NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A 21-year-old Wilson County man has been indicted in connection with the gruesome murder of 43-year-old Kelton King, whose body was recovered from the Cumberland River last year on May 22, 2025 bearing 39 stab wounds. Evidently at the time of the murder, King was said to be a homeless man living in Nashville, where the stabbing was believed to have occurred.

Because the murder reportedly occurred in Nashville, the Davidson County grand jury has charged Nicolai Hubbeling with first-degree premeditated murder and abuse of a corpse. Hubbeling, who previously lived in the Old Hickory community of neighboring Wilson County, is currently incarcerated in Bladen County, North Carolina, on an unrelated homicide charge.

According to investigators, the case was solved through coordinated efforts between the Wilson County Sheriff's Office, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department’s Homicide Unit. Detective Kyle Eicholtz, assigned to the case from the outset, learned through collaboration with Wilson County authorities and the TBI that Hubbeling allegedly had connections to a homicide in North Carolina and had reportedly expressed intent to kill a homeless man in Nashville.

In North Carolina, Bladen County Sheriff James A. McVicker said detectives with his department uncovered information during their investigation that tied Nicolai Chisala Hubbeling to the Nashville case. Authorities confirmed that Bladen County investigators took Hubbeling into custody on a North Carolina murder charge several days after Kelton King’s body was recovered from the Cumberland River in Nashville, where he had been stabbed to death.

The North Carolina arrest stemmed from the first-degree murder of 81-year-old William Scott Lowery of Ammon, North Carolina. Lowery was reportedly shot and killed while walking home along a rural road in Bladen County.

Sheriff McVicker stated in a 2025 News Release, “On April 22, 2025 Bladen County Sheriff’s Office received an anonymous tip. The caller stated Nicolai Hubbling had reportedly told several acquaintances about his love of killing animals to dissect but it wasn’t enough he wanted more. Hubbling 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.”

In Nashville, investigators uncovered surveillance footage from May 17, 2025, showing Hubbeling walking in downtown Nashville before approaching King, who was seated on a park bench. Authorities say Hubbeling convinced King to enter his Lexus SUV — the last time King was seen alive.

A subsequent search of the Lexus revealed blood inside the vehicle, which forensic testing later confirmed belonged to King. Detectives also recovered knives and strangulation devices from the SUV and Hubbeling’s residence. A review of Hubbeling’s cellphone allegedly revealed videos of him stalking homeless individuals.

Hubbeling was initially arrested May 29, 2025, just 7-days after the deceased homeless individual was pulled out of the Cumberland River in Nashville. The arrest, conducted by the Wilson County Sheriff's Office, took place at his Raleigh Court home in Old Hickory, TN. The arrest was for the North Carolina charges.

After his arrest, he was transported to the Wilson County Jail where he remained for only a short stay before being picked up by North Carolina authorities and taken to the jail in Bladen County. There, he remains in custody without bond. Hubbeling is being held at the Bladen County Detention Center in Elizabethtown, North Carolina.

Prior to the reported murders, the press release posted by the Sheriff in NC said, “Hubbling had recently been discharged from the military and had relocated back to Tennessee.”

Nashville police report that arrangements are being made with North Carolina authorities for his return to Tennessee to face the Davidson County indictment.

The motives behind both murders are unknown at this time. See the original statements by the Bladen County, NC Sheriff below in their public social media post. 

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