Concert pianist charged in brutal stabbing death of SC mother

A concert pianist has been charged in the brutal stabbing death of a Greer mother.

Zachary David Hughes, 29, turned himself in to Greenville County Sheriff’s deputies Wednesday afternoon, Sheriff Hobart Lewis said Thursday in a press conference.

Hughes was charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

Christina Parcell, who worked in a veterinarian’s office, was found dead in her home in a Greer subdivision Oct. 13, killed by by someone she knew. Lewis called the scene brutal and violent.

Parcell was stabbed multiple times.

The sheriff said he did not know how the suspect and Parcell knew each other but that it was a targeted crime. Video surveillance shows a man, who investigators say was Hughes, going in and out of Parcell’s home on that day.

Also, neighbors saw a vehicle they had not seen before, a gold Ford Ranger. Hughes drives a gold Ford Ranger, officials said.

Lewis said Hughes is not from Greenville but travels as a concert pianist. On his website, he says he is a graduate of Juilliard. He is originally from California but has been in Greenville for a few years.

Lewis said Hughes had been renting a room in downtown Greenville.

Warrants say forensic evidence and video surveillance tie Hughes to the murder. Investigators have not established a motive, Lewis said. He has no previous criminal record.

Parcell has a young daughter who is in the care of her grandparents.

This story was originally published November 4, 2021 at 1:58 PM.