Facts and Opinions Relating to Gary M Hilton Serial Killer???-

[angelwngs]

A chilling article which looks into the mind of Gary Michael Hilton:

Gary Hilton: Misfit with a mean streak

He went out on hikes with his dog which he had strictly trained.

"He would put food down in front of the dog and the dog wouldn't eat until he told him to do it," Johnson recalled. "He would go to the store and come back and the dog still wouldn't eat until he told it to."

By JEREMY REDMON (jredmon@ajc.com), JEFFRY SCOTT (jscott@ajc.com)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/13/08


http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2008/01/12/hilton_0113.html

[angelwngs]

"He really frightened me," said Burnett, an engineering consultant who lives in north DeKalb. "Creepy, creepy guy. Certainly, you felt like he was about to snap ... Very fragile. Unstable, I would say."
That same year, someone called police from Skyland Park in DeKalb, saying a man was beating a dog. A police report identified the man as Hilton.
Hilton piled up a record of charges in DeKalb County before those encounters. Jail records show Hilton had been charged with theft, stealing a shopping cart, possession of marijuana, hit and run and arson between 1979 and 1995. His record dates to 1972, when he was charged in Miami with dealing in stolen property.
Court records show he pleaded no contest in DeKalb County to seeking donations for the Georgia Youth Sports Project, a fictitious group that was throwing a celebration for a child who set a new athletic record.


http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2008/01/12/hilton_0113.html

[angelwngs]

Jana Tabor said Hilton's behavior had become erratic, and she attributed it to his medication.
"He had self-diagnosed himself as having M.S., and he was going to this quack doctor and he was taking an incredible amount of Ritalin," Jana Tabor said. "He already had one of those upbeat energetic personalities, and that just make it warp speed, made him crazy."

Jana Tabor disputes that Hilton's teeth were rotten.

"They weren't rotten," she said. "He pulled them out himself."

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2008/01/12/hilton_0113.html

[DeltaDawn]

Interesting article. TY Angelwings. What stood out most to me, because it was new info, was that he had previously owned guns, had beaten a dog and had beaten the younger brother of his stepson. Now that we know those things it is possible that over the years his MO changed and he may be linked to other murders.

Another bit of info about the Ritalin....have the be able to figure out who the doctor is that prescribed the Ritalin? Have they questioned this doctor?

[gardenmom]

I wonder if the dog he beat was his own or someone elses.

[DeltaDawn]

I wonder if the dog he beat was his own or someone elses.

Good question gardenmom..or was this the black dog that some people reported seeing him with over the years? And what happened to the black dog..I hope it was taken away from him if it was his.

[DeltaDawn]

In the timeline SuzyQ was so nice to put together for us there is a gap between the years of 1979 when he divorced until 1987 when he was arrested in Georgia. Then another gap from 1987 to 1997. I wonder what he was doing then to make a living and where he was living?

[Mygirlsadie]

It does not surprise me at all that he was an animal abuser as well...the guy decapitated and brutally murdered human beings. He is just completely twisted and they need to send his brain to science after they give him the chair so they can pick it apart!

[jipc]

Timeline of where they believe GMH went between Jan. 1st and Jan.4th.

http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/article/2610/

[Hank Scorpio]

Ok I am certainly not trying to defend this guy but this statement needs to be cleared up a little

"He would put food down in front of the dog and the dog wouldn't eat until he told him to do it," Johnson recalled. "He would go to the store and come back and the dog still wouldn't eat until he told it to."


This is not uncommon for trained dogs and their owners.
I own 3 dogs and when they eat they are told to sit, their bowls are put down in front of them and they know they can not move until I give them their release word. If the dog is well trained he will not move until you give him their release word.....even if you walk away.
This is not a sign of abuse, but rather of a VERY well trained dog. In fact it would not surprise me if he went to a dog trainer at one point to lean some of this.

[jipc]

There are various ways to train a dog. I agree that a well trained dog can act like that. A dog that has been trained through beatings can also act the same way. My ex brother-n-law had a dog that would do that. He was trained by severe beatings is my understanding. (I never saw him do anything or I would have contacted LE myself) The dog would do ANYTHING that he was told so that he would not get a beating. I hope the dog is taken care of now. Who knows what that poor dog endured in that monsters care :(

[LionRun]

Ok I am certainly not trying to defend this guy but this statement needs to be cleared up a little

"He would put food down in front of the dog and the dog wouldn't eat until he told him to do it," Johnson recalled. "He would go to the store and come back and the dog still wouldn't eat until he told it to."


This is not uncommon for trained dogs and their owners.
I own 3 dogs and when they eat they are told to sit, their bowls are put down in front of them and they know they can not move until I give them their release word. If the dog is well trained he will not move until you give him their release word.....even if you walk away.
This is not a sign of abuse, but rather of a VERY well trained dog. In fact it would not surprise me if he went to a dog trainer at one point to lean some of this.

Great point, Hank. I was thinking the same thing. I have been a professional dog trainer for many years. I have a couple of dogs that do two hour long, solid as a rock down-stays with me out of site, treats on the floor and other distractions. And, I train using positive methods.

That it was reported that GH's dog was commanded to stay with food in front of him while GH left is remarkable, but it was not necessarily due to abusive training or fear that the dog had of breaking position. I did note that it was reported that he, "had beaten a dog", so he may actually have done this.

I know this creep let Meredith's dog live, but this does not mean that he had a true love for dogs, like most of us who love dogs do. People who murder, especially in such a dark, macabre way generally have no conscience and cannot have empathy for others or truly love anyone or anything but themselves. I think he may have a selfish liking or, "love" for dogs only in that he considers them an extension of himself.

Lion

[close_enough]

Timeline of where they believe GMH went between Jan. 1st and Jan.4th.

http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/article/2610/

very informative article!...thanks

[fran]

FWIW, IMHO, now that we know Hilton previously had guns, perhaps we should look at unsolved cases where the person was shot. There's plenty of those. While I've been looking for related cases, I stayed away from 'gunshots,' but now I'm thinking perhaps I should re-evaluate them.

There's something that set him off for this most recent 'crime spree.' It seems it was most likely him getting fired and losing a place to live. Who knows, maybe he'd get in these 'spree modes' whenever he had difficulties such as a 'divorce.'

Also, FWIW, I read and heard that him cutting off their head was for 'shock' value.

JMHO
fran

[LionRun]

jipc, thank for the link!

Fran, I think that is possible, too. What a twisted, soulless piece of garbage.

Lion

[DeltaDawn]

Over on Steve's blog someone commented that last night on Greta Wire someone else posted that "her head was placed on a tree stump" and there was no link. I tired to find the info on Greta wire but that is like wading through peanut butter.

Did anyone else read this or see that quote?

Also if you did, do you know whose head they were referencing since he is now also a suspect in a few other cases? Could they have meant Dunlap's?

Ugh I hate having to write that, but that would be new crucial info...it almost reminds me of the way in Nam during the war they would decapitate and put the heads on posts/poles. Just horrible.

From Steve Huff's True Crime Weblog:

SNIP/
Oh, dear God. This just came through on Gretawire....

