MONROE COUNTY, Tenn. — The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office provided an update Friday on the husband-and-wife duo accused of working together in order for the husband to evade a murder arrest.
Nicholas Hamlett and Taylor Fiber are both in police custody. Hamlett is accused of killing Steven Douglas Lloyd, a 34-year-old man from Knoxville who struggled with his mental health and subsequently spent some time living on the streets.
Deputies said the case began after Hamlett called 911 on Oct. 18 pretending to be an injured hiker who fell off a cliff while running from a bear and who was partially in some nearby water. Hamlett told dispatchers that he was "Brandon Andrade." When authorities arrived, they found a body — but it wasn't Andrade's. It was Lloyd's body.
According to an affidavit, Hamlett had been using the identification of another man, Brandon Kristopher Andrade, since 2017. Investigators say Lloyd was found with Andrade’s identification on him. The affidavit states Hamlett opened several life insurance policies in the name of Andrade, totaling $8 million.
Authorities said they believed he had a "financial motive" for the murder he's accused of.
According to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, Hamlett was extradited from South Carolina to Tennessee Friday morning. Hamlett was escorted back to the Monroe County jail by the members of the Violent Crime Task Force, Special Operations, the Criminal investigation division and Sheriff Tommy Jones. Hamlett is expected to make his first court appearance Monday.
Hamlett’s wife, Fiber, made her first court appearance Friday on an accessory after the fact charge. Fiber is accused of helping Hamlett evade authorities by providing him with a bus ticket and camping supplies.
Fiber was assigned a private attorney at her hearing. A Monroe County judge set her bond at $30,000. She made a bond and was released on an ankle monitor. Fiber is expected to be in court again Nov. 26. Authorities said she is from South Carolina.
Monroe County investigators said Hamlett called 911 on Oct. 18 pretending to be an injured hiker who fell off a cliff while running from a bear and who was partially in some nearby water. Hamlett told dispatchers that he was "Brandon Andrade." When authorities arrived, they found a body — but it wasn't Andrade's.
Monroe County investigators called Fiber on Oct. 22 about the investigation into Hamlett. According to the affidavit, she said "Nick" was the brother to Andrade. Fiber told investigators she didn't know "Nick's" last name but thought it was Andrade as well.
Investigators later learned Fiber knew Hamlett's identity and she had bought a one-way bus ticket for Hamlett to flee Knoxville and get to Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 19, according to the affidavit.
Investigators wrote in the affidavit Fiber also went to Academy Sports in Columbia and purchased a grey camping tent and delivered it to Mr. Hamlett in the woods where he was hiding. The affidavit states that she warned him that law enforcement was in the area searching for him.
Authorities were able to capture Hamlett after he went to a hospital in the area near Columbia, South Carolina where he was hiding out. During Friday's press conference, they said he was found by a person while he effectively walked on the side of the road hungry, thirsty and unkempt.
The person brought him to a hospital, and a worker there recognized him and called authorities, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office said during a press conference.
"In a lot of ways he ran out of gas. He was cold and hungry," U.S. Marshal David Jolley said Friday during a press briefing.
Jolley thanked media in Tennessee and South Carolina for helping push out the message that Hamlett was still on the run. He said medical staff recognized him, called law enforcement and authorities captured Hamlett after fingerprinting him and confirming it was him.
"We got him. I nearly jumped up off the couch," said Jason Fillyaw, the lead detective on the case in Monroe County.