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Saturday, January 10, 2009

Gary Michael Hilton--updates and tidbits.


I'm posting some new comments from an old Gary Hilton Timeline post, mostly because it is interesting news, and because I truly appreciate Susie's question and Wolfscratch's intelligence, detective abilities and diligence has kept Georgia officials looking and searching, not just for Meredith, but for all those who have entered the woods and never returned. If anyone has information on the below mentioned Cheryl Strother, please share...I'm not finding anything about her. Regards, Janet.

Susie said...
In 1974 a classmate of mine was murdered. She was found bound to a tree, raped? and "cut up alot". Her murder was never solved. Her name was CHERYL LYNN STROTHER. She was just 16 when she was murdered. Her body was found in the woods around FT. Knox, Ky. The similarities between the circumstances of Cheryl's murder and Hilton's MO are striking. Where did he recieve his (military) basic training? Has he ever been known to be in the FT. Knox area? Cheryl's death has haunted me, and many of our classmates, for many years! Thanks for any imput...

Wolfscratch said...
Susie, Very sorry about your friend Cheryl Lynn Strother. A tragic end to a precious life.

Link: http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?s=%2010dcc7305cfbacaeef7a8156ac19c86e&t=58543. Gary Hilton said to the jailers at the Dawson County, GA. jail, "if you are so intelligent, why were you caught." His response, "They haven't caught me since I was 14 years old!"

Please notify the LE that is working the cold case to compare the dna, now that it is available. GMH is being investigated even before birth. All media has been silenced; local & national. GMH's IQ is 150+. LE thought of him as a dried up old drifter. He was/is cagey, calculating, deflective, has no common mode of operation: from Levi Fradi; 11 year old boy to Irene Bryant 84 years old, man woman, boy, black, white, only a preference 120# 25 year old female. I am confident that he had associates.

I went to Blood Mtn., Blairsville, GA, today and placed the marble memorial for Meredith Hope Emerson, that is shown on http://glennindawson.blogspot.com/ at the Mtn Crossings Trading Post: Herbert Reece Trail, where she was abducted.

Glenn Adams said...
Hello Prairie Chicken, hope you are doing fine. Wolfscratch finally received a visit from LE. They took many of the items to the lab for testing....(finally! see glenn's above blog to see the beautiful memorial he made for her, and articles of clothing and miscellaneous items found in an area believed to be frequented by Gary Hilton.)

Glenn Adams said...
The following is a possible victim map of Hilton’s. It is only preliminary. I am confident that his victim total will exceed 150+, and those are only the ones that are deceased. Many were suspected,indicted, and encarcerated. LE didn't know his identity til 09/07...: may they rest in peace…http://tinyurl.com/2aja6w Wolfscratch (Glenn, can't get the address to open.)

Janet said...
Susie--I have been trying to find out information on her since your post and could find nothing, then Glenn posted the webslueth site, so thank you, both. I'll put something together for her...

Janet said...
Glenn, good to hear from you! I think what you have done with Merediths memorial is wonderful. Did you take any photo's? If so, could you post one or two? ...I'm glad LE is finally listening. I'll be anxious to hear what comes of it. Keep in touch, please. And thanks for the Cheryl link! You have a big heart. I hope you have a great year.
Glenn Adams said...
...Gained alot of info from the LE visit. Ottis Toole's name was brought up (two months before the 'Adam Walsh', case was closed), IQ of GMH, what he looked for when selecting victims...Of all the items; backpack, clothing (man, woman, child) hiking clothes, garrote, that I have found backtracking GMH, the agent was only interested in one item: A silver cross on a necklace. This was with the other items, but was mine. I wore it while dowsing for protection. Satan Worshipers, don't wear silver...Wolfscratch

Glenn Adams said...
Correction on my last statement:Satan Worshipers, don't wear Gold..Wolfscratch

Glenn Adams said...
Burn delayed for area near fugitive's armed camp

Jon Ostendorff


• published December 10, 2008 12:15 am

BREVARD – A Henderson County fugitive had equipment to make booby traps in a camp where federal investigators allegedly found gunpowder and guns, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman said Tuesday. John Joseph Hiles' camp in the Pink Beds area of Pisgah National Forest was a quarter-mile from Yellow Gap Road. The area is one of the most popular in the region for hiking and mountain biking. It is also popular with hunters this time of year.

