Deputies say an 81-year-old North Carolina man was slain by a 21-year-old who told others he enjoyed killing animals.
The Bladen County Sheriff’s Office stated that William Scott Lowry of Ammon was last seen walking down F L McDaniel Road near his home near the Cumberland County boundary in August and was reported missing shortly after.
Several months later, on April 22, 2025, the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office reported receiving an anonymous tip regarding a guy called Nicolai Chisala Hubbling. According to the Sheriff’s Office, the caller informed them that Hubbling “had reportedly told several acquaintances about his love of killing animals to dissect, but it wasn’t enough [and] he wanted more.”
The caller reportedly stated that Hubbling informed individuals that he shot and murdered Lowry, who he claimed was hitch-hiking on a rural Bladen County road outside Fayetteville, and then discarded his body “in an unknown location,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Following that call, the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division began looking into leads and conducting interviews. They learnt that Hubbling had lately been dismissed from the service and had returned to his home state. The Bladen County Sheriff’s Office then collaborated with the Wilson County (Tennessee) Sheriff’s Office to locate Hubbling.
On Thursday, the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office stated that the task force apprehended Hubbling on May 29 as he left his Tennessee home. According to a news release, Hubbling is charged with Lowry’s first-degree murder and is being held without bond at the Wilson County (Tennessee) Detention Centre.
He is awaiting extradition to Bladen County.
The Bladen County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation into the incident is still active and ongoing.
