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Welcome to the Serial Killer Podcast. The podcast dedicated to serial killers. Who they were, what they did, and how. I am your Norwegian host, Thomas Weyborg Thun. And tonight, I bring to you a fresh new Serial Killer Expo say. We stay in the land of the free, home of the brave.
but no longer in the northern states. We travel south to North Carolina, Florida, and Georgia. We also travel far away from the metropolises of America and venture instead deep into the wild. There, sitting by his fire, enveloped in smoke, we find the National Forest serial killer, Gary Michael Hilton.
killer of no less than six human beings. This episode is brought to you by my loyal patrons. Thanks to my patrons, TSK Podcast is possible. Without them, I would not be able to publish new episodes every week, even though I occasionally have great sponsors backing the show.
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Soon, I will upload even more exclusive content to the $10 Plus Club. So, make sure you don't miss out. Gary Michael Hilton was a good-looking guy. He was a long-distance runner and, according to several psychiatric tests, has an IQ of about 120, putting him among the top 10% of the American populace.
Already, one can notice the similarities with many other more famous serial killers. Good-looking, healthy, highly intelligent, and extremely mentally disturbed. As a teenager, Gary Hilton lived in Hialeah, Florida.
Hilton's childhood friend, Dino Sclafani, was contacted by a journalist, and reportedly he had fond memories of going on adventures with Hilton growing up, especially going hunting and fishing in the wild. Hilton had also played in a high school band, and had showed real genuine talent. As mentioned, Hilton has always been a very handsome man, no less so as a teenager.
Getting girls was never a problem, and a high school sweetheart of him remembered Hilton well. However, she claims to know a very dark side of Hilton that may go a long way explaining much of Hilton's later problems in life. Hilton once confided in her, perhaps poised coitus, that he had been sexually abused by his mother while he was a little boy.
In 1963, a 17-year-old Gary Hilton enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was sent to West Germany and assigned to the Davy Crockett platoon, named after the coonskin cap-wearing King of the Wild frontier. Crockett had been a hero to kids like Hilton growing up in the 1950s.
As a side note, I can mention that David Crockett was quite the hero for me, your humble host, as I was growing up in the 80s. There were 19 men in the special platoon. They had one simple task—
to direct and deploy the Davy Crockett missile, an XM388 nuclear projectile launched from either a 120mm or 155mm recoilless rifle. According to the Brookings Institution, it was the smallest and lightest nuclear weapon ever developed by the United States military, designed for use against Soviet troop formations.
With a maximum range of 1.24 miles, the army's brilliant idea was to arrange these units armed with handheld nuclear weapons across West Germany, establishing an impenetrable perimeter against an armed Soviet insurgents. If the Soviets appeared on the horizon, word would, supposedly, go up the line to the President of the United States.
would then make the decision whether to fire or not the members of the davy crockett platoon were supposed to be carefully screened for psychological fitness how hilton got in is rather peculiar
And it appears the army didn't seem to mind that earlier, in 1959, when he was 13 years old, Hilton had shot Nilo DeBag, his stepfather, who in Gary's mind had taken away his mother. That first time he tried to kill another human being, Hilton failed. He only wounded DeBag, and not mortally.
The bag, it seemed, was a forgiving man. He decided to give his stepson a second chance and refused to press charges. Hilton was briefly confined to a mental hospital for the attack and then released, eventually making his way into the Davy Crockett platoon. The portable nuclear Davy Crockett rifle had a very limited range. It was in fact so limited
that if the wind blew in the wrong direction, the soldiers firing it was guaranteed to die from irradiated fallout. And perhaps it was precisely this stress that caused Hilton to lose his grip on sanity while serving. A few years into his service, Hilton began hearing voices and soon suffered a full-blown schizophrenic breakdown.
The army put him into a mental hospital, where he was drugged up on Thorazine. Rather than give him a Section 8 psychiatric discharge, the army chose to give him an honorable discharge instead. He was released from the army in 1967, at the age of 21.
There's no record that any army personnel followed Hilton into civilian life to see how he functioned in society. But whether it was Hilton's painful childhood, his deteriorating mental state, or the lingering trauma of a childhood injury that left Hilton partially scalped, the man just couldn't sustain a relationship or keep a good job as an adult.
