inside her home with over 30 stab wounds, including to her jugular and carotid arteries, according to prosecutors.
Authorities said that the gruesome scene was juxtaposed with crimson rose petals strewn throughout the crime site.
Prosecutors revealed that prior to Parcell’s murder, Hughes allegedly harassed her by distributing nude photographs of her to her employer and neighbors.
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Hughes and Mello allegedly worked in tandem in their elaborate revenge scheme by exchanging hundreds of text messages formulating their plan, according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
In the messages, Mello allegedly told Hughes that he obtained Parcell’s private cellphone number and instructed Hughes to “harass the s— out of her.”
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Zachary Hughes reacts after receiving two life sentences for the murder of Christina Parcell at the Greenville County Courthouse in Greenville, South Carolina, on Feb. 20. (Ken Ruinard/The Anderson Independent Mail)
The week of Parcell’s slaying, Mello took the couple’s daughter out of the country.
Prosecutors allege Mello texted Hughes on the day Parcell was killed, asking, “how did the music research go,” with Hughes responding, “good, I’ll tell you over the phone.”
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During the trial, Hughes described to the jury how he rode a bicycle to Parcell’s house, dressing as a delivery florist to entice Parcell into opening her front door before killing her. Hughes told jurors that Mello allegedly notified him of when Parcell would be home and offered Hughes $5,000 for the murder, before increasing the payment to $10,000.
Police used the information in Hughes’ testimony to arrest Mello before Hughes even left the stand, charging Mello as an accessory before the fact of murder and for solicitation of a felony. If convicted, Mello also faces life behind bars.
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John Mello was booked into the Greenville County Jail on charges of accessory before the fact of murder and for solicitation of a felony relating to the stabbing death of Christina Parcell in 2021. (Greenville County Sheriff’s Office )
Hughes denied accepting the money but admitted to murdering Parcell to protect Mello’s child from alleged sexual abuse at the hands of Parcell and her new fiancé, Bradley Post. Post is currently awaiting trial on sexual abuse charges, but Circuit Court Judge Patrick Fant III ruled the allegations were inadmissible in the case and therefore were not presented to the jury.
“I knew from that moment on [the child] would be safe. [The child] would be safe from the sexual abuse that her mother was perpetrating on her, and there is proof that the state is hiding from you,” Hughes told the jury.
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Following his statement, Fant halted proceedings and sentenced Hughes to six months in jail for contempt of court.
“You rarely have a defendant get on the stand and detail such a heinous crime and a justification that makes no sense,” Wilkins said.
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Zachary Hughes listens to Judge Patrick Fant III instruct the jury at the trial for murder in the death of Christina Parcell at the Greenville County Courthouse in Greenville, South Carolina, on Feb. 20. (Ken Ruinard/The Anderson Independent Mail)
Hughes, who trained as a classical pianist at the Juilliard School in New York City, met Mello in 2020 after being hired to clean Mello’s house, according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
Hughes was found guilty of multiple charges — including murder, burglary and harassment — and was sentenced to life in prison.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Murdaugh family housekeeper says white truck ‘haunts’ her from night of murders years later
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The Murdaugh family’s longtime housekeeper, Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson, said a white pickup truck still “haunts” her years after the brutal Lowcountry murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.
Her book, “Within the House of Murdaugh: Amid a Unique Friendship,” co-authored with Mary Frances Weaver, chronicles not only her close relationship with Maggie Murdaugh but details of the night Maggie and her son Paul were killed.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Turrubiate-Simpson discussed the moment that still troubles her more than four years later, including a white pickup truck she saw near the family’s property off Moselle Road in Colleton County, South Carolina. The property was known simply as “Moselle.”
“The part that really haunts me,” she said, “was not looking into that white truck that was parked out there by the hangar.”
Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson answers questions from prosecutor John Meadors during Alex Murdaugh’s trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse Feb. 10, 2023. (Joshua Boucher/Pool via USA Today Network via Imagn)
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She recalled that she initially assumed it belonged to Paul and felt no reason to check it.
“When I heard testimony during the trial where they specified that Paul’s phone was dinging in Okatie, I said, ‘Well, who was driving that truck? Who was driving the white truck? The white F-150?’ That’s one of the main ones that bothers me.”
Disbarred attorney Alex Murdaugh arrives in court in Beaufort, S.C., Sept. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/James Pollard)
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Turrubiate-Simpson said she has often replayed that moment in her mind, wondering why she felt compelled to leave the property through a different gate rather than drive past the kennels.
Maggie and Paul were found dead near dog kennels at the family’s home, police said. The Colleton County Sheriff’s Office said both victims suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
“Perhaps it was like a divine intervention or something that said, ‘No, you need to go out the other gate,’” she said. “I wasn’t worried because the truck looked just like Paul’s truck, so it wasn’t a red flag then.”
A side view of the house at the Murdaugh Moselle property March 1, 2023, in Islandton, S.C. (Andrew J. Whitaker/Pool via USA Today Network via Imagn)
In the book, Turrubiate-Simpson shares several small inconsistencies on the property the morning after the murders that only a longtime confidant would catch.