The government had planned to burn hundreds of acres in the area on Tuesday to clear underbrush to aid in searching for more ammunition and explosives. The Forest Service postponed the burn because of the rain.

Hiles, 45, was camping in the woods after failing to appear in court on charges of misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, felony manufacturing marijuana and maintaining a vehicle for selling drugs.

Investigators charged him with growing 15 marijuana plans in his 1984 Ford Ranger pickup truck in May, according to an arrest warrant. He had potting soil, cups and fertilizer in the truck to use in the growing operation, according to the court papers.

Hiles was being held in Henderson County with bond set at $20,500. He is scheduled for a court appearance on Friday. The court papers listed his address as “general delivery,” which is often used by law enforcement when a person doesn't have a home address. Officials with the Henderson County Sheriff's Office did not return messages Tuesday seeking more details.

U.S. Forest Service agents and deputies from the Transylvania County Sheriff's Office captured Hiles on Nov. 21. He had placed a classified advertisement looking for a ride out of the state.

Forest Service agent responded to the ad and met Hiles in the forest, where he was arrested. The Forest Service closed the area and posted signs warning the public about the possibility of explosives in the woods after finding the camp, Forest Service spokesman Terry Seyden said.

The area remains closed. Safety measures include a new metal gate at the fire road leading to the camp off Yellow Gap Road, warning signs and increased law enforcement patrols. News of the camp and Hiles arrest surprised some forest users.“It's bizarre,” said Van Rogers, president of the Pisgah Area Southern Off-road Bicycle Association, who was mountain biking in the Pink Beds area two weeks ago. “I could have been potentially riding around some of that stuff.”

The camp wasn't near a maintained trial, Seyden said. He said authorities found equipment for making bullets in addition to guns and gunpowder at the camp. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating, Seyden said.

A message left with the agency seeking more details wasn't returned Tuesday.Federal authorities don't typically discuss ongoing investigations beyond details available in public court documents.

Hiles had not been charged with a federal crime. Seyden said he did not know how many guns, how much gunpowder or what materials that could be used for making bobby traps were stashed in the woods.Those details are not public because of the federal investigation, he said.He also said it is unclear whether any more munitions would be found.“We don't have hard evidence that there is anything out there,” he said.

He said the burn will cover a large area — up to 400 acres — to make sure firefighters setting and controlling the blaze are safe if hidden ammunition or power explodes. The burn area is much larger than the actual camp area as a safety precaution, Seyden said.

Yellow Gap Road is the same place where hiker Irene Bryant was killed last year. Georgia drifter Gary Michael Hilton is the only suspect in her death.Federal authorities in North Carolina are expected to charge him after a state court in Florida tries him for the murder of a woman on national forest land there. The case in Florida is still a year away, prosecutors have said.

Autopsy Reveals John Bryant Shot Gary Michael Hilton, confessed murderer in the slaying and beheading murder of Meredeth Emerson, is also a suspect in the murders of John Bryant and his wife Irene.

John and Irene were an elderly couple who were hiking in the mountains in North Carolina when they disappeared last October, 2007. Irene was found dead soon after the disappearance. John's body was found by a hunter in February, 2008.

The site where Mr. Bryant’s body was discovered appeared to be an illegal dumping ground. An autopsy report revealed John Bryant died from a gunshot to his head after being taken from Pisgah National Forest where he had been hiking with his wife.

Medical examiners used Mr. Bryant’s pacemaker to identify his body. The autopsy reported the presence of unfired but partially opened red shotgun shells containing birdshot and a piece of wire, small fragments of paper-like material and vegetation.