Comment by amy
January 12th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
they just reported today that Hilton placed and displayed her head on a stump for someone to find
Anonymous | 01.13.08 - 10:20 am | # (http://www.haloscan.com/comments/truecrimeweblog/8599761278446789725/#71446)

/SNIP

[close_enough]

Over on Steve's blog someone commented that last night on Greta Wire someone else posted that "her head was placed on a tree stump" and there was no link. I tired to find the info on Greta wire but that is like wading through peanut butter.

Did anyone else read this or see that quote?

Also if you did, do you know whose head they were referencing since he is now also a suspect in a few other cases? Could they have meant Dunlap's?

Ugh I hate having to write that, but that would be new crucial info...it almost reminds me of the way in Nam during the war they would decapitate and put the heads on posts/poles. Just horrible.

From Steve Huff's True Crime Weblog:

SNIP/
Oh, dear God. This just came through on Gretawire....

Comment by amy
January 12th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
they just reported today that Hilton placed and displayed her head on a stump for someone to find
Anonymous | 01.13.08 - 10:20 am | # (http://www.haloscan.com/comments/truecrimeweblog/8599761278446789725/#71446)

/SNIP

:eek: wonder where this was reported?

[MeoW333]

Was it confirmed that he was really in the military?
I agree with Fran, that they need to also be checking unsolved cases where the victim was shot. Hilton admitted to carrying a gun in the past, and it's very likely his MO evolved as he got more secure with killing. He may have started out just shooting his victims, then worked on to dismemberment.

[DeltaDawn]

The little 11 year old boy comes to mind. The police are checking into that. That occurred 10 years ago and he was shot..and at first I couldn't see the connection. But Now I do. Levi Frady was his name and when he was last seen a large dog was nearby .

[MCDRAW]

Was it confirmed that he was really in the military?
I agree with Fran, that they need to also be checking unsolved cases where the victim was shot. Hilton admitted to carrying a gun in the past, and it's very likely his MO evolved as he got more secure with killing. He may have started out just shooting his victims, then worked on to dismemberment.


They probably shouldn't just be checking shooting victims either. He really could have started out killing any way. I guess there is no way to tell how or when he started killing. I think he is responsible for Levi's death also.

[gardenmom]

The little 11 year old boy comes to mind. The police are checking into that. That occurred 10 years ago and he was shot..and at first I couldn't see the connection. But Now I do. Levi Frady was his name and when he was last seen a large dog was nearby .
I watched the video of Tabor and he said that when he hired Hilton 10 years ago he had the dog then. He mentioned that Hilton was a dog lover and was looking for an employer that would let him bring the dog to work. I assumed that it was Mack he was talking about.

[Beyond Belief]

Is there a timeline of where this guy grew up? And when he was in Miami?

[sillyhead]

I don't know the dates he lived here, but this is the address I'm finding him at in Miami:
90 143rd St, Miami FL 33161

[sillyhead]

Not sure if this is THE Gary Hilton or another one, but there is one who served in the Army, 2nd battalion, 55th air defense artillery in 72-74. That's the only one I found who didn't have a middle initial (all the ones with middle initials were not M), with no location (the other two without middle initials are from AZ and MA). Veteran/Prior Service. From military.com. He would've been age 22-24 at that time.

[jipc]

I don't know the dates he lived here, but this is the address I'm finding him at in Miami:
90 143rd St, Miami FL 33161


I think that would be 90 NE 143rd St

[sillyhead]

I think we can rule this out, because it says in one of the articles that he was arrested in 72 for dealing in stolen property in FL.

Not sure if this is THE Gary Hilton or another one, but there is one who served in the Army, 2nd battalion, 55th air defense artillery in 72-74. That's the only one I found who didn't have a middle initial (all the ones with middle initials were not M), with no location (the other two without middle initials are from AZ and MA). Veteran/Prior Service. From military.com. He would've been age 22-24 at that time.

[DeltaDawn]

It looks like he has that MO of dealing in stolen property still going...it turns out the van was stolen as well as the tags..please read recent posts under the Bryants thread. I don't want to put someone else's post over here without their permission.

[Native New Yorker]

http://tiny.cc/Jf4cV

I just found this article from the Tallahassee Democrat....I wonder if his lawyer will let him talk?

[Native New Yorker]

sorry, I just saw that this was already posted yesterday under the Dunlap thread....but I mainly wonder if he will talk...I cannot imagine that the detectives would make the trip without some prior arrangements...
Hilton must be just loving all this attention....for a man who has been so ignored for most of his life, he must be really enjoying this, I feel. Now he really has power....the power to give information that will solve cases, give families some closure, etc......

[MeoW333]

If Hilton hadn't had the stress to spur him into his latest killing spree, Lord knows when he would have been caught. He is not one to be underestimated.
As to whether or not the van itself was stolen, there are discrepancies in the articles. The license tags were stolen for sure.

[GlitchWizard]

sorry, I just saw that this was already posted yesterday under the Dunlap thread....but I mainly wonder if he will talk...I cannot imagine that the detectives would make the trip without some prior arrangements...
Hilton must be just loving all this attention....for a man who has been so ignored for most of his life, he must be really enjoying this, I feel. Now he really has power....the power to give information that will solve cases, give families some closure, etc......

Some serial killers do thrive on the attention, but if he's done this for some time without being caught, I doubt he wanted attention. He found a way to get money that worked for him, and he worked it. Seems to me he was just the opposite, trying to keep attention off himself. Time will tell.

[Native New Yorker]

I agree- he certainly made sure he did not get caught, except towards the end when he got careless...cleaning out his van at a gas station...
perhaps he had always done that, but in the past there was no one looking for him, so it did not matter...

Now his whole life has changed...he is no longer free to come and go, of course, no more driving all over, etc.
It just may be, that the only exciting thing in his life remains the power he has - over so many people who seek info from him....
certainly, though, Hilton would much prefer to be free, and in no way do I think that he wanted to get caught...

[MeoW333]

I think a lot of his "crazy act" was to repel people and keep them at a distance from him. He also had gained title of "local loony" acting like that, yet people just thought he was loony, not a serial killer until all this broke. He seems to know how to play his cards; he did in that dashcam video. Although his talkativeness with the officer was suspicious.
He started spree killing, i honestly think that's the only reason he was caught. That and the atm connection.
Right now he has the media's attention. Once that fades, it will be interesting to see if he admits to any more killings in order to regain some of the attention.

[DeltaDawn]

Actually I think he had his talkativeness down to a science, which leads me to believe he has done this many times before. In Florida at the National Forest when he was found camping where he shouldn't be he used the exact same lines on the forest agent...I 'm lost, I got all turned around, I 'll be getting out of here now. Those are the same lines he used in NC when he was stopped in the on private hunting ground..he was lost, got himself all turned around. He had a set story for every situation and I don't think it changed much. He had a plan for what to say, how to act and what to do each time. He was following what had worked in the past. And he stayed with what worked. Maybe if he is offerred a plea deal, he'll say what he knows about Florida cases?

