News / Law
Meredith Emerson Body Mutilated, Decapitated
Gary Michael Hilton was arrested in her disappearance. He was originally charged with kidnapping and causing bodily harm, but his charges were upgraded to malice murder.
Other hikers said they saw the 61-year-old talking to Emerson on the trails. Police began searching for him last week as they believed he was the last person to talk to her before she disappeared. Hilton was taken into custody after Emerson’s ID, bloody cloths and piece of a seatbelt was found in a dumpster.
Hilton was arrested at a gas station while trying to clean the inside of his van. A piece of a seat belt was missing from the vehicle.
Investigators believe their might be a link between Emerson’s case, the murder of an elderly couple in the North Carolina Mountains and the murder of a woman hiking in Florida.
Hilton is eligible for the death penalty.
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