She told Fox News Digital that Maggie’s car was parked in a spot she had never seen her use.
“Maggie used to always pull up to the left of Paul,” she explained. “But that morning, Maggie’s car was to the right, and it was not close up to the house. It was a little bit further to the right, kind of where the hunting room entrance is. I knew she didn’t put it there.”
The placement didn’t make sense, she said.
“There was no need for her to park there when there were no other vehicles really there.”
Bullet holes in glass at the Murdaugh Moselle property March 1, 2023, in Islandton. (Andrew J. Whitaker/Pool via USA Today Network via Imagn)
‘Oh my God. He did it.’
Turrubiate-Simpson said she had her doubts about Alex Murdaugh’s responsibility in the double murders until bodycam video was played in court.
During the trial, prosecutors played video from Deputy Daniel Greene, the first officer to arrive at the property. Turrubiate-Simpson said her husband encouraged her to watch the video, even though she initially said she had no interest in seeing the crime scene.
“He said, ‘I think you need to watch at least a little bit of it,’” she said.
When the camera briefly passed the family’s black Suburban, she immediately recognized a towel.
“I saw one of the towels that I had washed, that was going to be going back to Edisto [Murdaugh family’s island getaway],” she said. “In a glimpse, something caught my eye.”
Alex Murdaugh talks with defense attorney Jim Griffin during a jury-tampering hearing at the Richland County Judicial Center Jan. 29, 2024, in Columbia, S.C. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool)
She said she immediately asked her husband to rewind.
“And I told my husband, ‘Go back, go back, go back.’ He’s like, ‘What’s going on?’ I said, ‘Go back to the truck, go back to the truck.’ So, he’s steady going back, and I’m thinking, ‘Oh my God.’ I said, ‘He did it.’ And, at that point, my husband said, ‘What are you talking about?’ I said, ‘He did it. That was him.’ I said, ‘That towel was going back to Edisto. I had just washed it and set it on top of the shelf.’ I said, ‘He … he … he did it.’
“To me, that towel being there made no sense unless he grabbed it,” she added, suggesting she believed Alex used the towel during a frantic cleanup as he moved between the house and the kennels.
“His demeanor didn’t match up with the nurturing, loving father that I saw within the home.”
A view from the path toward the house of the kennels at the Murdaugh Moselle property March 1, 2023, in Islandton. (Andrew J. Whitaker/Pool via USA Today Network via Imagn)
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In her book, Turrubiate-Simpson floats a theory that Alex may not have acted alone that night, not in the murders themselves, but in the aftermath.
“My theory in the book is that he had help to clean, possibly setting up,” she told Fox News Digital.
The distance between the main house and the kennels, she said, plays a critical role.
“It takes a good few minutes to get back and forth. In the time that they said it was done, there’s just not enough time.”
Turrubiate-Simpson said her theories are rooted in her intimate knowledge of the family’s routines, noting that “there’s no evidence” that she’s aware of suggesting that Alex had help.
“Within the House of Murdaugh: Amid a Unique Friendship, Blanca and Maggie” is a 2024 book by Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson that offers a personal account of her experiences with the Murdaugh family. (Palmetto Publishing)
‘Because of Paul and Maggie’
In her memoir, Turrubiate-Simpson said her purpose was not to fuel speculation, but to remind the world of Paul and Maggie’s lives.
“I wrote this book because of Paul and Maggie,” she said. “I don’t want her forgotten. When they hear his name, I’m tired of hearing just his name. The two victims have been forgotten in all of this.”
A possible new trial
The South Carolina Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Murdaugh’s appeal Feb. 11.
Murdaugh’s team requested a new trial, arguing he did not receive a fair trial because of alleged jury tampering by Colleton County Court Clerk Becky Hill.
Alex Murdaugh, right, is shown here with his family. (Fox News)
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“I think we all deserve a fair trial,” Turrubiate-Simpson said. “If they determine that he did not receive one, then we just must follow through. It’s the law.”
Maggie and Paul Murdaugh’s headstones mark their final resting places in Hampton. (Michael M. DeWitt Jr./USA Today Network via Imagn)
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Turrubiate-Simpson said she doesn’t plan to watch Hulu’s recent dramatization of the Murdaugh saga.
“I’ve watched some documentaries,” she said. “But I don’t feel the need to watch the Hulu series because I lived it. There’s no point in watching something that I already lived.”
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Southeast
Suspect in second Charlotte light rail stabbing ID’d as twice deported illegal immigrant with criminal history
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Court records obtained by Fox News Digital revealed a man charged in a violent stabbing on a Charlotte, North Carolina, light rail on Friday is a criminal illegal immigrant previously deported multiple times.
Oscar Solarzano, 33, of Honduras, was arrested in the stabbing and is charged with attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with serious injury, breaking/entering a motor vehicle, carrying a concealed weapon and intoxicated/disruptive behavior, according to multiple Departement of Homeland Security (DHS) sources and arrest warrants obtained by Fox News Digital.
