Connect with us

Southeast

Juilliard-trained pianist convicted of murder after mid-trial confession leads to additional arrest

Published

on

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

Advertisement

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.

SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER

Advertisement

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.”

FUGITIVE WIFE OF SLAIN CALIFORNIA FIRE CAPTAIN SERVED TIME FOR EX’S DEATH AS MANHUNT EXTENDS BEYOND US BORDERS

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. 

Advertisement

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.” 

GET REAL TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB 

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. 

PRINCETON PREPPY ACCUSED IN SOCCER STAR BROTHER’S GRUESOME MURDER HEADS TO COURT: WHAT TO KNOW

Advertisement

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. 

FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X

Following his statement, Fant halted proceedings and sentenced Hughes to six months in jail for contempt of court.  

Advertisement

“You rarely have a defendant get on the stand and detail such a heinous crime and a justification that makes no sense,” Wilkins said.

SOUTH CAROLINA DEATH ROW INMATE CHOOSES FIRING SQUAD AS EXECUTION METHOD

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.

Advertisement

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.



Read the full article from Here

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Southeast

Louisiana manhunt continues as dangerous inmate charged with attempted murder remains on the run

Published

on

Louisiana manhunt continues as dangerous inmate charged with attempted murder remains on the run

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

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.

Advertisement

Keith Eli, left; Johnathan Jevon Joseph, center; and Joseph Allen Harrington, inmates who escaped from a Louisiana prison. (St. Landry Parish Sheriff via Facebook)

‘ARMED AND DANGEROUS’ INMATE ESCAPES ATLANTA HOSPITAL, STEALS GUN AND SUV: POLICE

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.

Advertisement

The inmates escaped St. Landry Parish Jail Wednesday in Louisiana. (Google Maps)

MURDER SUSPECT IN MAJOR US CITY MISTAKENLY FREED FROM JAIL RECAPTURED AFTER MULTI-DAY MANHUNT

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.

Advertisement

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.

CALIFORNIA JAIL CUTS SEATTLE MURDER SUSPECT LOOSE BY MISTAKE, TRIGGERING MANHUNT AS VICTIM’S MOM FUMES

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.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Advertisement

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.

Read the full article from Here

Continue Reading

Southeast

Disgraced teacher accused of using Google Docs to groom underage student before alleged sex crimes

Published

on

Disgraced teacher accused of using Google Docs to groom underage student before alleged sex crimes

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

A Palm Beach County, Florida, science teacher is behind bars after investigators say he used a shared Google Doc to secretly communicate with a student before engaging in sexual acts with her at school and inside his apartment, according to an arrest affidavit. 

Elias Gordon Farley, 26, a former teacher at Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Boca Raton, was arrested after the student reported the alleged abuse on Nov. 18. 

The teen told detectives the interactions began as casual conversations during the previous school year, but over the summer, Farley allegedly created a shared Google Doc in which the two wrote messages back and forth.

Investigators said the file later contained explicit entries describing sexual activity and planning when they would meet privately.

Advertisement

FORMER MISSOURI SUBSTITUTE TEACHER GETS 10 YEARS FOR TRADING STUDENTS MONEY, DRUGS FOR SEX

Elias Gordon Farley, a former teacher at the Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Boca Raton, is facing felony charges after police say he engaged in a months-long sexual relationship with a student.  (Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office)

According to the affidavit, the student said the relationship became physical in mid-September inside Farley’s office, where he touched her beneath her clothing. She told detectives the encounters continued for weeks in both his office and a classroom. 

By late September and into October, she said the pair were engaging in sexual acts, including oral sex and, at one point, intercourse inside a classroom on campus.

The student also described visiting Farley’s apartment twice in early November after recognizing details he had mentioned about its location and layout. She told deputies that several sexual encounters occurred during those visits.

Advertisement

NEBRASKA TEACHER ALLEGEDLY OFFERED TO ‘SHARE’ BOYFRIEND WITH STUDENT IN SEX TRAFFICKING CASE

A teacher was accused of using Google Docs to talk to an underage student before sexual encounters. (Google Maps)

Detectives later executed a search warrant and said they found bedding, condom wrappers and furniture matching her description. Farley’s roommate confirmed he had not been home on the dates the teen said she visited.

