Man accused of fatally stabbing supervisor arrested in Harris County, police say

Evan Lyndell Parker, 34, is accused of killing 64-year-old Harry Parnell and critically injuring 36-year-old Jose Rangel on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019. Evan Lyndell Parker, 34, is accused of killing 64-year-old Harry Parnell and critically injuring 36-year-old Jose Rangel on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019. Photo: Waller County Sheriff's Office Photo: Waller County Sheriff's Office Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Man accused of fatally stabbing supervisor arrested in Harris County, police say 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

The man accused of fatally stabbing his supervisor and critically injuring another worker in Waller County on Wednesday was taken into custody after a 15-minutes standoff today, authorities say.

Evan Lyndell Parker, 34, is accused of killing 64-year-old Harry Parnell and critically injuring 36-year-old Jose Rangel. They all worked at a manufacturing business, Orizon Industries, according to the Waller County Sheriff's Office.

He was charged with murder and aggravated assault in connection with the stabbings, Waller County Sheriff Glenn Smith said, adding that investigators had just started to interview him on Thursday afternoon.

Smith said multiple people witnessed Parker stab both men around 7:50 p.m. Wednesday at the Orizon Industries building on FM 362 and Wilson Road, north of Brookshire. He said Rangel was part of a group of people who tried to intervene in a dispute between Parker and Parnell.

Despite having multiple witnesses, he said one element of the crime remains a mystery.

"We have not found a proper motive yet," Smith said. "We don't have anyone telling us [the victims] have had problems before."

Smith was apprehended at 2:08 p.m. Thursday at his Harris County apartment complex in the 18000 block of South Parkview, according to a news release. He said police called his name over a loudspeaker for 15 minutes before he walked out and surrendered.

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Parnell, a night shift supervisor, died at the scene of the stabbing, and Rangel was flown to the hospital in critical condition, police said.

Parnell had been with the company for 20 years, said Milo Thibeaudeau, chief operating officer at Spitzer Industries. Orizon is a division of Spitzer.

Rangel has been with the company for about eight months. Parker is also an employee in the quality control group of Orizon.

There was no known conflict between the victims and the suspect, Thibeaudeau said.

"It's a family-oriented company that grew up organically," Thibeaudeau said on Wednesday. "For something this tragic to happen is beyond our imagination."

Parker's criminal history involves previous charges of aggravated robbery, assault, resisting arrest and aggravated assault against a public servant, deputies said.

Julian Gill is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | julian.gill@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message