Now that a firearm has come into play, the case may hold more precedence to be tried federally. The Bryants ATM card was used the day after they disappeared, which is one of Hilton's MO's. Hilton also has been indicted in the death of 46-year-old Cheryl Hodges Dunlap.


http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20080517/NEWS/666736887/0/OPINION*******************************************************This description of items found near Mr. John Bryant's Remains, has always haunted me: The autopsy reported the presence of unfired but partially opened red shotgun shells containing birdshot and a piece of wire, small fragments of paper-like material and vegetation. Now that a firearm has come into play, the case may hold more precedence to be tried federally.Wolfscratch

Glenn Adams said...
Hilton Case Material Released Soon Save

Jan 9, 2009

Reporter: Heather Biance Material from the case between the State of Florida versus Gary Hilton may soon be released to the public. Leon County Circuit Judge Terry Lewis filed an order Friday, that will allow a limited amount of information of case related material to be released to the public to insure a fair trial to both the state and the Defendant. The released information will be filed into the Clerk of the Circuit Courts once there's been a final approval. Hilton is accused of murdering Crawfordville woman, Cheryl Dunlap and faces the death penalty if convicted.*****************************Finally, a little 'Sunshine' from the Sunshine State..Wolfscratch

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

GMH specialized in a variation of the "Express Kidnapping" wherein a victim abducted, taken to an ATM, forced to make a withdrawal and then executed and the body hidden so that the card won't be cancelled. If this crime pattern were tracked by law enforcement, he would have been caught much sooner. But, because it is not, the police were completely unaware of his presence. There are others out there, such as Bruce Mendenhall, the "Town Mall Killer" Boca Raton, Tameka Newson etc. So why aren't the police tracking it? A: Because the banks prefer that the extent of the problem remain out of sight and out of mind. It's not the police at fault, it's the politicians. Some surprise, huh?

Glenn Adams said...

380 redacted pages of the pretrial evidence in the Death Penalty Trial of Gary M. Hilton, for the tragic murder of Cheryl Dunlap, Tallahassee, FL has been released to the public.
Wolfscratch
***********


http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/38637797.html

Gary Hilton continues to await trial in Leon County for the murder of Cheryl Dunlap. Eyewitness News has been going through newly released court documents that show how Hilton became the prime suspect.


December 1, 2007 may have been the last time anyone interacted with Cheryl Dunlap when a friend received a call from her phone and didn't hear anyone on the other end. When she didn't show up to work two days later at FSU's Thagard Health Center, the search was on and for nearly two weeks an entire community searched. Then on December 15th--a horrific discovery.

Major Mike Wood with Leon County Sheriff's Office made a public announcement in December of 2007. "The body that was located in the national forest this weekend has in fact been identified as Cheryl Dunlap." said Major Wood.

Family and friends could no longer hope that Cheryl was alive. Among vehicle descriptions, Cheryl's ATM card being used, and tips from citizens--law enforcement followed many leads and soon caught on to Gary Hilton. Hilton had admitted to killing Meredith Emerson in the woods of Georgia in early January 2008. Court documents show he was given a driving warning by a reservie officer in the Apalachicola National Forest on December 28, 2007.

Hilton, first described as a drifter, was also seen by residents in Wakulla County in December. This was the same month Cheryl Dunlap had disappeared. Around that time Major Wood told the media regarding Hilton, "We are potentially on to what might resolve this case..."

Once named the prime suspect, more witnesses said they had seen Hilton, his van, and his dog at places such as Glenda's Store in Wakulla. The state attorney eventually charged Hilton with Dunlap's murder and he was brought to Leon County.

On June 6, 2008, Sheriff Larry Campbell publicly stated as Hilton was extradited to Florida, "We received some people that say they're critical of us for bringing him Florida because he got life in prison in Georgia that for the sake of money we should have left him in Georgia. This isn't about money, this is about justice."

Gary Hilton remains in the Leon County Jail where he awaits trial. The state attorney's office says the Hilton case is still in the discovery process and has only just begun.
-----------------------------------------------
Update Friday 6:15 p.m.

