A man wanted in connection with a double homicide in Overton County was captured Sunday evening after a large-scale manhunt involving multiple law enforcement agencies. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) said the Overton County Sheriff’s Department responded just before noon on Sunday, September 21, to reports of a shooting in the 100 block of Freeman Lane in Rickman.
Deputies arrived to find two victims, identified as 25-year-old Isaiah Thomas Hawkins and 43-year-old Christina Denise Hawkins, dead from gunshot wounds outside a home. According to 13th Judicial District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway, the suspected shooter fled the scene after what authorities described as a domestic incident. At Dunaway’s request, the TBI joined the investigation.
Investigators later identified the suspect as 27-year-old Payton Wayne Nations. While the TBI listed him as being from Rickman, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office said he was from Cookeville. Around noon, the Tennessee Highway Patrol was alerted to watch for Nations and his vehicle.
A fisherman soon reported seeing a man at a rural boat ramp push a vehicle into Center Hill Lake. Deputies responded and confirmed the vehicle matched the description connected to the homicide. The caller prevented the vehicle from sinking, Nashville ABC affiliate WKRN reported.
DeKalb County and Putnam County deputies then launched a search effort with support from air and water units. Authorities issued a reverse 911 call to residents in the Austin Bottom area, urging them to remain vigilant. Detectives later obtained camera footage of Nations and his vehicle near several homes and secured a clothing description to help track his movements.
By late afternoon, sightings began to narrow in. At 5:30 p.m., a motorist reported seeing someone resembling the suspect near Hurricane Bridge, prompting another reverse 911 alert to nearby residents. Around 6 p.m., a Putnam County resident called to report a man walking along Old Baxter Road who matched the description.
Shortly afterward, a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper spotted Nations near mile marker 283 on Interstate 40 and arrested him without incident. According to the TBI, Nations has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder. He was booked into the Overton County Jail on Sunday evening with a bond set at $40 million.
“I wish to thank our law enforcement partners, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency, Overton County Sheriff’s Department, DeKalb County Constable, DeKalb Central Dispatch, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation,” DeKalb County Sheriff Patrick Ray said.
“I also want to thank both citizens of DeKalb and Putnam Counties and passing motorists for all their help with the apprehension of Nations.” No further details have been released as the investigation continues.