School surveillance video reviewed by deputies also appeared to support her account, showing Farley and the student entering his office together on Nov. 7 and later entering a classroom for about an hour.

The situation came to light after the student confided in an art teacher on Nov. 14 and showed her bruises and bite marks she said came from Farley. Administrators were informed the next day, suspended Farley immediately and reported the matter to child welfare authorities.

Advertisement

AI HELPS ‘PREDATOR POACHERS’ EXPOSE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MUSIC TEACHER ACCUSED OF ‘SEXTING’ TEEN

A former science teacher at Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Palm Beach County was arrested after allegations of an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. (iStock)

Farley refused to speak with detectives after being read his Miranda rights, according to the affidavit.

Farley was booked into the Palm Beach County Main Detention Center Dec. 4 and is being held on $500,000 bond, jail records show. He faces charges of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and offense against a student by an authority figure.

In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, Donna Klein Jewish Academy said it is cooperating fully with the investigation and called the situation “a difficult time for all of us at Donna Klein.”

Advertisement

TEACHER PLEADS GUILTY TO SEXUALLY ABUSING 15-YEAR-OLD STUDENT WEEKS AFTER GIVING BIRTH: REPORT

“We are approaching this serious situation with the utmost care, keeping the well-being of our students, faculty and families at the forefront,” a spokesperson said.

The school said it is working closely with families, teachers and staff to ensure they have the support they need, adding that its priority is maintaining “a safe, compassionate and educational environment for all.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The spokesperson said no additional details would be released “out of respect for the privacy of our community” but that Farley is no longer employed at the school. 

Advertisement

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office at 561-688-3000.

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.

Read the full article from Here

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Southeast

Florida teens in custody after 14-year-old girl found shot to death, burnt: sheriff

Published

on

Florida teens in custody after 14-year-old girl found shot to death, burnt: sheriff

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Two teen boys in Florida are accused of fatally shooting a 14-year-old girl and setting her on fire along a wooded walking trail last week in what authorities are calling a “horrific” killing.

Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson told reporters Thursday that the body has been identified as Danika Troy. He said Danika’s mother reported her as a runaway on Monday.

“Unbeknownst to the mother, Danika was murdered the previous night,” Johnson said.

A passerby discovered Danika’s body along a wooded area off Kimberly Road in Pace, a town about 16 miles northeast of Pensacola, and called 911, Johnson said.

Advertisement

MIGRANT TEENAGERS CHARGED IN FATAL STABBING OF HOMELESS MAN IN CHICAGO

Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson told reporters that the suspects were supposedly friends with the victim from school. He said investigators were still working to determine a motive. (Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office)

Investigators quickly identified the suspects as 14-year-old Kimahri Blevins and 16-year-old Gabriel Williams and took them into custody.

“This is where it gets really horrific,” Johnson said.

Kimahri Blevins, 14, is facing premeditated first-degree murder charges. Authorities are seeking to charge him as an adult. (Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office)

Advertisement

Williams allegedly stole his mother’s handgun and shot Danika.

“It’s bad enough you kill a 14-year-old. You’re 14. You’re 16,” Johnson said. “Shoot her multiple times, and then they set her on fire.”

Gabriel Williams, 16, is facing premeditated first-degree murder charges. Authorities are seeking to charge him as an adult. (Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office)

Johnson said investigators are still working to determine a motive.

“They have been interviewed, but the motive that they’re giving doesn’t fit the forensics or any facts of the case, so we don’t have a legit motive,” he told reporters.

Advertisement

TEEN ARRESTED FOR MURDER IN SHOOTING OF 11-YEAR-OLD BOY IN NEW YORK: ‘AN UNIMAGINABLE TRAGEDY’

Blevins and Williams supposedly knew the victim from school, according to Johnson. He believed the two teens have had previous “run-ins” with law enforcement, though he could not immediately say if they had earlier arrests.

Blevins and Williams are being held at the Department of Juvenile Justice on premeditated first-degree murder charges. 

“You don’t want to go out and see a burnt child with bullet holes,” Johnson said. “That’s not something you sign up for.”

Johnson said no parents have been charged at this time, though investigators are “looking into it.”

Advertisement

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The sheriff’s office is working with the State Attorney to charge both teens as adults.

“If you do an adult crime, you gotta do adult time,” Johnson said.

Read the full article from Here

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending