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.
At our house, it’s the other way around. Our son usually listened, our daughter always knew better. They’re both adults now. She listens better than when she was a teen, but still seems pretty sure she knows more than most. Fibromyalgia is keeping her out of the woods and parks for now. Guess that’s the only good thing about that!
My son is dead-set on joining the USMC as soon as he graduates high school. THEY will knock it out of him . . . they have lots of experience in that line.
Yes, that would be considered cheap because it is inexpensive. As mentioned above, a ban on inexpensive guns intended for self defense is nothing but an attempt to disarm the poor (or financially challenged if you prefer).
Get a gun and learn how to use it. Get an aggressive dog, get a group of friends. DO NOT TRUST/TALK to strangers.
The last few months have been rough for her, but things are starting to look up a little. She has applications in for desk jobs that she should be able to handle, and we’re doing warm water therapy together, which seems to be helping. God is good.
You're right. Also, few women have been raised to know how to fight someone who is not going to fight "by the rules".
Get a gun and learn how to use it. Get an aggressive dog, get a group of friends. DO NOT TRUST/TALK to strangers.
Good advice!
Carolyn
Valhalla.
Absolutely. A .22 Short round is plenty powerful enough to kill a person. Empty all six chambers of a cheap revolver into someone’s soft guts and they will officially be having a Bad Day no matter how big they are.
That’s tough - but you’re right, God is good. If she can see her way to do a little regular light exercise as her acute symptoms abate, that is supposed to help in the long run with the pain. I have a friend who has fought this off and on for years, and she says exercise helps.
A small Lab mix, very timid looking -- not much protection.
I have a pint-sized Lab (43 pounds) who is ordinarily quite affable but a tiger if she perceives me as threatened. She has faced down a loose pit bull for me - Mr. Pit didn't like what he saw and turned tail.
But as I said when I was chatting with one of the police officers who does security at our church, I place my trust in the dependable products of the Colt Firearms Manufacturing Company. Of course, the biggest cannon in the world does you no good if somebody jumps you from behind with a police baton and stuns you with a blow to the back of the head. You may fight, but you've already lost.
A couple of buddies AND a good sidearm AND a good dog. Cover your bets.
“In Georgia it’s illegal to carry in state parks, even with a permit. There are bills in the state legislature right now to change that.
You can read about it (and, if a resident of Georgia, join this fine organization) at Georgiacarry.org.”
Sorry to hear that! Each one should try, working within the system, to get as close to the full and fair meaning of the Second Amendment.
Other than that, better judged by 12...?
Thanks, that’s the advice we’re getting locally, too. As soon as I mention to anyone that my daughter has fibro, I find out that the person I’m talking to, or someone near and dear to them, also has fibro. Warm water exercise, and any light exercise, is what seems to be the most effective. My daughter gave up on the medications - they made her feel like her brain wasn’t working, but didn’t get rid of the pain.
The trick apparently is to push the exercise enough to get the good effect, without overdoing it. Just a little more than you feel like doing . . . . my friend got a (very gentle) horse and enjoys riding very much, she finds that and swimming laps in an indoor pool to be just about right for her.
Carolyn
Apparently this jerk used a dog to lure young women into talking to him. They found the dog in his abandoned van. When I think of all the times I've chatted with other dog owners . . . .
My daughter would LOVE to have a horse. But we’ll stick with the warm water exercise! I’ve never had any broken bones from warm water! :-)
. . . . so far! Ya just gotta choose your risks, I guess . . . I don't drive race cars or skydive :-o
There is a school of thought that fibromyalgia is related to insufficient sunshine/vitamin D.Sunscreen and skim milk both mean a person using them produces and ingests little of this important nutrient.
I think girls and women who take self-defense classes too often think this arms them against potential predators.
My daughter, age 12, has been taking karate for 1.5 years. Today was the third time she told me she could defend herself against muggers who are armed, by using her karate. (It came up because my husband told us we could not go to NYC alone for a couple of days because he thinks it is too dangerous for a girl and a woman to explore alone.)
A 12 year old girl vs. a grown man (or woman)!!! Give me a break!
So I sent an email to her karate teacher and told him to pretend to mug her with a pretend knife, and lets see her take him down. Won’t happen, but she’s gotta learn.
Can’t have guns here because my husband had a problem with the my least favorite folks, the BATF, and now cannot own a gun. Thus, no guns in our house. It’s a pisser.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.