was it me, why didn't she survive. i told her, there's a reason she's still living and to be happy and live on for mollie because mollie didn't get that chance. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline. " i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales alice. >> and this is dateline. >> you have to be aware of your

surroundings, you just never know. >> it started with a frightening horror movie from the 80s. >> this movie is we're gonna take some women into the wood and they will be hunted down. >> decades later something truly frightening it was happening for real. a strange vanishing in the forest. >> immediately, we knew something was wrong. >> then -- >> your heart just broke. >> surely, then meredith, two women missing and desperate efforts to find them. >> she could be alive and we just can't let up. >> could this old movie hold the key to these new cases? >> a little blood, sex, violence. >> a film fantasy turn chilling reality. >> if someone has her, she is afraid. >> who could be behind this and how with this real life story and? >> she was a blue belt in judo. >> if anybody could survive it was there it is.

>> our national forests are places of refuge for folks who want to get away from the city and have a sense of peace, commune with nature but you have to be aware of your surroundings all the time because you just never know. >> this blenders of america's national parks forest lands are poems just waiting to be written by each new visitor. from the cathedrals of the rockies to the quiet -- of the appalachians. -- oh my chattering daily routine, that was the kind of serenity meridith sought on new years

day, not -- for a young woman who love to trail climb 30 native rockies. it was 2008 as the young sales assistant sailed out from georgia with her dog, ella. her roommate julia from college days had slept in that morning. >> she left me a note on a chalkboard, took hella went hiking. not when am i going to be back. so it wasn't really anything out of the ordinary. >> meredith, was a dog person she doted on ella, black lab mix shuns finding her at a rescue. >> she had two dogs growing up and she wanted one of her own and she talked about it and researched what she wanted and definitely wanted to rescue a dog, finally found one, loved her and brought her home it was the love of her life. >> julia, the roommate, didn't know that meredith and a lot we're headed 40 miles north to blood mountain in the national forest.

despite the creepy teen slasher movie name, blood mountain is one of the most popular places to hike in the southeast. the famous appalachian trail takes off from just south of here. back in buford the roommates bend her new year's day with friends, and did notice that meredith hadn't come home until the next morning. >> she would leave a lot in my room and i would take care of her in the morning and i said ella isn't here that was strange and i called her cell phone went straight to voice mail, i thought maybe she was at work. >> when did you become anxious? >> when i got to work, she worked with a good friend of ours and the friend called me and said meredith didn't show up for work, meredith is always at work she is the first one at work. >> reliable meredith wasn't where she was supposed to be, julia called the sheriff's office. >> then she emeritus other friends assembled a search party, maybe she had twisted her ankle i can, taken a tumble,

it started with the note on the chalkboard. do you know where i'm going hiking would be? >> we had ideas, we took books that she hadn't someplace that she highlighted, kind of just started driving. >> the friends split up looking for a merit of scar at trail hits she marked in her trailing guides. >> there are four of us in the cars we were trying to call park rangers, anybody that may have seen her, her car. a friend of hers found her car and said i found it. >> the car was in the parking area at the base of blood mountain. >> we drove as fast as we could there and just knew, you know, the sinking feeling when you first see it. >> the friends raced up the blood mountain path to the appalachian trail, but no trace of meridith or ella. by nightfall the search became urgent as a cold front moved in and temperatures on blood mountain plunged below zero. at daybreak, thursday now, the friends were joined by deputies

from the local sheriff's office. john, just shy of retirement was the agent in charge for the georgia bureau of investigation states top cop. >> we received a request from the agency to help with a missing hiker. >> the case of the hiker missing for two days didn't look good to the season detective because of some disturbing items that had been recovered on the trail. what were the things that were found on the trail area that you thought were alarming? >> a couple of water bottles, a dog leash and a police expandable baton. >> this is a piece of professional gear? >> it is. a metal pipe that is expandable. you see almost every uniformed police officer carrying these things. >> those artifacts, the water bottle, the baton found together tell you a story at all or suggest something ominous? >> yes, we found those items in an area where the ground had appeared to have been disturbed and we became concerned that possibly a struggle to place their. >> meredith's water bottle,

ella's leash and signs of a struggle, nothing about the scene looked good to the veteran law man especially that expandable police baton that was found. he called in help. >> we partnered with over 18 or 19 police agencies to help with the search. >> her friends were naturally beside themselves. >> you know your heart just broke because you think something happened somebody had a weapon and her stuff was there. >> you're thinking at the very least he has been abducted? >> yes, it was hard because it wasn't something that we could talk about until we could actually prove that. >> the cops commandeered a park building as headquarters. >> we began getting information quickly -- >> from people who had hike the trails that day? >> right. >> remembered her? >> remembered her, and we began to get disturbing news of strange looking individual with meredith who also had a dog. >> thumbnail description, what were you hearing? >> strange looking, just a lowery kind of guy --

>> older guy? >> older guy. we developed a vehicle development, white van. >> the lead on the van came from this -- from the parking lot the night before meredith emerson went missing. a beyond the look on advisory went for the guy driving a white van accompanied by his reddish dog. >> it is going to be a white male between the ages of 50 and 60 years old, approximately 160 pounds it was described as bad dental, he had a dark reddish colored retriever. >> we put out that information through the media in atlanta and actually got a call from somebody who said i think i know who this is. >> coming up -- this mysterious stranger would prove to be stranger than anyone expected. >> i turned white, i felt the blood leave my face. >> meredith emerson had not been the only one missing in the forest. >> if she is still alive and

someone has her, she is afraid. >> when mystery on blood mountain continues. untain continues just like i stole kelly carter in high school. you got no game dude, that's a foul! and now you're ready to settle the score. game over. and if you don't have the right home insurance coverage, well, you could end up paying for all this yourself. so get allstate, and be better protected from mayhem, yeah, like me. thanks, bro. take a lap, rookie. real mature. getting this? water doesn't have to be boring. with over 40 delicious flavors, cirkul starts a party for your tastebuds. no sugar, no calories and no artificial flavors. just good times. try cirkul, available now at walmart. join me in the finish 24 hour challenge. start by cooking a lasagna. skip the rinse and load your dishes. 24 hours later when your dishwasher is full, let finish quantum clean your dishes. if the stains aren't gone, your lasagna is on finish. >> meredith emerson and her lab

ella were two days missing on georgia's blood mountain early in a freezing january of 2007. her friends had alerted the authorities and people from all over the greater atlanta area were scouring the hiking trails. so many volunteers, they couldn't use all of them. >> people showed up and just said i have a daughter who likes to hike, i have a sister who could have been meridith, easily, and they just volunteer their time. >> the surge in the national forest had become something more ominous than a lost hiker incident. meredith had been last seen in the company of an unsavory looking stranger, and law enforcement was about to identify him. the tip came from john an atlanta businessman, he was watching the continuing news

coverage of missing meridith during his morning workout. >> when they started giving the description of the person of interest, my ears perked up, i think i turned white at one point i felt blood leave my face. >> the businessman thought this has got to be kerry hilton, hilton was a guy who worked on and off for him for years first as a tele-marketer, then as an independent contractor in the signing business, he even lived for a while and as little houses that he owned. what was the thought that was taking shape as you're listening to this? >> first thing that got my tension is where the event happened, where she went missing, blood mountain i knew that was the place where he like to hang out, he had a dog with him and most importantly was the evidence that they had found at the scene, i knew hilton, always had expendable police baton with him. >> the tip and the name quickly led to a georgia drivers license for 61-year-old gary michael hilton. investigators showed the photo to hikers who i.d.'d him as the

scruffy mystery man seen with meridith on blood mountain. the man hunt was on. >> we put the name and face out -- >> and it's plastered all over the metro atlanta area? >> yes. >> the ap be went well beyond the georgia borders. hilton's name and picture were all over the regional news. light bulbs began going off to the south around tele-hasse, florida's capital. when people there saw his photo on tv. the search for gary hilton was about to widen. the mystery man person of interest in the meridith emerson case looked familiar to people who thought they'd seen him just about the time to learn about the sad case of another woman who had gone missing. cheryl a nurse and mother. when cheryl didn't turn up for church won december sunday in 2007, and then mr. sunday school class, red flags went up. next door neighbor and friend tanya. >> sunday morning at church i turned around and looked at her usual spot, she wasn't there. >> she didn't teach her classes? >> she didn't. >> immediately we knew

something was wrong, because it's not like her. >> everyone who knew her agreed, 46-year-old cheryl was reliable. a woman solid in her faith and set in her habits. her fellow nurse friend and prayer partner laurent walker. >> she liked to hear what we call our praise reports, something good that happened with a patient or a coworker. >> one monday morning rolls around and tang is still hadn't been able to reach cheryl she walked next door. >> i went down to her house and saw that the dog was at the house and the car was gone i called the office several times and they hadn't seen her. >> cheryl's daughter-in-law tabatha called the sheriff's office to report her missing. >> when tanya said she didn't show up for work i knew that was a problem. >> after that missing persons report was filed, the friends heard about a car that looked like cheryl spotted on the side of the highway leading into tallahassee. they headed up there. >> cheryl's car, it -- they sent a deputy and checked over from that part.

