Gary Michael Hilton | Siding Salesman Stalks Women in National Forests

[00:00:00] This is True Crime Psychology and Personality, where we discuss the pathology behind some

[00:00:12] of the most horrific crimes and those who committed them from a scientifically informed

[00:00:17] perspective.

[00:00:18] I am Dr. Todd Grande.

[00:00:21] I have a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision and I am a licensed professional

[00:00:26] counselor of mental health.

[00:00:27] Dr. Todd Grande, that's my YouTube channel.

[00:00:31] Today's question is, can I analyze the case of Gary Michael Hilton?

[00:00:36] First I'll look at the background of this case, move to the timeline of the murders, then

[00:00:40] offer my analysis.

[00:00:42] Gary Michael Hilton was born on November 22, 1946 in Atlanta, Georgia.

[00:00:48] His father and mother divorced when he was young and his mother remarried.

[00:00:52] The family moved to Hialeah, Florida in 1958.

[00:00:57] In 1959, Gary retrieved a firearm and shot his stepfather.

[00:01:02] The gunshot wound was not fatal.

[00:01:05] His stepfather declined to file charges.

[00:01:08] Gary ended up spending some time in a mental health facility mostly because of the shooting

[00:01:12] part.

[00:01:13] In 1964, Gary enlisted in the United States Army and spent some time in Germany.

[00:01:19] He was honorably discharged in 1967 after having symptoms of schizophrenia.

[00:01:26] In 1969, Gary married for the first time.

[00:01:29] He and his wife divorced in 1971.

[00:01:32] In 1973, Gary was convicted of DUI.

[00:01:36] He married for a second time in 1977, divorcing in 1978.

[00:01:41] His third and final marriage started in 1979 and ended that same year.

[00:01:48] In 1982, Gary was arrested for arson.

[00:01:51] In 1983, he was convicted in the state of Georgia for possession of drugs and carrying a gun

[00:01:58] without a license.

[00:01:59] In 1987, he was charged with theft by deception and possession of marijuana.

[00:02:05] As far as how Gary made a living, he would call people and ask for charitable donations

[00:02:11] only to put the money in his pocket.

[00:02:13] For this phone scam, he was charged with 21 counts of solicitation in 1994, as with

[00:02:20] all his crimes up to this point, Gary only suffered minimal consequences.

[00:02:24] He only had to serve probation for these charges.

[00:02:28] 1995 was a big year for Gary.

[00:02:30] He was charged with theft on two occasions and consulted on a low-budget movie.

[00:02:37] In 1997, Gary found a job selling siding and had the job for 10 years before being

[00:02:43] terminated, now moving to the timeline of the murders.

[00:02:47] On October 21, 2007, an 80-year-old man named John Bryant and his 84-year-old wife Irene

[00:02:55] drove their maroon Ford Escape to the Pisca National Forest in North Carolina.

[00:03:01] The couple went for a hike but never returned.

[00:03:05] Family members reported them missing two weeks later.

[00:03:08] The Ford Escape was located by the police in the forest, but there was no sign of

[00:03:12] the couple.

[00:03:13] Data from the Ford indicated that the vehicle had last been running at 1.59pm on October

[00:03:20] 21.

[00:03:21] Investigators learned that John's cell phone was used to call 911 at same day at 3.59pm,

[00:03:28] but the call did not progress past the nearest cell tower.

[00:03:33] After searching extensively for the couple, the police found Irene's body on November

[00:03:37] 10 in the forest just 150 feet away from the Ford Escape.

[00:03:43] She had been beaten to death with a blunt object.

[00:03:46] The police did not think it was likely that her husband John was the perpetrator, rather

[00:03:50] he had probably been kidnapped by the killer.

[00:03:54] On October 22, John's bank card was used in Ducktown, Tennessee to withdraw $300

[00:04:01] from an ATM.

[00:04:03] In surveillance video, a man wearing a yellow rain jacket could be seen making the withdrawal.

[00:04:10] Investigators were not able to identify who the perpetrator was because his face was covered,

[00:04:14] but based on the size of his body it was clearly not John.

[00:04:19] On February 3, 2008, a hunter found the remains of John Bryant in a forest in Macon

[00:04:25] County, Georgia.

[00:04:26] A couple of months earlier, on December 1, 2007, a 46-year-old Florida resident named

[00:04:32] Sheryl Dunlap failed to show up at a dinner with friends and missed church the next day.

[00:04:39] She was reported missing on December 3, the same day her white Toyota Camry was found

[00:04:44] abandoned near a forest.

[00:04:47] The right rear tire had been punctured with what the police believed was a bayonet.

[00:04:53] John's bank card had been used to make several ATM withdrawals in Tallahassee from December

[00:04:58] 2 to December 4, and an unidentified man could be seen on surveillance video making the withdrawals.

[00:05:05] He was wearing a mask made of tape.

[00:05:08] On December 15, a hunter in the Appalachicola National Forest notified the authorities after

[00:05:13] finding the body of a woman.

[00:05:16] DNA testing identified the body as Sheryl Dunlap.

[00:05:20] Her head and hands were missing.

[00:05:21] They were found less than a month later, about seven miles away.

[00:05:26] Several witnesses saw Gary Michael Hilton around the time of Sheryl's disappearance.

[00:05:31] He was driving a white Chevrolet Astro van.

[00:05:35] At one point, Gary was seen rummaging through a white Toyota Camry, the same type of vehicle

[00:05:41] owned by Sheryl.

[00:05:43] The police were unable to locate Gary.

[00:05:46] On January 1, 2008, a 24-year-old Georgia resident named Meredith Emerson took her dog

[00:05:53] Ella for a hike on Blood Mountain.

[00:05:56] This is the highest peak on the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail.

[00:06:00] Meredith never returned from her hike and there was no sign of her dog either.