[GlitchWizard]

Actually I think he had his talkativeness down to a science, which leads me to believe he has done this many times before. In Florida at the National Forest when he was found camping where he shouldn't be he used the exact same lines on the forest agent...I 'm lost, I got all turned around, I 'll be getting out of here now. Those are the same lines he used in NC when he was stopped in the on private hunting ground..he was lost, got himself all turned around. He had a set story for every situation and I don't think it changed much. He had a plan for what to say, how to act and what to do each time. He was following what had worked in the past. And he stayed with what worked. Maybe if he is offerred a plea deal, he'll say what he knows about Florida cases?

I've worked with a great deal of homeless people on a personal level. Setting aside the fact he has killed someone for a moment, the homeless who panhandle or beg, or even meet someone they don't yet trust - they all have a "story" that they can use to gain sympathy, entice someone to feed them, clothe them or give them money. The stories are basically the same so they can come out smoothly, only changing a few details now and then (such as if you panhandle from a woman with a kid, you mention your kid you lost, or if she has a dog, you change the story to be a dog you lost.)

It's also known in the homeless community that you can keep someone off guard by talking too much. Perhaps he was afraid the officer would search his van, or walk too close to where he put some evidence. Keeping talking, he controlled the officer's eyes and body location without the officer really thinking about that.

The homeless sometimes act like they are out of their heads, but can be very intelligent in the art of manipulating others.

Now, I've set aside the fact he killed someone, we can pick that back up.

[sillyhead]

That has been my experience as well, GW. I thought about that while reading these stories, especially when he told the cop he loved him. :)

I hope that he will do the same thing, DD. At least maybe some other families will have closure, especially if he can lead them to their bodies.

[sillyhead]

I wonder if this guy ever had anything to do with the Rainbow Family. I believe their regional gathering right now is in the Ocala National Forest, right near the trail there (I forget what that trail is called, but it is very commonly hiked by avid trail hikers). They left my area recently, or I would have gone and asked, but it's not a very big gathering here anyway. If anyone in that area feels like going down and talking to some of them, especially a fellow named Little Hawk, they may know something. Little Hawk has been on the road for probably 20 years or so. He's an alcoholic, but does have pretty good recall anyway.

[hopeb]

I was wondering the same thing, sillyhead. He would fit right in with the Rainbows. I think they have an annual winter gathering there in Ocala. The Rainbows I had contact with were excellent at mooching, conning, thieving, and generally living under the radar. When he told the Cherokee sherriff, "I love ya", something in me just screamed out RRRaaainnbowwww! Yikes! I think they actually have a website now with message boards.

[sweetmop]

sorry, I just saw that this was already posted yesterday under the Dunlap thread....but I mainly wonder if he will talk...I cannot imagine that the detectives would make the trip without some prior arrangements...
Hilton must be just loving all this attention....for a man who has been so ignored for most of his life, he must be really enjoying this, I feel. Now he really has power....the power to give information that will solve cases, give families some closure, etc......

I wholeheartedly agree with you, Native New Yorker! The creep is just loving all of the media attention and his being the center of LE's focus!

I noted a news video a day or two ago, it was after Hilton had been in court. It shows him in handcuff's and it appears they are outside, he is surrounded by Law officers and they're running , all of them, up a flight of stairs. Hilton has this expression of sheer excitement and mighty importance upon his face. Just as though he is a member of an elite military team or something. That's how he looked! What a sick sob!

Yes, this guy is loving this and he holds all of the cards. We know for sure that he is very manipulative. I hope they bring him down quick and back to the reality of his sick pitiful existence!

[sillyhead]

hopeb, their main website is welcomehome.org. But I'd like to dispell a myth. While many rainbows do live off the grid, not all are moochers, thieves, cons, etc. As a matter of fact, I think the majority of them are not like that. This, coming from someone who lived with them non-stop for 8 months.

Anyway, even if he hasn't actually hung out with them for any length of time, some of the old road dogs may recognize him being around from time to time, especially at the ones where there are trails nearby. The gatherings are definitely a place to go get food if someone needs it out there.

[sweetmop]

I wonder if this guy ever had anything to do with the Rainbow Family. I believe their regional gathering right now is in the Ocala National Forest, right near the trail there (I forget what that trail is called, but it is very commonly hiked by avid trail hikers). They left my area recently, or I would have gone and asked, but it's not a very big gathering here anyway. If anyone in that area feels like going down and talking to some of them, especially a fellow named Little Hawk, they may know something. Little Hawk has been on the road for probably 20 years or so. He's an alcoholic, but does have pretty good recall anyway.


Who is the Rainbow family? I'm not familiar with them.

[sweetmop]

Ok, I just checked out the website that you mentioned about the Rainbow family. Interesting.

Thanks sillyhead.

[Native New Yorker]

http://tiny.cc/oh9R3

[sstepp63]

I've been doing some searches about missing people, white vans, stuff like that. Read this from Chapel Hill, NC.:
Suspicious White Van Reported In Chapel Hill

Posted: Apr 15, 2004

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.— Police are alerting the public to two reports of a suspicious white van seen in Chapel Hill neighborhoods.

Authorities said during the week of April 5, a white van was seen for about 10 minutes driving slowly on Savannah Terrace, Seawell School Road and Homestead Road while children were waiting at the school bus stops.

Another incident occurred around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 13. A 12-year-old girl was walking her dog on Portsmith Place and Chesapeake Way when a white van followed her. When the driver allegedly yelled something at the girl, she ran from him.

The driver was described as a white male, 40 to 50 years old, thin face, possibly with facial hair and bad teeth. In both cases, authorities said he was wearing a hat described as a blue golf hat or a floppy hat.

I'm new here but think the site is great!

sstepp63

[galvino]

sstepp- I am new too, and I think that looks interesting!

[hopeb]

silly- no offense...I kind of had a bad experience with them myself...I do think you're onto something, though. A Gathering would be a good place for someone like Hilton to slip into obscurity...he seems to have the 'rustic living' routine down pat.

[Native New Yorker]