>> are you apprehensive? >> yes, very uneasy i knew something was wrong. >> cheryl's car was parked well off the highway. florida department of law enforcement agent and the white. >> it was pretty clear from the beginning that that is not someplace that you would've parked it as well as the tire looked like it had been purposely flattened on the vehicle. >> and abandoned car, a slash tire. searchers law enforcement, volunteers began fanning out into the adjacent 57,000 acre appalachian colon national park, all of them with dread in their hearts. >> i would be devastated if something like that happened to my family, and so that is why want to be up here and try to help as much as i can. >> there were massive searches in town, thousands of people showed up to comb the woods looking for her. it was clear very early on that this was unusual for her, she would not have gotten in the car with someone, she wishes not the type of person who would disappear. >> jennifer portman was a senior writer for the tallahassee democrat. >> we're talking about north

florida in that area, people are bound by their schools, their families, their churches. >> sunday school teachers with children and a grandchild don't go missing? >> that is exactly right. >> her friends and family were as baffled as the police by cheryl's disappearance. law enforcement was trying to put the pieces together when they looked into cheryl's background nothing jumped out at them, two sons, long settle divorce, no boyfriends. and then, on tuesday for days after she was last seen, the cops got her bank records. something was up. >> we found where some atm activity had occurred. >> that is a big break? >> yes, sir. upon viewing the video in that county it was clear it was not her. this was a male subject using her card, he was disguising his face so we knew at that point definitely that it was probably not going to be a good outcome for her. >> the disguised man made three different withdrawal of $700, the atm he tapped was in

downtown tallahassee near the campus of the state you, miles from where cheryl's car was found. so you end the teams take out the atm machine? >> we stay there several days, denied watching the atm and he never came back to that one. >> the search for cheryl stretched on for weeks. >> a lot of us went out on our own and search the woods and went to places we thought, you know, she could possibly be. >> the more time goes on and evidently the fear sinks in. >> sleepless nights. just -- because, i'm thinking if she is still alive and someone has her, she is afraid. >> mid december 2007, two weeks after cheryl disappeared, some hunters out training their dogs in the national forest noticed a vulture circling in the sky above them. >> and they want to check it out and discover the body. >> a female body missing its head and hands, a grizzly fact not released at the time. you would think that this is someone trying to conceal the evidence? >> very much. >> it took a dna sample from

her toothbrush to identify the remains as those of cheryl. >> someone called and said they found a body, we pulled over on the side of the road and just, you know, -- >> that was it? >> yes. >> the awareness was there? >> it was surreal, the things that you hear about movies but it was so close to home, in our small community that something like this could happen. >> now with cops in florida looking hard at gary hilton and the on -- and counterparts in georgia convince that he had taken meredith emerson, authorities started hearing about yet another national forest homicide. this one in north carolina. so then you have to be seeing all year team of investigators what we have here? >> that is right. so now we are really wondering who we have here. and where is he? and more importantly, where is meredith? >> coming up. >> you have a killer running

around in national forest. >> concern for meredith deepens, but her friends know something that man on the mountain couldn't. >> blue belt in judo, if anyone could survive it was meredith. >> when mystery on blood mountain continues. untain continues dupixent is an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma that's not or sudden breathing problems. dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. get help right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor about new or worsening joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines, including steroids, without talking to your doctor. ask your specialist about dupixent. (geri) i smoked and i have copd. my children are really worried. my tip is, send your kids a text. it may be the last time that you do. (announcer) you can quit. for free help, call 1-800-quit-now. ♪ ♪

♪♪ voltaren. the joy of movement. ♪♪ >> where was meredith hope

emerson? could she still be alive somewhere out there in georgia's national forest?

the 24-year-old hiker have a prayer if she were indeed in the clutches of mystery man gary hilton? the search on blood mountain went into a third today. >> we had hope, we were there from sun up to sundown plus i mean we were there through the night, the cold and all the searchers -- but if anybody could survive it it was merited? if anybody could fight somebody like that it was merited. >> meredith's parents had flown in from colorado and join the searchers, peggy bailey a family friend was their spokeswoman. >> let me tell you something, meredith emerson could do anything, she is feisty. she is strong she is tiny and petite 120 pounds but let me tell you i have ever hope that if anybody -- she can run those mountains. she is a strong person, if anybody can survive this you can. >> the missing woman was deceptively strong, not just an experienced hiker but an accomplished martial artist enthusiast as well. >> blue belt and a keto and a

blue belt in judo. >> take her on at your peril? >> absolutely, she would fight you, and she would actually come home and tell me, you know, i threw those 220 pound man, i beat him up today in class. >> by now with half of georgia looking for this gary hilton, authorities outside tallahassee florida war wondering about his connection to the missing woman there. it was then that the detectives got solid information about another killing in a national forest. >> we're in our command post and a detective walked in and said that they had a case took place in north carolina involving a husband and wife, the wife had been murdered in a pasha national forest. >> the detective was working an unsolved case that had cops in north carolina bewildered. david mahoney sheriff transylvania county, a beautiful place with an ominous name that has nothing to do with pranks dripping blood. >> we have wonderful attractions all of those things

with slower pace of life is what brings folks and keeps folks here. >> folks like john and irene bryant who after raising a family retired here far from the brutal winters of upstate new york and close to the hiking trails they loved. hallie bryant is the youngest of their four children. >> they love the outdoors, when they were first mary day used to go hiking in the mountains they would take us hiking and as they got older they would take the grandchildren out hiking to. >> the bryant had a lifetime of adore experience, hiked all over the world. >> my father completed the appalachian trail which is 2000 miles from georgia to maine they traveled extensively to new zealand and all through europe. all through america especially south western and northwestern united states. >> in late october 2000 and 82 months before merited emerson disappeared the couple set

ought on a day hike in the national forest. no one heard from them in two weeks. >> they always let us know what they were going on one of their many trips, so it was totally unlike them to just disappear. >> their son bob flew in from texas. >> the newspapers were around the doorstep, he broke into the home and found the breakfast was still out on the table, many days old, and he knew something was terribly wrong. my brother searched, he went up and down every little back road throughout the park. >> he found their car at a trail head in the national forest. by then, sheriff mahoney's office was involved. >> rescue squad began, a search assuming there had been some medical problem or some illness that had fallen upon them. >> in my heart i knew that that was in the case, there was just no way they would both be hurt

like that, they were very experienced. >> unfortunately it was not very long after we began that surge that we discovered the body of miss bryan. >> there was a sense of finality, i knew she was gone already, but that little glimmer particle of hope was distinguished when they found her body. >> irene brines remain were located 30 yards from where her son had come upon the car, she had been bludgeoned to death, but where was the husband? >> we began and even more extensive search for mr. bryant, that search really involved in the entire area of the forest. >> within hours of discovering irene's roddie detective learns $300 had been withdrawn from the bryant's account using an atm card induct town, tennessee. they had a picture from the machine. >> the man that had concealed his head, face, was able to successfully use the bryant's