Gary Hilton currently awaits trial for the murder of Cheryl Dunlap. The Crawfordville woman was found dead in the Apalachicola National Forest in December of 2007. Hundreds of pages of material are now available and much of the information relates to the events that took place in December of 2007.

Although details have been blacked out, there are witness accounts which describe how Cheryl Dunlap was found on December 15th in the woods. A reserve officer stated how hunters led him to the body.

He said, "Approaching the scene I observed, a BLANK..." then it says "...was also vegetation type debris that appeared to be piled up on top of the body." The judge has ordered that the exact condition of Dunlap's body not be released.

The Chief Assistant State Attorney says it took some time to put the court documents in a format for the public. "After the judge entered his final order saying that he was approving a final version of what was going to be redacted, then it took us several more hours to get the redaction done and copied for the public." said Fulford.

Physical evidence, lab results, and other items have also been withheld from the public. Cheryl Dunlap was once an employee at FSU's Thagard Health Center. Her tragic story was brought to light when she didn't show up for work on December 3rd, 2007.

Law enforcement exhausted numerous leads from the time Cheryl Dunlap was reported missing on December 3rd of '07 until Gary Hilton was named a suspect in January. During that time, the Leon County Sheriff's Office put out descriptions of trucks that they thought were related to her disappearance.

Some witnesses said they had seen a black dodge truck on Highway 319 next to where Dunlap's car was found. In the court documents, one person reported a man in the area who bragged "...about a new woman he was dating from Wakulla County who was a Sunday School Teacher." They also reported the man was driving a black truck and that he went missing on the same day Dunlap went missing.

Later on in the investigation, a white van belonging to Gary Hilton was also reported as vehicle of interest in the case. in January of 2008 when Gary Hilton was named a prime suspect, more leads surfaced from new witnesses.

Hilton was given a driving warning by a reserve official when he drove into a closed area of the Apalachicola National Forest. He was also seen by residents at Glenda's Store off Highway 319. The document says the witness said she saw a man with a dog with long reddish colored hair, much like Hilton's dog. She and another witness said they saw the man and his van in the area twice.

From these accounts and others, it seems he was spotted by maybe a handful of people. The assistant state attorney explained why we cannot know who the witnesses are. "We don't want witnesses contacted, that sort of thing and you know, in a case of this nature there's going to be a lot of prejudicial information and if that gets out there and taints the jury then it makes it more difficult to find a jury here." said Fulford.

-------------------------------------
From Thursday

The information made available has been covered up to some degree--but some details are visible.

The assistant state attorney says this was done to keep from jeopardizing a fair trial.

The documents are hundreds of pages of witness statements from close friends of Cheryl Dunlap to those who found her body in the Apalachicola National Forest on December 15th of 2007.

What is listed in the pages is considered discovery materials and this is only a small portion of a great deal of evidence in the Hilton case.

Jackie Fulford, Chief Assistant State Attorney says, "We're trying to pick a fair and impartial jury in Leon County and not have the case removed to a different jurisdiction because we think a jury here ought to hear the case."

Currently, the Hilton case is still in the discovery process and has just begun.

WCTV has pulled some material from the court documents that may have not been known before going all the way back to December of 2007... We know she was missing and did not show up to church on Sunday December 2nd and did not come to work at FSU's Thagard Center December 3rd.

Some of the court documents recall a few of her last interactions with people on December 1, 2007. One at a grocery store that evening and later when Cheryl called a friend.

It states that "Her phone had only rang once and her caller ID displayed Ms. Dunlap's phone number." And "When she answered the phone, no one was there."

Dunlap's body was found on December 15th of 2007 and the hunter who found her stated that he..."was hunting in the area when BLANK discovered the remains of a person laying in the woods just off of Forest Rd. 381E."

The documents also highlight sightings of vehicles around the time of Cheryl Dunlap's death. Some people even recalled seeing a white van like that of Gary Hilton's.