"Born in Atlanta, Ga. to William E. Hilton and Cleo M. Reynolds, Gary Hilton once pursued a promising life. Although he had dropped out of high school, Hilton enlisted in the Army in 1964 and obtained his G.E.D. According to Military records, Hilton spent some time in Germany and received basic airborne training. After his honorable discharge in 1967 however, Hilton’s apparently upstanding lifestyle deteriorated into a spiraling series of failed marriages and encounters with the law.
According to Georgia state records, Hilton received a divorce from his first wife in Miami in 1971 citing irreconcilable differences. He then married Dina Evonne Baugh in 1977 in DeKalb County, Ga., but that marriage lasted less than a year. On March 19, 1979, Hilton married his third wife, Betty Sue Edwards Galloway, who at the time was employed as a law enforcement officer for Atlanta’s Stone Mountain Park. Just seven months later, this marriage also ended in divorce. According to court records, Hilton had no children. None of his former wives could be reached for comment.
Gary Hilton’s first known arrest was in 1972 for receiving stolen property in Miami-Dade County, Fla. Records show that case was eventually thrown out.
Apparently looking for a fresh start, Hilton spent the remainder of the 1970s in Atlanta. It was in Georgia, where Hilton’s criminal record grew. He was charged in 1982 for marijuana possession and was sentenced to four years probation.
Petty crimes continued to pock mark Hilton’s now widely publicized life as a nomadic camper. He was lasted as a fugitive by Georgia authorities from 1994 to 1995 for repeatedly scamming money from individuals in Marietta, Ga. According to court documents and victims who spoke with Inside Edition, Hilton repeatedly posed as an advocate for veterans and disabled children in order to dupe people into donating cash and checks that he claimed would be used for charitable causes.
"He was a skilled con man in his own way," said Gary Hill. Hill and his brother Gene eventually banned Hilton from their business, G&H Horseshoe Sales, after the state of Georgia notified them Hilton preyed on people's kindness by posing as a representative of the Georgia Veterans Journal.
Court records indicate Hilton never walked away with much money from his visits, but managed to swindle roughly $500 from his unsuspecting victims, some on a repeat basis, from 1990 to 1993.
Gene Hill said he did not immediately correlate the shifty, quick speaking - albeit polite - Hilton with the aged, "wretch of a human being" he saw plastered across his television screen in connection with the gruesome decapitation of Emerson. Hilton has been charged with the murder of the 24 year old hiker.
For Joan Farlow, a retired child daycare owner from Austell, Ga., the recent charges against Hilton evoked a sinking realization of the times he chatted her up at Smyrna Playskool to get a few dollars for his bogus charity. Farlow said she now fears his access to her school may have placed the scores of children entrusted to her at risk.
"I guess you never think that people like that would come in contact with you. It always happens to somebody else," said Farlow, who assumed the school was donating to veterans. Hilton stopped popping by, she said, when apparently he got word that state authorities were after him.
Authorities finally caught up to Hilton in May 1995 and arrested him on a warrant detailing 21 felony counts of unlawful solicitation and two misdemeanor counts of simple battery stemming from a violent episode in early 1995.
In April, 1995, former roommate Christopher C. Johnson, who characterized Hilton as a “very odd” man, says he witnessed Hilton's violent persona when Hilton rented a room at Johnson’s Marietta, Ga., home for roughly six months.
“He just had this erratic behavior with everything,” recalled Johnson, who now lives in eastern Mississippi.
Never feeling threatened by Hilton, Johnson said the two mostly got along well, even joking about their third roommate, a man neither particularly liked.
It was at this time that Hilton got into another wrangle with police when he physically attacked the third roommate in an attempt to throw him out of the house. Hilton was charged with two counts of simple battery that were later dismissed.
Court records also show a judge ordered Hilton to serve five years probation in June 1995 after pleading guilty to 21 counts of unlawful charity solicitation. During his probation, he was forbidden from consuming alcohol or possessing a firearm. He was also ordered to pay $424 restitution and court fees.
Prior to that incident, Johnson said Hilton, then in his late 40s, was harmless enough, taking his golden retriever for daily walks in nearby Kennasaw Mountain National Battlefield Park.
It was also during this time Hilton showed Johnson a collapsible baton he brought on his walks for self protection – perhaps the same baton Georgia authorities believe may have been used as a weapon in Emerson’s death.
But aside from having a bizarre personality – specifically a hyperactive, excited speech pattern and sometimes disturbing smile – Johnson said Hilton mostly kept to himself and always kept his knapsack nearby, as though he needed to leave in a moment's notice.
Six months later, Hilton was arrested again in DeKalb County, Ga. for stealing books he was hired to sell for the American Book Display Company. Instead, he attempted to sell them for personal profit at a local flea market.
Again, Hilton slipped through the clutches of a jail term and instead received five years probation and was ordered to pay $5,619 in restitution. It is not clear from court records if Hilton ever fulfilled his restitution payments.


From Inside Edition
Marissa Yaremich
INSIDE EDITION Staff

[aj1020]

NNY - You also should post a link back to the original article so we can follow it if we want to. :)

"Born in Atlanta, Ga. to William E. Hilton and Cleo M. Reynolds, Gary Hilton once pursued a promising life. Although he had dropped out of high school, Hilton enlisted in the Army in 1964 and obtained his G.E.D. According to Military records, Hilton spent some time in Germany and received basic airborne training. After his honorable discharge in 1967 however, Hilton’s apparently upstanding lifestyle deteriorated into a spiraling series of failed marriages and encounters with the law.
According to Georgia state records, Hilton received a divorce from his first wife in Miami in 1971 citing irreconcilable differences. He then married Dina Evonne Baugh in 1977 in DeKalb County, Ga., but that marriage lasted less than a year. On March 19, 1979, Hilton married his third wife, Betty Sue Edwards Galloway, who at the time was employed as a law enforcement officer for Atlanta’s Stone Mountain Park. Just seven months later, this marriage also ended in divorce. According to court records, Hilton had no children. None of his former wives could be reached for comment.
Gary Hilton’s first known arrest was in 1972 for receiving stolen property in Miami-Dade County, Fla. Records show that case was eventually thrown out.
Apparently looking for a fresh start, Hilton spent the remainder of the 1970s in Atlanta. It was in Georgia, where Hilton’s criminal record grew. He was charged in 1982 for marijuana possession and was sentenced to four years probation.
Petty crimes continued to pock mark Hilton’s now widely publicized life as a nomadic camper. He was lasted as a fugitive by Georgia authorities from 1994 to 1995 for repeatedly scamming money from individuals in Marietta, Ga. According to court documents and victims who spoke with Inside Edition, Hilton repeatedly posed as an advocate for veterans and disabled children in order to dupe people into donating cash and checks that he claimed would be used for charitable causes.
"He was a skilled con man in his own way," said Gary Hill. Hill and his brother Gene eventually banned Hilton from their business, G&H Horseshoe Sales, after the state of Georgia notified them Hilton preyed on people's kindness by posing as a representative of the Georgia Veterans Journal.
Court records indicate Hilton never walked away with much money from his visits, but managed to swindle roughly $500 from his unsuspecting victims, some on a repeat basis, from 1990 to 1993.
Gene Hill said he did not immediately correlate the shifty, quick speaking - albeit polite - Hilton with the aged, "wretch of a human being" he saw plastered across his television screen in connection with the gruesome decapitation of Emerson. Hilton has been charged with the murder of the 24 year old hiker.
For Joan Farlow, a retired child daycare owner from Austell, Ga., the recent charges against Hilton evoked a sinking realization of the times he chatted her up at Smyrna Playskool to get a few dollars for his bogus charity. Farlow said she now fears his access to her school may have placed the scores of children entrusted to her at risk.
"I guess you never think that people like that would come in contact with you. It always happens to somebody else," said Farlow, who assumed the school was donating to veterans. Hilton stopped popping by, she said, when apparently he got word that state authorities were after him.
Authorities finally caught up to Hilton in May 1995 and arrested him on a warrant detailing 21 felony counts of unlawful solicitation and two misdemeanor counts of simple battery stemming from a violent episode in early 1995.
In April, 1995, former roommate Christopher C. Johnson, who characterized Hilton as a “very odd” man, says he witnessed Hilton's violent persona when Hilton rented a room at Johnson’s Marietta, Ga., home for roughly six months.
“He just had this erratic behavior with everything,” recalled Johnson, who now lives in eastern Mississippi.
Never feeling threatened by Hilton, Johnson said the two mostly got along well, even joking about their third roommate, a man neither particularly liked.
It was at this time that Hilton got into another wrangle with police when he physically attacked the third roommate in an attempt to throw him out of the house. Hilton was charged with two counts of simple battery that were later dismissed.
Court records also show a judge ordered Hilton to serve five years probation in June 1995 after pleading guilty to 21 counts of unlawful charity solicitation. During his probation, he was forbidden from consuming alcohol or possessing a firearm. He was also ordered to pay $424 restitution and court fees.
Prior to that incident, Johnson said Hilton, then in his late 40s, was harmless enough, taking his golden retriever for daily walks in nearby Kennasaw Mountain National Battlefield Park.
It was also during this time Hilton showed Johnson a collapsible baton he brought on his walks for self protection – perhaps the same baton Georgia authorities believe may have been used as a weapon in Emerson’s death.
But aside from having a bizarre personality – specifically a hyperactive, excited speech pattern and sometimes disturbing smile – Johnson said Hilton mostly kept to himself and always kept his knapsack nearby, as though he needed to leave in a moment's notice.
Six months later, Hilton was arrested again in DeKalb County, Ga. for stealing books he was hired to sell for the American Book Display Company. Instead, he attempted to sell them for personal profit at a local flea market.
Again, Hilton slipped through the clutches of a jail term and instead received five years probation and was ordered to pay $5,619 in restitution. It is not clear from court records if Hilton ever fulfilled his restitution payments.