He functioned as a factotum, traveling around the South throughout the 1970s and 80s. At the dawn of the millennium, after burning through multiple marriages and jobs, Hilton found himself in Atlanta, Georgia, working as a roofer at the age of 54.
If Hilton had one passion, one comfort that offsets the instability of his professional and personal life, it was the outdoors. In 2007, he and his ever-present companion, the dog Dandy, hit the road in his Dodge Astro Vat. They drove north, leaving the state of Georgia and crossing into North Carolina.
to the Pisgah National Forest just outside of Asheville. It was here that Gary Hilton first encountered senior citizens Irene and John Bryant while on a hike through a remote section of the park. And it was here, among the old growth trees of the Appalachian wilderness, that Hilton decided to murder them. In 2005,
Roughly two years before he claimed his first victim, serial killer Gary Hilton abandoned a van in the Trave Mountain area of White County, Georgia. He received a citation for doing so, but didn't answer it. A warrant for his arrest was issued and put into the federal database. Serial killers usually don't just start murdering in their late 50s and early 60s.
Something has to set them off, or seriously disturb their day-to-day lives. And the worst you could say about Hilton before he committed murder was that he was a conman and a petty thief. But that all changed when a Georgia physician prescribed him Ritalin, despite the fact he did not suffer from ADD. In Georgia...
Hilton had worked for years as a tin man for John Tabor, who ran a home siding business in the Atlanta area. Tabor not only employed Hilton, he provided him a home on one of his properties. Soon after Hilton began taking Ritalin, which acts as a stimulant for those without ADD, his demeanor changed.
He grew irritable and confrontational, acted out, and even threatened Tabor with violence. It wasn't long before Hilton lost his job and his home on Tabor's property. Cut loose, Hilton hit the road in his Chevy Astro van with Dandy, his dog and ever-present companion, popping Ritalin as he went.
Hilton preferred national parks, and so he headed north, leaving Georgia in 2007 and entering North Carolina's Pisgah National Park. How he came to befriend Irene and John Bryant, senior citizens married for 55 years, is unknown. What is known is that shortly after the couple went hiking on the 20th of October 2007, they disappeared.
Someone used the couple's ATM card at a bank 75 miles away. Irene turned up dead roughly three weeks later on the 9th of November. Her skull fractured in multiple places. John remained missing. His body wouldn't be found until 2008. Hilton, meanwhile, left North Carolina driving south into Georgia.
He stopped to set up camp on a private hunting preserve in Shadow Key County. A local noticed his presence and called police to make a complaint. A deputy drove out to kick Hilton off the property. Upon arrival, the deputy ran Hilton's license through a state database. No outstanding warrants in the Peach Estate. At the time...
There was no requirement that the license be run through the federal database, so it wasn't. If Hilton's license had been checked at the federal level, the deputy would have caught his outstanding warrant for that unanswered citation from 2005. Hilton would have been arrested there and then. Two people would be alive,
and this podcast would be much shorter than it is. Sadly, none of those things happened. The deputy told Hilton to pack up his gear and clear out. He was free to go. Leaving Cherokee County, Hilton drove south, crossing into Florida and entering the Apalachicola National Forest outside Tallahassee by the middle of November.
Despite another run-in with a Park Service officer on the 17th of November, Hilton was let go with a warning not to exceed the park's 14-day camping limit. And once again, his name was not cross-referenced in a federal database for outstanding warrants.
The details surrounding Hilton's abduction of 46-year-old nurse Cheryl Dunlap on the 1st of December 2007 in the Apalachicola National Forest remain a mystery. Just 5 feet 4 inches, Cheryl had thick, wavy brown hair, brown eyes and thin lips.
She was a mother and devoted member of the Evangelical Christian River of Life Church. Soon after her disappearance, Cheryl's car was found with a flat tire on Crawfordville Highway, parked just outside the park's entrance. She may have been attempting to flag someone down for assistance when Hilton came upon her.
A few days after the discovery of Cheryl's car, security camera footage surfaced of a man in a rubber mask, attempting to use Dunlap's bank card at ATMs in the area. Then, on the 15th of December, Apalachicola Park rangers noticed buzzards peeking over a large carcass.