Hilton was given a driving warning in the Apalachicola National Forest for driving into a restricted area on December 28th. In the documents it shows how Hilton was confronted by a forest official. In documents the officer stated that Hilton asked how the officer found him. The officer said he followed Hilton's tire tracks. The officer also stated that Hilton said, "If you come to a WMA that you would get patted down." referring to a Wildlife Management area. And the officer thought this was somewhat strange and asked him what he meant and Hilton said, "...you can drive around town all day long but if you come to a WMA you were going to get patted down." The officer gave Hilton the warning and told him to leave the area.

Hilton was later arrested in Georgia where he plead guilty for the murder of Meredith Emerson last January. He was later extradited to Leon County last June where he remains behind bars awaiting trial in the murder of Cheryl Dunlap.

------------------------------------------

Anonymous said...

I too, knew Cheryl Lynn Strother. She lived across the street from us and my sister and her sat on the bus together. I never understood why they could not find anything about her murder. I did have an interesting idea. David Berkowitz (the Son of Sam) was at Fort Knox Kentucky in 1974. The reports are that he left in June 1974, just a couple of weeks before Cheryl went missing. His first known attack was with a knife and she escaped. He was known to target girls with long brown hair. How convenient it would have been to kill and then leave the area to start up again. I have no proof..... But how interesting that one of the most prolific serial killers at the time was in the area close to the time of Cheryl's death.

Glenn Adams said...

Information is being released from the Investigation GMH, for the abduction and tragic murder of Meredith Hope Emerson(Blood Mtn Hiker, GA). 51 pages so far. Now we know a bit more of the REAL story!

Tabor LIED to the public BIG time in his WXIA interview (However, He didn't lie to LE when they interviewed him again after his public debut.) Tabor NEVER CALLED anyone after getting Hilton's phone call! ALSO, He got two phone calls from Hilton that day, not just the one! AND HE DID NOTHING to contact LE about either call!

Tabor claims to have advanced Hilton over $80,000, and that was for what??? Wasn't it his claim before that he had advanced Hilton in the neighborhood of $10,000 over a 10 year period??? Tabor claims Hilton had likely stolen numerous guns from Tabor, and again he did what about reporting that??? NOTHING ??? Tabor is the one who claims to have rescued Hilton from the Mountains when his other van broke down up there at Tray Mountain in 2005 and then he BOUGHT him the 2001 van.

Motor Vehicle Query - he was run 81 times from 1996 - 2007

All were in GA except the 2 times in Florida on 11/17/07 & 12/28/07, NC, & TN prolly have similar numbers and GMH, was spotted all up and down the Appalacian Mountains.
Wolfscratch

Glenn Adams said...

June 17, 2009

Police seek DNA link to murder victim

By LYDA LONGA
Staff Writer

Investigators in Ormond Beach are hoping a piece of DNA evidence they've sent to a California lab might link a suspected serial killer to a South Daytona man whose body parts were found in the Tomoka River.


Hilton



Louis
Gary Michael Hilton is already serving a life sentence in Georgia for killing hiker Meredith Emerson. The young woman was walking in a Georgia state park on New Year's Day with her dog when she came across Hilton. Investigators with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Hilton led them to Emerson's decapitated and dismembered remains in early January 2008.

Hilton also is charged in a Florida Panhandle murder.

Leon County authorities say Hilton killed Sunday school teacher Cheryl Dunlap, whose body was found in the Apalachicola National Forest near Tallahassee on Dec. 19, 2007. She, too, was decapitated, police said.

The two cases are similar to Michael Scot Louis', whose torso and legs were discovered Dec. 6 in black plastic bags on the banks of the Tomoka River inside Tomoka State Park. The 27-year-old Louis of South Daytona was also decapitated, and his head has never been found.

Earlier this week, Ormond Beach police Sgt. Jaime Gogarty said Hilton is a person of interest in the Louis case, and he's hoping the evidence sent out west will match the killer's DNA.