From Inside Edition
Marissa Yaremich
INSIDE EDITION Staff

[Tallytowngirl]

NNY - You also should post a link back to the original article so we can follow it if we want to.This looks like it:
http://www.insideedition.com/news.aspx?storyID=1174

[Native New Yorker]

Thanks! Tallytown!! I had posted a Tinyurl link, but it had expired by this AM...so I did not know how to post a link, without a really long one....I am new here, and was so excited when I came across this info last night....
missing pieces of a horrifying puzzle...

I was living in Miami when Hilton was there, and was in Marietta when he was there, also

[stealthy]

OT: tinyurl.com urls don't expire, unless the link they're pointing to expire.

That must be horrifying to know you were in TWO places where he was, NNY.

Re the Rainbow Family stuff, I have been in contact with one of the rainbows off and on for a few years. There used to be an email list for a specific kitchen, or camp. I'll see if it still exists or if I can get in touch with my friend before he goes to Ocala (if he's going). Maybe he can take a pic and just ask around and let us know if anyone knows of him being in a certain place at a certain time. I'd think that he would stand out, because he doesn't quite seem like a peace, love, etc, hippie type.

[drumstick]

http://www.bigbendcrimes.com

interesting link ....

[Mohabi]

Who is the Rainbow family? I'm not familiar with them.


Oh my! I have to talk to my daughter. In her wildest teenage years (10 - 15 years ago), she used to "travel" with the Rainbows..... more on this tonight, I have to run to work!

[Mohabi]

I sent all Hilton's pics I could find to my daughter. She says she has personally never seen him, but she is sending them on to a friend of hers who hasn't missed a Rainbow Gathering in the last 20 years. Maybe we'll get a "hit" and find out what other states Mr. Hilton has been visiting.

BTW if it's of any interest, a Rainbow which shall remain nameless ran for senate in my state. It was rather amusing (to say the least), because his opponent always addressed him by his Rainbow name. (The Rainbow didn't win, I thought I'd throw that in).

[galvino]

NNY-

I too lived in Marietta when he did, I now live in Hendersonville NC (where the Bryant's lived - near Pisgah) and grew up and have all my family in Tallahasse/ Crawfordville Fla area- Freaky, huh!

[Native New Yorker]

That must be a weird feeling for you, as well!! I am curious to see if he committed crimes outside of the South...time will tell.

[Marchmallow]

There is a post on Jennifer Kesse's discussion, in which Websleuth poster rd_jc links to his story of his encounter with Hilton and a witness against Hilton in 1985.
"By the way Gary Hilton tried to murder me in 1985"
http://websleuths.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1920096&postcount=286
http://websleuths.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2009939&postcount=320
http://www.justiceforchandra.com/for...pic.php?t=3501 (http://www.justiceforchandra.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3501)

[Tallytowngirl]

There is a post on Jennifer Kesse's discussion, in which Websleuth poster rd_jc links to his story of his encounter with Hilton and a witness against Hilton in 1985.

Wow... I don't get it, with all that against him, how did he get off? One more case of Hilton somehow having weird luck?

It also makes me wonder about those marriages - how did the women get out alive? (or did maybe the one from Stone Mountain not?)

Thanks for the links, Marchmallow!

[Native New Yorker]

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2008/02/29/profiler_0301.html?cxntlid=inform

[Hiker]

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2008/02/29/profiler_0301.html?cxntlid=informExcellent article - thank you for sharing it.

[Native New Yorker]

You are most welcome, Hiker!

[indigomood]

Interesting article... while I am not surprised to learn this, it is the first I have heard about Hilton being in possession of the newspaper and headlines surrounding his dastly deeds. I apologize if this has already been posted/discussed...


Meredith Emerson's death haunts lead GBI investigator

When police captured Hilton, they found two days of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution — all with front-page stories about the search — in Hilton's van, Cagle said.

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/03/01/cagle_0302.html?cxntlid=inform

[Native New Yorker]

You are correct, I had not heard this before, either....which means that he stopped in at least 2 places to buy newspapers, and would have had poor Meredith in the van.....

[Hiker]

You are correct, I had not heard this before, either....which means that he stopped in at least 2 places to buy newspapers, and would have had poor Meredith in the van.....Do we know he had her in the van? I was thinking he may have bound her securely and left her in the woods. It would have likely been safer for him to do that than to drive her around.

[Native New Yorker]

I have read in several places that she was in the van when he was calling Tabor.
The last night of her life, he did leave her tied to a tree from what I have read, then came back in the AM, told her he was going to free her, and killed her.
Just awful, and I am frankly glad I do not know more than I do know!

[Hiker]

One of the ladies at the Huddle House said she imagined ME was in the van in quotes about the call to Tabor, but I've not seen anything saying ME was ever actually in the van when he left the campsite in Dawson county. I don't think he was careless enough to take her along for such trips - if he was, he was trying to get caught. His behavior after he killed her - specifically that he was arrested while scrubbing out the van with bleach - leads me to believe he did not want to get caught.

I'm really surprised he didn't either kill her dog, Ella, or take the dog to an entirely separate locale out in the woods and release her. Releasing the dog near where he left the most damning evidence (the bloody fleece garments of ME and the bloody cut off seat beat from his van) was careless beyond belief. Of course, the dog may have gotten loose by accident as he threw away the items and he felt chasing down the dog would draw too much attention to him and the van. He obviously knew his van, his picture and the description of both dogs was widely publicized given the AJC found in his van.

