Serial Killer Documentary - The National Forest Serial Killer： Gary Hilton

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She said no, let me go, put her hands up.
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I kept striking her and she lost consciousness, and kept
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striking her to ensure she was dead.
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He cut off their hands, He cut off both their heads.
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It was a wicked, wicked person.
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It was too much to even comprehend how he could
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be that cruel, that evil and commit the horrific acts
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that he did.
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It makes me sick to my stoach.
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It's a very densely forested area, very difficult area to
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search for things like flood or hair or fibers.
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You can't catch me. I am here in this vastness
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of the United States, and it is up to you
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to try to find me or stop me, because I'm
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going to keep doing this horrific act.
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Is that difficult to do? To take somebody's head off?
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All you gotta do is keep sewing.
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There was nothing I've ever experienced before.
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What you take and kill him?
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You ever killed him or you get caught.
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Yeah, man, he's just pure evil. You can see it
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in his eyes.
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The Appalachian Trail is a collection of national parks covering
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two thousand miles across fourteen eastern US states. Its vast,
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untamed landscape is a favorite among hikers and hunters. The
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southern tip of this wilderness is in North Georgia, a.
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Severe mountainous area. National forest land is abundant in North Georgia.
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We have lots of small towns in Georgia, usually twenty
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thirty miles apart, but in between those cities are just remote,
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rugged mountains.
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You can walk for literally days and not come across
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a road. If someone disposes of a body in a
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national forest, you'll never find them.
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Fulton County, Georgia is where divorcee Gary Hilton spends his
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time away from work.
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My name is John Tabor, a telemarketing operation and I
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first met Gary Hilton when he replied to a help
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wanted add or telemarketers but he was very fond of
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the outdoors and enjoyed taking his dog out into the
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national forests where they would camp for maybe a week
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at a time. Had proved himself to be a reliable
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and valuable employee. He was smart individual. He was great
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with numbers. He could do rather complex mathematics in his
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head and spit numbers out that most people couldn't do.
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It was a fine working arrangement that he did his
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job and that was pretty much it. He never got
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along that well with other people and just seemed to
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prefer the company of his dog rather than other humans.
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He worked in that office uneventually for a decade. Construction
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companies in general mind included more hit Heart, where there
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was a dramatic drop in business. So I shut the
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phone room down, and he was very concerned about that.
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He suggested that he do his own marketing on my behalf,
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and then I could just pay him commissions based on
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his production. So Gary and I came to an agreement
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where he would actually live in the office so we
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could keep an eye on things, since I really didn't
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have any need to go to that location, so it
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seemed like a win win situation. He wasn't being very
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productive based on his long history, I would advance him
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money for his living expenses and whatnot, with the understanding
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that eventually we would catch up.
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I got frustrated.
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At some point it just became obvious that he had
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lost interest in actually working. At some point you had
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to put your foot down. And then suddenly, within a
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matter of a few weeks, he became extremely distant and belligerent,
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and it got to the point where he demanded money.
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It was shocking to me that he would actually do
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such a thing and take that position. I realized at
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that point, this is a real problem. The situation just
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spiraled downward rapidly. It didn't make any sense.
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At this point. Despite their long working relationship, John knows
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very little about Hilton's past. He had a traumatic start
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to life. As a child, his parents moved around a lot,
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and at age thirteen, he shot his stepfather.
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When we look at a thirteen year old child who
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deliberately picks a rifle and shoots his stepfather out of frustration,
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out of rage or whatever, that is a bright red
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warning sign that this is somebody who, when they are
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angry enough, is willing to do something like that.
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His early childhood featured another traumatic incident. At age nine,
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he suffered a brain injury.
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He had been hit in the frontal lobe with a
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murphy bed had fallen on him when he was a
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young kid.
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It is a very serious injury.
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He has over two hundred stitches, and several people in
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the hospital report that he becomes very hyperactive while he's
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in the hospital. They have difficulty kind of controlling him.
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And when we look at serial killers, It's interesting that
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about a quarter of them have a history of head
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trauma at some point in their life. We've can damage
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their funnel lobe. It can lead to problems with judgment,
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decision making, and all kinds of things.
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At age eighteen, Gary enlisted in the US Army as
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a paratrooper, but after three years he had a schizophrenic
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episode and was discharged.
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He drifts around during the seventies. During the nineteen eighties,
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he has three failed marriages.
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He kind of goes from job to job.
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He is somebody who was really living on the fringes
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of society.
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Here's someone that's saying, my look is going to present that,
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my appearance, my whole genre of who I am is
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going to say, stay away from me. I'm different from you.
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I don't want to be a part of this society.
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I had to satisfy my own curiosity as to what
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was going on with this man, so I decided to
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stop by the office unannounced. So I pulled him too
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the parking lot. There were no lights on in the office.
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Parking area was dark. It was just dark everywhere. The
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back doors wide open, which was also unusual. The whole
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situation was just creepy. I just had this feeling of doom.
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Nothing seemed right, everything seemed out of order. I remember
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reaching to turn the light switches on, but none of
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the lights would come on. And then suddenly he pops
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out of a doorway. So I immediately noticed that he
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was much more disheveled than normal. And at that point
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he smiled at me, and I noticed that several of
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his teeth were missing, and I was pretty shocked by that.
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I just said, what happened to you? He goes, oh, yeah,
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my teeth goes. You know. He said, I pulled them
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out with this pair of pliers. Okay, he said, yeah.
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He said he did it so it would frighten people
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when they looked at him.
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Wow.
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I knew at that point I needed to get the
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hell out of there as I could. I just felt
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like something bad could happen at any moment.
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Around this period of time, we see this kind of
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erratic aggression uppear, and he seems to be getting some
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enjoyment out of that.
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Several people reported.
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Being afraid of him at these national parks. He is
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enjoying being menacing, and I think what that is reflecting
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is this increased agitation he's experiencing this increased anger and
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this increased violence risk he is ramping up. The more
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he does these kind of things, the more he changes
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his appearance, the more he talks about liking the fact
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that he's scaring people. I mean, those are things that
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really do tell us. They're like little red flags on
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this path to violence.
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With the goodwill of John Tabor. Now wearing thin, Gary
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Hilton makes a stark demand for three thousand dollars.
