Report: Tenn. man accused of killing, eating woman

COFFEE COUNTY, Tenn. - A Tennessee man has been arrested in connection with a gruesome murder and cannibalism case, reports CBS affiliate WTVF. The victim was identified Tuesday.

According to the station, 37-year-old Lisa Marie Hyder was staying with friends near Manchester in Coffee County, Tenn., when she met a man in town who brought her back to his house. Authorities said Gregory Scott Hale, also 37, confessed to murdering Hyder on Friday. He was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse.

Investigators said Hale told them he dismembered the woman's body and ate part of it, WTVF reports. The suspect lived in the garage of his parents' home, where most of the evidence was collected.

Investigators were tipped off by a caller who said the suspect had gotten in contact with them about disposing the body, according to the station. Police found the body at the home.

"I'm just at a loss for words," a female neighbor of the suspect, who did not wish to be identified, told WTVF. "I don't know what to think that this kid I've known for 28 years could do something this gruesome."

The neighbor said Hale had dinner with one of her friends over the weekend.

"She told me he sat at their kitchen table Saturday night and ate supper with them like nothing was wrong," she said.

The station reports Hale has posted several pictures of himself on Facebook in the past, wearing black and carrying knives.

Hyder's body was sent to Nashville for an autopsy, according to WTVF. The victim was from Bledsoe County, Tenn., about 70 miles east of Coffee County.

Hale was arraigned on Monday and is being held on a $1.5 million bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on June 23.