atm. >> whoever was making the withdrawal, it wasn't 79 year old jon bryant. but time and geography were working against the law man. >> we spent weeks everywhere in that entire area. we did everything from vehicle patrol, atv patrolling, horseback on foot, everywhere. >> john bryant had seemingly vanished from the face of the earth. the fbi posted a 10,000 dollar reward for information, but, the bryant case went cold. until, meredith emerson loomed on the lawman's radar. >> our investigator began following that case and immediately there were some similarities that we saw between the two cases, both of these incidents occurred on forest land, we really felt like the two were probably connected. we may go years without a homicide. this was very, very different. do we have a killer running

around loose in the national forest? >> in georgia, the searchers looking for meredith emerson and her dog ella on blood mountain were hoping and praying that they weren't dealing with a homicide. >> we're doing everything we can do to make sure that if she is up there we get her out of there and safely. if she is not up there to do everything we can do to illuminate that as a possibility and continue the investigation from there. >> georgia florida keys were composite-ing a profile of gary hilton who was starting to look like a person of interest, not only into meredith emerson disappearance case, but in at least two unsolved murders in the national forest. their findings were deeply troubling. >> coming up. might a movie hold the key to this case? >> that movie is we're gonna take some women into the wood and they will be hunted down. >> maybe once investigators learn who was behind it? >> is gary in this? >> he is helping me throughout. >> when mystery on blood

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york with a look of what is happening, senator lindsey graham met with ukrainian plans than zelenskyy and he described the russians as bloodied and weakened in ukraine, urging more weapons and support from the united states. this meeting comes after russia declared victory and capturing the city of bakhmut, but military analysts say the territory has a little strategic importance. a terrifying scene on a flight carrying nearly 200 people. a passenger opened a door as the plane was minutes from landing in south korea. 12 had to be treated for minor injuries, and the passenger who opened that door was detained. now, let's go back to dateline. back to dateli ne >> on blood mountain there was still no trace of meredith emerson, her friend julia and the other searchers found no

used to be good news. >> i think it might be a good thing, you know, she might be somewhat warm, with her dog. you know, somebody might just have her or something like that. kind of makes me feel a little better knowing that we haven't found anything here yet. >> well, hundreds of volunteers and deputies scoured the force for clues, detectives were trying to get a handle on gary hilton the suspect in her disappearance and who was by now a person of interest in at least two murders. john, hilton's former boss gave investigators what background he had on his eccentric loner employee. he had known him for nearly a decade. >> the only interest that he had in wife seem to be his dog and going out camping for extended periods of time with his dog he seemed to like that isolation. >> hilton's dog danny had been at his side since he started working for him, the former boss had come to regard hilton

as a hair trigger not case. >> he often told stories of going to parks with his dog and he would end up in altercations with other pet owners. it was always the same story he would represent the other dog owner's behavior and then the other dog owner would get angry at him and for bleeder physically assault him. so he was always the victim. >> for the first nine years, hilton worked at his citing business, taper recalled him as a good employee, then something seem to snap. >> things started to change dramatically, starting in 2007. >> what happened then? >> he just wasn't doing any work. i decided to go and see what was happening over there. it was a bizarre scene. >> how so? >> his physical appearance was quite different, he immediately smiled to show that he was missing several teeth and he went on to explain that he had actually taken a pair of pliers and removed some of his teeth. and he said he enjoyed doing that because it frightened people. >> he seemed to enjoy showing himself in that manner, that kind of ghoulish presentation?

>> he was acting very animated, talkative. >> he fired hilton who turned around and claimed taber owned a money, by mid summer 2007 the citing guy said he feared for his safety. >> finally he threatened to kill me, he made it very clear. >> taber that threat seriously. >> i mediately armed myself with a glock nine millimeter and an ar-15 assault rifle started driving a different cars. >> he was a bookie man? >> absolutely. it was a terrifying ordeal not to know what was going to happen, you can pull in your drive when have someone pulled out of your driveway assassinate you. >> when the former boss went to the police with the story, he -- it's in to do the trick. >> within a day or two he had packed up all of his belonging and moved on. >> put all the stuff in the van moved on? >> yes. >> john taber was relieved to see hilton in his rearview mirror, but he was nonetheless puzzled by the change that had come over the man. >> when you around someone for ten years and it is an eventful, there is nothing that ever

happens that suggests a demonic, violent personality that apparently materializes somehow. >> taber had part of the gary hilton picture, so veteran atlanta defense lawyer added more. sam real had defended hilton years back on some minor-ish beefs. >> we did a jury trial on drug cases, possession, he was accused on a misdemeanor of acting like a charity and he really wasn't a charity. he'd raise money to help the little children, of course, he pocketed it. >> did you have a job to speak of, anything that he did professionally? >> his job was scamming. that's what he did, mostly. >> he was a con man, basically? >> right. he was a little calm. >> when he got tripped up he called on the? >> he did. >> the lawyer wears two hats, he is also a movie producer. not hollywood, but more of the direct released a video kind. small budget titles are seeing more often in asian night

market stalls than your local multiplex. this is a 2004 police. >> i can't do that? >> don't do it. >> shoot me. shoot me! >> horror, goring, what is the genre? >> try not to make it cory, but at the end of the day, a little blood, a little sex, a little violence can't hurt. >> as it turned out, cops on the meredith emerson case were particularly interested in his first movie deadly run, he made it back in 1985 with the assistance of his scam artists client gary hilton. >> that movie is that we are going to take some women into the woods and then going to be friend those women, and then they will be hunted down and killed. >> is gary involved in this, in the sense of a script writer? >> he is helping me throughout and then helping me star figure

out how to be a serial killer. >> these are ideas that you guys are knocking around. >> he has a dark side sometimes, he wants to get involved in a movie but he wants to make a darker and more horrible than we would like to, have more blood, gore, have rape, more killings things like that. i thought we turned it down and made it a better movie. >> he suggested that we do it up in the woods, he helped me found some of the locations, we found the cabin. >> that cabin used in the movie happened to be in the national forest, just north of where meredith emerson went missing. he is around the table because you guys collaborate on this film, how was he behaving around your group of movie people? >> when the movie was being made he is animated but interesting. >> he's not alone or? >> no, he's a loner, he's a psychopath. he's a sociopath. he is always trying to get one step ahead of the law, he is

always doing something a little bit wrong but all my clients they do that to. >> it sounds like you're talking about a charming guy? >> he was charming, he was personable, he was a fellow that you would want to meet. >> which are all skills you need to be a successful conman if you're gonna keep an edge. the lawyer and movie producer had a falling out with hilton overall things, a dog. dogs seem to be important to him? >> dogs are very important to him. he wound up with my dog, -- >> what do you mean? >> i had a dog, nice little golden retriever we had him in the backyard, all of a sudden i come back one day and the dog is gone, of course i'm upset and then i find out that gary took the dog. >> he stole your dog? >> yes. >> as their profile of hilton became clear and became more troubling, investigators looking for him and meredith were desperate for any lead on his whereabouts and they were about to get one. >> i answer myself phone and i heard his voice, couldn't believe it.

