When you talked to him, when you were in his presence, you could feel this was an evil person.” “When you have an encounter with an evil person… they have an aura about them. “In all my career I’ve only met a very few people that I knew to be evil and Hilton was one of them,” GBI Director Vernon Keenan said. Hilton also said he would have kept killing if they had not caught him. Hilton told agents where to find Emerson’s body, using that information to strike a plea deal. “I thought there was a chance (Hilton) would get the death penalty somewhere else,” Cagle said, explaining why he did not disagree with the decision to not seek the death penalty against Hilton for Emerson’s murder. Then in April 2013 Hilton received four life sentences after pleading guilty to kidnapping murdering John and Irene Bryant, an elderly couple he encountered while they were hiking in a national forest in North Carolina in October 2007. He was convicted and sentenced to die in Florida on April 21, 2001, for murdering and decapitating Cheryl Dunlap, a 46-year old nurse and Sunday School teacher whose body was found in the Apalachicola National Forest near Tallahassee. ![]() Hilton, now 71, eventually pleaded guilty to murdering Emerson and was sentenced to life in prison. During the search, Hilton was even spotted inside Dawson Forest - a remote wildlife management area that once housed a secret Air Force facility that sought to develop nuclear-powered aircraft - but he was not questioned because his van didn’t match the exact description provided by law enforcement. There were delays in providing critical information that could’ve saved Emerson’s life. His emotions sometimes get the best of him when he thinks of how close searchers unknowingly came to Hilton and Emerson.Īlthough law enforcement and searchers were out in force, deployed expeditiously, not everything proceeded smoothly. 2, 2008, it seemed like the entire world came out to search Blood Mountain and the approach to the Appalachian Trail when the the Colorado native was reported missing. ![]() Right to Hike president Julia Karrenbauer, who was Emerson’s roommate, told the media it was time for the annual event to end.ĭespite the bitter cold on Jan. This year they held the final Ella’s Run at the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center, where she would walk her puppy, Ella. “She wouldn’t stop fighting,” Hilton told GBI investigators after his arrest.Ĭagle said this murder, which closed out a three-decade career in law enforcement, was his most heart-wrenching - so much so that he attended nine of the 10 hiking events held in Emerson’s memory.Įmerson’s friends formed Right to Hike in her memory. ![]() Trained in two different martial arts, Emerson came close to escaping from Hilton right after he pulled a knife, demanding her ATM card. When Emerson died, she was the same age as Cagle’s step-daughter. But for Cagle, the memories are as fresh as if they happened last week. Neither Emerson’s then-roommate, her boyfriend or the godmother who acted as the family spokesperson responded to requests for comment. They did not respond to the AJC’s requests for an interview. Their insights shed new light on how close law enforcement came to rescuing Emerson and what motivated Hilton to set off on a murderous spree spanning three states and several months.Įmerson’s parents have not spoken publicly since they returned to their home in Colorado days after their daughter’s body was found. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently caught up with the lawman and attorney, along with other key figures in the case.
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