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And I kind of laughed when he made the demand.
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It was only after he followed up with that and said, well,
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you know, John, You've got a great life, beautiful wife,
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this beautiful young son. It would be such a shame
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for you to lose all that. I just knew that
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something bad was going to happen. It probably would be
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sooner than later.
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Gary Hilton has threatened to harm the family of his
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former boss John Tabor unless he hands over three thousand dollars. Terrified,
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John has moved his family away.
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But that was my first move. Get them out of
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the house someplace where he had no idea where they were.
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I agreed to write this check for him. I told
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him I would put her by the front door of
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my house and he would kind of get it. Hilton
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came out of the woods out of nowhere, exactly the
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same time as I was walking down the driveway, so
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we literally were now facing each other, and all I
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could remember thinking at that point was Wow, I wish
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I had on a bulletproof vest and.
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A firearm right now. I felt incredibly vulnerable.
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I knew at that moment I needed to get inside
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that front door of my house as quickly as possible,
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because I had a glock nine millimeter positioned close to
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the front door. I dropped my belongings on the floor,
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got my firearm, chambered a round, and came right back
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out the front door with the gun pointing in the
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direction he was in. He was now maybe one hundred
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feet away, and he was fleeing back.
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Off into the to the woods. I believe that one
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of us was going to end up dead.
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After this terrifying encounter, Gary Hilton stops living at John's
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office and appears to vanish. Months later, police encounter him
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on private land on the Appalachian Trail.
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What's you going out here?
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You know?
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I just wanted to place the camp of the moment
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with leaving as a matter of fact, I'm getting my
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map together.
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His emotions kind of vastly all over the place.
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I camped out here twenty years ago, I'm sure you.
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And in fact, he ends up at one point saying, Hey,
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I love you.
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Hey, I love you, little Hilton.
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Take care we say, which again shows how this person
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is is kind of losing control. I think not only
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of their thought processes, but their emotions.
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If there's deer hunters around that I can be wearing
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a purple chuirt that read back back.
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He seems to have no awareness of how he's coming
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across to the other person, and that also is a
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hallmark of deterioration when somebody loses the ability to self
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reflect and realize and change their behavior when they're saying
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things that are inappropriate or don't make sense.
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No, they're crazy, man, I'm telling you that's crazy.
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The forest, as they are, are remote locations throughout the
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United States, but they bring leisure to most people, but
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sadly can be an opportunity for those looking for horrific activities,
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criminal activities to take place.
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John and Irene Bryant were in their late seventies early eighties.
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They were experienced hikers In fact, John Bryant was what
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is called a thru hiker of the Appalachian Trail, that
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means ease travel the complete distance of the trail from
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Georgia to Maine. The Episco National Forest is extremely remote,
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consists of several thousand acres of forestland. They went into
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the forest and parked their car, and very soon they
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were confronted by Gary Hilton. Gary Hilton immediately killed Irene.
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Her cause of death was blood force trauma to the head.
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John Bryant was taken held captive in the back of
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Hilton's van. He chained him around the neck and pad
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locked the chain and.
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Takes him to another park and then he kills him,
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uses his bank card and gets three hundred dollars and
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that is what he gets in exchange for just a
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beautiful couple's life.
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When the authorities began to search for John and Irene,
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they found the body of Irene, but no signs of
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John other than the atm activity and it was later
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on that John's body was found in the nota Hala
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National Forest.
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It was determined that he was murdered with a handgun,
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shot in the head and left at a different location
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within the National Forest.
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A natural reaction is wow, this was a horrific thing
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that I did. But then I think there's a reality
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that sets in. But I'm getting away with it. And
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if that urged holes at me to do it again,
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you certainly can see the logic to say I can
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ease my attention by doing it again, which allows for
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what we now see as serial killers taking place.
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My name is Gloria Tucker. I live in Tallahsee, Florida.
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My cousin who was in Sheryl Dunlap, which I refer
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to her as Sherry all the time. Oh, I loved
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dr immensely. I loved Shery to pieces. She was such
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a kind person.
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She went for a day hike in the Apalachicola National
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Fora in an area called Leon Sinks. It's very much
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like any other National forest. There's hiking trails, creeks, and
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you know, just a very nice area to spend time.
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It was a calm place, she thought, a nice place,
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a beautiful place, and she just kind of contemplated and
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read a little book. And then and then she was kidnapped.
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He tied her to a tree at first, and then
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00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:39.440
he drove to tyllahassee to the bank. He had taped
250
00:16:39.480 --> 00:16:43.480
his face up. I think it was two or three
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00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:47.399
times he got money out of her account. He kept
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00:16:47.399 --> 00:16:53.080
her there alive for two or three days. He made
253
00:16:53.159 --> 00:16:56.759
her march over to a tree to tie herself up,
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00:16:57.360 --> 00:17:00.960
and as she was going he pulled a gun and
255
00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:02.080
shot her in the head.
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00:17:04.039 --> 00:17:07.240
I think money can be a factor involved, but control
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00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:12.680
is another. Taking someone's life is the ultimate control over someone.
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00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:17.319
It tells us a lot about Gary Hilton in terms
259
00:17:17.319 --> 00:17:20.599
of how he views his victims essentially as objects that
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00:17:20.680 --> 00:17:23.480
he's got to now figure out how to disguise and
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00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:24.039
get rid of.
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00:17:24.720 --> 00:17:26.240
He isn't necessarily seeing this.
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00:17:26.200 --> 00:17:30.519
Person as a person at this point, so it doesn't
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00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:34.200
mean he's getting satisfaction, but it does mean that this
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00:17:34.279 --> 00:17:37.839
is somebody who we're thinking, where are the limits in
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00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:39.319
terms of what this person would do.
267
00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:46.240
Some hunters in the forest saw some buzzards circling in
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00:17:46.279 --> 00:17:52.880
the area and went over and found the remains of Sheryl.
269
00:17:53.359 --> 00:17:57.079
Her head had been removed as well as her hands,
270
00:17:57.559 --> 00:17:59.720
but they were able to identify her through some.
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00:17:59.799 --> 00:18:08.079
De With four hundred miles between murders, police in Florida
272
00:18:08.119 --> 00:18:11.599
and police in North Carolina are unaware they're dealing with
273
00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:16.480
the serial killer. But Hilton's next victim would fight back.
