Woman beaten, raped, strangled and left for dead in South Carolina area known for alligators
GO. WE HAVE A LOOK AT TODAY’S TOP NEWS STORIES, TRAFFIC AND WEATHER ALL BEFORE YOU HEAD OUT THE DOOR. WE START WITH OUR ISABELLE MARAK LIVE IN GREENVILLE WITH DETAILS ON A MURDER SENTENCE IN THE CANEBREAK TRIAL. ISABELLE. HEY AARON AND DESTINY. AFTER A NEARLY TWO WEEK LONG TRIAL, IT ONLY TOOK THE JURY A FEW HOURS TO COME UP WITH THAT GUILTY VERDICT. NOW, ON WEDNESDAY, HUGHES TESTIFIED UNDER OATH THAT HE KILLED CHRISTINA PARCELL, SAYING PURCELL’S DAUGHTER WAS IN DANGER OF SEXUAL ABUSE. HE CLAIMS HE WAS RECRUITED BY HIS FRIEND, THE FATHER OF PARCELL’S DAUGHTER, JOHN MELO, BUT THAT INFORMATION WAS DEEMED UNRELATED TO THE MURDER. HUGHES’S LAWYER SAID DURING HIS CLOSING ARGUMENTS THAT HUGHES MADE A DECISION HE FELT WAS JUSTIFIED. HOWEVER, 13TH CIRCUIT SOLICITOR WALT WILKINS SAID HUGHES ATTEMPTED TO PUT JUSTICE IN HIS OWN HANDS. THE JUDGE SENTENCED HIM TO TWO LIFE SENTENCES, ONE FOR MURDER AND ONE FOR BURGLARY. HIS LAWYERS DID NOT ANSWER QUESTIONS AFTER HIS SENTENCING, BUT THEY DID SAY THEY WOULD APPEAL THE COURT’S DECISION. LIVE IN GREENVILLE, ISABELLE MARAK. WYFF NEWS FOUR. ISABEL. THANK YOU. THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS BACK IN A FAMILIAR SPOT, RECEIVING SEVERAL LAWSUITS AND RULINGS AS TRUMP TRIES TO ENACT LARGE PARTS OF HIS AGENDA WITHOUT CONGRESS. AMY, LOU IS IN OUR WASHINGTON BUREAU TRACKING SEVERAL CASES. DESTINY. THESE LATEST RULINGS AFFECT IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES, AS WELL AS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S MOVE TO CUT FEDERAL AID AND LAY OFF WORKERS. IMMIGRANT GROUPS ARE SUING THE ADMINISTRATION FOR THROWING OUT A BIDEN ERA AND EXPANSION OF TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR OVER 600,000 VENEZUELANS, WITH SIMILAR PLANS TO THROW OUT LEGAL STATUS FOR HALF A MILLION HAITIANS, WHICH WILL LIKELY ALSO FACE LAWSUITS. A JUDGE ALSO SAYS THAT THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CONTINUES TO FLOUT IN ORDER TO LIFT A FREEZE ON FOREIGN AID, DEMANDING THAT THE ADMINISTRATION RESTORE FUNDING. BUT DENYING REQUESTS FROM NONPROFIT GROUPS TO FIND THE ADMINISTRATION IN CONTEMPT OF COURT. ANOTHER JUDGE DISMISSED A LAWSUIT TRYING TO TEMPORARILY STOP MASS FEDERAL WORKER LAYOFFS, SAYING THAT THE CLAIM SHOULD FALL UNDER FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT LAW RATHER THAN DISTRICT COURT. ALSO, ON THE TOPIC OF IMMIGRATION, A FEDERAL JUDGE IS REFUSING FOR NOW A REQUEST FROM THE CATHOLIC CHURCH TO FORCE THE WHITE HOUSE TO RESUME PAYMENTS. WHEN IT COMES TO THE REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT PROGRAM. IN WASHINGTON, I’M AMY LU, WIFE. NEWS FOR THE FTC WANTS TO KNOW IF YOU’VE BEEN CENSORED ONLINE. THE AGENCY LAUNCHED A PUBLIC INQUIRY TO UNDERSTAND HOW TECH PLATFORMS DENY ACCESS TO USERS WHEN IT’S BASED ON SPEECH OR AFFILIATIONS. IT MAY VIOLATE THE LAW. THE FTC POINTS OUT THAT SOME PLATFORMS CUT USERS OFF WITHOUT GIVING THEM AN ABILITY TO APPEAL THE ACTION. ANYONE WHO THIS HAS HAPPENED TO IS ENCOURAGED TO SUBMIT A REPORT TO THE FTC. YOU HAVE UNTIL MAY 21ST. NORTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR JOSH STEIN SAYS HE’S ASKING FOR $19 BILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDING TO GO TO RECOVERY EFFORTS. HE SAYS HE MET WITH NORTH CAROLINA’S TWO U.S. SENATORS TO STRESS THE NEED FOR MONEY TO REBUILD HOMES, RESTORE ROADS AND BRIDGES, AND ALSO KEEP BUSINESSES OPEN. STATE LAWMAKERS HAVE ALREADY ALLOCATED $1 BILLION FOR THOSE EFFORTS, WITH MORE TO BE VOTED ON SOON. TELEVISION PERSONALITY, CHEF AND AUTHOR ALTON BROWN IS BRINGING HIS LAST BITE TO GREENVILLE LATER THIS MONTH. HE’LL BE AT THE PEACE CENTER ON FEBRUARY 26TH. YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN BROWN ON THE