Man accused of staging Tennessee murder as bear attack has been arrested in South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WBTV) – The man accused of staging a murder in Tennessee as a bear attack last month was arrested in South Carolina over the weekend.

The Moore County Sheriff's Office in Tennessee confirmed the arrest and said it happened Sunday evening in Colombia.

According to the sheriff's office, the suspected murder occurred just before midnight on Friday, October 18, near a Remote Bridge on the Cherohala Skyway, about two miles from the Tennessee-North Carolina state line.

Officers said when they received a 911 call, a man – later identified as Nicholas Wayne Hamlett – claimed he had fallen off a cliff and injured himself while fleeing a bear. Hamlett allegedly gave a false name and fled the area.

When search parties arrived, they found the body of a man, but discovered it was not Hamlett. After further investigation, authorities discovered that the body had identification that matched the fake identity. However, it had been stolen and placed on the body. The victim was later correctly identified as 34-year-old Steven Douglas Lloyd.

At some point before the alleged murder, officials said Hamlett “met Steven, befriended him and lured him to a wooded area to take Steven's life.”

As the investigation continued, the sheriff's office named Hamlett as a suspect and sought to charge him with murder. He was also wanted for a probation violation in Alabama.

The manhunt lasted nearly a month until he was captured on Sunday after a citizen recognized him in a hospital in Colombia.

Multiple agencies assisted in the investigation and arrest of Hamlett, including the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Columbia Police Department.

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