Naman Shrestha
In the episode titled ‘The Rose Petal Murder’ of ABC’s ’20/20,’ the primary focus is on the unexpected murder of an experienced nurse named Christina Parcell in October 2021. At the time, she was engaged to be married to Bradley Post, who came across her remains inside her house. Devastated by the loss of his future wife, he found himself in the middle of the investigation, which led the authorities to uncover dark secrets that he had tried to keep concealed.
Bradley Post Was Planning His Future With Christina Parcell Before Her Demise
Born around the mid-1950s, Bradley Eugene Post was the future husband of Christina Parcell at the time of her death. It was in 2016 when he first met her. At the time, she had recently broken up with her ex-partner, John Joey Mello, the father of her daughter, and was in the middle of a heated custody battle with him. At such a difficult time, Bradley provided her with emotional support, leading to a romantic spark between the two. On one hand, Christina was happy in her relationship with Bradley. But on the other hand, the ongoing custody battle at the time constantly bothered her. When John relocated to Italy with their daughter in 2020, her boyfriend supported her and helped her in any way he could to determine the child’s whereabouts in Italy. After nearly five years of their relationship, Bradley popped the question to her in April 2021.
The engaged couple then began thinking about their marriage and future together. Unfortunately, before they could tie the knot, fate intervened. On the fateful morning of October 13, 2021, Bradley dropped by his fiancée’s house at 122 Canebrake Drive in Greer, South Carolina, to meet her before she went out for an important job interview. However, when he entered the apartment, he found his future wife lying in a pool of her own blood with multiple stab wounds and rose petals scattered on the floor. Without wasting any time, he made a harrowing call to 911 and told the police about the situation. When the detectives questioned him, he told them about the custody dispute Christina was involved in with her former partner, John Mello.
Hinting that the father of her daughter could have been involved in the murder, Bradley did not anticipate that he could also get in trouble with the law in an entirely different matter altogether. Although the deceased’s fiancé was ruled out as a suspect for murder, the authorities examined his phone and other devices after he signed a consent form for the same. Upon going through his devices, the detectives came across a disturbingly large amount of child pornography, some of which he allegedly deleted from his phone before the authorities arrived at the crime scene. Thus, on October 20, 2021, Bradley Post was arrested and charged with five counts of sexual exploitation of minors and one count of criminal sexual conduct with a minor.
Bradley Post is Incarcerated at a South Carolina Detention Center Awaiting His Trial
About a month after his arrest, the detectives found new evidence against Bradley Post, who allegedly committed lewd acts on a minor and had a thumb drive with more child pornography. As a result, he received a couple of additional charges — third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. A few months later, in early February 2022, the mother of one of the victims filed a lawsuit against the accused, claiming that he had clicked inappropriate pictures of her daughter. He also allegedly forwarded the images and videos to other people. Meanwhile, a concert pianist named Zachary Hughes had been arrested for the murder of Christina Parcell and was tried in February 2025.
Up until his trial, he maintained his innocence and tried to pin the blame on Bradley. When Zachary took the stand in his trial, he testified that John and Christina’s daughter was allegedly sexually abused by Christina and her to-be-husband, Bradley. However, the judge deemed these allegations irrelevant to the case. On the second day of the trial, Bradley was called to the stand for his testimony. He recalled the events of the morning of Christina’s murder and gave his version of the events. As of today, he remains in custody on multiple sexual exploitation charges involving children. Awaiting his trial, he is currently held up behind bars at the Greenville County Detention Center with no bond.
Read More: Christina Parcell Murder Details and Investigation Timeline