>> coming up. a trump is set to lure gary hilton from his hiding spot. >> trying to plague cool. >> and a dramatic new lead, could it lead to police to meredith? >> she could be alive, we just can't let up. >> when mystery on blood mountain continues. untain continues a little messy... good thing there's resolve. love the love. resolve the mess. ♪("nobody's baby" by sharon jones)♪ ♪ ♪i ain't nobody's baby♪ ♪get yourself a new one, oh♪

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was under the control of gary hilton somewhere in north georgia. the more they learned about the survivalist oddball who was a person of interest in two murders in national forest elsewhere, the more they feared for her. a friend of meredith's family appeal to directly to hilton. >> i hope that if you realize is that this would be helpful that his heart would be soft and and turned to come forward with information, so please, please, have the courage to come forward. we need you. >> their next lead, the big one came from an unlikely source, the suspect himself. three days into meredith's disappearance, gary helton called his old boss taber. >> i answered myself phone and i heard his voice, couldn't believe it, he acted as if nothing was wrong. >> he didn't let up to you that he was a subject of a manhunt? >> no he acted as if you knew nothing about it which is in fact was the case, he apologized at length for his past beaver and on the terms on

which he left. he said that he was ill and that now he felt better and he realizes the errors of his ways and was ready to get back to work. >> startled but thinking fast, taber tried to laura hilton to an agreed upon location with a promise of money. >> i was trying to plague cool so i didn't know anything about what's going on, i told him that i would give him a check for $800 and we discussed a place to leave the check. >> for you baiting that place to be new to come and show up? >> it was my objective to get him to a place where authorities could apprehend him. >> the trap was set in a building owned by taber where helton had lived for a while, the swat team was dispatched. what hilton fall for the pick up some money roofs? and what about the missing woman? >> in your gut did you think merited through still alive? miss >> meredith's name was meridith hope emerson and we all hope that she was alive but the longer these things carry on as time passes, you continue

to hope but it diminishes after time. >> as the man hunt continues, there was a glimmer of hope. friday morning, january 4th 2008, four days after meredith vanished, the u.s. marshals service traced activity on mare this bank card. >> the card was used as a local bank, 15 miles from the abductions site and then again 50 miles south of the abductions of, and then 80 miles, these were all attempts were no money was taken. >> which suggests what? >> it's suggested that meredith would and give him the right pin. >> which also suggest that she might still be alive? >> that's right. >> investigators had been able to trace the phone gary hilton used earlier to call his old boss john taper who had said that trump for him. that call was made from restaurant about 50 miles from blood mountain. hilton it seemed was moving south towards atlanta. metro pd swat concealed at

themselves in and near tapers building, it was the drop point that -- you stake out the location you're surveilling and? >> no-show. >> he didn't show? >> no-show, we're looking and wondering where could this guy be, we have him 50 miles from blood mountain. >> the veteran agents working as lack -- last case before retirement was talking constantly with meredith's parent. her father, dave emmerson. >> i appealed to everyone to search their hearts and memories for anything they can remember and do to help us find meridith. >> after i met the emerson's i knew that i had to tell them everything, i couldn't hold back any information from these two people, they were terrified. >> why did you take it personally? >> this case was different because not only me but the other investigators recognize the fact early on that we have to embrace this family and tell them everything even though what we were telling them was not good news. >> hilton, meredith, her lab

ella, the tip line kept ringing with leads good and bad. then, four days in a friday afternoon, a shopper called to say that she had found a black lab wandering around a supermarket parking lot. >> surprised to see any dog running loose in the parking lot and then to find out that it is the one that merited is, it was her dog, you know it was a pretty big surprise and shock. >> she took the dog to an animal clinic where the vet was able to read and identity chip implanted in her. sure enough, it was ella. but, where was her owner, meredith? now events were moving quickly, right away came another tip. >> we get a call from a female acquaintance of hilton stating that she had talked him on the phone, he had culture and wanted money. and she said don't you know the world is looking for you? and he hung up. >> hilton called from a payphone at a convenience store near where meredith's dog had turned up. you have a living path, a missing owner and a phone which

is somewhere in the vicinity of this guy you believe it or object or? >> the agents were searching in an area of the convenience store search in a dumpster. and it was in the dumpster we found meredith's identification purse, a bloody -- bloody clothing, we felt like we didn't -- we felt like it would in turn out like we hoped it would. >> a, partially bloody fleece tops, they gave the parents the grim update. then around eight that night still friday not far from worked huber heights a trump for hilton more than one elides to descend noticed a man emptying a white van. >> at the gas station up here, there's a white van and a red dog wandering around. >> calls lit up 9-1-1, this one lasted for 12 minutes. >> 9-1-1 what is exactly occasion? >> i have the person of interest in the missing woman in a case is at this chevron gas station. >> the man is there?

>> the van is here, the dog is here, the red dog and i saw the man's face and i've been watching the news and i know tim. i know it's him. he's emptying all his stuff out of the van he's looking around like he is as guilty assad. i can take him down if you want. >> no sir, stay right there. >> here comes the cops. yes. they got him now. two cruisers pulled up on him. two of the -- are there. >> gary hilton was under arrest. detective swarmed over the filthy van and inventoried his possessions looking for any clues to meredith's fate, the gbi spokesman updated the media. >> it's a missing persons investigation right now and that is how we are pursuing it, important key might be any knowledge that mr. hilton has. >> take me inside your situation room when you get the news that atlanta has got him? >> we are pleased with the fact that now we have this man, but we can't lose fact of the fact that we don't have meredith yet, and the possibility that she

could be alive and we just can't let up and so we had time to interview him, he refuses. >> there will be no statement, i'm waving no rights, i want to know attorney appointed, i want to speak without attorney and i want that attorney present during questioning. >> cops had their man, but not meridith. could they crack him? get from him the story of what had happened in the national forest? >> coming up. >> you're decades of law enforcement, have you ever had a session of interviews like this? >> no. no, he was very straightforward and was very nonchalant. >> when mystery on blood mountain continues. mountain continues to deliver your taste buds to crispy, savory glory. and it all starts at $9.99. marco's. pizza lovers get it. (swords clashing) and it all starts at $9.99. -had enough? -no... arthritis. here. aspercreme arthritis.

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with a majority of my patience with sensitivity, i see irritated gums and weak enamel. sensodyne sensitivity gum & enamel relieves sensitivity, helps restore gum health, and rehardens enamel. i'm a big advocate of recommending things that i know work. so, i got this app from experian. it's got everything i need to help my finances. got my fico® score, raised it instantly, i even found new ways to save. all right here. free. and fast. see all you can do with the free experian app. download it now. >> saturday morning, five days after meredith emerson vanished on blood mountain, gary hilton was charged with a crime against her, kidnapping with bodily injury. hilton was in custody but he

was uncooperative, zipped up, giving his interrogators nothing on meredith's whereabouts and what he had done with her. >> meredith's middle name is hope, and that is exactly what the lord gives us for her, so we are hoping that we are talking of meredith in the present tense and we will be finding her and she will safely come home to us. the >> searchers in the field shifted their focus from blood mountain to these woods called -- about 30 miles to the south, it was from around here that hilton had made those phone calls to his ex boss. remember by then meredith's bloody clothing had been retrieved from a dumpster, not a good synodal, but as long as there was the most remote chances she was still alive the search was going to continue. but, lead agent john knew these vast woodlands very well and he knew the odds of finding needles in haystacks as he saw he had only one option as repugnant as it was and it was to cut a deal with gary. >> sunday morning, we've got

him lawyer and i went up and how to talk with the lawyer and laid out our case. >> hilton's lawyer than conferred with his client, the district attorney was brought into the loop when a deal went down. hilton would plead guilty to murder because that it was it had been, and then he said he would lead investigators to meredith's body in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table. >> nobody in law enforcement likes to make deal without holding their nose? >> we had to do it. we needed to find meredith and, given the circumstances i would do the same thing now. >> i'm guessing agent, the situation in the interview room is gary tell us what you did to her? now, where did you put her? >> yes. and he told us. >> he -- and he led them down a trail and often forced. >> you said the body is down there on the left, how far down the road? >> the body will be

approximately 48 yards or 120 feet, covered by leaves and brush. the head will be missing. >> where is the head? >> the only reason, by the way, the head was removed was forensically. >> yeah, right. >> clearly shaken agent cagle told atlanta about the tragic outcome. >> at approximately 7:30 this evening, the body of meredith emerson was discovered in a wooded area, the specific information given as to the location of the body was given to me by gary hilton. >> the kidnapping charge was and heat up. >> mr. hilton is being charged with murder of meredith emerson, he has been taken into custody and brought to our detention center where he's being held. >> coming up. >> police learned what happened to meredith ingraham details. >> she's real quick with her hand she had no hesitation about grabbing weapons and everything. >> and where they're more victims? >> he wouldn't talked about any