They realized it was the body of a woman as they grew closer, with gaping wounds on the torso and legs. Then they noticed what wasn't there. Both hands had been cut off, and the head was missing. The body would, eventually, be identified as the missing Cheryl Dunlap. While authorities scoured the area for clues to their killer,
Hilton hit the road. By the end of 2007, he was back in Georgia, just in time for New Year's Eve. On the 1st of January 2008, Hilton and Dandy set out for a hike on Blood Mountain, outside of Atlanta. That's when he ran into Meredith Emerson, who was also enjoying a New Year's Day trek with her dog.
Hilton tried abducting her, but the martial arts-trained Meredith resisted. A powerful twenty-four-year-old, Emerson put up a good fight. But Hilton, trained in hand-to-hand combat from his days in the army, eventually got the better of her. Once subdued, he marched her down the mountain to his van.
Inside, he tied Emerson down, drove away, and held her prisoner for days. This time, however, Hilton failed to clean up his trail. Other witnesses had seen them on the mountain that day. They alerted authorities, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation soon identified Hilton as the primary suspect in Emerson's abduction. Police continued to scour Blood Mountain,
despite the fact that attempts to use Emerson's bank card had been made at ATMs many miles away.
Everything from 1-800-Flowers is made with love, every step of the way. Because we know that nothing is more important than delivering a smile. To learn more, visit 1-800-Flowers.com slash ACAST. That's 1-800-Flowers.com slash ACAST. Need new glasses or want a fresh new style? Warby Parker has you covered. Glasses start at just $95, including anti-reflective, scratch-resistant prescription lenses that block 100% of UV rays.
Every frame's designed in-house, with a huge selection of styles for every face shape. And with Warby Parker's free home try-on program, you can order five pairs to try at home for free. Shipping is free both ways, too. Go to warbyparker.com slash covered to try five pairs of frames at home for free. warbyparker.com slash covered. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. As a family man with three kids,
i know first-hand how extremely difficult it is to make time for self-care but it's good to have some things that are non negotiable for some that could be a night out with the boys chugging beers and having a laugh for others it might be an eating night
For me, one non-negotiable activity is researching psychopathic serial killers and making this podcast. Even when we know what makes us happy, it's often near impossible to make time for it. But when you feel like you have no time for yourself, non-negotiables like therapy are more important than ever.
If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online, designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule. Everyone needs someone to talk to, even psychopaths, even your humble host. Never skip therapy day with BetterHelp.
Visit BetterHelp.com slash SerialKiller today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash SerialKiller. News of the abduction went national. It soon caught the attention of John Tabor, Hilton's former boss and the siding business.
When Hilton called him to ask for money, Tabor knew Hilton was the prime suspect in Emerson's disappearance. Strangely, Tabor waited over an hour to inform the Georgia Bureau of Investigation about the call. Authorities were able to trace the call to a pancake house off of Blood Mountain, but by the time they arrived, Hilton was gone. A few days later, in DeKalb County,
Hilton was spotted in a parking lot, removing items out of his van and tossing them into a dumpster. A phone call was made. "'The guy you're looking for is cleaning out his van,' the witness told police in a 9-11 call. And so it was. DeKalb County deputies rushed to the scene, their sirens screaming and dome lights flashing. This time, Hilton didn't have time to escape.
He offered no resistance as police put him into custody. Soon, Hilton found himself in an interview room, turned over to the GBI. He readily admitted to killing Emerson, speaking in bursts. He was looking to make a deal. In exchange for a full confession and leading Georgia police to Emerson's body, Hilton would get life in prison without possibility of parole. He did just that.
Under heavy escort, Hilton led authorities to a remote road in Dawson Forest, 35.7 miles south of Blood Mountain, where he had buried Emerson's body. Clearly, the GBI had been looking for Emerson in the wrong place. Just like Dunlap's corpse, the head was gone. I buried it nearby, Hilton told police. He had beheaded Emerson in an attempt to obscure identification.
As Georgia authorities pieced together the murder of Meredith Emerson, Florida law enforcement officers were connecting the dots between Emerson and Dunlap. Their killer was the same guy. But unlike Georgia, Florida was not going to make a deal. Before we continue with the show, here is a brief word from my sponsor, Best Fiends, the must-play mobile game of the year.
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Gary Hilton had avoided a death sentence in Georgia because authorities and the family of his fourth victim, Meredith Emerson, were desperate to find the 24-year-old's body. So they struck a deal with the killer, making sure her body was recovered.