SHOW GOOD EATS, OR HOSTING SHOWS LIKE IRON CHEF AMERICA. FOOD NETWORK, STAR, AND CUTTHROAT KITCHEN. BROWN SAYS THE SHOW, WHICH IS VISITING MORE THAN 60 U.S. CITIES, IS MEANT TO BE ENTERTAINING WITH SOME MUSIC, SOME STORYTELLING AND PARTICIPATION FROM THE AUDIENCE. CREATIVE FREEDOM IS VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND IN THE TELEVISION WORLD NOW, AND I PREFER NOW PREFER PERFORMING IN FRONT OF LIVE AUDIENCES BECAUSE ONE I HAVE CREATIVE FREEDOM, AND TWO, I REALLY LIKE THE INSTANT FEEDBACK OF ACTUALLY BEING IN THE ROOM WITH THE AUDIENCE. ALTON BROWN LIVE LAST BITE WILL BE AT THE PEACE CENTER ON FEBRUARY 26TH. THAT SHOW STARTS AT 7:30 P.M. AND THE TICKET PRICES START AT $50. WE HAVE A LINK TO BUY THOSE TICKETS ON WYFF4.COM. THE ANNUAL SWAMP RABBIT RACE IS HAPPENING TOMORROW AT 7:30 A.M. IN GREENVILLE. YOU CAN STILL REGISTER FOR THE HALF MARATHON IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE, BUT THE FIVE-K IS FULL. THE HALF MARATHON BEGINS IN TRAVELERS REST AND THE FIVE-K BEGINS AT THE SWAMP RABBIT CAFE. THE RACE FINISHES DOWNTOWN AT THE T-D STAGE AT THE PEACE CENTER, SO BE AWARE OF HEAVY FOOT TRAFFIC ON THE TRAIL AND POLICE PRESENCE AT TRAIL CROSSINGS. THAT’S ONE OF THE MORE POPULAR RUNS AROUND THE AREA. HEY, GOOD MORNING EVERYONE! 15 DEGREES IN PICKENS. 19 DEGREES IN SPARTANBURG. WE’VE GOT 19 IN LAURENS AND 18 DEGREES RIGHT NOW IN GREENWOOD. YOU FACTOR IN WHAT IT FEELS LIKE WHEN YOU STEP OUTSIDE. FEELS LIKE ZERO IN CULLOWHEE. ZERO IN ASHEVILLE, FOUR IN HENDERSONVILLE. THOSE ARE SOME BRUTALLY COLD WIND CHILLS. THOSE WIND GUSTS DYING DOWN. THEY WERE A LITTLE BIT STRONGER EARLIER TODAY. STILL ON THE BREEZY TO WINDY SIDE THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. AND THEN THOSE WINDS DIE DOWN FOR THE MOUNTAINS. THEY’LL BE CALM ACROSS THE UPSTATE GIVING YOU KIND OF A REGION WIDE PERSPECTIVE. WE’VE GOT CLEAR SKIES. SO A LOT OF SUNSHINE. TODAY WE ARE GOING TO GET ABOVE FREEZING, BUT IT WILL BE CLOSER TO THAT LUNCH TIME HOUR. AND THEN TEMPERATURES MAKE IT TO ABOUT 50 OR PRETTY CLOSE TO THAT FOR GREENVILLE IN THE UPSTATE. WE’LL GET ABOVE FREEZING IN THE MOUNTAINS TOO. HOW ABOUT THAT? BUT IT WILL NOT BE UNTIL AFTER LUNCHTIME TODAY WITH HIGHS NEAR 40. ANOTHER HARD FREEZE FOR EVERYONE TONIGHT AND THEN NEXT WEEK. HOW ABOUT HIGHS NEAR 70? WE’LL TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR FOUR DAY PLUS WITH MORE GOOD NEWS IN ABOUT 7 OR 8 MINUTES FROM RIGHT NOW. FIRST, LET’S GET YOU OUTSIDE THOUGH. GET A CHECK ON THOSE ROADS. HOW’S IT LOOKING, DESTINY? HEY, LET’S LOOK RIGHT NOW IN SPARTANBURG COUNTY, A LIVE LOOK PROVIDED BY SKY FOUR. IT’S LOOKING REALLY CLEAR RIGHT NOW, AS AT LEAST THE BACKUPS AND DELAYS GO. WE’RE NOT SEEING ANY. AGAIN, THIS IS SPARTANBURG COUNTY, I-85 AT HIGHWAY 14. AS THINGS RAMP UP, WE’LL CONTINUE TO UPDATE YOU THROUGHOUT THE MORNING. LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE TRAVEL TIMES. THEY’VE BEEN GREEN SO FAR THIS MORNING. I-240 TO ASHEVILLE HIGHWAY 11 MINUTES, SIX MINUTES FOR AIRPORT ON WOODRUFF ROAD FAIRVIEW ROAD TO DOWNTOWN 13. I KNOW IN SOUTH BEND, ARKANSAS HASN’T SCORED IN OVER FOUR MINUTES AROUND THE BACK AND IN MALAYSIA. WOW WOW WOW. I JUST LOVE SAYING MALAYSIA FOR WILEY FROM SOUTH CAROLINA USES THE INCREDIBLE BEHIND THE BACK PLAY TO SCORE A FAST BREAK LAYUP, HELPING THE GAMECOCKS REBOUND AFTER A LOSS TO UCONN, BEATING ARKANSAS LAST NIGHT 95 TO 55. FURMAN BASKETBALL WILL BE BACK AT BON SECOURS WELLNESS ARENA TOMORROW AS THE WORK CONTINUES ON CAMPUS AT TIMMONS ARENA. FURMAN SHARED AN UPDATE EXACTLY ONE YEAR AFTER THE $40 MILLION DONOR FUNDED PROJECT STARTED. YOU CAN SEE THAT PROGRESS, ESPECIALLY ON THE CONCOURSE THAT ENCIRCLES WHAT WILL BE THE SEATING BOWL. THOSE RENOVATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO BE DONE BY THE FALL. LET’S CHECK THIS OUT. COUNTRY MUSIC STAR CHRIS JANSON WILL BE LIVE ON THE ICE AT THE SWAMP RABBITS POSTGAME CONCERT SUNDAY NIGHT, AND IT’S PART OF MILITARY APPRECIATION WEEKEND. THE BUY ME A BOAT SINGER WAS SUPPOSED TO PERFORM ON JANUARY 11TH, BUT THE GAME WAS RESCHEDULED DUE TO SNOW AND ICE. TICKETS ARE STILL AVAILABLE ON TICKETMASTER STARTING AT 42 BUCKS. A GAME TICKET INCLUDES CONCERT ADMISSION. THE GAME IS SET FOR 305. 