274
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In our world, she's the hero in this case.
275
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She kept fighting.
276
00:18:20.160 --> 00:18:22.400
She almost beat him, She almost got the best of it.
277
00:18:32.599 --> 00:18:38.359
Meredith Emerson was the all American girl, very bright, very brave,
278
00:18:39.160 --> 00:18:42.519
had recently graduated from the University of Georgia. She lived
279
00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:46.279
at the time in the northern suburb of Atlanta. She
280
00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:49.359
was a very experienced hiker. She had hiked those mountains
281
00:18:49.400 --> 00:18:52.319
out in Colorado, so you know, these mountains out here
282
00:18:52.880 --> 00:18:55.960
really can't compare to those. A Blood Mountain is actually
283
00:18:56.039 --> 00:19:00.799
the highest peak in Georgia that the Apalachian Trail crosses.
284
00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:03.640
There is a lot of hikers come to this area.
285
00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:08.039
Although there's not a heavy populated area here, it's certainly
286
00:19:08.039 --> 00:19:08.720
a heavy.
287
00:19:08.519 --> 00:19:10.200
Trafficked area during the daytime.
288
00:19:10.680 --> 00:19:13.680
So Gary Hilton was very bold to choose this spot.
289
00:19:17.880 --> 00:19:21.200
All she's doing is a New Year's day taking a
290
00:19:21.279 --> 00:19:22.240
hike with her dog.
291
00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:25.400
Gary sat up in the woods and surveyed the parking
292
00:19:25.400 --> 00:19:26.960
lot and made the decision.
293
00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:27.839
Of who he was gonna abduct.
294
00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:32.319
What you're looking at is upping the ante, going towards
295
00:19:32.319 --> 00:19:36.160
someone who is more fit, more young, but almost meeting
296
00:19:36.200 --> 00:19:36.759
his match.
297
00:19:37.319 --> 00:19:40.880
Hilton basically saw her on the trail. She had a dog,
298
00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:42.680
He had a dog. He knew that he could strike
299
00:19:42.759 --> 00:19:47.400
up a conversation about the dogs. Eventually, she said okay,
300
00:19:47.400 --> 00:19:49.559
I'll talk to you later and just basically left him.
301
00:19:49.559 --> 00:19:53.559
She pretty much ran up the trail, and she probably
302
00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:58.400
sensed that there's something wasn't good about it and left
303
00:19:58.480 --> 00:20:04.559
him behind. So he concealed himself along the trail. Some
304
00:20:04.599 --> 00:20:08.039
people had actually seen him hiding, crouching behind the rocks.
305
00:20:09.160 --> 00:20:13.200
That combination of isolation, him being out the woods, seeing
306
00:20:13.279 --> 00:20:16.359
himself as a survivalist, you really start getting a sense
307
00:20:16.359 --> 00:20:21.920
of this kind of dehumanization and complete lack of any
308
00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:24.400
ability to care about anybody else.
309
00:20:25.359 --> 00:20:29.960
This is the area where Meredith Emerson initially hiked up
310
00:20:29.960 --> 00:20:32.680
this to the trail. Gary laid in wait in this
311
00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:34.720
area right here, or Meredith.
312
00:20:35.559 --> 00:20:38.920
Gary Hilton waited on Meredith. As she was coming back
313
00:20:38.960 --> 00:20:40.880
down the trail, he attacked her.
314
00:20:43.599 --> 00:20:47.039
She turns around and she basically goes after him. She
315
00:20:47.119 --> 00:20:52.079
grabs his bayonet, which just stuns him, and she absolutely
316
00:20:52.160 --> 00:20:53.519
puts up the fight of her life.
317
00:20:53.720 --> 00:20:55.720
Boy does she put up a battle.
318
00:20:58.519 --> 00:21:02.240
I had to hand light her and that's where I
319
00:21:02.279 --> 00:21:05.359
got this hand. I probably had multiple fractures in my
320
00:21:05.440 --> 00:21:08.119
right handown. Okay, I had to hand flight her, and
321
00:21:08.119 --> 00:21:12.119
I still didn't get control over. She would saying or
322
00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:14.319
pretend that I was in control, and then.
323
00:21:14.240 --> 00:21:14.920
Start fighting it.
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00:21:15.559 --> 00:21:19.359
Meredith was trained in martial arts. She almost beat him up,
325
00:21:19.640 --> 00:21:22.480
and they rolled off the trail down into the woods
326
00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:23.880
away from the trail.
327
00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:28.559
The ground was so disturbed in that area you could
328
00:21:28.559 --> 00:21:31.599
tell it was a very violent fight that had taken
329
00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:35.400
place right there. He finally got control over by convincing
330
00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:36.640
her he had a gun.
331
00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:40.759
So I zip tied her too a tree, and I
332
00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:42.240
knew that I had to.
333
00:21:42.200 --> 00:21:43.519
Go and reclean the client.
334
00:21:43.599 --> 00:21:46.480
See, okay, I was aware that I dropped all that
335
00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:47.759
stuff and her stuff.
336
00:21:51.559 --> 00:21:55.480
When Meredith Emerson doesn't return from walking her dog, her
337
00:21:55.519 --> 00:21:57.000
boyfriend reports her missing.
338
00:21:58.480 --> 00:22:01.119
We blast out a picture of Maryordith and her dog.
339
00:22:02.079 --> 00:22:03.920
The very first thing I did, I checked her phone
340
00:22:03.960 --> 00:22:07.079
records and her bank records. The bank had reported to
341
00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:09.720
us that her bank account had not been attempted to
342
00:22:09.759 --> 00:22:24.759
be used. I feel confident that in Meredith's mind, she
343
00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:28.960
was doing that in hopes that we would be able
344
00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:31.440
to track her and be able to find her sooner.
345
00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:36.440
The idea of not giving the full pen number allows
346
00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:39.640
for more opportunities to get away from this situation.
347
00:22:41.160 --> 00:22:42.680
Let me ask you one quick question.
348
00:22:43.319 --> 00:22:45.480
Did she ever give you her pen number while you're
349
00:22:45.480 --> 00:22:46.519
asking for it on the mountain?
