State rests in ‘Killing on Canebrake’ trial after presenting DNA evidence
GREENVILLE, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - After four days and 31 witnesses, the state has rested its case in the trial against Zachary Hughes.
Zachary Hughes, a Juilliard-trained pianist, is charged with the murder of Christina Parcell, 41, in October 2021.
Parcell was found stabbed more than 30 times in her home on Canebrake Drive.
The state maintains Hughes inserted himself into the custody battle between his friend, John Mello, and Parcell. The two shared a daughter together from a previous relationship.
Friday started with the defense’s cross-examination of lead investigator Jarrad Sparkman.
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The defense called into question state’s witness Donna Gorman, who pointed at Hughes saying she saw him riding a bike outside her home the day of the murder.
Sparkman testified that they never showed Gorman a lineup and the defense asked why they waited to show Gorman the surveillance image of the man on a bike until 2024.
“We had realized that no one had ever shown her a picture of a bicycle so we wanted to take that picture up there and let her see it and ask her if that’s who she re seeing,” Sparkman testified.
The defense followed up asking: “During those three years, October 2021 to October 2024, Zack Hughes’ picture had been shown on the news and in the newspaper and other places -- social media -- numerous numerous times. Is that right?”
Sparkman said yes.
On re-direct, the state asked Sparkman if he showed Gorman a photo of Hughes during the 2024 visit. Sparkman said he hadn’t.
Then the medical examiner took the stand, saying Parcell had 35 wounds on her body that she believed were from a knife.
Most of the wounds, she said, were superficial. However, there were six deep stab wounds to Parcell’s neck. The medical examiner described these as “significant.”
The last witness was the state’s DNA expert.
He testified about a comparison he did of DNA found under Parcell’s fingernails.
The expert said Hughes’ DNA was 825 million times more likely to be a match to it than a random person’s DNA.
The expert testified the lowest match score they report is 1,000.
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By comparison, a swab taken from the bike at Hughes’ house contained DNA with a 2-septillion match score to Hughes.
The defense had no cross-examination for the DNA witness but moved for a mistrial.
The defense had previously objected to the DNA evidence, saying the state had not presented each person who had handled the samples so the chain of evidence was incomplete.
The state argued they didn’t have to present every person because their witnesses had testified the samples were not tampered with. The judge sided with the state.
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Afterward, the defense asked for a directed verdict three times, essentially saying the state had not proven its case.
Each of those requests were denied.
The case continues on Tuesday with the defense’s opening statement.
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