A Tennessee parolee is being investigated for allegedly carrying out a bear attack to cover up the murder of a hiker.
Nicholas Wayne Hamlett called 911 at around 11:34 p.m. on Oct. 24, pretending to be a man named Brandon Andrade, and was chased off a cliff by a bear while hiking in Hamilton County, leaving him injured and in a body of water. He told police he was trapped. the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
Authorities traced the call to an area near Tellico Plains northeast of Chattanooga. There, they found a bloody corpse with Andrade’s ID written on it.
However, an autopsy revealed that the dead man was not Andrade. Authorities do not know who the deceased man is, law enforcement told WSB-TV Atlanta.
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Forensic experts are working on a sketch of “John Doe” in hopes of identifying him.
Police later learned that Andrade’s identification card had been stolen by Hamlet and used multiple times. Police believe Hamlet stole his identification to avoid parole and then faked his death for unknown reasons, the New York Post reported.
Hamlett, 45, gave a false name when police questioned him about the 911 call. Authorities believe he abandoned his home in Tennessee and say he also has connections in Alabama, Montana, Alaska, Kentucky and Florida, WHAS 11 reported.
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According to WBS, Hamlet was arrested in Niceville, Florida, in 2009 after luring a man into the woods of Alabama.
Hamlett allegedly pointed a gun at an Alabama man and beat him with a baseball bat before attempting to bury him in the woods, AL.com reported. According to court documents reviewed by the outlet, he used the name Joshua Jones when contacting the victim “so he could get insurance money.”
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Hamlett was charged with attempted murder and kidnapping in 2012, but pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault with serious bodily injury and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He has four previous felony convictions, according to Alabama court records.
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Hamlet is wanted on suspicion of first-degree murder in the death of the unidentified man and is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 170 pounds. Hamlet reportedly used multiple pseudonyms and may still be using the name Brandon Andrade. Hamlet is “armed and dangerous,” police said.