Gary Michael Hilton – Confessed murderer Gary Michael Hilton, who killed and decapitated missing hiker Meredith Emerson, is actually a serial killer with at least five other victims.
Gary Michael Hilton Murder Victims:
- Meredith Emerson
- John and Irene Bryant
- Cheryl Hodges Dunlap
- Rossana Miliani
- Michael Scot Louis
Meredith Emerson
61-year old Gary Michael Hilton kidnapped 24-year old hiker Meredith Emerson on New Years Day, tortured her for three days, then killed her with a blow to the head, and hid her remains in the woods near where she went missing.
After being caught trying to use Meredith Emerson’s ATM card and in the act of disposing of Meredith’s bloody clothing and personal belongings, Hilton confessed and led police to where her decapitated body was hidden.
John and Irene Bryant
Gary Michael Hilton is the prime suspect in the murders of John and Irene Bryant, two elderly hikers who went missing in the Pisgah National Forest in western North Carolina on October 21, 2007.
Investigators have established a “positive link” between accused killer Gary Michael Hilton and the case of an elderly North Carolina couple who disappeared in a popular hiking spot in Pisgah National Forest in October, Transylvania County Sheriff David Mahoney announced on January 16, 2008.
“This investigation has resulted in the investigative team being able to establish a positive link between Gary Michael Hilton and Transylvania County and, more specifically, to the case involving John and Irene Bryant,” Mahoney said at an afternoon press conference. “To maintain the integrity of our case, details of those links can not be released at this time period.”
Someone used a bank card belonging to John and Irene Bryant to withdraw $300 from a bank in Ducktown, Tenn., on Oct 22, the day after the couple disappeared after going on what investigators believe they planned as a hike.
Investigators think Irene Bryant was killed Oct. 21 because her body was found 25 yards from their abandoned vehicle, Transylvania County Sheriff David Mahoney said. Searchers have been unable to find John Bryant.
Cheryl Hodges Dunlap
46-year old Cheryl Hodges Dunlap was killed by Gary Michael Hilton on December 1, 2007 after her car broke down on a lonely country road with a flat tire. Her decapitated body was found in the Appalachicola National Forest outside Tallahassee, Florida on December 14th.
Sheriff Larry Campbell called Hilton “the prime suspect” and said he used Dunlap’s ATM card three times on December 2, 3, and 4 to empty her bank account.
Rossana Miliani
North Carolina authorities in another area of the state believe another disappearance and possible homicide can be tied to Gary Michael Hilton. A 26-year-old woman from Florida, Rossana Miliani, was hiking in western North Carolina and was last seen in Bryson City, N.C., on Dec. 7, 2005.
A store clerk from Bryson City recently told private investigator Steve Siske that Miliani came into her store with a white man in his 60s and appeared nervous when they bought a backpack.
“He purchased a yellow backpack, indicating it was for Rossana, and a coat and pants for himself,” Siske said the clerk told him. “He told the clerk that he was a traveling preacher that goes from campground to campground. Rossana made no statements but appeared to be nervous.”
Hilton made similar statements to a Georgia State trooper who stopped the itinerant traveler back in 2005 because he was camping alongside a country road and seemed to be acting suspiciously. After questioning Hilton for 30 minutes and running warrant checks on the grizzled drifter, the trooper let the man go.
Michael Scot Louis
The victim’s decapitated body was found December 6, 2007 by a local fisherman north of the Tomoka State Park near Ormond Beach, Florida. The dismembered body was found in several garbage bags. Michael was last seen by his girlfriend on November 22nd.
Florida police are awaiting results from DNA testing before deciding how to proceed with their investigation.
Gary Michael Hilton Arrest Record
Gary Michael Hilton has been arrested in Florida and Georgia several times over the years. Hilton was sentenced in Clayton County, Georgia to four years in prison in 1983 for possession, manufacturing or distribution of marijuana.
He was also sentenced to five years’ probation in 1995 in DeKalb County, Georgia for theft.
Hilton was arrested by Miami police in 1972 and charged with receiving stolen property, according to Florida law enforcement records.
He is currently being held without bail in the Dawson County Jail for the murder of Meredith Emerson. Hilton confessed in a deal with Georgia investigators, agreeing to lead them to her body in exchange for avoiding the death penalty.
And that’s the latest news on serial killer Gary Michael Hilton.
Tags: gary michael hilton, missing hiker, murder, serial killer
January 17th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Interesting post about possible links to Gary Michael Hilton in a series of unsolved murders in South Carolina near Clemson University and Table Rock State Park along the the SC-Ga state line back in the late 90’s:
http://www.rapideyereality.com/2008/01/gary-michael-hilton-and-jason-knapp.html
January 23rd, 2008 at 7:45 pm
About 6 or 7 years ago, there was another body found in the woods, about 1 mile from where Meredith Emerson was abducted.
This body was found by a man, local to the area by the name of Leonard Sosebee.
Actually, Sosebee was deer hunting and found a boot in the woods which he thought was odd.
He picked up the boot and found that the foot was still within, or at least the bones of the foot.
He contacted the local police, led them to the area where he found the boot, and after some searching, the skeleton of a man was found, clothes intact, but minus the head.
I do not believe this was a coincedence, but I do not know the circumstances of the death, and I do not think they were ever determined either.
This is not a fabricated story either, it made the local paper, The North Georgia News.
I am not trying to confound anyones investigation of this matter, but I thought this should have been mentioned in case it was overlooked in the search for other possible victims of Hilton’s.
March 14th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
I wonder if he is responsible for the two decapitated bodies found in Savannah. They were within a day of each other, one was badly burned and the other was just dumped off. A few days later the hiker came up missing. I have to wonder if he wasn’t making his way up 95 from Florida. We heard very little about the two bodies, actually less than a five minute report but the hiker drew a lot of attention. I personally would like to see him fry but that’s just me.
March 31st, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Please keep digging. This evil inorganic shell of a human has left many dead bodies from VA to FL. I applaud all who will speak in regards to these events.. I feel they are going to “try” to sweep this far and away. Aislin- do you by chance have their names? And could you either post them here..oor my email should show. Thanks
February 11th, 2009 at 9:15 am
I have been backtracking GMH, since 01/06/08. What I have discovered will break your heart.
http://glennindawson.blogspot.com
Wolfscratch
November 22nd, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Preliminary possible victim’s map of Gary Michael Hilton, prepared by sleddog.
CP by Wolfscratch