Bond was not set due to Solarzano’s immigration status, according to a release order filed in Mecklenburg County.
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He was booted from the country by the Trump administration in March 2018 on a deportation order and reentered illegally during the Biden administration at the Texas border in March 2021, DHS sources said.
Solarzano was deported a second time by the Biden administration and reentered illegally as a got-away at an unknown time and location.
Oscar Solarzano, 33, was arrested in a stabbing on a Charlotte, N.C., light rail. (Mecklenburg County Jail)
At about 4:49 p.m. Friday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) officers responded to a call regarding assault with a deadly weapon.
When they arrived, they found the victim, identified as Kenyon Kareem-Shemar Dobie, with a stab wound, according to warrants.
CMPD noted Dobie was in critical but stable condition when he was taken to a hospital.
A suspect has been arrested in a stabbing in Charlotte, N.C. (WJZY)
Prior to the attack, warrants allege, Solarzano broke into a railroad car “with the intent to commit a felony,” while carrying a large fixed-blade knife.
While intoxicated, he challenged Dobie to a fight, cursing and shouting at others using “unintelligible and slurred words,” according to court documents.
Solarzano has a prior conviction for robbery in the U.S. and prior arrests for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest and false ID, DHS sources said.
Court records indicate he had known aliases, including Solarzano-Garcia, Oscar Herardo and Kevin Garcia.
Solarzano has a scheduled court appearance Dec. 8 and will later be released into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, according to a release order.
He is being provided with a Spanish interpreter, according to arrest records.
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Iryna Zarutska curls up in fear as a man looms over her during a disturbing attack Aug. 22, on a Charlotte, N.C., light rail train. (NewsNation via Charlotte Area Transit System)
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The stabbing attack comes months after Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, 23, was fatally stabbed on a LYNX Blue Line light rail while on her way home from work. Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, who is accused of killing Zarutska, was charged with violence against a railroad carrier and mass transportation system resulting in death, a capital offense under federal law.
President Donald Trump reacted to the news on Truth Social Saturday, saying, “Another stabbing by an Illegal Migrant in Charlotte, North Carolina. What’s going on in Charlotte? Democrats are destroying it, like everything else, piece by piece!!!”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also chimed in, calling out Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles in an X post.
“Apparently, the death of Iryna Zarutska wasn’t enough. What is it going to take for @CLTMayor to remove violent criminals off the streets and protect her constituents?” Duffy wrote. “The time to act is NOW.”
The Department of Homeland Security, ICE and CMPD did not immediately respond to additional inquiries from Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Louisiana manhunt continues as dangerous inmate charged with attempted murder remains on the run
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Louisiana authorities are continuing to search for the last of three inmates who broke through a deteriorating wall on Wednesday and escaped a jail about 130 miles northwest of New Orleans.
The three inmates, identified as Keith Eli, 24, of Opelousas; Johnathan Jevon Joseph, 24, of Opelousas; and Joseph Allen Harrington, 26, of Melville, allegedly used sheets and other items to scale an outer wall, drop onto the roof of the first floor and lower themselves to the ground, according to a statement from the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Harrington killed himself with a hunting rifle Thursday after a standoff with police at a home in Port Barre, The Associated Press reported.
Prior to his escape, St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office records show, he was charged with nine felonies, including home invasion and aggravated assault with a firearm.
Keith Eli, left; Johnathan Jevon Joseph, center; and Joseph Allen Harrington, inmates who escaped from a Louisiana prison. (St. Landry Parish Sheriff via Facebook)
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Police nabbed the second escapee, Joseph, the next day after a foot chase.
Sheriff’s officials said a tip led deputies to a home where he was hiding out, according to the report. He surrendered after fleeing to a nearby storage shed.
Joseph, also a convicted felon, was previously charged with principal first-degree rape, along with drug and gun offenses.
The inmates escaped St. Landry Parish Jail Wednesday in Louisiana. (Google Maps)
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The third missing inmate, Eli, remains missing and was charged with attempted second-degree murder.
“We would prefer that he surrender himself peaceably, but we will not rest until he is captured,” St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby J. Guidroz wrote in a statement obtained by the AP.
In May, 10 prisoners escaped a minimum-custody New Orleans jail after removing a toilet from a wall inside a cell and crawling through it.
Video cameras in the prison captured the brazen escape, with footage showing the group scaling a fence, using blankets to protect themselves from barbed wire and running across an interstate to a nearby neighborhood where they changed clothes.
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Inmates wrote messages, including, “To Easy LOL” and “WE INNOCENT,” among others, near the hole they used to flee the jail.
The last remaining fugitive, a four-time convicted killer, was arrested five months after the escape after a standoff with authorities in Atlanta.
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Three jail employees have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, Fox News Digital previously reported.
An internal investigation has been initiated, and the jail supervisory staff will be providing a comprehensive report, according to Guidroz.
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