Authorities have charged a Rickman man in connection with the double homicide that left two members of the Hawkins family dead on Sunday morning.
At the request of 13th Judicial District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway, special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) and the Overton County Sheriff’s Office began investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Isaiah Thomas Hawkins (DOB: 07/14/2000) and Christina Denise Hawkins (DOB: 10/04/1981). The victims were discovered outside a residence in the 100 block of Freeman Drive in Rickman, both suffering fatal gunshot wounds.
Through the course of the investigation, authorities identified Payton Wayne Nations (DOB: 08/28/1998) as the individual believed to be responsible. Warrants were obtained, charging Nations with two counts of First Degree Murder.
On Sunday evening, Nations was located in Putnam County, where he was arrested by the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office following a multi-agency manhunt. He was transported to the Overton County Jail, where he was booked on a $40 million bond.
Officials stressed that the charges are merely accusations, and Nations is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
The investigation remains ongoing.