350
00:22:47.079 --> 00:22:50.440
Yeah? Yeah, after I got control over her around the side.
351
00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:51.599
She gave me a pen number.
352
00:22:51.799 --> 00:22:53.279
Okay, she was incorrect, O pay.
353
00:22:53.400 --> 00:22:54.720
She never gave me a correct.
354
00:22:57.799 --> 00:23:01.880
With police unaware that Meredith's card is being used, Hilton's
355
00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:03.640
abuse escalates, and.
356
00:23:03.559 --> 00:23:05.559
I told her, honey, I told you just going to
357
00:23:05.640 --> 00:23:08.039
let you go. You've run me all over North cre
358
00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:10.920
difference maybe but one hundred and fifty miles on my van.
359
00:23:11.720 --> 00:23:14.480
But still you've lied to me. You've run me around,
360
00:23:15.039 --> 00:23:15.359
hit me.
361
00:23:20.759 --> 00:23:26.319
His explanation for why he raped Meredith is because he
362
00:23:26.440 --> 00:23:31.319
says that she owed him that. Because she gave him
363
00:23:31.359 --> 00:23:33.640
the run around about the pen number.
364
00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:38.920
She showed conniving instinct. She was able to fight off
365
00:23:39.079 --> 00:23:43.319
him and be a little smarter than him. Sadly, the
366
00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:46.359
rape part of it was an added penalty for how
367
00:23:46.440 --> 00:23:49.480
much she showed to fight off this horrible act.
368
00:23:49.839 --> 00:23:52.440
And so I think that's very interesting to think about that.
369
00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:54.880
What does that mean? The fact that you know, in
370
00:23:54.920 --> 00:23:57.079
his head, this is how he's justifying the rape. So
371
00:23:57.119 --> 00:23:59.880
I don't think that sex was a primary motive for him,
372
00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:02.599
but I definitely think, you know, he definitely has some
373
00:24:02.680 --> 00:24:03.920
issues in those respects.
374
00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:21.279
We'd set up a command post at the Vogel State Park,
375
00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:23.599
which is right there at the base of the mountain.
376
00:24:23.960 --> 00:24:26.920
When we discovered her water bottles and her backpack and
377
00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:29.960
some of her effects at the trail, we felt like
378
00:24:30.079 --> 00:24:33.079
something bad had happened. There was also a police baton
379
00:24:33.200 --> 00:24:36.359
found in the area that was concerning for us. So
380
00:24:36.599 --> 00:24:38.759
a lot of what we were doing was making phone
381
00:24:38.759 --> 00:24:41.599
calls identify anyone who may have seen anything.
382
00:24:41.799 --> 00:24:44.799
There were so many people that had contacted the tip
383
00:24:44.880 --> 00:24:46.640
line and said there's a strange guy that was on
384
00:24:46.680 --> 00:24:49.880
the trail that day. They all described him almost identical,
385
00:24:50.039 --> 00:24:55.240
you know, older gentleman, very fit, wearing high end hiking gear,
386
00:24:55.279 --> 00:24:57.079
but he has duct tape on his shoes, He's got
387
00:24:57.079 --> 00:24:59.240
a dog with him, and they saw him around a
388
00:24:59.240 --> 00:24:59.759
white van.
389
00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:05.039
Police investigating the John and Irene Bryant murders in North
390
00:25:05.039 --> 00:25:09.279
Carolina and the separate force investigating the Sheryl Dunlop murderer
391
00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:13.559
in Florida soon contacted Georgia Bureau of Investigation, who are
392
00:25:13.640 --> 00:25:15.480
running the Meredith Emerson case.
393
00:25:16.319 --> 00:25:21.079
When we learned of those cases, then we began to
394
00:25:21.119 --> 00:25:25.319
talk to both jurisdictions about the similarities and there were several.
395
00:25:27.279 --> 00:25:32.160
The US Marshall Service offered their assistance. We basically gave
396
00:25:32.200 --> 00:25:34.920
them all of the information for Meredith, all the information
397
00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:38.519
for Garry Hilton, and they ran them through their system
398
00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:41.359
and they basically came back and said, you know where
399
00:25:41.559 --> 00:25:44.440
card was tried. Somebody attempted to use your card at
400
00:25:44.440 --> 00:25:48.000
this location, this location, in this location on the first
401
00:25:48.400 --> 00:25:49.200
and the second.
402
00:25:49.559 --> 00:25:53.359
And I said, no, the bank's not telling me that.
403
00:25:56.200 --> 00:25:59.880
The bank should have known that her pen her car
404
00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:02.759
was used, yet no money was taken out.
405
00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:13.279
The photographs of the person walking up to the ATM
406
00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:16.640
was very, very similar, and then when we got our
407
00:26:16.680 --> 00:26:21.359
photographs from our ATMs, there was no doubt that it
408
00:26:21.440 --> 00:26:26.200
was the same person. There was mention of a van
409
00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:30.200
in Florida where Gary Hilton was actually confronted with a
410
00:26:30.400 --> 00:26:33.240
park ranger. We had a van in our case. So
411
00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:36.960
everything began to line up fairly quickly. As soon as
412
00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:39.160
we found out of both of those jurisdictions.
413
00:26:40.279 --> 00:26:43.319
I think he had been pretty self assured up until now.
414
00:26:43.640 --> 00:26:45.920
I think he really did in his mind convinced himself
415
00:26:45.920 --> 00:26:48.839
that he was going to continue along the path. Nothing bad,
416
00:26:49.119 --> 00:26:51.400
you know, nothing bad was going to happen. And I
417
00:26:51.400 --> 00:26:54.839
think this does start the beginning of the end for
418
00:26:54.880 --> 00:26:55.519
Gary Hilton.
419
00:27:00.880 --> 00:27:04.240
Gary Hilton has been holding Meredith hostage for two days,
420
00:27:04.920 --> 00:27:09.319
sixty miles south of Blood Mountain. Hilton's former boss, John Tabor,
421
00:27:09.720 --> 00:27:11.960
hasn't heard from him in over seven months.