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agent have you ever had a session of interview like this one? >> no. no, he was very straightforward and very nonchalant about the whole thing. >> so you get down to the point where, well with like merited i had $40 and several days food. i was going to have to kill somebody in that period of time. >> after his initial confession gary hilton, the man of stony silence became a chatterbox, filling out a story that sickened detectives who thought they had heard everything. he began with merited subduction here on the hiking trail on blood mountain. he said that he ambushed merited and her dog alive she

came down the trail, it was a struggle and meredith with her martial arts skilled as hilton says it barely nearly got the better of him, twice she disarmed him first taking away his knife than his police baton. >> i lost control of both of them, both the knife in the baton, she's real quick with her hand and had no hesitation about grabbing weapons and everything. and not only that, she was hard to subdue. and she fought like hell, man. >> hilton said they scrapped so hard day tumbled off the trail. separated by a few yards now from the drop police baton and meredith's water bottle, the dogs leash. objects importantly very quickly to be recovered, meredith kept on hilton. >> she started fighting again. and i had to fighter again for several minutes. and her doing that is what got me caught, because if i'd been back to the crime scene just a few minutes sooner just several minutes sooner i would have beat those people that found the backed and i would've picked it up.

he talks about fighting. that she almost took him. >> i don't really believe everything he says, but that part i believe. there's no doubt that she fought and, you know maybe is a bit that gives you a smirk to know that she almost got him. she gave him a run for his money and i am sure that he may have thought i should've chosen somebody else. >> eventually, hilton wore meridith down by then they were way off the main trail, hilton tied his captive to a tree and then double back to the site where he had been stripped of his weapons, the -- hiker had picked up the police baton. hilton returned to meredith. >> and i told her that i had a gun and that, you know, i was gonna shoot her ask down. >> skirting the main trail he led meredith to his trail and the -- there he secured her with change in the back of her vehicle and proceeded to steal her bank card from beneath the front seat of her car. hilton drove off heading 12 miles north to an atm in

blairsville, georgia. he told detectives meredith had given him her pin numbers, did mare this expected would be all over for her if she gave him the correct numbers? in any case, she had given him bad information. >> and it didn't work? >> none of it worked. >> she's still telling me it's going to work. it's going to work. must be a wrong bank. >> hilton next tried to use meridith's card at a bank 50 miles south in gainesville, georgia, again, no dice. he made a camp that night with his captive in a remote spot in the forest. the next morning, hilton attempted to use meredith's bank card still again at an atm in canton, georgia, nothing. they returned to his hidden campsite. he held meredith altogether in the woods for four days. and what nature of man's gary hilton? well, listen to the confession tape to what he says about meredith's dog, ella. hilton says he knew the pet had

and identifying ship when he elected all go in the supermarket parking lock. >> if i wanted to ensure that no one would associated dog with her would've killed the dog. >> right. >> but there's no do that. >> he was too much of a softie to kill the dog, as he exclaimed it, but port meredith ellis owner never had a chance. >> you asked whether she was doing from the beginning. >> yeah she was. because i just told you once you've done it, you've either gonna kill her get caught. >> there's no other solution. and it sounds cold and cruel yeah, it was. >> it is unbelievably cold recollection of the crown hilton said he told meredith he was going to let her go after four days of captivity. >> we're packing up and telling her i'm taking her and gonna release or. >> instead hilton went to the van came back with a tire iron and bludgeoned meredith emerson to death. in an attempt to -- he decapitated and poured bleach over the body. >> this is groom some beyond belief? >> yes.

>> for what reason? >> you never know. >> he had confessed to killing meredith emerson, but, what about those other cases in the national forest? a woman in florida, the elderly couple in north carolina? >> he would not talk about anybody to us other than meredith. >> because you have to wonder when the switch was thrown in this man? >> i know. >> how many decades this disco back? >> i don't know, to people just wake up and they're 61 and start to do these kinds of crimes the way he did them? you know, i would think not. >> meredith emerson went missing new year's day 2008, less than a month later gary michael hilton appeared in a georgia courtroom and pleaded guilty to her murder. meredith's parents were their mother susan addressed hilton. >> i believe he has -- ability is nothing more than a bully and a weak minded cower to praise on others. he fancies himself a survivalist, anyone can says anyone can see she's a scared

man on the run. >> the state under the deal it made with the killer no death penalty and he was sentenced to life in prison. hilton admitted nothing beyond the emerson murder. >> the first time you've ever done anything like this? >> i'll let my attorney answer. >> by now, investigators from a half dozen southeastern states as well as fbi profiler's were rummaging through hilton's past. by the time he was captured he wasn't much more than a vagrant in a van but his past was more complex. as an army veteran, hilton had earned an associates college degree, gone private pilots license on the g.i. bill and been married three times before the wheels apparently came off. true crime author has written more than 25 books including trails of death about hilton. >> it's an underestimate him as foolish, this is a very dangerous person. >> according to rosen he was shaped by a number of factors. hilton who never knew his biological father was raised by

his mother and a stepfather, a horse trainer from argentina. juvenile authorities run into young gary hilton along the way? >> gary is 14 years old, he takes a gun and he shoots his stepfather. he doesn't kill them but he wounds him very severely and he is institutionalized. they put him in a mental hospital out in miami. >> hilton went to high school in florida, played on a rock band and eventually joined the army. a khaki health and make sure that the cops who arrested him knew of his army service back in the 60s with a unit armed with tactical weapon. >> i've handle atomic bombs. i was in special weapons and i've handled atomic bonds that big that were 79 pounds. he >> brought to the officers about his condiment criminal past. >> i never worked full-time anywhere in my life. except for the u.s. army. i was a criminal, okay? i was a career criminal,

unlawful charity from 73 to 93 okay? for 20 years. >> he's collecting money for charity -- >> he's a scam artists? >> he's a scam artist, exactly! >> what about hilton's dip into the movie business with that semi slasher flick deadly run that he helped make in the 19 80s. this film where he is setting women out in the woods and killing them, hunting them. >> i hope you like that barbara, -- >> do you think that's a template for what he does decades later? >> yes. i do. that's what is so chilling to me about the whole thing because in the millennium he will make fantasy into reality. you are beginning to see a lack of conscience. >> in his interview with the georgia bureau of investigation hilton put forth a grandiose sense of himself a renaissance man of many hats. >> i'm a philosopher, a soldier, i'm a scientist and i am an artist. >> what do you mean by artist? >> my art is my life.

and my art is weird. >> he's a philosopher cake isn't he, i'm an artist and you pour dumb kulpsville don't have the luxury to be able to think the big cosmic thoughts that i think? >> he feels sorry that they can't keep up with him when he starts going about this that in the other thing. >> hoping for crumbs of clues in those other open cases murders in the national forest, the agents wanted to keep hilton talking. >> we're all have you hyped? all over the united states as far as -- >> oh i know what you're getting at the unsolved murders. >> gary hilton things he is smart, is he? >> there has an iq of 120. that is considered to be way above average. >> the reason i'm so seemingly intelligent is that i alone amongst almost anyone including you dudes have time to actually stop and think about things. >> he'll rattle on as long as someone will listen to him? >> yes. >> on any topic under the sun? >> yes. >> pick a topic, any topic how

about volcanology. >> don't you know the super volcano under yellowstone is over 70 volcanoes when it erupted basically blankets the in a cone the whole eastern seaboard of the u.s. under several feet of ash and would just destroy any civilization in that area. >> the fast talking flimflam man was on display for some of the hilton's home video found in his van hears hilton giving a cop that stopped him some lip. >> you're telling me you're the law man, you're the law i'm gonna check it out and if it's not the law and you're wrong -- >> i'm filing in suing because you're interrupting my work. >> you hear gary bragging about how smart he is, how well he does his job. but at the same time, what you hear is an incredible narcissistic personality which is typical of serial killers. he says of the camera and there is gear going --