[Tallytowngirl]

That guy Glenn Adams who has posted over at Topix and Gretawire that he thinks he found where Hilton kept Meredith might have been on to something - Hilton may have kept Meredith somewhere while he drove around.

Thing is - that should be readily available information and I can't see that it would impede other cases. Perhaps the GBI thinks it would be shocking for us to find out where Meredith was that whole time and how she was treated. They aren't telling - but I bet they know.

[concernedperson]

This is the strangest thing. Hilton helped with a 1995 murder film about killing women in the North Georgia mountains. His attorney at the time was also the film maker.

http://www.11alive.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=112422

[christine2448]

http://tiny.cc/oh9R3

Interesting, thanks NNY.

This part of the article:
On March 19, 1979, Hilton married his third wife, Betty Sue Edwards Galloway, who at the time was employed as a law enforcement officer for Atlanta’s Stone Mountain Park. Just seven months later, this marriage also ended in divorce. According to court records, Hilton had no children. None of his former wives could be reached for comment.


Made me pause for a moment. There was a gaurd shack employee killed at Stone Mtn..don't remember exactly when or circumstances, but, I think it's still unsolved.....not sure. Will go and look now, see if I can find it.

[christine2448]

Found it, her name was Anita Redmon, she was shot and killed...do not think this is related.

Here is local news from 2/18/08

On July 16, 2005, Anita was a working at the west gate to Stone Mountain Park.

A short time after midnight, a woman walked up to the gate and told Anita Redmon that she left her shoes in the park. As is procedure, Anita called dispatch and told them the woman would be coming back inside. A short time after that, dispatch called Anita back on the phone, and the dispatcher heard a robbery go down.

Anita knew police codes and signals and she actually started screaming out the signal for an armed robbery. The dispatcher heard a pop.

Two and a half years later, leads have not dried up, but her killer has not been caught.


http://www.11alive.com/news/local/seen_on/article_seenon.aspx?storyid=111529

[sweetmop]

This is the strangest thing. Hilton helped with a 1995 murder film about killing women in the North Georgia mountains. His attorney at the time was also the film maker.

http://www.11alive.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=112422

OMG! unbelievable! I'm stunned!

Really good find concernedperson!
I'm at a loss for words right now. Just too creepy, for sure!

Thank you for linking this!

[Hiker]

That guy Glenn Adams who has posted over at Topix and Gretawire that he thinks he found where Hilton kept Meredith might have been on to something - Hilton may have kept Meredith somewhere while he drove around.

Thing is - that should be readily available information and I can't see that it would impede other cases. Perhaps the GBI thinks it would be shocking for us to find out where Meredith was that whole time and how she was treated. They aren't telling - but I bet they know.Still haven't seen anything in Glenn Adams writings other than his psychic powers to suggest the cabin he is saying is where Meredith was kept had anything to do with this crime. If this was the case, her DNA and Ella's DNA would be all over the place. You can bet GBI has checked it out by now.

GBI likely is not releasing details of where and under what circumstances ME was kept prior to her death because it would be hurtful to the Emerson family to have to read that. There is no reason for them to release it at this point - GMH has confessed, been convicted and been sentenced. That case is closed. The public does not automatically have a right to see all evidence LE collected in that case.

This is the strangest thing. Hilton helped with a 1995 murder film about killing women in the North Georgia mountains. His attorney at the time was also the film maker.

http://www.11alive.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=112422My guess is that Hilton got the idea from the movie plot. Has anyone seen this movie? What are the plot lines? Do any seem to coincide with the reality of any of the murders in which GMH is a suspect? Did the killer gain notoriety in the film? Hilton does seem to like the attention he is getting from this.

[sweetmop]

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1804515302/details


I've not seen the movie, didn't know anything about it until concernedperson posted the article.

Really creepy that Hilton had any "creative" hand in the storyline!!!

[concernedperson]

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1804515302/details


I've not seen the movie, didn't know anything about it until concernedperson posted the article.

Really creepy that Hilton had any "creative" hand in the storyline!!!

It is creepy and it makes me wonder if some of this wasn't from first hand experience going back to 1995. Seems odd that he would just start killing in 2007 at his age.

[christine2448]

It is creepy and it makes me wonder if some of this wasn't from first hand experience going back to 1995. Seems odd that he would just start killing in 2007 at his age.

Yeppers.

[sweetmop]

It is creepy and it makes me wonder if some of this wasn't from first hand experience going back to 1995. Seems odd that he would just start killing in 2007 at his age.


I agree. I don't think Hilton just began murdering in 2008.

I think some of his " creative ideas came from real life murders he had already committed.

Apparently the FBI thinks so too, as they have sent their profilers to do studies on him. ( I'll see if I can find that article again )
Just like Hannible Lector! :eek:

[panglossian]

Did Hilton assist with the movie in exchange for fees that he owed the lawyer? When I viewed his 1995 mug shot I assumed he had a public defender. Hilton sure had a way of working for assorted lawyers. Why didn't he tap this guy for money instead of Tabor, like for royalties or a sequel.

[Tallytowngirl]

Still haven't seen anything in Glenn Adams writings other than his psychic powers to suggest the cabin he is saying is where Meredith was kept had anything to do with this crime. If this was the case, her DNA and Ella's DNA would be all over the place. You can bet GBI has checked it out by now.

No, I realize that it might not be THE cabin that Glenn Adams found. I probably should have left Glenn Adams out of my post.

What I meant was, I think there's a possibility that Hilton didn't keep Meredith in the van full time. How would he explain her away the next time he got stopped by a cop? (he seemed to have that happen every couple of weeks...) He may have kept her someplace like a cabin (or elsewhere), just so he wouldn't have her with him all the time.

BTW that whole Hilton/movie thing is beyond creepy. The lawyer/movie producer who said something like "Hilton was a sociopath but with such creative ideas" has got something wrong with his head. Ick Ick Ick. Or should I have said Sick Sick Sick? Gives me the willies.

[Marchmallow]

There are two photo sites where Glenn Adams, a retired Atlanta firefighter, posted photos from the abandoned house and barn where Hilton kept Meredith tied up. There is a dump area with clothing that someone tried to burn. Glenn is not a reporter, and he can't type or spell well, but I'm very glad that investigators are starting to check into the things he found. Glenn has been pleading since the first week of January '08 for someone to investigate. www.glennindawson.blogspot.com (http://www.glennindawson.blogspot.com) (keep clicking Older Posts to view all of it) Glenn also posted digital photos at his Kodak gallery site http://tinyurl.com/ytal2s (was a very long URL). The abandoned house and barns are the second row of photos.

