Bladen County murder suspect indicted in Tennessee killing

BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A man already being held in Bladen County on a first-degree murder charge has now been indicted in a separate homicide case in Nashville, Tennessee, according to the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office and the Metropolitan Police Department in Nashville.

Sheriff James A. McVicker said detectives with the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office uncovered additional information during their ongoing investigation that led to a separate investigation by Nashville police into the murder of Kelton King.

Nashville police announced Wednesday that a grand jury indicted Nicolai Chisala Hubbling, 21, on charges of first-degree premeditated murder and abuse of a corpse in King’s death.

Kelton King, 43, was killed in May 2025. Police said his body was later recovered from the Cumberland River.

Hubbling is currently in jail in Bladen County on separate murder charges under no bond.

Hubbling was originally taken into custody May 29, 2025, by the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee with assistance from Bladen County investigators.

He was charged at the time with the first-degree murder of William Scott Lowry, an 81-year-old man from Ammon.

Lowry was reported missing in late August 2024 and was last seen walking along F.L. McDaniel Road near his home, the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office said.

Investigators said they received an anonymous tip in April 2025 alleging Hubbling said he had shot and killed 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.

The Bladen County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation remains active and ongoing.