Gary hilton wiki
Murder of Meredith Emerson
crime in Georgia, United States
Meredith Hope Emerson[3] (June 20, January 4, ) was a year-old woman who was murdered in January by drifter Gary Michael Hilton. She was last seen alive hiking with her black Labrador retriever on Blood Mountain in northern Georgia on New Year's Day Witnesses claimed to have seen her with an older man on the Spur Trail connecting the Appalachian Trail with the Byron Herbert Reece Parking Lot.
When she did not return home on January 2, , her friends began to search for her, without success.
Her dog, Ella, was found on January 4, , in Cumming, Georgia, approximately 60 miles (97km) away.
At the time of her disappearance, Emerson lived in Buford, Georgia.[4][5]
Biography
Emerson was born in Charleston, South Carolina.[1] She was raised in Holly Springs, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh,[6] and in Longmont, Colorado.
Emerson graduated from Niwot High School.[7] In , she graduated with honors from the University of Georgia with a bachelor's degree in French[8] and was given the Cecil Willcox Award for Excellence in French.[9]
Investigation
On January 3, , authorities located Emerson's Chevrolet Cavalier, where they found various items such as her water bottle, a dog leash, and a police baton.[10] A local drifter and as-of-then unidentified serial killer, year-old man Gary Michael Hilton, became and was announced as a person of interest in her disappearance.[11]
On January 4, three days after Emerson and Ella were last seen, a witness at a Chevron gas station called DeKalb police and stated that "the guy you are looking for is cleaning out his van." The police quickly arrived on scene and were able to stop Hilton before he could bleach the interior of the van.
Crime scene analysts obtained blood evidence that was matched to Emerson's DNA. Hilton was subsequently arrested and charged with Emerson's murder.
Gary hilton execution date Overhead search helicopters scanned the deep woods of Blood Mountain for a missing hiker. On the ground, a massive search party including law enforcement officers with tracking dogs scoured the rugged North Georgia terrain, according to The Atlanta Constitution. Police soon had a suspect in her disappearance in custody. His name was Gary Michael Hilton and he would eventually admit to murdering the year-old hiker and would tell them where to find the body. This wasn't the first murder Hilton had committed.The same day, Ella was found alive wandering in a Kroger parking lot in Cumming and she was safely returned to Emerson's family.[12] The next day, more of Emerson's belongings would be found in a dumpster near a QuikTrip elsewhere in the city: her bloodied clothing, wallet, driver's license, a University of Georgia ID card, and a bloodstained car seat belt.[13]
The prosecution agreed to take the death penalty off the table and rehome Hilton's own dog, Dandy,[14] if Hilton would lead investigators to her body.
Hilton agreed and successfully led investigators to Emerson's body. Hilton claimed he had asked Emerson for her debit card PIN and that when she failed to give him the correct number, he kept her for four days before killing her with a tire iron. Hilton stated he could not bring himself to kill her dog and that when it came to the woman herself, "It was hard you gotta remember we had spent several good days together."[15]
Conviction
On January 30, , Gary Hilton pleaded guilty to the murder of Emerson.
He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility for parole in 30 years. Hilton was later linked to and then charged with three additional murders: the October murders of elderly couple John and Irene Bryant in North Carolina, and the December murder of year-old nurse Cheryl Dunlap in Florida.
Gary hilton appeal: Gary Michael Hilton (born November 22, ), [1] known as The National Forest Serial Killer, is an American serial killer responsible for four known homicides between 20committed in three states, all of which occurred within the premises of national forests.
It has been speculated that Hilton might also be responsible for the murder of Judy Smith. This is because Hilton had left one of his victims in a similar condition near where Smith's body was discovered. In , Hilton was tried for Dunlap's murder and was sentenced to death. In , Hilton pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and murder of the Bryants, for which he was sentenced to life in prison.[16]
Cause of death
Autopsy results for Emerson indicated she was killed on January 4, , by blunt force trauma to the head.
Crime scene photo controversy
On February 25, , Hustler magazine reporter Fred Rosen asked for the Meredith Emerson crime scene and autopsy photos as part of an open records request filed with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). The victim's family requested that the request must be denied according to attorney Lindsay Haigh.
In March , DeKalb Superior Court Judge Daniel Coursey issued a temporary order [17] restraining the GBI from releasing "any and all photographs, visual images or depictions of Meredith Emerson which show Emerson in an unclothed or dismembered state." This order came on the same date that the Georgia House Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously passed "The Meredith Emerson Memorial Privacy Act", which prevents crime scene photos from being publicly released or disseminated, according to Rep.
Jill Chambers.
