KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — An East Tennessee murder suspect who had become the subject of a multistate manhunt and a $5,000 reward has been captured, authorities in South Carolina announced on Sunday.
The Columbia Police Department announced just before 6 p.m. that Nicholas Wayne Hamlett, 45, had been taken into custody. Police said an employee at an area hospital recognized Hamlett and notified law enforcement.
Hamlett’s identity was later confirmed using a fingerprint scanner and was placed into the temporary custody of U.S. Marshals. Arrangements are being made to extradite him back to Monroe County where he faces a first-degree murder charge.
The arrest came more than a week after U.S. Marshals confirmed that Hamlett had been spotted in the town of Chapin, South Carolina. Law enforcement also said he had ties to other states including Alaska, Montana, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Florida.
On October 18, Monroe County deputies responded to the area of the Charles Hall bridge on the Cherohala Skyway after someone called 911 claiming to be an injured hiker named “Brandon Andrade” who was being chased by a bear.
Investigators found a man’s body and quickly determined that the ID found on the victim’s body was stolen and had been used on multiple occasions. The victim was later identified as 34-year-old Steven Douglas Lloyd of Knoxville. Investigators said they believe Hamlett, “befriended him, and lured him into a wooded area to take Steven’s life and his identity.”
He was also wanted out of Alabama on a parole violation. Sheriff Bill Franklin of Elmore County, Alabama told 6 News that Hamlett pleaded guilty to attempted murder and assault in 2011 but was paroled in July 2016.