Irene Bryant, Hilton's first victim, had been killed on federal land, Pisgah National Forest, in Transylvania County, North Carolina. His third victim, Cheryl Dunlap, had also been killed on federal land in the Apalachicola National Forest, located in Florida's Leon County.
Authorities suspected that Irene's husband, John Bryant, abducted alongside Irene in 2007, was Hilton's second victim. As of January 2008, however, John was still missing. With the Georgia deal signed, sealed and delivered, the question then became who would next indict Hilton, Florida or the federal government?
Sheriff David Mahoney of North Carolina's Transylvania County had the answer. While he jostled with a U.S. attorney over who had jurisdiction to prosecute Hilton for Irene Bryant's murder, he surmised that Florida did have a track record as having a fast track on the death penalty. Hilton would not be the first serial killer to face death at the hands of Florida authorities,
Ted Bundy's bloody reign was also finally stopped in Florida. From 1976 to 2007, the federal government had executed just three people on capital murder charges. In that same period, Florida had put 64 people to death, averaging two a year.
On the 2nd of February 2008, the skeletal remains of John Bryant were recovered in Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina. The incentive to get Hilton to the Sunshine State for a death penalty showdown picked up steam. Hilton was successfully extradited to Florida.
where he would soon stand trial for the murder of 46-year-old Cheryl Dunlap. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement had found and identified Dunlap's body, sans fingers and head. As in the Emerson case, Hilton had mutilated the body in an attempt to obscure identification. It didn't work.
Forensic analysts used a portion of Dunlap's thigh muscle to identify her. It is easy to speculate as to how Hilton might have fared as a serial killer if he had operated in the far less technically advanced 1970s instead of the 21st century. In February 2011, after two years of pre-trial hearings, Hilton stood before a judge at a Tallahassee courtroom.
At the end of the four-week trial, the jury convicted Hilton of first-degree murder and recommended he be put to death. The judge agreed and officially pronounced the death sentence.
In the wake of the trial and sentencing, Dateline NBC did a two-hour investigation into Hilton and the trail of death he cut across the southern United States. The feature made it seem as if the tale of Hilton was a closed chapter. But they would be wrong. The 19th of January, 2016. Hilton was due in Tallahassee for a hearing.
where he planned to request a new trial on the basis of inadequate counsel. He never made it. Instead, on the 12th of January, the United States Supreme Court delivered a decision that changed the rules of the game for Florida's death penalty statute. The challenge came from the case of Florida man Timothy Lee Hurst,
Hurst was convicted in the 1998 murder of his co-worker, Cynthia Harrison. A Florida penalty-faced jury convicted Hurst of the crime and recommended that the judge impose a death sentence. The judge agreed and sentenced Hurst to death.
Hearst's lawyers challenged the decision and brought the case before the Supreme Court. In January 2016, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor delivered the opinion of the court. I quote,
We hold this sentencing scheme unconstitutional. The Sixth Amendment requires a jury, not a judge, to find each fact necessary to impose a sentence of death. A jury's mere recommendation is not enough. Suddenly, all executions in Florida, including Hilton's, were put on hold.
Hilton was in court in Tallahassee in November 2018, trying to convince the judge to overturn his death sentence and grant a new trial. Cheryl Dunlap's cousin listened to every witness and every word for three days, including painful details she never knew about the final days of Cheryl's life. It's been very hard, Gloria Tucker said.
I realized what Sherry went through and how she was killed, and so through this I'm appreciative to have at least gotten some information. I don't like the information I got. Those details were revealed by Hilton's own defense attorneys in his final state appeal. Hilton's new defense attorney tried to portray the original defense team as rife with discord and dysfunction.
We believe that resulted in Mr. Hilton receiving ineffective assistance of counsel. Witnesses were not presented that should have been presented, Hilton's lawyer Alex Morris said.
Prosecutor Georgia Keppelman, the same prosecutor who sent Hilton to death row, asserts none of it could have changed the outcome, given the DNA evidence against Hilton and the heinous nature of Dunlap's death. I think the outcome was going to be the same, regardless of how harmonious the defense team was behind the scenes, Keppelman said. Hilton's attorney...
said they would drop all appeals if the state would commute Hilton's death sentence to a life sentence without parole. The state confirms it rejected that proposal. Today, Hilton is sitting on death row, waiting as time runs out. He hasn't got a view of the forest from his cell in the Union Correctional Institution, formerly Florida State Prison, in Rayford.
Florida, United States.
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