American serial killer Gary Hilton was arrested on January 4, 2008. He is known for taking the lives of at least four individuals. However, many believe that he has killed many more people.
According to All That’s Interesting, Hilton was born on November 26, 1946, in Atlanta, Georgia. Just like most serial killers, his childhood was filled with agony and hardship. When he became an adult, he joined the United States Army. Hilton even became a skilled paratrooper. However, following a schizophrenic episode, the army discharged him in 1967.
Throughout his life, he got married and divorced three times. The known murders he committed were between 2007 and 2008. According to Yahoo Finance, Gary Hilton is on death row in a Florida prison named Union Correctional Institute. He is currently 77 years old.
ABC News Studios recently released a four-part documentary series that explores the crimes of this notorious serial killer. Titled Wild Crime: Blood Mountain, this documentary series is available to stream on Hulu.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, the synopsis of Wild Crime: Blood Mountain reads, “After experienced hiker Meredith Emerson goes missing, a massive search-and-rescue operation begins; when investigators learn of two other missing hiker cases that ended in murder, they are left wondering if a serial killer took Meredith.”
It continues, “Serial killer Gary Michael Hilton has killed two women in national forests across the southeast. Hilton has escaped twice so far, leaving his victims without justice, but as police search a dumpster full of bloody clothes, Hilton is spotted nearby.”
Who was Gary Hilton’s final victim?
Gary Hilton’s last victim was a 24-year-old woman named Meredith Emerson. Apart from Meredith, the murderer previously took the lives of John & Irene Bryant and Cheryl Dunlap.
According to All That’s Interesting, on New Year’s Eve 2008, Hilton confronted Emerson with a knife. He demanded his victim to hand over her ATM card. However, Emerson fought back. This is when Hilton realized that he had to take extreme measures to get rid of his problem.
He told investigators, “She wouldn’t stop. She wouldn’t stop fighting. And yelling at the same time. So I needed to both control her and silence her.”
He then forced Emerson to camp with him for four days. He furthermore promised he would let her go in exchange for bank details. However, Emerson gave her the wrong pin. This infuriated the killer and that was the end of the 24-year-old Georgia resident.
Hilton then decapitated Emerson’s corpse and hid it under leaves and bushes. Emerson was accompanied by her dog the whole time. However, Hilton explained that he could not bring himself to kill the animal. The convict commented on this crime by saying, “It was hard… you gotta remember we had spent several good days together.”
Apart from his known victims, he is suspected of murdering Judy Smith (remains discovered in Pisgah National Forest in 1997), Jason Knapp (disappeared in 1998), Rossana Miliani (disappeared in 2005), and Michael Scott Lewis (remains discovered in Tomoka River in 2007).