422
00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:16.519
I still remained armed with my pistol on my person
423
00:27:16.799 --> 00:27:21.000
and my assault rifle in my vehicle. I would still
424
00:27:21.039 --> 00:27:26.640
have someone sweep the woods, if you will, do a
425
00:27:26.720 --> 00:27:29.839
quick walkthrough and make sure he wasn't there before I
426
00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:33.799
drove home at night. I never felt completely comfortable, so
427
00:27:33.839 --> 00:27:41.680
that's why I remained armed. Twenty four to seven. My
428
00:27:41.759 --> 00:27:43.920
home gym is actually where I was when I first
429
00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:48.319
heard about it. I was working out and caught the
430
00:27:48.759 --> 00:27:53.960
top of the news where they broke to cover this
431
00:27:54.319 --> 00:27:56.480
case of the missing girl I in North Georgia. They
432
00:27:56.519 --> 00:27:58.960
said that there was evidence of a struggle in the
433
00:27:59.000 --> 00:28:01.440
parking lot where they found I'm married to this vehicle.
434
00:28:02.519 --> 00:28:05.559
But what really got my attention was they said they
435
00:28:05.599 --> 00:28:07.839
found an expandable police baton.
436
00:28:08.960 --> 00:28:11.519
That's what really made me stop in my tracks.
437
00:28:11.880 --> 00:28:15.119
And now I'm just staring at the television, going, oh,
438
00:28:15.640 --> 00:28:18.240
wait a minute, did I just hear expandable police baton?
439
00:28:18.279 --> 00:28:22.000
Because that's something that I knew the Hilton had with
440
00:28:22.079 --> 00:28:25.279
him all the time. So when I heard that, I
441
00:28:25.359 --> 00:28:29.160
just remember just going numb, thinking Wow, I knew it
442
00:28:29.200 --> 00:28:31.880
was something I had to do. So I called and
443
00:28:31.920 --> 00:28:34.160
I ended up getting I guess it was a Union
444
00:28:34.200 --> 00:28:38.720
County Sheriff's department on the phone.
445
00:28:38.200 --> 00:28:40.240
And says, I know who you're talking about. His name's
446
00:28:40.240 --> 00:28:43.119
Gary Michael Hilton. I can give you the number, the
447
00:28:43.160 --> 00:28:48.160
tag number to the van because I bought it for him.
448
00:28:48.519 --> 00:28:50.839
People had heard him yelling at the dog and said
449
00:28:50.839 --> 00:28:54.720
they thought he was saying Danny, and he actually said no,
450
00:28:54.799 --> 00:28:58.720
his dog's name Dandy. So we knew we were probably
451
00:28:58.720 --> 00:29:01.440
talking about the right guy. So we pulled a driver's
452
00:29:01.440 --> 00:29:04.759
license photo of him and put it out onto the
453
00:29:04.799 --> 00:29:07.799
news media, so it carries nationwide again.
454
00:29:09.480 --> 00:29:12.319
Maybe six hours after I made that phone call, I
455
00:29:12.359 --> 00:29:14.559
was trying to wrap up some business before heading to
456
00:29:14.599 --> 00:29:18.119
cayl ride Over vacation and this is the part that
457
00:29:18.559 --> 00:29:24.200
still stuns me today. My phone rang, answered the phone
458
00:29:24.440 --> 00:29:31.160
like normal, and it was him. For seven months of
459
00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:35.440
absolutely no communication, there he was on the phone with me,
460
00:29:37.160 --> 00:29:40.240
out of nowhere, like a ghost. If there was anything
461
00:29:40.279 --> 00:29:43.160
I was afraid of, it was not being able to
462
00:29:43.200 --> 00:29:43.720
fight back.
463
00:29:44.160 --> 00:29:47.559
That was my fear. Fight to the death. Bring it on.
464
00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:59.720
I'm ready.
465
00:30:01.440 --> 00:30:05.200
Gary Hilton has been holding Meredith Emerson hostage since New
466
00:30:05.279 --> 00:30:09.960
Year's Day. She's refusing to give him her bank pen number,
467
00:30:10.279 --> 00:30:13.960
and he's desperate for money, so he's traveling to his
468
00:30:14.079 --> 00:30:17.000
former boss's house where he hopes to pick up a check,
469
00:30:17.400 --> 00:30:20.400
and calls him on the way. The last time the
470
00:30:20.400 --> 00:30:23.680
pair spoke, Gary Hilton threatened John's family.
471
00:30:25.920 --> 00:30:30.079
I'm just sitting in my car in a state of disbelief.
472
00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:34.799
He immediately apologized for what had happened and told me
473
00:30:34.880 --> 00:30:36.599
that he wanted to come back to work.
474
00:30:38.400 --> 00:30:41.000
And I really feared in trying to start work again
475
00:30:41.079 --> 00:30:43.759
form because I fell that Robert.
476
00:30:44.119 --> 00:30:47.640
I'm getting because I'd gotten any money out her.
477
00:30:47.920 --> 00:30:48.759
But I played along.
478
00:30:49.119 --> 00:30:52.119
I acted as though I didn't know anything about anything,
479
00:30:52.400 --> 00:30:56.400
and he said he needed some money to get started,
480
00:30:56.440 --> 00:30:58.160
you know, to get back to work, and whatnot, and
481
00:30:58.200 --> 00:31:00.160
I said, hey, that's no problem. How much you need?
482
00:31:00.400 --> 00:31:03.720
We discussed an amount seven hundred eight hundred dollars. I
483
00:31:03.720 --> 00:31:06.440
forgot what it was, but I said, yeah, I'll be
484
00:31:06.480 --> 00:31:08.160
more than happy to give you the check. I said, well,
485
00:31:08.200 --> 00:31:09.920
where are you because I was ready to get this
486
00:31:10.039 --> 00:31:14.480
over with one wa or the other. But then he explained.
487
00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:17.119
He just said that that's not possible. He could not
488
00:31:17.200 --> 00:31:19.960
meet me then under any circumstances. But within the next
489
00:31:20.039 --> 00:31:23.400
couple of days he would come get the check from
490
00:31:23.400 --> 00:31:25.880
the office and that was it.