651 IS YOUR TIME, AND IN THIS WEEK’S NEW FOR YOU THREE NEW FOOD SPOTS FOR FOODIES IN OUR AREA. STEPHANIE TROTTER. WITH THE NEW RESTAURANTS BRINGING SOME SERIOUSLY SWEET, SMOKY AND COMFORTING FLAVORS TO THE TABLE. AND WE START THIS WEEK’S NEW FOR YOU WITH THE GRAND OPENING OF IRON CITY BARBECUE COMPANY IN BLACKSBURG. THE MERRITT FAMILY HOSTED THE RIBBON CUTTING FOR THE SHOP ON NORTH SHELBY STREET THIS WEEK. THE MENU INCLUDES SMOKED BRISKET, PULLED PORK AND CHICKEN. AND PLEASE NOTE THE SHOP IS CLOSED DURING THE WEEK ON TUESDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS. FROM BARBECUE TO DESSERT, PUDDING HAS BEEN SELLING ITS PRODUCTS AT UPSTATE STORES FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS, AND THE STAFF IS EXCITED TO WELCOME YOU TO THEIR FIRST STOREFRONT IN DUNCAN. THE LOCATION HAS A PUDDING BAR WITH MORE THAN 20 DIFFERENT FLAVORS AND TOPPINGS. A SOFT OPENING IS SET FOR THIS COMING THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, WITH THE GRAND OPENING MARCH 1ST. AND IF TRUE, ITALIAN ICE CREAM IS MORE YOUR STYLE. HEAD OVER TO THE GELATO ON WOODRUFF ROAD. THE NEW SHOP JUST OPENED TO RAVES FOR THE RICH, CREAMY DESSERTS MADE ON SITE. IN ADDITION TO CLASSIC AND FRUIT GELATO, THE SHOP ALSO OFFERS DESSERT, CREPES AND WAFFLES, AS WELL AS ITALIAN PASTRIES. WE HOPE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS ENJOYED THIS WEEK’
Woman beaten, raped, strangled and left for dead in South Carolina area known for alligators
Updated: 12:06 PM EST Feb 21, 2025
A man who brutally raped a woman and “left her for dead” along an area known as alligator alley in a Jasper County, South Carolina, nature preserve has been convicted and sentenced to prison. John Steven Reynovel Metzler, 46, was found guilty Thursday of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping in a March 15, 2023, attack, according to the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.He was sentenced to 30 years in prison for each offense, and the sentences are to run concurrently. Metzler must also register as a sex offender. “This woman was beaten, bruised and strangled,” said Hunter Swanson of the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, who prosecuted the case. “He knew what he was doing when he drove to that area of Jasper County. He knew how desolate it was. He tossed her out, naked. Without a phone. Without clothes. Swanson said the woman, then 33 years old, and Metzler first met at Bootleggers, a sports bar in Pooler, Ga., on the evening of March 14, 2023. The two left the bar and the woman followed Metzler to a nearby hotel parking lot, where she parked her vehicle and got into the front seat of Metzler’s rented U-Haul transit van.The woman said she thought they were going to an after-party at a pool hall in Georgia, but a license plate reader captured the U-Haul van entering South Carolina after 2 a.m., a Hardeeville Police detective testified. A passerby on his way to work spotted the woman wearing only shoes climbing out of the marsh along Alligator Alley within the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. He stopped his vehicle and called 911, giving her a pair of pants and a sweatshirt. In a 911 call, you can hear the woman say: “He raped me and tried to kill me.” She testified that the incident was “like something out of a horror movie.” She was taken to a nearby hospital and treated by a sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE). The woman was one of 15 witnesses to take the stand during the three-day jury trial at the Jasper County Courthouse. She described how she thought she was going to die. While locked in the back of the van, the woman said she licked the palms of her hands and smeared them on the van’s rear windows. She wanted to leave evidence should her body never be found. Metzler’s DNA was found inside the woman’s underwear, which was found in a trash can outside the Garden City, Ga., house where he rented a room. Investigators also found the woman’s fleece jacket and her purse with credit cards in the same trash can. “He disposed of the evidence that would help convict him,” Swanson said. Metzler’s criminal history includes firearms charge in Virginia (2003); assault on a family member and abduction by force (2008); obtaining goods by false pretenses (2014); and receiving stolen goods in Georgia (2014).
A man who brutally raped a woman and “left her for dead” along an area known as alligator alley in a Jasper County, South Carolina, nature preserve has been convicted and sentenced to prison.
John Steven Reynovel Metzler, 46, was found guilty Thursday of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping in a March 15, 2023, attack, according to the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
He was sentenced to 30 years in prison for each offense, and the sentences are to run concurrently. Metzler must also register as a sex offender.
“This woman was beaten, bruised and strangled,” said Hunter Swanson of the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, who prosecuted the case. “He knew what he was doing when he drove to that area of Jasper County. He knew how desolate it was. He tossed her out, naked. Without a phone. Without clothes.
Swanson said the woman, then 33 years old, and Metzler first met at Bootleggers, a sports bar in Pooler, Ga., on the evening of March 14, 2023.
The two left the bar and the woman followed Metzler to a nearby hotel parking lot, where she parked her vehicle and got into the front seat of Metzler’s rented U-Haul transit van.
The woman said she thought they were going to an after-party at a pool hall in Georgia, but a license plate reader captured the U-Haul van entering South Carolina after 2 a.m., a Hardeeville Police detective testified.
A passerby on his way to work spotted the woman wearing only shoes climbing out of the marsh along Alligator Alley within the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. He stopped his vehicle and called 911, giving her a pair of pants and a sweatshirt.
In a 911 call, you can hear the woman say: “He raped me and tried to kill me.” She testified that the incident was “like something out of a horror movie.”
She was taken to a nearby hospital and treated by a sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE).
The woman was one of 15 witnesses to take the stand during the three-day jury trial at the Jasper County Courthouse. She described how she thought she was going to die. While locked in the back of the van, the woman said she licked the palms of her hands and smeared them on the van’s rear windows. She wanted to leave evidence should her body never be found.
Metzler’s DNA was found inside the woman’s underwear, which was found in a trash can outside the Garden City, Ga., house where he rented a room. Investigators also found the woman’s fleece jacket and her purse with credit cards in the same trash can.
“He disposed of the evidence that would help convict him,” Swanson said.
Metzler’s criminal history includes firearms charge in Virginia (2003); assault on a family member and abduction by force (2008); obtaining goods by false pretenses (2014); and receiving stolen goods in Georgia (2014).