Besides the murders of Emerson and Dunlap, investigators believe Hilton could be responsible in at least four other killings, if not more.

"We're certainly hoping it's him," said Gogarty, who heads the department's Criminal Investigations Division. "He was in the area, possibly Ocala, around the time of the crime."

Louis' stepfather, Joseph Provenzano, is hoping for the same thing.

Provenzano said the "not knowing" in this case has been extremely frustrating for him and his wife. Provenzano said he knew police sent DNA evidence to California and were waiting for the results.

He does not doubt the killer could be Hilton, but he is still puzzled as to how Hilton -- if he is Louis' murderer -- targeted his stepson in late November 2007.

Provenzano said Louis' Firebird was found in the parking lot of his apartment complex in South Daytona. The keys were still in the ignition, but the car was a considerable distance from Louis' apartment.

"He loved his car, and there is no way he would have left it that far from his apartment," Provenzano said Tuesday. "This distance where the car was found from his apartment was like the length of a football field."

Louis' unwashed laundry and two guitars were inside the car, Provenzano said, and those items have since been returned to the family. The car, however, remains with police.

Gogarty said anytime a similar case surfaces, his investigators compare notes with other detectives. Earlier this month, a dismembered body was found in plastic bags in Biscayne Bay in Miami. Police there have said the remains belong to 21-year-old Osben Laparra.

Laparra was decapitated, but his head has been found, along with his torso, arms and legs. No one has been arrested in the case.

Provenzano said he can't imagine why anyone would want to hurt his stepson.

"He could push peoples' buttons, but I can't imagine anyone getting so mad that they would do such a thing," he said. "If we find out who did this, then we'll know why."

lyda.longa@news-jrnl.com

Glenn Adams said...

« View all web results for gary michael hilton serial killer news

Atlanta Journal Constitution
Serial killer experts target Hilton case
Atlanta Journal Constitution - Christian Boone, Rhonda Cook - ‎Jun 18, 2009‎
Gary Michael Hilton may be among the oldest suspected serial killers, but he's not the oldest. Missouri grandparents Ray and Faye Copeland were in their 70s ...
Dismembered Body Found; Police Looking At Gary Hilton WSBtv.com
Gary Michael Hilton suspected in 2007 decapitation Atlanta Journal Constitution
all 6 news articles »
Email this story

MyFox Atlanta
Police link Fla. killing to serial killer
United Press International - Agatha Christie - ‎6 hours ago‎
Police have been investigating Gary Hilton in relation to the killing and have him as a suspect in six additional killings. Hilton is currently incarcerated ...
Serial killer possibly linked to Ormond Beach murder Orlando Sentinel
Cops believe convicted killer connected to murder MiamiHerald.com
all 14 news articles »
CP by Wolfscratch

Glenn Adams said...

Been focusing on Rosana Milana, another probable victim of Gary Michael Hilton, that vanished in North Carolina,and have found a treasure trove of info on her case..
Like Cayle Bywater, Rosana Milana, was stigmatized with the Bipolar Label. Rosana, was also burdened with the Schizophrenia label, which would indicate a paranoid and dillusional person which at best would be unpredictable. Right?

Would it interest you to know that Rosana, was a world traveler that had previously travelled and explored Europe alone, by train, bus and airplane.

When someone is reported as missing, and they are handicapped with these labels, IMO, LE doesn’t investigate their dissapearance with the same intensity as others. I am confident that this was the case with Rosana, and Cayle…

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090621/NEWS01/906210338/1322

Citizens Times has a sketch that resembles GMH, when he accompanied Rosana into a trailhead shop, emulating a travelling preacher.

Wolfscratch

Anonymous said...

[UPDATE] Gary Michael Hilton Trial

Attorneys for WCTV and the Tallahassee Democrat are in court this morning (Nov. 19) arguing that a hearing regarding the upcoming transport and testing of accused killer Gary ...

www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Hilton_Trial_Could_be_Delayed_Again_104361813.html ·

cp by Wolfscratch

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