>> i am 170 pounds. >> he pops of his by sex like he is arnold schwarzenegger, he is very narcissistic. >> why were they injuring him? >> they were hoping he would blurt out something about his involvement in the other unsolved cases in the national force. but hilton was admitting to nothing. >> basically, on our timeline, you basically are telling me that you committed no crimes. >> none. >> between 97 and 95? >> 95. >> he'd escaped the death penalty in georgia but despite his denials hilton remain the prime suspect in the murder that elderly couple irene and john bryant, mr. bryant remain had been found january 2008 in the north carolina woods. >> as a result of the investigation in georgia i was absolutely convinced adapt points that gary noted was our suspect. >> but there was another open homicide case that seem to fit

gary health and a custom-made suit. down in florida, the body of cheryl had been found in a national forest, her atm card stolen the remains decapitated, detectives thought that foot help tons and go to a tee. and gary hilton still playing the smartest kid in the classified florida to come after him. all that time, all that money. >> if they want to spend 1 million dollars, two millions to convict me and then another 2 million to get death, and then another 8 million to defend the death penalty and get around to executing me 17 years from now when i'm 78 years old and i'm decrepit and anything, hey, they can do it. >> to tell florida prosecutors had turned out would be the match of his defined top. >> my belief is that he is an evil, bad person. and there ought to be a

consequence in life to evil acts. >> coming up. >> justice for cheryl, a hunt for evidence began. >> we started receiving calls, they said we saw her at walmart, so we started backtracking and trying to get the timeline. >> when mr. around blood mountain continues. mountain continues (tap, tap) listen, your deodorant just has to work. i use secret aluminum free. just swipe and it lasts all day. secret helps eliminate odor, instead of just masking it. and hours later i still smell fresh. secret works. ohhh yesss. ♪("nobody's baby" by sharon jones)♪ ♪ ♪i ain't nobody's baby♪ ♪get yourself a new one, oh♪

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garry holden had already pleaded guilty to the murder of meredith emerson. but he cheated the executioner there with a plea deal that led police to his victims body. to the south, authorities in florida were convinced she had murdered nurse and mother cheryl dunlap whose partial remains had been recovered two weeks after meredith emerson went missing, he was defying the authorities in florida to make the charges stick. >> if they want to spend 1 million dollars, 2 million to convict me and then another 2 million to get death hey they can do it. >> willie -- had heard enough and indicted hilton for the murder of cheryl. he is gone a way for life he will be leaving -- a lot of florida need to go to the expensive of capital murder trial? >> my belief is that this is an

evil bad person and there ought to be a consequence in life to evil acts. i don't think murders ought to be cheaper the more you do. >> with the dunlap case looking like a carbon case of the emerson case -- , before from it if they would not be allowed to -- nor his connection with that horror movie deadly run, or the fact that he was the prime suspect in the murder of two elderly hikers in north carolina. she was part of the team charged with making the case months earlier the cops had developed a partial criminology for cheryl dunlap on a saturday she vanished. >> we are receiving calls, people saying we saw her at walmart huizar here so we started backtracking those to get the timeline. >> the investigators knew that charles warning had included

some shopping in tallahassee, check -- to send some emails to her son in the army. they even had a last siding with this is identified cheryl as the woman peacefully reading a book here on a popular spot called leon sinks in the national forest. >> the couple that i interviewed that saw her there at the sinkholes was very adamant that was her. >> the trail had gone cold at the tallahassee atm were a disguised man had withdrawn money using dunlap's bank cards. >> a month after cheryl went missing -- had the phones in florida lighting up again. >> when he started hitting the news media, our citizens here started seeing him and immediately recognized him. and started calling. >> that tip line kept ringing, one caller remembered and odd guy with a handsome red dog. that siding lead investigators down another national forest path into another discovery

more remains. >> he was positive it was mr. hilton described the dog, the van and so, that was one of the camps where the bones were found. >> deep in the national forest, five miles from where cheryl dunlap's torture had been found, investigators came upon it short piece of skull, with a bony fragments of the human hand and the ashes of the campfire. >> they were badly burned -- >> little campfire pit kind of thing? >> he had done a good job of covering it up, he covered -- he went through strong measures to cover up his tracks. >> the fire had been so thorough it was impossible to try dna from the bones whoever killed she'll dunlap had gone through extraordinary lengths to eliminate any physical evidence, you would think this is someone trying to conceal the identity? >> very much. >> chills must have gone through your spine when you heard the details of -- how close it master cheryl? both take into the woods, abducted.

>> yes sir. >> both decapitated. >> it was eerily similar. >> there was one thing about tracking the odd guy with the red dog that they had going for them. states assistant prosecutor georgia kaplan. >> fortunately for the investigation if someone saw gary michael hilton they remembered him, he has got that kind of face or presence that you don't forget, once we had the description we had tons of witnesses coming forward. >> while doing the legwork it was turning up more witnesses putting hilton in the area, he screen deadly run up -- that gary hilton had worked on years before. >> are there seems as you see that were reenacted in the actual spree of crimes? >> not in every detail but there's definitely a lot of similarities. >> investigators had those home videos of hilton to screen as well. >> last time it was the other one that was here. i >> don't think suwanee was karen unless they followed you? >> watching the videos was very educational because i saw him

by himself, without the people. >> people like this restaurant manager suffering a rant from hilton about his delivery drivers. >> you tell these guys to quit terror driving, has he received driving safety education? >> sure he has. >> i saw him with a law enforcement, you had many different sides -- >> i'm leaving, i'm getting out of here, god almighty. >> he thought he was the smartest bear in the woods? >> absolutely. >> smarter than the officers apprehending him? >> definitely. definitely. >> they had numerous hilton sightings around where cheryl dunlap vanished but despite all the investigative work by multiple sheriff's offices and the fdle, no witnesses came forward to put him together with cheryl dunlap. the nurses remains were in such poor conditions they told investigators nothing about how she died. but there were thousands of other pieces in the puzzle investigators were trying to solve. bolton's fan, jam to the roof with hundreds of items was truck to the florida department of law enforcement klein lab.

>> our crime scene has been denied, and weeks -- the >> vandalism as -- she >> lived in that van four weeks dismantle that van, every item that was in it was taken out and the van itself was dismantled, they took the floors up the headliner out the seeds out every scrap of paper every piece of hair. >> all that evidence from the van was recovered from the dumpster outside atlanta where houston had been captured, a georgia cup on blood mountain with a detective had from the by a net meridith vessel way from hilton investigators and florida had a theory. >> what was interesting what about the knife was before we know mr. hilton, before he got killed miss emerson and -- our analysts showed us this is the style, this is what the knife is going to look like. >> cameras and memory cards were found inside the van, the techie detectives in the fdle

computer lab were working overtime trying to unscramble deleted material from the evidence. and deep in their dna lab more than 700 samples were being analyzed in an attempt to find some link between gary hilton and the late cheryl dunlap. had gary hilton managed to outsmart them all? would florida be able to make the case against him? three years after cheryl dunlap's death it was finally going to trial. >> coming up. >> palms are sweaty on your heart is beating. >> the traumatic case begins. how about it and? >> you could just see the jurors sudden their eyes, they knew. >> when mystery on blood mountain continues. mountain continues eak into the opening so your baby can hear you better. (announcer) you can quit. for free help, call 1-800-quit-now.

