Posted on 02/01/2008 6:09:33 AM PST by beaureguard
Meredith Emerson, who had a green belt in judo, put up such a fight against Gary Michael Hilton that he dropped his police-style baton while trying to kidnap her in the mountains of North Georgia on New Year's Day.
A diminutive but scrappy woman who stood 5-foot-4, Emerson continued to resist Hilton during the next three days, repeatedly giving the 61-year-old drifter incorrect pass codes for her ATM cards.
The young woman, a vibrant 24-year-old with a steel will, may have acted not just to save herself, but to help authorities apprehend her captor.
"It is unclear, [but] I would like to think she was doing everything she could to ensure that he would perhaps get caught during his efforts to use the ATMs," Dawson County District Attorney Lee Darragh said.
Hilton was arrested on Jan. 4, and later led authorities to Emerson's body. Darragh described Emerson's three-day ordeal in court Thursday moments before Judge Bonnie Oliver accepted Hilton's guilty plea to murder and sentenced him to life in prison.
With Emerson's parents watching from the second row, Darragh gave the following account, which was drawn from authorities' interviews with Hilton, and confirmed by his public defender, Rob McNeill.
Emerson was not the first hiker Hilton approached on a trail on Jan. 1. He considered another potential victim, but "she was with other people."
Emerson became his focus for two reasons: She was alone on Blood Mountain, and she was female.
He wanted her money. And he knew that he would eventually kill her.
Witnesses had reported spotting Hilton following Emerson in the mountains that day.
One witness, a former law enforcement officer, said he saw Hilton carrying a police-style baton and a large knife on his belt. That witness later found two water bottles, a dog leash and some dog treats along with the baton on the edge of a hiking trail.
"There was in fact a struggle at that location between Ms. Emerson and this defendant," Darragh told the judge as Hilton sat to his left, wearing a dark bulletproof vest over his orange jail uniform and staring straight ahead. "This defendant, however, was able to place her under his control eventually."
Hilton took Emerson back to her car, where he stole her purse and ATM cards. Then he placed her in his van and drove her around to various locations in North Georgia, seeking to get money out of ATMs with her cards. She kept giving him incorrect PIN numbers.
He never was able to withdraw any money from Emerson's account. He was videotaped trying to do so at an ATM machine in Canton.
On Jan. 3, Hilton called a former employer, seeking some money and his old job back. The next day, Hilton told Emerson he was going to let her go.
He "secured" her in Dawson Forest, went to his van and returned with the handle of a car jack. He struck her on the head several times until she died. In hopes to conceal his crime after beating her to death, he decapitated her.
"He used the phrase that he did those things for 'forensic purposes,'" Darragh said.
Hilton was given an opportunity to address the court after his guilty plea but refused. When the hearing ended, sheriff's deputies led Hilton to a side exit, where he appeared to frantically reach for the door handle.
McNeill, his attorney, said Hilton is remorseful but decided not to address Emerson's parents in court because "anything he could say would be hollow and empty."
"He realizes what he has done to the family," McNeill said. "He realizes what a special person Meredith was."
She "actually did fight him in the beginning until she was unable to anymore," Darragh told reporters after the court hearing.
Added McNeill: "She was absolutely a hero. She did everything she possibly could" to survive.
A perfectly serviceable 32 revolver can be found in most places for about the price of a good pair of running shoes. No reason whatsoever for women to be defenceless.
He won’t last long........
I disagree. The key is to look even more dangerous and deranged than the mutant who is looking to attack you in this manner. Not easy for a woman, though I guess people like Rosie O'Donnell and Ellen Degenerate could do it with some effort.
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I agree with you on this. How often do we hear of women/girls who go off by themselves and end up dead? There is definitely safety in numbers.
So do I. Does your daughter listen any better than mine?
Exactly, it’s not safe to travel in the wilderness alone. For any number of reasons.
The Boy Scouts of America suggest a 4 person group is the smallest that should go out backpacking. 1 gets hurt, 1 stays with the injured, 2 go for help.
It’s too easy for a minor injury to get really serious if you are all by yourself. And that’s ignoring the predator issue!
A 24 year old woman has no business going out alone. Women get in good shape, they take self-defense classes, but in no case, are they match for a full grown man intent on doing them harm.
“WOMEN, ARM YOURSELVES AND GET TRAINED! Doesn’t even have to be a firearm, however that is the most efficient means of self defense. Carry a blade with quick access, get trained in any of a number of very deadly and female friendly martial systems, develop a “don’t get scared, get mad” mindset to add to extreme situational awareness. Buy as much pistol as you can handle and conceal (with good fast access), and get training in mindset, awareness, stance, grip, draw, marksmanship, and post shoot legal processes. In short, become the warriors you already have built into your makeup (don’t mess with mama bear!).”
I taught my wife, daughter and son, as per your post above. My daughter put one of her targets with a nice tight group on the back door of our house with a note, “Are you sure you want to break in?”
“She “actually did fight him in the beginning until she was unable to anymore,” Darragh told reporters after the court hearing.”
There is a wealth of horror in that line.
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Don't I know it. For years I was up at 4:45 AM and out the door in the dark to run by myself. I was very aware of my surroundings, but I was also very lucky nothing ever happened.
I took one of my puppies around midday with me to a state park when he was about 14 weeks old. I was on the path in the woods when a man in street dress seemingly stepped out of nowhere. It really scared me, and I never did that again. My puppy is now seven and weighs 114 pounds. I no longer live near that park, though.
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I don't want to imagine what she went through.
I guess that it is one of those things”that we cannot change”.I have a mixed breed who would not protect me in a crisis.
So I run in my small neighborhood although it gets boring and hike only with my husband.
My heart breaks for this girl’s family.
She was killed for money.Awful.
Good luck to you and keep running!
Thanks! Good luck to you as well!
“Why would anyone go hiking, biking, jogging, etc. by themselves in a remote area. Don’t they know that they are prime targets for the prowling predators on two feet as well as four feet?”
I see it all the time while walking my dog on secluded trails. Attractive young women joggers that would be easy prey for a criminal. Since I don’t hear much about such women being attacked, it doesnt appear to be a big problem here. And they may be armed for all I know, since I haven’t “patted them down” or anything.
“...Why would anyone go hiking, biking, jogging, etc. by themselves in a remote area...”
Because the rewards can be worth the risk. Life is too fragile to take risks but too short not to.
Despite this episode it is not such a giant risk. Living alone in an apartment can be a risk too. I have hiked alone and camped alone and it is a great way to really get away from the rat race for a while.
Would that be considered "cheap"? One should recall that John McCain wants to ban "cheap" handguns.
After a few tense encounters with suspicious men, I convinced her to go armed, especially if she is alone. I gave her a .22 revolver (that is all that is legal to carry here) and taught her how to use it. Now she openly carries it whenever she goes out in the woods alone. She feels a lot better but there is still a danger, especially if alone.
Serial killers are psychopathic personalities and are often clever and beguiling. If they catch you off guard, it might not much matter what you are armed with. In this case they had a struggle, so it may have made a difference if this unfortunate woman was armed with more than her "green belt".
This killer also apparently simultaneously took on two victims (an elderly couple) here in North Carolina last October. The woman was found bludgeoned dead near the trail but the man was never found. The killer also used one of their ATM cards. He probably murdered the man after he got the money. The lesson here is even hiking with another person is not necessarily safe. Apparently this couple was unarmed as well.
Predators don't usually attack those they think can fight back successfully. All these victims met his winnowing test.
The technology
You can read about it (and, if a resident of Georgia, join this fine organization) at Georgiacarry.org.
My 17 year old son is the one who doesn't listen. :-D
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