[Hiker]

I've never thought GMH drove his victims around any more than absolutely necessary to get them to a place for safe keeping. I seriously doubt ME was in the van any of the times GMH left wherever he kept her. Keeping her at an abandoned home site Adams keeps touting would have been very risky. Look at the pic of this house (from The tiny URL site Marshmallow posted) - see that yellow line on the road? They only put those on roads that are used a lot in the south.
http://images.kodakgallery.com/servlet/Images/photos4436/3/99/34/82/59/0/59823499314_0_BG.jpg?a=20

[concernedperson]

I've never thought GMH drove his victims around any more than absolutely necessary to get them to a place for safe keeping. I seriously doubt ME was in the van any of the times GMH left wherever he kept her. Keeping her at an abandoned home site Adams keeps touting would have been very risky. Look at the pic of this house (from The tiny URL site Marshmallow posted) - see that yellow line on the road? They only put those on roads that are used a lot in the south.
http://images.kodakgallery.com/servlet/Images/photos4436/3/99/34/82/59/0/59823499314_0_BG.jpg?a=20

Frankly I think she was tied to a tree in the woods vs. any comfort of a cabin. He knew those woods and he knew that most wouldn't happen upon her. I don't think he ever left her for long periods of time anyway and then moved her when his day job was done.

[Marchmallow]

Glenn thought Hilton had stayed in that house only on the coldest nights. He found a half-used bag of dog food, food wrappers, bottled water there. During the day Hilton tied her in the outbuildings or further into the forest. He found a frayed rope and broken wood supports (shown in the photos on kodak gallery site). From the beginning posters speculated that Hilton broke into cabins on the off season. Interestingly, on the map of possible victims created by websleuths poster sleddog, the majority went missing during the late fall/winter/early spring, off-season for the home renovation business. http://tinyurl.com/2bgf6l These cases were only put on the map if they fit Hilton's MO and were unsolved.

[concernedperson]

Rossana Millini and Deborah Moody seemed to be good candidates for a Hilton murder. Tara Grinstead was murdered by someone close to her, I feel sure of that. Some of the others I would have to research further but in any case the map is frightening. BTW, I also think Justin Gaines is a possibility for Hilton.

[Native New Yorker]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/03/13/hilton.movie/index.html

"The filmmaker said that two days after Hilton's arrest, he visited his former client in the Dawson County jail in Georgia. Hilton was surrounded by investigators, and Rael says they didn't do much more than exchange pleasantries.
"He said 'hello' and thanked me for coming by, and that was about it," Rael said.
He wonders about Hilton's behavior when they were friends but quickly dismisses thoughts of murder during that time.
"I sincerely doubt he was capable of doing anything like that when I knew him," he said."



this article raises more questions than it answers...........

[panglossian]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/03/13/hilton.movie/index.html
this article raises more questions than it answers...........

Boy, you've got that right!
Thanks for the link, Native.
This lawyer seems pretty odd himself. Socializing with Hilton, despite all the trouble Hilton was continually in. Didn't the lawyer have any other friends?

[eachandevery]

The lawyer doubts Hilton was capable of murder, at the time that he knew him? I doubt that GMH was any different, then, than he is now. The whole bit about GMH being a sociopath, I mean, that would be more than enough for me to keep my distance. Weird.

The whole idea behind this movie is super creepy, and I've no doubt that the plot of the movie was more like reality to GMH, both at the time and - obviously - since then. Does anyone here watch the show, "Criminal Minds"? The idea of kidnapping people, then releasing them into the woods and trying to see if the killer could keep up with them, was at the center of one of the episodes. I've never been so disturbed by a show than I am by that episode.

[Hiker]

The fact that several news sources have interviewed the attorney, but GBI says they haven't been able to reach him speaks volumes to me. I believe the attorney is touting this connection to GMH for his own publicity - and not as willing to help GBI as he says.

The premise of the movie - the use of a cabin to house victims in particular - might be useful to GBI. While I doubt the cabin single out by the psychic guy in Dawson is the one because it is just too close to a hard surface road, it would not surprise me to find that Hilton had located such a structure near a rock / dirt road in the national forest for this purpose. I have accidentally stumbled over many abandoned structures while hiking.

ME was alive for three days after her abduction. The temps were pretty low during that period. In order for ME to survive for three days given the conditions, one of these things had to occur -- GMH held her inside some sort of structure (cabin, van, tent plus sleeping bag) -or- gave her a substantial sleeping bag (one good down to around 10 degrees) -or- had a roaring fire going. I doubt he would have risk a roaring fire. It would be nice to know if any of ME's (or Dunlap's or Bryant's) DNA was found in the sleeping bags recovered.

[DeltaDawn]

Isn't it interesting that Hilton made friends with lawyers? He must be a pretty intelligent guy in some respect. The one he did the murder film with didn't think he was capable of murder..I guess I believe that for now since he says he let him shower at his house since Hilton was living in a storage unit. Still very bizarre..how many lawyers are friendly enough to let a client who lives in a storage unit shower at their home and then offers them cash to help out on the plot of a murder movie? Very weird to me.

Then the police say that they don't think Hilton was involved in murders at that time..that seems weird to me also. That time was 1995..that would have made Hilton alot older then when most serial murderers start their career. Hard to believe that in his 60'S he just decided to become a serial murderer. He never murdered for money. Lot's of people are robbed of their purses and wallets and not murdered. He could have beaten up everyone of these vics until they gave him the ATM info, etc and then let them go. But he didn't..he murdered them afterwards. The murder was as important to him as the money..maybe even more so. I believe he was active at this in 1995 and earlier. But that's just my opinion.

[Hiker]

.......He never murdered for money. Lot's of people are robbed of their purses and wallets and not murdered. He could have beaten up everyone of these vics until they gave him the ATM info, etc and then let them go. But he didn't..he murdered them afterwards. The murder was as important to him as the money..maybe even more so. I believe he was active at this in 1995 and earlier. But that's just my opinion.It is possible he realized that he would be very hard to catch if he murdered the victims. He likely would have been caught long ago if he had left Cheryl Dunlap alive.

Most serial killers start killing early in life and most do not rob victims. It is all about the killing for them. My personal feeling is that GMH is a petty thief who was also a sociopath and killed simply to avoid detection. As you noted, GMH is a bright man - bright enough to know that kidnapping is a felony and can be punished by death in some circumstances.

I believe the key to determining when GMH started killing lies in when he had to change his normal means of obtaining money - doing home improvement projects on a freelance basis and conning people into giving him money purportedly for for a veterans organization. Hilton's health likely forced him to stop working and his arrest for the veteran's fund scam likely forced him to stop that activity. Hilton had to find a new way to get money and to avoid detection - and the new method involved not leaving any witnesses alive.

[concernedperson]

It is possible he realized that he would be very hard to catch if he murdered the victims. He likely would have been caught long ago if he had left Cheryl Dunlap alive.

Most serial killers start killing early in life and most do not rob victims. It is all about the killing for them. My personal feeling is that GMH is a petty thief who was also a sociopath and killed simply to avoid detection. As you noted, GMH is a bright man - bright enough to know that kidnapping is a felony and can be punished by death in some circumstances.

I believe the key to determining when GMH started killing lies in when he had to change his normal means of obtaining money - doing home improvement projects on a freelance basis and conning people into giving him money purportedly for for a veterans organization. Hilton's health likely forced him to stop working and his arrest for the veteran's fund scam likely forced him to stop that activity. Hilton had to find a new way to get money and to avoid detection - and the new method involved not leaving any witnesses alive.

