Police capture Tennessee murder suspect accused of faking his own death on scenic highway
Published 11 November 2024
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. − The multistate manhunt has ended for a man accused of killing someone and using their body to fake his own death along the Cherohala Skyway in eastern Tennessee.
In a bizarre 911 call last month, the suspect, Nicholas Hamlett, claimed he fell off a cliff while running from a bear near the scenic byway that runs through Monroe County, Tennessee. When authorities arrived, they found the body of a different man, according to local detectives.
Hamlett was caught Sunday night in Columbia, South Carolina, after being recognized by a hospital employee, who then reported the possible sighting to police. A Columbia Police Department officer confirmed Hamlett's identity with a fingerprint scanner and he was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.
Officials in South Carolina and Tennessee are coordinating his extradition. It's unclear if Hamlett has an attorney who can comment on his behalf.
Monroe County Sheriff Tommy Jones announced on Oct. 25 that Hamlett, who was using the name Brandon Andrade, called 911 on Oct. 18 in distress to say he was chased by a bear and fell off a cliff near a waterfall. Jones said first responders descending on the scene found a man's body with Andrade's ID.
However, detectives later determined the victim was Steven Douglas Lloyd, of Knoxville, who appears to have been murdered, Jones said.
Jones said he died from blunt force trauma to the head, injuries not consistent with a bear attack or a fall.
Hamlett, 45, was wanted by police in Alabama for a parole violation and had been living in eastern Tennessee.