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look at your headlines right now prosecutors in new york tell donald trump's attorneys that the evidence in the hush money case against the former president includes audio recordings of him in a witness, the office of manhattan district attorney alvin bragg

did not identify the witness or say when the recording was made. there is still no deal to lifted that ceiling, president biden how speaker kevin mccarthy both reported progress in the negotiations but no public agreement has been made, the treasury estimates the government will run out of money to meet its payment obligations on june 5th. for now, back to dateline. r w,no back to dateline. >> gary hilton's trial for the florida murder of charles dunlop in february 2011. a little more than three years after he pleaded and skated the death penalty in georgia. but there was no chance of a plea deal in this tallahassee courtroom. he might be doing life in georgia, but this was a capital murder case. if convicted, hilton could die by lethal injection. remember, lead prosecutor georgia couldn't tell the jury

about hilton's conviction in the meredith emerson murder or mention that he was the prime suspect in that north carolina double homicide. nor tell the jury anything about that slasher in the forced movie, deadly run that he'd help make. >> miss dunlap found herself in a situation and ultimately came to an and that is something that we only think about in nightmares. >> she spent two days with mr. hilton before he decided it was time to murder her and cold blood, chop off her head and hands and dump her body. >> after her opening speech, the state build the trick and mason -- on the timeline investigators had so painstakingly assembled. and attorney hiking with her husband in the national forest at leon sinks remember seeing cheryl. >> i looked at her and i said, it is peaceful out here isn't it. and she looked at me and she nodded and smiled and she exited the boardwalk. >> a parade of witnesses

testified to seeing hilton out in about the national forest. that was the motorists who noticed a man near cheryl's car with a flat tire. >> how confident are you that mr. hilton was the man you saw that vehicle? >> very confident. >> others remember the man's good-looking reddish retriever mix. >> let me show you the exhibit 37. >> that is it. >> that looks like the dog you saw that there? >> yes. >> a picture of hilton's dog exhibit 37 was looking to be the states keep piece of evidence. >> quite sure that is the dog. >> another witness recounted a creepy conversation with hilton at a country store. >> and then he said something bad about that girl that she was murdered, i said yes it is and he said you look like her. and i said i don't think so. >> another testified about being flak down by hilton on one of the forest roads. hilton was looking for a jump start for his van. >> i'm an old southern born and

he looked like a yankee meant to me. >> hunters to identify the old guy with the nice dog. >> he was flagging us down like it was an emergency. >> what the prosecutors couldn't tell the jury was how exactly how cheryl had tied. a county medical examiner have to work with several remains that had been exposed to the elements he thought for at least a week or more. >> are you able to tell those jurors how the woman died? >> no ma'am. >> not a cause of death but what the prosecution did have was forensic evidence galore. hundreds of items required from his fans and from hilton's expected campsite in the wood. >> the two items they're ducktails and hair, ducked a poor masking tape with hair. >> one of the items crime scene techs recovered was the video cam, he tried to delete the images on it. >> were unable to see the entire device, unable to recover the previously deleted files. >> florida department a law enforcement lab experts have been able to salvage the audio

hilton did not want the world to hear. and with good reason. this is gary hilton two days after cheryl dunlap's disappearance, singing into the camera microphone and dancing with his dog dan. >> my dan, dan, dan we're doing it boy. >> it sounded as if he was confessing to the dog. >> i killed him with it. >> a hush courtroom listen to hilton's monologue. >> just killed those [bleep] go to the park, yeah. but first i gotta go hide it somewhere else. >> the states friends of people introduce evidence about cheryl slash tire, a two mark expert said that bayonet recovered on blood mountain in georgia was an exact match for the sharp object that caused the puncture down in florida. but the state goodnight evidence was without evidence the dna. genetic expert joel and brown spent two years testing more than 750 pieces of evidence in the case.

brown told the jury she was able to match cheryl dunlap's dna to blood on of hilton sleeping bag and on the shoe laces of his hiking boot. >> the major donor does match cheryl dunlap. >> jennifer portland a senior writer on the tallahassee democrat was in court every day. how good or bad is the forensic evidence against garry holden? >> when georgia, the prosecutor presented the dna evidence and the sleeping bag with cheryl dunlap's blood on it, you could just see the jurors for then -- you saw in their eyes, they knew. >> after six days of testimony the prosecution rested. now the defense holding a very poor hand would have to fight for gary hilton's life. >> coming up. >> gary hilton's defense makes its case. >> we have absolutely no evidence, no direct evidence that mr. hilton committed murder. >> and will hilton take the stand? >> do you wish to testify?

>> you've done a lot of trials is this just another day at the office? >> no. >> oh, no. it's never, when you're waiting for a verdict your palms are sweaty, your heart is beating, you're very nervous. >> when mystery on blood mountain continued. mountain continued ice cream experience with 100 calories because it's made with greek yogurt oooooh, sorry ice cream we know calories are a touchy subject yasso ridiculously better do you struggle with occasional nerve aches in your hands or feet? try nervive nerve relief from the world's number one nerve care company. nervive contains ala to relieve nerve aches, and b-complex vitamins to fortify healthy nerves. try nervive. and, try nervive pain relieving roll-on. (woman) oh. oh! hi there. you're jonathan, right? the 995 plan! yes, from colonial penn. your 995 plan fits my budget just right. excuse me? aren't you jonathan from tv, that 995 plan? yes, from colonial penn.

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presented a strong case against gary hilton. now, it was the defense's turn. its case was brief, lead attorney called only one witness, an expert on tool mark identification who testified by videotape. arguing that the bayonet in evidence could not, in her opinion, be determined to be what had been used to slash the victims tire. >> it's subjective, based on the individual examiners training and experience. >> the defense will try to impeach the testimony of the states expert who's at hilton's

by annette had slashed cheryl dunlap tire and that was it for the defense. >> gary hilton declined to take the stand. >> do you wish to testify? >> no. >> one in 63 million -- >> in her closing argument the prosecutor reminded the jury of those big number dna matches. >> what are the odds that somebody else's dna is on that slipping back other than cheryl dunlap? one in 11 trillion occasions. >> her close for the defense was far more vigorous than her limited witness list might have suggested. >> we have absolutely no evidence, no direct evidence that mr. hilton committed murder. >> the jurors begin their deliberations, caplan and her boss waited for them to return their verdict. you've done a lot of trials is just not that at the office? >> no. >> oh, no, it's never when you're waiting for verdict your palms are sweaty and your heart is beating and you are very nervous.

>> i could tell you i have been doing it 35 years now, it's never going away from either. you would like to throw up while you're waiting -- until you hear it, it is tens. >> coming up. a vicious killer. >> he's a psychopath, there is crazy sick, and there's crazy mean. he is just crazy mean, he's intelligent, college graduate. he's a member of our armed forces he is probably smarter than everybody sitting in this room. >> what would the jury decide. >> we the jury find -- >> the verdict, when mystery on a blood mountain continues. untain continues and smooths dry skin. with 7 moisturizers and 3 vitamins, you can pay more but you can't get more. gold bond. champion your skin.

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i know, but i'm still winning! so, it is a competition. save 50% on the sleep number limited edition smart bed. plus, special financing >> the trial of gary hilton for and free home delivery when you add any base. only at sleep number. the murder of cheryl dunlap had taken seven days. the six man six woman jury needed less than three and a half hours to reach its verdict on multiple counts. >> that is florida versus gary michael hilton we find -- of the indictment the defendant garry hilton is guilty of first degree murder. >> count to >> gary hilton was found guilty of the first

degree murder of cheryl dunlap, guilty on all counts except car theft. the same jurors would soon reconvene to decide if hilton would die by lethal injection. he dodged jet death in georgia but now it is time to see if he could do it again. you might think that capital punishment, florida's active death row would be a given for gary hilton but not so says tallahassee democrat senior writer jennifer portman. >> in that county we had not even sent everyone to death row 20 years. >> so it's not a foregone conclusion that it's going to be a hang-up jury? >> no we had our share of horrendous crimes, don't get me wrong, but the jurors here are just very uneasy about sending people to death row. >> this man, mr. hilton -- >> assistant state attorney -- what are the words you'd used to describe this guy? >> he's a psychopath, there is crazy sick and there is crazy mean. he is just crazy mean he's

intelligent, he's a college graduate, he was a member of our armed forces, he's probably smarter than everyone sitting in this room. >> there were different rooms in this penalty phase, unlike in the trial prosecutors were not able to disclose to jurors that hilton murdered meredith emerson on blood mountain. and states attorney willie mags did just that calling to the stand georgia bureau of investigation agents who had worked on the emerson case. >> you indicated that miss emerson's body was nude, did gary michael hilton tell you why it was nude? >> he did. he basically stated that he had to remove the head and strip the clothing for forensic purposes. >> max was able to introduce portions of those chilling interviews that hilton gave the authorities in georgia. >> once you've taken someone, you're either going to kill them or you're gonna get caught. it's as simple as that. >> i don't think that was the most interesting part of the

draw that's where you got the information about emerson -- >> first-time the georgia information was allowed in? >> correct. that is when you really start seeing the jurors take in the enormity, then you really see the impact of all of this coming through. >> morning ladies and gentlemen. >> he was a defense's lead attorney in the penalty phase his strategy was to present hilton as someone mentally damages to be incapable of responsibility for his actions. friedman began with the pet scan expert who testified about traumatic brain damage hilton at suffered as a ten-year-old won a murky ban accidentally fell on him and nearly scalped him. >> he was taken into st. joseph hospital, 200 stitches he hadn't this is an example. >> jurors that is not all the defenses experts continue. >> hilton was abused as a child. and if he lashed out as a teenager, the doctor testified that hilton was so diluted that he believed he had worked on a movie about killing women in the forest.