Gary hilton biography wikipedia Gary Hilton stands out as one of the most notorious serial killers in history, primarily due to his distinct lack of remorse and the absence of clear motives for his heinous crimes. His demeanor exhibited a sense of superiority, devoid of any compassion or empathy for his victims. Proven guilty in the murder of four individuals, Hilton is suspected to have been involved in numerous other killings. Details about his early life are scarce, with Hilton claiming to have had a challenging childhood marked by traumatic experiences to the head. He served in the Army as a paratrooper but faced an honorable discharge in following a schizophrenic episode.House Bill stops the dissemination of images of victims who in the photos appear "nude, bruised, bloodied or in a broken state with open wounds, a state of dismemberment or decapitation."
"We have to walk the line between open record laws and the constitutional provisions that allow women to be able to be photographed nude or in pornography when they knowingly and willingly offer their bodies for dissemination," Chambers stated.
"Meredith isn't in a position to give that kind of permission to have her exploited in that kind of venuewe're not only protecting future victims of crime, we're protecting the integrity of what happened to Meredith."
Hustler's response was through an email that said, "Hustler is aware of the GBI's refusal to honor its reporter's request for copies of the Emerson crime scenes photos, which were to be used in a news story about this crime.
Hustler and Mr. Flynt disagree with the GBI's position, and are currently exploring all legal options available to them should the decision be made to go forward with the story."
See also
References
- ^ ab"Gallery, Meredith Emerson, Photo 3, ".
. Archived from the original on March 26, Retrieved November 24,
- ^Debbie Gilbert (June 24, ). "Fundraiser honors life of slain hiker Meredith Emerson". The Gainesville Times. Archived from the original on November 24, Retrieved November 24,
- ^"Meredith Emerson articles".
Archived from the original on Retrieved
- ^Brenda Goodman (January 14, ). "Killing of a Young Hiker Puts North Georgia on Edge". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 17, Retrieved November 24,
- ^Daniel Yee, Associated Press Writer (January 5, ).
"Missing Ga. hiker believed dead". USA Today. Retrieved November 24,
- ^"Missing Georgia Hiker Beaten to Death, Decapitated". WRAL-TV. January 8, Archived from the original on November 29, Retrieved November 24,
- ^"Slain Hiker's Mom To Drifter: Stay Alive, Slowly Rot".
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Gary hilton biography Gary Michael Hilton born November 22, , [ 1 ] known as The National Forest Serial Killer , is an American serial killer responsible for four known homicides between and committed in three states, all of which occurred within the premises of national forests. Sentenced to death in Florida and to life imprisonment in Georgia and North Carolina , Hilton remains a suspect in several other killings, including that of Judy Smith. Route After not hearing from them for two weeks, family members reported the couple as missing to the Henderson County Sheriff's Office, who promptly launched a search for the Bryants, consisting of more than thirty volunteers, cadaver dogs and a helicopter. Through examining their phone records, it was learned that John had attempted to call on the day of their disappearance, but the signal was lost, and the call was dropped.February 1, Archived from the original on April 28, Retrieved November 24,
- ^Debbie Gilbert (June 24, ). "Fundraiser honors life of slain hiker Meredith Emerson". The Gainesville Times. Archived from the original on November 24, Retrieved November 24,
- ^Philip Lee Williams (January 25, ).
Gary hilton biography wife
Serial killer Gary Hilton, a survivalist, hunted for victims in national forests in North Carolina, Georgia and Florida. On Jan. The news of her disappearance quickly spread. Calls began to come in about an older man and his red-colored dog who'd been seen hiking near where Emerson disappeared. An exclusive clip is shown below."New UGA study-abroad fund to honoe slain alumna and French honor student Meredith Emerson". UGA Today. Retrieved November 24,
- ^Eberly, Tim (January 5, ). "LINKS TO HIKER FOUND". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p.B5.
- ^Chidi, George (January 4, ).
"Man sought for questioning about hiker". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p.A8.
- ^Yee, Daniel (January 6, ). "Missing Ga. hiker believed dead; suspect held".
- Gary hilton appeal
- Gary hilton biography death
- Gary hilton wiki
Asheville Citizen-Times. p.2.
- ^McWilliams, Mike (January 8, ). "Connection sought in slain hiker cases". Asheville Citizen-Times. p.1.
- ^"Hilton made plans for dog as part of plea agreement". AccessWDUN. February 13, Retrieved July 15,
- ^"Hunter finds murderer's supplies in Ga.
forest". Tallahassee Democrat. Associated Press. September 18, via
- ^"Gary Michael Hilton gets 4 life sentences". . The Associated Press. Archived from the original on 12 August Retrieved 10 August
- ^"Georgia judge bars release of photos of hiker's nude, decapitated body - ".
. Archived from the original on 29 June Retrieved 26 June