### Man Arrested for Alleged Murder and Bear Attack Hoax in Tennessee

A man accused of killing another man and staging the scene as a fatal bear attack in Tennessee has been apprehended in South Carolina on murder charges. Authorities have described this incident as an elaborate scheme to steal the victim’s identity.

Nicholas Wayne Hamlett, aged 45, was taken into custody on Sunday in Columbia, South Carolina, without any resistance, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office in Tennessee. The FBI managed to confirm Hamlett's identity using his fingerprints.

Hamlett faces charges of first-degree murder in Monroe County, Tennessee, and has also violated parole conditions in Alabama. It is currently unclear if Hamlett has secured legal representation.

The incident traces back to October 18, when a man identifying himself as Brandon Andrade called emergency services, claiming to be a hiker who had fallen off a cliff while fleeing from a bear on the Cherohala Skyway in Tellico Plains, Tennessee. First responders arrived to find a deceased individual carrying identification for Andrade. However, further investigation revealed that the deceased was not Andrade, and the ID had been stolen and used multiple times.

Authorities revealed that Hamlett had been using Andrade's stolen identification and was wanted in Alabama for a parole violation. The victim was later identified as Steven Douglas Lloyd, a 34-year-old from Knoxville, Tennessee, who had a known mental health disorder and was prone to living on the streets.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office stated that Hamlett had befriended Lloyd and lured him into a wooded area to kill him and steal his identity. The victim's family was devastated to learn that someone Lloyd trusted had taken his life.