that of course was a slip up, hilton had done just that and the defense error opened the door for the prosecution to tell the jury about the movie deadly right. >> would that be delusional if it is the truth? >> no. >> a defense neuro psychologist tested hilton and it turns out is as bright as he thinks he is, actually on the intelligence scale he scored a verbal iq of 120 which puts him in the upper 10% or so of the population. another psychiatrist diagnosed him with schizoaffective an antisocial personality disorder, compounded by an old-fashioned edible complex. >> we call it an unresolved edible complex and a child can grow with that emptiness inside of them. >> to top it off the defense continued halting with self medicating with prescription drugs. >> redolent and the it will push over that line. >> the defense treated jurors to gary hilton this is your

life, a saga of abuse, neglect and injury. it included an audiotape of hilton's late mother talking about how is a teenager hilton head wounded his stepfather. >> and he said shoot me, shoot me, go ahead shoot me i dare you to shoot me. gary shot him. >> in the legs or? >> in the stomach, the low part of the stomach. >> a junior high girlfriend testified that gary wasn't a bad guy back in the day. >> he was funny and outgoing and smart. >> the defense rests. >> once the defense rested willie max called his rebuttal witness a clinical psychologist to revisit the essential issues. >> and mr. garry hilton did he know right from wrong? >> my opinion is yes he clearly knew right from wrong and clearly he knew the criminal nature of his conduct in my opinion is that he is a psychopath, and that is what generated the murders nothing else. >> the attorneys made their final appeal to the jurors. >> i'm going to ask every one of you individually to go back

in that jury room and vote to recommend that gary hilton be put to death. >> on behalf of mr. hilton, i'm asking all of you collectively and individually to recommend a life sentence in this case. >> the jurors then retired to deliberate nothing less than whether gary hilton should live or die. >> coming up. another haunting question, where they're more victims out in the forest? >> i personally believe there are. >> and the legacy. >> he is -- she is the hero, it was through her efforts that we were able to get her killer. >> remembering meredith hope emerson. >> he took our friend, he took a daughter, a sister but he can't take her memory, he can't take the things we love about her away. >> when mystery on blood mountain continued. untain continued

>> the same jurors will find gary hilton guilty of murdering cheryl dunlap were trying to decide if they should recommend hilton's pen life in prison or be put to death by lethal injection. their life or death debate lasted an hour and 20 minutes. >> the majority of the jury by vote of 12 to nothing advise and recommend to the court that it impose the death penalty on gary michael hilton. >> hilton sat expressionless as the results were read, two weeks later and equally emotional us hilton listened as the judge pronounced his sentence. >> that you gary michael hilton be sentenced to death for the murder of cheryl dunlap, make got have mercy on your soul. >> gary michael hilton was sent to florida's death row for the murder of cheryl dunlap. he was shackled and transported to western north carolina and indicted in federal court there

for the murders of john and irene bryant. the governmental ledges the serial killer murder the elderly couple in october of 2007, shortly before killing cheryl dunlap and meredith emerson. >> we have a good case, tremendous number of men our spent an investigation. >> but a trial wouldn't be necessary. and mark 2012 hilton pleaded guilty to kidnapping and killing john and irene bryant and received for life sentences. to be served consecutively with the sentences received for his convictions in florida and georgia. >> law enforcement officials from across the southeast had met with hilton multiple times and an attempt to find how many more of his victims there might be out there. you believe that there are four deaths connected here -- >> at least? >> you think there are others? >> i think there is the potential to be others i don't know that we will ever know for sure unless he tells us. >> so far, hilton is sticking to his story that he started hunting as he describes it in

october of 2007, that there were no murders before then, most of the other officers who investigated hilton, agent annie white isn't buying it. is it your belief annie that there are more out there, more victims of gary hilton? >> i personally believe there are. he's just been too many places it just makes me think that there are probably more. >> the pain and suffering of the families of hilton's victims and suspected victims dulls but never ends. >> he has taken so much from me and my family, what can you say to someone who would murder to wonderful people for $300 and meredith emerson, a beautiful young lady -- cheryl dunlap, and very possibly many more. the man is not even what i think of as human. he is something else. a true psychopath who needs to be put where he can never harm

anyone else again. >> for cheryl dunlap's friends and family in florida hilton's conviction provoked conflicting feelings. >> i think, believe it or not, that cheryl would want us to forgive. and, when i went into the courtroom and i actually saw him, my thought was not that today put him to death toward this or that i was glad he was off the street, but i have to forgive gary hilton. i have to. >> tabby in the family was a death penalty case in the jury recommended the death penalty and that was the sentence, does it matter to you? >> we were pleased with the outcome, yes. like laura says he is off the streets, he is not able to hurt anyone again. yes, i think it matters. >> and there are regrets on the part of the officers who investigated the hilton cases. could there have been one tip line that had come in sooner, quote there had been one fragment of information we

could've put together more quickly and spared a murder? >> there hasn't been a day that has gone by that i haven't thought about meredith emerson in the things we should've done differently, she is the hero she did the best she could in hopes that we could catch up. it was to her efforts that we were able to catch her killer, but also the killer that was responsible for the killing of cheryl dunlap. >> in georgia for meredith emerson's closest friends, it is time to forget about gary hilton and remember her. >> he took our friend, he took a daughter, a sister but he can't take away her memory he can't take away the things that we love about her away. >> there is, they say, important work to be done. >> we started an organization in her memory. >> julia meredith emerson's one-time roommate in georgia founded along with other something called right to hike advocating hikers safety. >> we don't want anyone to go through this again, to bring awareness of what happened and how it happened and maybe make

you think about going hiking by yourself twice and take a friend. you know, to be a little safer. >> the organization founded by meredith emerson's friends has sponsored events with a huge turnout of people and dogs. meredith's dog eloquent to live with her parents in colorado. >> in the event that we ever -- just seeing people come and say of what i have never met meredith but i feel like i know her, and i want to come out and support her and that was the biggest thing, the community outreach after everything happened. >> right to hike is aided humane society's educated hikers on safe practices and put cell towers on -- >> one of the things we realize is that the cell phones didn't work on the trail hikes and meredith had herself and within that didn't help or. >> if you ever hike blood mountain, you just might notice a little sticker there as you head out. remember me, and he, meredith emerson. she most of all would like you to enjoy your day in the

outdoors. >> she enjoyed being out with nature and watching a lot run through the forest and play with other dogs. i think it was a peaceful place for her to be. >> people go through these places to relax and get away from everyday life and enjoy the outdoors and they should continue to do that. these are some of the safest places there are to go. >> until the most store shows up? >> yes. >> gary hilton has been on death row since april 2011, florida state supreme court denied his appeal in 2021. the average day on florida's death row is just over 16 years. >> i'm craig melvin. and i'm natalie morales. and this is dateline. >> she told archie she was dating this man and if he didn't like it he could leave. >> he was stabbed multiple tilt line times.

nobody saw anything.