After arresting serial killer Gary Hilton in front of a convenience store in Georgia, police were left “disturbed” after learning the body of a missing hiker was not with the suspect.
Left with the daunting task of finding the body of hiker Meredith Emerson in Georgia’s Appalachian Mountains, police made a “deal with the devil.”
“I went to the prison where Hilton was being held. I met his lawyer. I asked them to go talk to him, and I found out where Meredith Emerson was at that time. “I said I wanted to,” said a former Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent.Special Agent John Cagle he said in “Blood Mountain.”
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“They talked to him for several hours and then came out and asked if he could call the local prosecutor and see if he was going to consider taking the death penalty off the table in exchange for identifying Meredith Emerson. ” he continued. A new limited series on Fox Nation.
Foxnation’s two-part series “Blood Mountain” investigates the murder of Meredith Emerson and the capture of the National Forest serial killer.
Fox Nation’s two-part series “Blood Mountain.” Investigate Emerson’s disappearance, Hilton’s arrest, and his eventual confession and conviction in other murder cases.
Hilton was arrested on January 4, 2008, after a witness caught him cleaning his van. Police were on the scene within minutes and arrested Hilton, who appeared to be “incriminating.”
The arrest came three days after Emerson went missing on January 1 while hiking Blood Mountain, the highest peak in Georgia’s Appalachian Mountains.
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“Meredith spent a lot of time outdoors,” Emerson’s friend Brent Saylor said in the article. Fox Nation series. “She was all about dogs and nature. She loved being outside.”
Emerson, a Colorado native, wasn’t afraid of the high and dangerous hike up Blood Mountain. But she was not prepared for the horrors that awaited her in the woods.
In his confession, Hilton revealed not only where Emerson’s body was, but also how he murdered her.
The National Forest serial killer, who became known as Hilton, said he took Ms. Emerson deep into the woods and hit her over the head with a tire tool until she died. Hilton also said there were two crime scenes, one with her body and another with her decapitated head several miles away.
“I’ll tell you now, I never had any plans to let her go,” Hilton said in the chilling police recording.
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Hilton pleaded guilty to Emerson’s murder and was sentenced to life in prison.
After the Emerson murder, Georgia authorities began a joint effort with North Carolina and Florida officials to investigate whether Hilton was involved in two other unsolved murders.
Law enforcement officials quickly linked Hilton to the murder of 46-year-old Cheryl Dunlap, whose body was found in the Apalachicola National Forest in Leon County, Florida.
Two years after being sentenced to death, Hilton pleaded guilty to the murders of John and Eileen Bryant, 80 and 84 years old, respectively, who disappeared while hiking in North Carolina in October 2007. .
Hilton was sentenced to death for Dunlap’s murder.
“A life for a life,” said Marsha Misso, Dunlap’s cousin. “Blood Mountain” by Fox Nation. “I think he deserves the death penalty, and I’m glad he got it.”
The damning evidence in the whole case came from the van Hilton was in when he was arrested in 2008.
“There was a huge amount of items in the van. There was a lot of bloody evidence. There were also a lot of items in the trash can,” Cagle explained. Fox Nation series.
Hilton remains on Florida’s death row.
“National forests are a great place to get away from just about anything you can think of,” Cagle said.
“However, hikers should be aware of their surroundings,” he warned during the tour. Fox Nation Special.
For more on the National Forest serial killers and “Deal with the Devil,” check out this two-part series on Fox Nation. “Blood Mountain” Currently streaming.
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FOX News’ Stephanie Pagones contributed to this report.
