Florida ‘Cold Case’ Murder Suspect Caught in Columbus

Nathaniel Bigbee

COLUMBUS, Miss. (Press Release) — On Monday August 25, 2014, members of the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department Warrants Division who are also contracted with the United States Marshal Service arrested 63-year-old Nathaniel Bigbee of Hillsborough County, Florida for the charge of First Degree murder during the attempt of a sexual assault.

The crime that Bigbee allegedly committed is a cold case that occurred in Hillsborough County (Tampa) Florida in 1979.

Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department Investigators issued the arrest warrant for Bigbee this month and then the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department, U.S. Marshal Service, and Hillsborough County authorities worked together to locate Bigbee.

After hours of surveillance and cooperative investigation Bigbee was placed under arrest last night, August 25, at the Sunflower parking lot located on Military Road in Columbus.

Bigbee was arrested without resistance. Investigators say he had been in Columbus a couple of days visiting his sister but still lives in the Tampa area. Local investigators say he’d been interviewed by Florida detectives several times in the last year and had been cooperative. But in the last week that cooperation ended and they began looking for him, leading to Columbus.

A Tampa detective is expected in Columbus today to interview Bigbee. He already has signed extradition papers, but it’s unclear when he’ll be returned to Florida.