Drifter Guilty in Ga. Hiker's Murder
Drifter guilty in Georgia hiker's murder

Associated Press

Published: February 1, 2008
Modified: January 31, 2008 at 7:02 pm

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. (AP) -- The wiry, graying drifter sought for several days in the New Year's Day disappearance of a 24-year-old hiker pleaded guilty Thursday to murdering her in what authorities called a frustrated robbery attempt.

In a startlingly swift resolution to the case, Gary Michael Hilton was immediately sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years. The judge said she signed off on the deal because the 61-year-old likely would have died in prison anyway before the state had a chance to execute him.

Hilton was indicted Thursday morning by a specially called Dawson County grand jury that accused him of bludgeoning Meredith Emerson on Jan. 4, three days after he was seen with her on a trail in the mountains of northern Georgia.

Hilton told investigators he abducted the physically fit woman in a plan to steal cash from her bank accounts, Dawson County District Attorney Lee Darragh said.

"The sole purpose was to acquire (bank) cards and PIN numbers," Darragh said. "He mentioned at one point that he knew eventually he would take her life."

But Emerson gave him false PINs, and Hilton finally took a tire iron to her head, the prosecutor said. Hilton decapitated her to make it harder for authorities to identify the body, said John Cagle, a special agent in charge with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Authorities have said they are looking at whether Hilton had a hand in the October disappearance of an 80-year-old hiker and his 84-year-old wife in western North Carolina, and in two other killings in Florida. Cagle and Darragh declined to say what effect, if any, Hilton's plea deal might have on those investigations.

Sheriff David Mahoney in Transylvania County, N.C., told the Asheville Citizen-Times that investigators began questioning Hilton on Thursday about the killing of Irene Bryant and the disappearance of her husband, John.

Hilton's lawyer, Brad Morris, did not comment after the hearing and did not immediately return a message later Thursday.

The grizzled Hilton was well known in the area where Emerson was hiking with her dog, a black Lab named Ella, investigators have said. He was often seen with his own dog, Dandy, and a police-style baton.

Authorities fielded numerous calls after releasing a description of him, and caught him Jan. 4 after he tried to use Emerson's credit card, according to an arrest warrant.

Hilton led investigators to her body after prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty, Darragh said. Her dog was found in a grocery store parking lot in Cumming, a suburb north of Atlanta, 50 miles from where Emerson was last seen.

On Thursday, Hilton appeared in Dawson County Superior Court before Judge Bonnie Oliver with an orange jumpsuit and a bulletproof vest draping his lanky frame. He said little beyond answering, "Guilty," when asked for his plea.

Emerson's father, David Emerson, told the judge no punishment was too great for Hilton.

"Our days are filled with tears and blank stares," he told Oliver.

The judge made it clear she was not issuing the life sentence out of pity.

"Justice, in your case, Mr. Hilton, would be an immediate execution," she said. "The court is not taking mercy on you because of your age."