Concert pianist charged in ‘very violent’ killing of South Carolina woman, cops say
A classical pianist trained at The Juilliard School is charged with murder in the “very brutal” killing of a South Carolina woman.
Zachary David Hughes, 29, of Greenville, turned himself in Nov. 3, according to the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office.
He is accused of stabbing Christina Parcell to death in her Greer home on Oct. 13, officials said. Greer is about 105 miles northwest of Columbia.
Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis referred to the puzzling case as “a unique investigation” during a Nov. 3 press conference.
Detectives still have not found a motive and do not know if the victim and suspect knew each other, he said.
“The victim had been brutally stabbed multiple times,” Lewis said. “She was certainly murdered in a very violent way.”
A lead early in the investigation pointed to Hughes as a person of interest, and detectives later found “physical evidence that linked Hughes to the crime,” Lewis said.
In addition to a murder charge, Hughes is charged with possession of a weapon during a violent crime, officials said.
More charges are possible, and “there could be other people involved,” Lewis said.
“Whether at all they knew each other at all, is still unclear,” Lewis said.
“The information regarding Hughes is also limited, other than learning he is a local pianist ... living here in Greenville. He doesn’t have a criminal history with our agency. And so we’re still working to learn more about him and why investigators believe he would commit a crime like this,” he said.
Foothills Veterinary Hospital in Greenville referred to Parcell as a “friend and colleague” in a social media post and said her funeral was Nov. 1. She worked as a veterinary technician at the clinic for the past three years, WSPA reports.
Parcell is the mother of “a very young daughter,” police said at the news conference.
Lewis referred to Hughes as a “concert pianist,” who frequently travels the country as part of his job.
Hughes has a large social media presence that includes his own website and videos of his performances on YouTube. The website Zacharyhughespiano.com reports he is a “Californian-born pianist ... on a mission to fill the world with the music of his favorite composer and lifelong hero – Ludwig van Beethoven.”
He graduated from The Juilliard School, the site says, “and has performed throughout the United States, Canada, U.K., France, Germany, and Japan.” Hughes moved to Greenville as part of a museum project “to create live video recordings of the 32 Beethoven piano sonatas on both modern instruments ... as well as historical instruments from Beethoven’s day,” his website says.
Investigators say surveillance camera footage from Parcell’s neighborhood did not help identify a suspect, but it did help create a timeline.
The killing was “definitely targeted” and not random, Lewis said. “We believe he was very specific in going to that home for that reason,” he said. “It was very intentional for sure. We don’t know why.”
