KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Newly-released 911 audio recounts the moments after an East Tennessee murder suspect contacted authorities falsely claiming to be an injured hiker fleeing from a bear according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Nicholas Hamlett , 45, was arrested on Nov. 10 in South Carolina . He faces a charge of first-degree murder in Monroe County in connection to the death of 34-year-old Steven Lloyd of Knoxville.
The events that led to his arrest began on Oct. 18 when authorities received a 911 call, part of which can be heard below, from someone claiming to be an injured hiker named Brandon Andrade. The caller claims they fell from a cliff at a waterfall while being fleeing from a bear near the Charles Hall Bridge on the Cherohala Skyway.
Deputies dispatched to the area located a deceased man and identification for a Brandon Andrade. However, they determined the ID found on the victim’s body was stolen and had been used multiple times. Court documents alleged Hamlett had been using the ID since 2017.