Spring Break
Hiker from Longmont fought to end to survive
Killer confesses
The Associated Press
Issue date: 3/24/08 Section: News
ATLANTA - Meredith Emerson used her wits and martial arts training when she was attacked in the north Georgia mountains by a drifter who eventually killed and decapitated her, the convicted killer told investigators.
Gary Michael Hilton described his four days with Emerson, and how she fought him from the moment he tried to overpower her as she hiked with her dog, Ella, according to the interviews that The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
"She was doing everything she could to stay alive," GBI Director Vernon Keenan told the newspaper. "It's not somethingyou can train for. Instinct kicks in ... She nearly got the best of him. She's very much a hero."
She originally was from Longmont, Colo.
Hilton pleaded guilty to charges he killed Emerson and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years. He had agreed to lead investigators to her body if prosecutors didn't seek the death penalty. He also has been indicted in Florida in the slaying of another woman whose decapitated body was found in a forest on Dec. 15.
He told investigators he targeted the 24-year-old University of Georgia graduate because she was a woman.
For a time, they had hiked together on New Year's Day near the Appalachian Trail in Union County, but the 61-year-old Hilton couldn't keep up.
When Emerson turned and headed back down the trail, Hilton was waiting with a military-style knife. He demanded her ATM card and Emerson immediately went on the defensive, grabbing the blade and a baton Hilton used to counter her struggle.
"She wouldn't stop," Hilton told investigators. "She wouldn't stop fighting. And yelling at the same time. So I needed to both control her and silence her." Hilton said he did that by punching her, blackening both her eyes and possibly breaking her nose. He said the blows also broke his hand.
When he thought he had worn her down, Emerson fought him again, he said.
Gary Michael Hilton described his four days with Emerson, and how she fought him from the moment he tried to overpower her as she hiked with her dog, Ella, according to the interviews that The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
"She was doing everything she could to stay alive," GBI Director Vernon Keenan told the newspaper. "It's not somethingyou can train for. Instinct kicks in ... She nearly got the best of him. She's very much a hero."
She originally was from Longmont, Colo.
Hilton pleaded guilty to charges he killed Emerson and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years. He had agreed to lead investigators to her body if prosecutors didn't seek the death penalty. He also has been indicted in Florida in the slaying of another woman whose decapitated body was found in a forest on Dec. 15.
He told investigators he targeted the 24-year-old University of Georgia graduate because she was a woman.
For a time, they had hiked together on New Year's Day near the Appalachian Trail in Union County, but the 61-year-old Hilton couldn't keep up.
When Emerson turned and headed back down the trail, Hilton was waiting with a military-style knife. He demanded her ATM card and Emerson immediately went on the defensive, grabbing the blade and a baton Hilton used to counter her struggle.
"She wouldn't stop," Hilton told investigators. "She wouldn't stop fighting. And yelling at the same time. So I needed to both control her and silence her." Hilton said he did that by punching her, blackening both her eyes and possibly breaking her nose. He said the blows also broke his hand.
When he thought he had worn her down, Emerson fought him again, he said.
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