Update: Son Back In Greenville To Face Murder Charge

Update, April 13, 3:30pm:

Hughes appeared before a judge Wednesday afternoon.  Judge Leila Foster said she had no power at this judicial level to set bond in a murder case.  The judge read him his rights and told him he would be seeing a Circuit Court Judge. 

No date was set for that court hearing.

Update April 13 12:30 p.m.

Walker Hughes, the man accused of beating his mother to death, returned to Greenville County Wednesday morning to face murder and weapons charges.

Hughes was being held in the Laurens County Detention Center. He was driven back to the Greenville County this morning by deputies.

Original Story

The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office charged Walker Manning Hughes with murder in the death of his mother, Karen Hughes. On Wednesday, he is expected to be taken from Laurens to Greenville County to face a murder and weapons charge.

The Sheriff's Office made the announcement in a prepared release Tuesday afternoon. In the release, they also stated Hughes was also charged with possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

Just hours after his mother's body was discovered at her home in Greer, Hughes was arrested Monday night at a Hot Spot convenience store on Highway 221 in Laurens County. A spokesperson for the Laurens County Sheriff's Office said that around 8 pm, a deputy spotted Karen Hughes Volkswagen Jetta at the convenience store after a BOLO had been issued earlier in the day.

Lt. Judy Stiles with the Laurens County Sheriff's Office said that the deputy approached the car and spoke with a man he said was Hughes. Hughes allegedly told the deputy that he had ran out of gas. A short time later, Hughes was taken into custody and transported to the Laurens County Jail where he was charged with receiving stolen property.

At a bond hearing late Tuesday afternoon, a Laurens County judge ordered Hughes be held on a $8,000 bond. However, Greenville County Sheriff's investigators put a detainment order on Hughes which would allow him to be released into their custody once he is released on bond.  

A Laurens County official told News Channel 7 Tuesday night that Hughes will be released into the custody of Greenville County Sheriff's Office investigators Wednesday morning and will be transported back to Greenville for an arraignment proceeding on the charges of murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

According to Stiles, deputies apparently found materials inside the car that could be used to make meth. A criminal background check released by the State Law Enforcement Division revealed that Walker Manning Hughes’ arrest record dates back to 1990. Convictions include:

• Six counts burglary
• Three counts grand larceny
• One count of receiving stolen goods
• 18 counts forgery
• One count possession of marijuana
• One count of parole violation
• One count of sale of a weapon
• One count of fraudulent check
• One count of breach of peace

BODY OF KAREN HUGHES FOUND IN GREER MONDAY

On Monday, deputies found Karen Hughes, 64, dead at her home at 201 Montclair Road in Greer.

They say just before 10 a.m., the Sheriff’s Office received a call from a neighbor who said they hadn’t seen her since Friday. Deputies, after trying to get the resident of the home to answer, went to the rear of the door and saw a woman lying on the floor.

Deputies made their way into the home, and found the woman unresponsive. EMS workers pronounced her dead at the scene.

The cause of death, according to the coroner’s office, is blunt force trauma to the head.

NEIGHBORS SAY KAREN HUGHES WAS AFRAID OF HER SON

Max Few, a friend of Karen Hughes, told News Channel 7’s Melissa Keeney Karen was afraid of her son.

Few said he, along with other friends, often talked to her about keeping her doors locked and being careful when she was outside alone.

A co-worker called Few Monday when Karen Hughes did not show up for work.

He went over, saw her car missing, saw her dog, Jack, alone on the screened in porch and said he knew something was wrong.

He called 911 and deputies responded, finding Hughes’ body.

Few says Karen Hughes was a wonderful woman and she did not deserve to die like this.

“We always tried to watch out for her,” he said. “I guess this time it was just a little too late.”