‘Gruesome’ killing in Tennessee linked to North Carolina murder suspect, cops say

A 21-year-old man charged in the 2024 killing a North Carolina hitchhiker is now linked to a “gruesome murder” in his home state of Tennessee, according to the investigators.

Nicolai Chisala Hubbeling was indicted Feb. 18 on charges of premeditated first degree murder and abuse of a corpse in the death of 43-year-old Kelton King, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department reported in a Feb. 18 news release.

Hubbeling – a former soldier – is currently being held in a North Carolina jail in connection with the killing of 81-year-old William Lowry of Ammon, N.C., the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office says.

Lowry’s body has yet to be found.

King’s body turned up in Tennessee’s Cumberland River in May 2025, and an autopsy revealed 39 stab wounds, officials said.

The two killings were linked when detectives learned Hubbeling had expressed an intention “to kill a homeless black man in Nashville,” officials said.

Surveillance cameras in downtown Nashville recorded him walking around “seemingly in search of a victim,” officials said.

“On May 17, 2025, Hubbeling is seen on video approaching King on a park bench. He convinced King to enter his Lexus SUV, which is the last known time King is seen alive,” Nashville police said.

“A later search of Hubbeling’s Lexus resulted in the discovery of blood from the interior, testing of which showed to be King’s. Weapons, including knifes and strangulation devices, were found in the SUV and in Hubbeling’s home. A search of Hubbeling’s phone revealed videos home stalking homeless persons.”

Hubbeling was living in North Carolina while serving in the military, Bladen County officials say. U.S. Army records indicate a man of the same name served in the 82nd Airborne based out of Fort Bragg, and he was discharged in 2025.

“On April 22, 2025, Bladen County Sheriff’s Office received an anonymous tip. The caller stated Nicolai Hubbeling had reportedly told several acquaintances about his love of killing animals to dissect, but it wasn’t enough. He wanted more,” the sheriff’s office said in a release.

“Hubbeling reportedly stated he had shot and killed William Lowry who appeared to be hitchhiking just outside of Fayetteville on a rural road in Bladen County and disposed of his body in an unknown location.”

Lowry was reported missing on August​ 27, 2024. He was last seen walking near his home on F.L. McDaniel Road in the unincorporated Ammon community, officials said.

Ammon is about an 85-mile drive south from Raleigh.