491
00:31:26.400 --> 00:31:28.720
Once we learned that there was a possibility that Hilton
492
00:31:28.759 --> 00:31:32.640
would go to his former employer's office to pick up
493
00:31:32.680 --> 00:31:36.079
the check, we got with the local jurisdiction and they
494
00:31:36.759 --> 00:31:39.640
deployed their swat team and they were prepared to grab
495
00:31:39.720 --> 00:31:41.920
him if you showed up, and we were hoping that
496
00:31:41.960 --> 00:31:44.559
he would, because if you showed up, most likely that
497
00:31:44.680 --> 00:31:47.920
Merridith with him. But he didn't show up.
498
00:31:48.799 --> 00:31:51.720
What'd you tell when I called him? That girl was
499
00:31:51.759 --> 00:31:53.559
a lie, whichieved in my van.
500
00:31:56.160 --> 00:31:59.519
Once you'd take him someone, you either killed him or
501
00:31:59.599 --> 00:32:02.519
you get If you release them, you're gonna get caught.
502
00:32:15.039 --> 00:32:18.559
I gave her a book to read and everything else there,
503
00:32:18.720 --> 00:32:22.039
and I walked up and made as if to unsecure
504
00:32:22.119 --> 00:32:26.519
the chain, struck her with the bar. It was a
505
00:32:26.680 --> 00:32:31.559
jackhandled a just a straight jack handled the solid iron
506
00:32:31.720 --> 00:32:36.680
iron bar. Struck her with that. She said, no, let
507
00:32:36.680 --> 00:32:40.200
me go, put her hands up. I kept striking her shoe.
508
00:32:40.240 --> 00:32:43.359
You'll see some defensive wounds to her hand. She lost
509
00:32:43.400 --> 00:32:47.039
consciousness and I kept striking her till ensure she was dead.
510
00:32:49.680 --> 00:32:53.160
After finding out everything that she did, you know how
511
00:32:53.160 --> 00:32:57.039
close we came to catching him on numerous occasions and
512
00:32:57.079 --> 00:32:59.480
she was still alive to this day.
513
00:33:00.200 --> 00:33:01.240
Breaks my heart.
514
00:33:06.799 --> 00:33:10.039
Now, I was very familiar with that area called Dawson
515
00:33:10.079 --> 00:33:14.160
Forest Wildlife Management Area. He had taken her head off
516
00:33:14.559 --> 00:33:18.920
and moved it to another location about a mile away
517
00:33:18.920 --> 00:33:20.519
from her body.
518
00:33:22.880 --> 00:33:26.519
At this point, Gary Hilton decides to release Meredith Emerson's
519
00:33:26.559 --> 00:33:27.880
dog Ella.
520
00:33:28.279 --> 00:33:32.519
He seemed to have no trouble whatsoever murdering Meredith, but
521
00:33:32.640 --> 00:33:38.400
he cannot murder Ella. And I think that's very, very significant.
522
00:33:38.599 --> 00:33:42.039
It just speaks to the lack of attachment that Gary
523
00:33:42.119 --> 00:33:44.279
Hilton seems to have with anybody.
524
00:33:45.319 --> 00:33:48.039
We got a telephone call to the tip line from
525
00:33:48.079 --> 00:33:52.559
a lady about sixty miles south of Blood Mountain, who said,
526
00:33:53.119 --> 00:33:57.440
I think I just saw Merdeth Emerson's dog walk into
527
00:33:57.559 --> 00:33:58.519
a grocery store.
528
00:33:58.920 --> 00:34:03.039
Video valance at the grocery store shows it walking around.
529
00:34:03.359 --> 00:34:05.240
It almost looked like it was asking for help.
530
00:34:05.640 --> 00:34:08.719
We were able to pick up the dog and identify
531
00:34:08.800 --> 00:34:11.199
the dog as Ella through an ID chip that she
532
00:34:11.320 --> 00:34:13.559
had in her so we knew that Ella was in
533
00:34:13.599 --> 00:34:18.800
an area seventy miles south of the abduction site. We
534
00:34:18.840 --> 00:34:21.320
had another call to the tip line from a lady
535
00:34:21.719 --> 00:34:24.199
who had known Hilton in the past, who told us
536
00:34:24.239 --> 00:34:29.159
he just called her asking for money, and she told
537
00:34:29.280 --> 00:34:32.840
us she told Hilton, don't you know the world's looking
538
00:34:32.880 --> 00:34:37.840
for you? And he hung up. She called immediately and
539
00:34:37.880 --> 00:34:40.039
we were able to trace that phone number to a
540
00:34:40.440 --> 00:34:43.360
telephone at a gas station just across from the grocery
541
00:34:43.400 --> 00:34:44.760
store where Ella.
542
00:34:44.599 --> 00:34:45.320
Had been found.
543
00:34:45.440 --> 00:34:49.159
So there was a lot of activity around that gas station.
544
00:34:51.039 --> 00:34:54.519
The agents I sent down there found a dumpster in
545
00:34:54.559 --> 00:34:57.239
the parking lot, and they decided to look.
546
00:34:57.039 --> 00:34:57.639
In the dumpster.
547
00:34:59.400 --> 00:35:02.360
That's where we found the things that I had hoped
548
00:35:02.400 --> 00:35:07.760
that we wouldn't. We found bloody clothing, We found Meredith's
549
00:35:07.800 --> 00:35:13.960
driver's license and wallet. We found other clothing, men's clothing
550
00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:17.800
with blood on them. This was so much blood that
551
00:35:17.880 --> 00:35:18.800
you could wring it out.
552
00:35:20.960 --> 00:35:24.079
The blood was wet, it was fresh. That was disturbing. Yeah,
553
00:35:24.079 --> 00:35:26.320
because up to this point, you know, we were all
554
00:35:26.360 --> 00:35:28.599
holding out the hope that Meredith's alive. We're going to
555
00:35:28.599 --> 00:35:30.760
recapture the bad guy and recover.
556
00:35:30.480 --> 00:35:36.480
Her based on what we'd found in the dumpster. None
557
00:35:36.480 --> 00:35:39.920
of us really thought that someone could survive and lose
558
00:35:39.960 --> 00:35:40.719
that much blood.
559
00:35:45.679 --> 00:35:48.960
He goes to another convenience store at that location or
560
00:35:49.000 --> 00:35:53.920
down near that location, and tries to clean more stuff
561
00:35:53.960 --> 00:35:58.159
out of his van, basically everything that had blood on it,
562
00:35:58.400 --> 00:36:00.320
or he thought had blood on it, or thing that
563
00:36:00.400 --> 00:36:01.480
could tie him to Meredith.