I agree except that he may have killed others early on. This sociopathy is a lifelong thing.It could depend on who was vulnerable at the time. And if the detection methods were faulty. i.e. He wasn't known to be in an area at the time or his MO changed. Unfortunately I am privy to a sociopath and they are cunning. But if you watch them over a number of years the pattern is all too obvious.

The older they get the more territorial. The more desperate to protect their turf.But, with that said the more mistakes they make.

[Hiker]

It would not surprise me at all to learn GMH had killed one or more times before if he felt it was in his best interest in a situation, but I really believe his current method - finding a lone hiker or couple unable to defend themselves, kidnapping them, attempting to obtain money via ATM cards and then killing and beheading them came into being after he was forced to quit soliciting money using the veteran's scam. That had been his means of support during the winter months when the home improvement type work he did was difficult to find. I believe LE needs to look at closely at all murders and missing persons reports where victims disappeared in the winter months in or near a wooded area or where the victim was found in a wooded area near a rock or dirt road. It appears he needed about $300 per month to support himself while living in the woods - and I'm betting there is about a victim per month during the periods when work was scarce since he had to stop the veteran's scam.

[Native New Yorker]

I disagree, Hiker. I think that this monster has been killing for years, and taking great joy from it! Look at the plot line for the 1995 movie! He did not just dream that up on the spot. I think that he had been living it for a while.
I recall that Taber said that Hilton would go to the woods very often. I think he was pursuing his "Deadly Game".

[panglossian]

I think he has been at this for awhile, too. It sounded too routine when he called Tabor for money and his job back.

[Karsky]

Greetings everyone. I'm new to this board, and have been following this case very closely. It has really impacted me, unlike many other heinous crimes. At any rate, I came across this story which I thought I would share, as I don't think it's been posted yet. It clears up alot of the speculation about where Meredith was kept in the last days of her life (in Hilton's van), and also reveals what a scumbag Hilton is....he even made her go hiking on one of the days she was captive! Apparently she fought very hard to escape him, but my theory is that he somehow captured Ella, and in some way threatened her, playing on Meredith's love for her doggie. Hilton is truly a sick individual, and I suspect he has done more killing than anyone will be able to uncover. As for the link, there are two parts, under "Tracking a Killer". It's really quite amazing that he continued to elude the LE for as long as he did.

http://www.wyff4.com/news/15425488/detail.html?taf=gs#

[christine2448]

Welcome Karsky! Thanks for joining our dicussion. Unfortunate to meet under such circumstances. Thank you for the link! I am at work and need to get home to have sound, it seems interesting and I look forward to checking out the video's this evening. This subject maybe worthy of it's own thread and discussion? I'll let you posters decide.

[Karsky]

Thanks Christine, and I agree, I wish we had met differently :( Y'all have lots of great info here, and I just wanted to share what I found, as gruesome as it all is. And you're right, it may warrant some additional discussion, it was definitely pretty alarming to watch those videos.

[panglossian]

Hi and welcome Karsky! Great link! I had been wondering how Hilton was able to get Meredith under control. The pellet gun was used for some of the time, but I would really like to know what happened on the trail head and parking lot. The video stated that she disarmed him of his knife and baton, so did he have the gun on him then? I wish LE would release the trail head information. They seem to be letting out other things for these reports.

[Native New Yorker]

Welcome Karsky, and thanks for the information!
I have always felt that the key was her dog, and her love for her dog.
She managed to disarm him, and could have gotten away initially, but I am guessing that he had control of her dog, and told her that if she would go with him, he would not kill Ella. That is my guess, and if true, was the only promise the sick monster kept.

Yes, and I had heard at one point that he kept her in the van. How awful for her, and for those who now know how close she really was.

[Hiker]

The image I referenced in post # 80 has been taken down. I saved a copy and this is it.http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b47/lowcarbscoop/Dawsonvillecabin.jpg

[Native New Yorker]

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/15838537/detail.html

Article, plus link for video
“I’m a sociopath man. I’m what they call an anti-social,” Hilton told GBI agents.For the first time, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has allowed Channel 2 access to its entire case against Hilton, who is serving a life sentence for murdering hiker Meredith Emerson.Channel 2’s Jodie Fleischer spent the day going through four hours of interviews with Hilton right after his guilty plea in the Emerson case.The tape is different from past tapes. First, because it’s video you can see Hilton’s movements and what gets him worked up. But also because it doesn’t completely focus on the Emerson murder – it instead shows how agents were trying to use Hilton to uncover information in other murders, including the three he’s already suspected of and any others that may still be unsolved."You could take me to the front door of this jail and say go forth and sin no more. I would literally have to turn back around and walk back in here,” said Hilton.He refers to his behavior as a rampage and appears to admit he’s killed more than once."

[skullaria]

Hack Saw, Porn, Needles & Bong Found In Hilton's Van

I would almost BET that was Hilton's way into getting to socialize with the attorney - and probably what he had on a lot of these men that seemed to continue to be around him and do business with him.

I'm still sure it was Hilton I ran into at the airport. That night I never could figure out WHY the guy working there seemed so willing to put up with him.

POT. That's probably it. Bet he grew some good dope out in those woods too. You hike, you grow a plant here, a plant there...you don't go back to water them - they are weeds. You get the buds, you share them with a lawyer 'friend.'
Just my suspicions...

[panglossian]

POT. That's probably it. Bet he grew some good dope out in those woods too. You hike, you grow a plant here, a plant there...you don't go back to water them - they are weeds. You get the buds, you share them with a lawyer 'friend.'
Just my suspicions...
I think your instincts are right, skullaria. The biggest partyers when we were young were the law students. Their families had money and they spent it on pot and other sundry drugs with parties every weekend. Some went on to become judges!:(
Growing and selling pot would have been another income for GMH. My gosh, he roamed such a large territory.

[Hiker]

GMH dealing drugs would explain why a young lawyer might have befriended him.

[Native New Yorker]

http://www.wyff4.com/download/2008/0429/16061508.pdf

[panglossian]

Once again Native, you found and posted a fascinating link. Thanks.
What he describes has happened to me on the AT in New York. I obviously survived it but was scared out of my wits and left for home as soon as I got off that rock. That cut short my distance hike to only 3 weeks.

I know the comment was made that he identified with LE and the wording and content certainly confirms that.

[Native New Yorker]

You are most welcome! I cannot believe that you have actually gone through that experience which he describes.
Hilton most clearly has a very, very high opinion of himself, seems to view himself as starring in some kind of action movie!
I am glad that LE keeps releasing these documents. Perhaps more victims will be found, through the spread of info.

[Native New Yorker]

(Link to audio interview in Media links)



"No one messes with me here. They treat me real good."

"I've got my own T.V. I read. I've got my meals cooked, served...the dishes are washed. My laundry is done....Hey, I love it!"


"I'm gonna f------ raise hell, total hell. I'm not gonna be happy unless it takes three to four years to go to trial. Unless we have a 1,000 person jury pool, and unless we have at least two changes of venue. And that's just to begin with (laughs)."