Officials: Hiker was alive for days; suspect now faces murder charge

CNN ^ | 1/8/2008 | AP

[Red in Blue PA]

BLAIRSVILLE, Georgia (CNN) -- A young hiker whose body was found in northern Georgia was probably alive for three days before she died from blunt force trauma to the head, authorities said Tuesday.

Meredith Emerson was last seen hiking with her dog on Blood Mountain in Georgia on New Year's Day.

1 of 3 Meredith Emerson, 24, was decapitated after her death, an autopsy also found.

Investigators believe she was killed January 4, said Lee Darragh, district attorney for Hall and Dawson counties.

That's the same day suspect Gary Michael Hilton, 61, allegedly made a phone call from a pay phone at a convenience store in Cumming, Georgia, where Emerson's black leather wallet containing her identification cards was discovered in a trash bin.

[Tulsa Ramjet]

There must be something about balding, old, un-shaven, under-employed white men that causes them to commit murder. HILTON. COUEY

[Juana la Loca]

Here’s some inside info that will increase your rage.

Hilton was arrested in the neighborhood where I grew up in Atlanta. My parents are still there and I have been on the phone with my mom every day to get the latest info.

There are two parks in the area where this guy was arrested, Blackburn Park and Murphy Candler. The Chevron where he was arrested is across the street from Blackburn. These two parks are local parks with ball fields and playgrounds. People go there to walk their dogs, play with their kids, or go for a walk. Blackburn was actually on the short list of parks for the Olympic tennis venue before they decided on Stone Mountain.

My mother has seen this dude hanging out in the strip mall across the street from Blackburn. The locals were familiar with this guy. He had a bad habit of getting into altercations with people walking their dogs in the park, and he has threatened individuals with the police baton that he always had with him.

The guy was a loser drifter, sleeping in his car, hanging around the locals parks acting in a belligerent manner. The local neighborhood was familiar enough with him to have warned residents about him in the local neighborhood watch.

Local police were familiar with him as well, but couldn’t do anything about it, as he had not actually committed any crimes.

What a tragedy.

Oh, just got an IM from Mom. He has been named as the prime suspect of an unsolved murder in Appalachicola. The girl there was killed 2 weeks before Meredith and killed in the same manner.

This dude was on a spree.

[Reeses]

My idea of hiking is with a concealed handgun and a nice big knife.

During human evolution we lost our speed advantage to all but turtles by traveling on two legs. But we gained the ability to hold and use weapons. Humans are specifically engineered to walk and carry weapons. To do anything else is unnatural.

[The KG9 Kid]

Carry a heavy gun and make up for the weight by not taking the Yuppie hiking crap, I say.

[Thumper1960]

May a guard’s weapon accidentally discharge into the back of his head.

[sarasota]

Please explain.

[FreedomPoster]

A bunch of buddies and I do a rafting/camping trip in North Georgia / SC / TN every year. Let’s just say that a guy like this would not want to mess with us.

[sarasota]

You’re the kind of guys I used to camp with. Never forget the time we set up camp and some locals came by and started to think about harrassing us. The guys took out their hunting knives and started sharpening them while chatting them up. (We also had handguns on board.) The locals beat a hasty retreat.

[A Strict Constructionist]

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=11101&storeId=10001&productId=14719&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=15709&isFirearm=Y

[sarasota]

That’s what I’m talking about! Wow...