564
00:36:02.840 --> 00:36:07.679
And it wasn't that long until the citizen called nine
565
00:36:07.760 --> 00:36:09.960
one one and said, I think I'm looking at the
566
00:36:09.960 --> 00:36:12.440
guy that y'all have been looking for all week with
567
00:36:12.559 --> 00:36:15.639
the missing hiker. The person of interest in that missing
568
00:36:15.679 --> 00:36:20.480
woman case is at this Chevron gas station on ash
569
00:36:20.519 --> 00:36:21.280
Ford Dunwoodie.
570
00:36:21.519 --> 00:36:24.599
The van is here, the dog is he's the red dog.
571
00:36:24.719 --> 00:36:26.800
And I saw the man's face and I've been watching
572
00:36:26.880 --> 00:36:29.039
the news and I know with him, I know with him.
573
00:36:29.320 --> 00:36:31.119
He's throwing stuff in the dumpster.
574
00:36:30.840 --> 00:36:34.719
Here and basically stayed on the phone watching him while
575
00:36:35.159 --> 00:36:37.800
officers were responding to take him into custody.
576
00:36:38.000 --> 00:36:38.880
Here comes the cops.
577
00:36:39.440 --> 00:36:42.559
Yeah, La, Yes, they got him.
578
00:36:42.559 --> 00:36:42.760
Now.
579
00:36:42.960 --> 00:36:44.760
Two crews ares pulled up on him.
580
00:36:46.360 --> 00:36:49.000
They got him.
581
00:36:49.039 --> 00:36:52.119
He was not talking, but we knew that there were
582
00:36:52.199 --> 00:36:54.639
answers to some of our questions in the van.
583
00:36:57.079 --> 00:37:00.639
With Hilton now in custody, police look for evidence that
584
00:37:00.719 --> 00:37:03.880
links him to the murders of John and Irene Bryant,
585
00:37:04.159 --> 00:37:06.360
Cheryl Dunlap, and Meredith Emerson.
586
00:37:06.679 --> 00:37:09.639
We had the Cab County transport him to our headquarters,
587
00:37:09.760 --> 00:37:12.719
which is into Cab County. In a conference room in
588
00:37:12.800 --> 00:37:14.159
GBI headquarters.
589
00:37:15.039 --> 00:37:18.519
When I first walked into the conference room, Gary was
590
00:37:18.599 --> 00:37:23.719
lying on the floor in a fetal position and kept
591
00:37:23.760 --> 00:37:26.719
saying that he had multiple sclerosis and he needed an
592
00:37:26.760 --> 00:37:31.239
immediate shot of folic acid and just kind of talking crazy.
593
00:37:31.440 --> 00:37:33.880
Clay Bridges actually laid down on the floor with him
594
00:37:33.880 --> 00:37:35.440
and talked to him for a few minutes.
595
00:37:36.440 --> 00:37:39.119
Cheryl and my name's Clay Bridges. I'm specializing with a GBI.
596
00:37:39.360 --> 00:37:42.719
Would you be more comfortable in the chair? I can't okay,
597
00:37:44.239 --> 00:37:47.840
you got a urdigo? Is that from the multiple sclerosis?
598
00:37:48.000 --> 00:37:51.880
Yes, I'm through talking to you. I'm making those statements.
599
00:37:52.039 --> 00:37:55.199
I don't want to be interrogated anymore. He put me
600
00:37:55.280 --> 00:37:56.320
back in the handcuff.
601
00:37:57.960 --> 00:38:02.360
He had a fingernail gap into his nose, pretty substantial.
602
00:38:02.840 --> 00:38:05.440
It looked to be a defensive wound someone else that
603
00:38:05.480 --> 00:38:08.760
had inflicted on a him. His hand was obviously broken,
604
00:38:08.960 --> 00:38:11.760
it was swollen. He just stayed quiet.
605
00:38:12.320 --> 00:38:15.239
I had learned some things about him. He had one dog.
606
00:38:15.039 --> 00:38:18.760
In particular that he really cared for that was named Ranger,
607
00:38:19.639 --> 00:38:21.960
and he had actually built a shrine to him where
608
00:38:21.960 --> 00:38:24.119
he had buried him at At one point I told
609
00:38:24.159 --> 00:38:26.079
him that I was going to go move Ranger and
610
00:38:26.119 --> 00:38:27.159
see how he liked it.
611
00:38:27.480 --> 00:38:29.719
He became angry. He became really angry.
612
00:38:29.800 --> 00:38:33.079
He he you know, cut his eyes up at me
613
00:38:33.119 --> 00:38:37.239
and showed me his broken teeth and said, just put
614
00:38:37.239 --> 00:38:43.320
the needle in my arm.
615
00:38:43.440 --> 00:38:44.800
It was so much in the van.
616
00:38:45.360 --> 00:38:48.760
So we've we got blood transfer powern that match John Bryant,
617
00:38:49.519 --> 00:38:52.119
so that was huge. We had blood in the van
618
00:38:52.159 --> 00:38:56.079
that matched Meredith Emerson. Cheryl Dunlap's car had a flat
619
00:38:56.119 --> 00:38:59.280
tire and there was a bayonet that we recovered and
620
00:38:59.559 --> 00:39:03.239
Florida forensics were able to match that to the puncture
621
00:39:03.280 --> 00:39:03.800
and the tire.
622
00:39:04.800 --> 00:39:08.599
Despite the extensive evidence linking Hilton to the four murders,
623
00:39:09.000 --> 00:39:12.760
police haven't found Meredith Emerson's body, but with Hilton doe
624
00:39:12.760 --> 00:39:15.519
to face the death penalty, they propose a deal.
625
00:39:16.199 --> 00:39:19.239
They basically came back and said, he'll tell you if
626
00:39:19.280 --> 00:39:20.960
you take the death penalty off the table.
627
00:39:21.199 --> 00:39:24.880
At that point we knew we had John Bryant in
628
00:39:24.880 --> 00:39:25.320
that van.
629
00:39:25.920 --> 00:39:30.360
Some boots had Cheryl Dunlap's blood on it, so we knew.
