Gary Hilton, aka The National Forest Serial Killer, committed four homicides between 2007 and 2008 in three states. However, many believe that his kill count is much higher.
Apart from his known victims, he is suspected of killing Judy Smith (remains discovered in Pisgah National Forest in 1997), Jason Knapp (disappeared in 1998), Rossana Miliani (disappeared in 2005), and Michael Scott Lewis (remains discovered in Tomoka River in 2007).
Gary Hilton got caught in 2008 after taking the life of his final victim, Meredith Emerson. The police arrested Hilton on January 4, 2008, with the help of DNA technology.
ABC News Studios recently released a four-part documentary that takes a closer look at this notorious serial killer. It is titled Wild Crime: Blood Mountain and is available to stream on Hulu.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, the synopsis of Wild Crime: Blood Mountain reads, “After experienced hiker Meredith Emerson goes missing, a massive search-and-rescue operation begins; when investigators learn of two other missing hiker cases that ended in murder, they are left wondering if a serial killer took Meredith.”
It further states, “Serial killer Gary Michael Hilton has killed two women in national forests across the southeast. Hilton has escaped twice so far, leaving his victims without justice, but as police search a dumpster full of bloody clothes, Hilton is spotted nearby.”
How did serial killer Gary Hilton kill his last victim?
According to All That’s Interesting, Gary Hilton killed Meredith Emerson on New Year’s Day in 2008. At first, Hilton threatened Emerson with a knife and demanded to give him her ATM card. When the victim fought back, the killer forced her to camp with him for four days.
No matter how hard Hilton tried, he could not obtain any money from Emerson. So he just killed her. Hilton killed Emerson, cut up her body, and hid it in the forest.
