Photo: Monroe County Sheriff’s Office
A manhunt for a murder suspect who allegedly staged a bear attack to cover up his crime has ended with the arrest of Nicholas Wayne Hamlett, 45, in Columbia, South Carolina. Hamlett was recognized by a hospital employee who alerted authorities, leading to his capture on Sunday (November 11). He is now in the temporary custody of the U.S. Marshals Service, awaiting extradition to Tennessee.
The case began on October 18 when a 911 call was made by a man identifying himself as Brandon Andrade. The caller claimed to have fallen off a cliff while being chased by a bear in Monroe County, Tennessee. However, when emergency responders arrived at the scene, they found a body with an ID belonging to Andrade, but the body was not his. The real Andrade was alive and well, and his identity had been stolen and used multiple times, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
The body was later identified as 34-year-old Steven Douglas Lloyd. Forensic officials determined that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, inconsistent with a high fall or a bear attack. Authorities believe that Hamlett befriended Lloyd, lured him into the woods, and killed him to steal his identity. Hamlett, who was wanted in Alabama for a parole violation, likely fled his Tennessee home before police could verify his real identity, setting off a manhunt.
The U.S. Marshals Service had been offering a reward of up to $5,000 for help in locating Hamlett, who was considered armed and dangerous.