630
00:39:30.360 --> 00:39:33.280
We add a couple more bites at Tapple of given
631
00:39:33.360 --> 00:39:35.760
him the death penalty and agreed to take the death
632
00:39:35.760 --> 00:39:40.559
penalty off the table for Meredith and recover her body.
633
00:39:42.599 --> 00:39:46.519
And he started showing us on a map. He said, yeah,
634
00:39:46.519 --> 00:39:47.639
the head will be missing.
635
00:39:48.719 --> 00:39:51.079
When it came time to do the recovery of the body,
636
00:39:51.559 --> 00:39:54.760
we started at night. We brought out temporary lighting to
637
00:39:54.800 --> 00:39:58.320
set up. We worked throughout the night, did the recovery.
638
00:39:58.599 --> 00:40:00.920
Then we came back the next morning at sunrise and
639
00:40:00.960 --> 00:40:03.639
process the scene over again in the daylight. Well, the
640
00:40:03.639 --> 00:40:08.800
body was covered with leaves and limbs and debris. Literally
641
00:40:08.840 --> 00:40:10.639
you could be standing a couple of feet away and
642
00:40:10.639 --> 00:40:12.440
not know there was a body there. So he had
643
00:40:12.480 --> 00:40:16.800
done a very good job of concealing the body. Her
644
00:40:16.840 --> 00:40:20.559
head was about a mile from that site, lying near
645
00:40:20.559 --> 00:40:22.880
a log and get covered in leaves.
646
00:40:23.599 --> 00:40:25.320
I mean, is that difficult to do, to take so
647
00:40:25.400 --> 00:40:26.000
Muchy's head off?
648
00:40:26.000 --> 00:40:26.960
I've never seen that done.
649
00:40:26.960 --> 00:40:32.000
I mean, all you gotta do is keep sewing, throwing, sewing, sewing, sewing,
650
00:40:32.039 --> 00:40:35.360
and then get through the joint. It's just like you would.
651
00:40:35.800 --> 00:40:37.679
That's what it's made for in the kitchen.
652
00:40:37.760 --> 00:40:38.800
Right to cut up me?
653
00:40:39.159 --> 00:40:39.800
Right, okay.
654
00:40:40.280 --> 00:40:43.880
I interviewed him about the crime itself, and truthfully, it
655
00:40:43.960 --> 00:40:47.920
was the most horrific thing I think I had ever heard,
656
00:40:48.119 --> 00:40:51.400
even as a law enforcement officer watching horror movies, any.
657
00:40:51.360 --> 00:40:53.719
Any aspect it was.
658
00:40:53.960 --> 00:40:59.400
It was undoubtedly one of the most devastating gut punches
659
00:40:59.440 --> 00:41:00.000
that I've taken.
660
00:41:00.719 --> 00:41:03.480
I think killed a coach for any satisfaction.
661
00:41:03.880 --> 00:41:04.800
It was distaithful.
662
00:41:04.920 --> 00:41:08.480
It was dreadful. Trust me, it was. Of course I
663
00:41:08.599 --> 00:41:10.960
was able to do it because in my general rage answer.
664
00:41:10.679 --> 00:41:12.920
Siety, you know, she was thinking, well, if I can
665
00:41:13.000 --> 00:41:15.719
just keep him at bay, you know, just a little
666
00:41:15.719 --> 00:41:16.920
bit longer, they're gonna find me.
667
00:41:17.159 --> 00:41:19.679
They're gonna find me. And then to listen to all
668
00:41:19.760 --> 00:41:22.599
that in him describe how he took her life.
669
00:41:22.840 --> 00:41:25.960
Once he was taken away, it it all flooded in on.
670
00:41:25.960 --> 00:41:27.320
Me and I just began to cry.
671
00:41:27.599 --> 00:41:32.559
It was nothing I've ever experienced before, nothing like anything
672
00:41:32.599 --> 00:41:34.599
I've ever been around.
673
00:41:39.920 --> 00:41:42.960
At his first trial, Gary Hilton has found guilty for
674
00:41:43.000 --> 00:41:46.800
the murder of Meredith Emerson. He's sentenced to thirty years
675
00:41:46.800 --> 00:41:50.760
in prison. At a second trial for the murder of
676
00:41:50.840 --> 00:41:55.599
Cheryl Dunlap, Hilton has found guilty. He receives the death penalty.
677
00:41:57.519 --> 00:41:59.679
At a third trial for the murders of John and
678
00:41:59.719 --> 00:42:04.440
i Rene Brilliant, Hilton has found guilty. He receives a
679
00:42:04.519 --> 00:42:06.320
sentence of life imprisonment.
680
00:42:16.199 --> 00:42:19.320
I mean, he's just pure evil. You can see it
681
00:42:19.360 --> 00:42:20.079
in his eyes.
682
00:42:20.760 --> 00:42:23.960
I have never met anybody that you could literally look
683
00:42:24.000 --> 00:42:27.719
in their eyes and see evil but him, and he is.
684
00:42:28.599 --> 00:42:29.519
He's truly evil.
685
00:42:31.559 --> 00:42:33.360
I think when you look at Gary Hilton, you look
686
00:42:33.400 --> 00:42:35.760
at his background. I think a lot of his not
687
00:42:35.880 --> 00:42:40.280
fitting in was more a reflection of his personality, his
688
00:42:40.400 --> 00:42:44.119
lack of coping skills, and this trauma he experienced as
689
00:42:44.159 --> 00:42:47.199
a child. I do think once he crossed the line,
690
00:42:47.719 --> 00:42:52.679
once he murders Irene and John, I think there is
691
00:42:52.719 --> 00:42:55.400
no going back, and I think he would have continued
692
00:42:55.440 --> 00:42:56.760
to kill until.
693
00:42:56.519 --> 00:42:57.519
He was caught.
694
00:42:58.760 --> 00:43:03.280
It was too much to even comprehend how he could
695
00:43:03.360 --> 00:43:09.880
be that cruel, that evil and commit the horrific acts
696
00:43:09.960 --> 00:43:14.320
that he did. Sickening. It makes me sick today, sixteen
697
00:43:14.400 --> 00:43:15.960
years later, just thinking about it.
698
00:43:17.079 --> 00:43:18.199
I'm sick to my stomach.