[00:06:05] She was reported missing on January 2.

[00:06:07] The police searched for her unsuccessfully, but they did find items that belonged

[00:06:11] to her, like a dog leash, dog treats, and water bottles.

[00:06:16] They also found an extendable baton next to her items, like the kind used by police officers.

[00:06:23] The police spoke to several witnesses who had spotted a creepy man walking a dog on the

[00:06:28] trail.

[00:06:29] The man had talked to people and indicated that the name of his dog was Dandy.

[00:06:34] Witnesses described the man as being unusual in many ways, including how he had an

[00:06:39] extendable baton on his belt.

[00:06:42] A white Chevrolet Astro van had been spotted in a parking area at the trailhead.

[00:06:47] On January 3, Gary's former employer notified the police and told them that he thought the

[00:06:52] man they were looking for was Gary Michael Hilton.

[00:06:56] The former employer said that Gary called him and asked for money.

[00:07:00] He left it at an office as per Gary's instructions as a SWAT team waited for Gary

[00:07:04] to show up, but he never did.

[00:07:07] On January 4, Meredith's dog Ella was found in a parking lot for a Kroger supermarket.

[00:07:13] After this, the police received anonymous tips indicating that Gary was at a Chevron gas

[00:07:18] station north of Atlanta cleaning out his van.

[00:07:23] He was arrested there without incident.

[00:07:26] Officers discovered that the seatbelt was missing from the back of Gary's van.

[00:07:30] It matched a seatbelt found in a convenience store dumpster along with Meredith's

[00:07:34] wallet, driver's license and clothing.

[00:07:38] Ludd was found in the van.

[00:07:39] The DNA matched Meredith.

[00:07:42] Initially, Gary would not talk to the police.

[00:07:45] After he was offered a plea bargain, taking the death penalty off the table, he confessed.

[00:07:50] Gary said that he had kidnapped Meredith on the trail on January 1.

[00:07:55] On January 4, the same day he was arrested, he killed Meredith with a tire iron before

[00:08:01] decapitating her, stating that the murder was difficult because they had spent several

[00:08:07] good days together.

[00:08:09] Gary said that he couldn't bring himself to kill her dog.

[00:08:12] The police found Meredith's body in the Dawson Forest after Gary revealed the location.

[00:08:19] On January 30, 2008, Gary Hilton pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison

[00:08:24] with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

[00:08:29] In October 2009, the state of Florida charged Gary in connection with the murder of Sheryl

[00:08:34] Dunlap.

[00:08:35] In 2011, he was found guilty and sentenced to death.

[00:08:39] In 2012, Gary pleaded guilty to federal charges for murdering John and Irene Bryant.

[00:08:45] He was sentenced to a term of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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[00:09:21] Hi, podcast listeners.

[00:09:22] I'm Carol Costello, a former CNN anchor and national correspondent.

[00:09:26] This January, I'm launching a podcast about one of the first cases I ever covered as a journalist.

[00:09:31] It's one that stuck with me all of these years, the one that buried itself under my skin and

[00:09:37] stayed put.

[00:09:38] It's a true crime series about an amazing woman named Phyllis Cottle who defied torture

[00:09:43] and death and brought a fierce rage to the quest to find her attacker.

[00:09:48] Carol Costello presents Blind Rage is a production of Evergreen Podcasts and

[00:09:52] signature title of the Killer Podcast Network.

[00:09:55] Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

[00:09:58] Discover more great true crime and paranormal programming at KillerPodcast.com.

[00:10:03] Now moving to my analysis.

[00:10:07] Here are my thoughts on a few areas that stood out to me in this case.

[00:10:10] Item number one, Gary had many different experiences with people which may reveal information about his personality.

[00:10:17] For example, people who encountered Gary immediately knew that there was something frightening about him.

[00:10:24] They may not have been able to identify exactly what it was, but they sensed danger.

[00:10:29] Gary was described by many as creepy.

[00:10:32] This is an adjective that was used repeatedly by people who encountered him under a variety of circumstances.

[00:10:39] It probably didn't help Gary that he would often mumble to himself.

[00:10:44] Gary appeared to have anger management difficulties, although he often used indirect threats

[00:10:50] which helped him to avoid being arrested after confrontations.

[00:10:54] Gary had adopted unusual strategies as far as interacting with people when he was walking on a trail.

[00:11:00] He had the tendency of following women and staring at them intensely.

[00:11:05] If he was not interested in dealing with someone, he would go out of his way to avoid them,

[00:11:09] sometimes even walking off the trail.

[00:11:12] Gary was fascinated with weapons.

[00:11:15] He often carried an extendable baton and told people he knew how to use it.

[00:11:20] He also carried knives, cans of mace and pellet guns.

[00:11:24] Due to being a convicted felon, ownership of a real firearm was prohibited.

[00:11:29] It appears as though Gary was always hunting for his next victim.

[00:11:33] This often involved asking bizarre and invasive questions

[00:11:38] like he would ask women hiking on trails if they had a cell phone and if they were alone.

[00:11:44] There is the sense that he was one step away from just plain asking them

[00:11:48] if they wanted to be murdered today.

[00:11:50] Gary also had a habit of asking people to give him assistance, but many people refused.

[00:11:55] This was probably because of the creepy part.

[00:11:59] Gary once told a woman that she looked like Cheryl Dunlap,

[00:12:02] who of course Gary had murdered.

[00:12:05] It was not unusual for Gary to wear expensive hiking gear

[00:12:08] but also to have duct tape on his shoes.

[00:12:12] One time, not long before the murders of John and Irene Bryant

[00:12:15] when Gary was in the Pisca National Forest,

[00:12:19] a person saw him at the back of his van unloading it.

[00:12:23] Gary struck this individual as so disturbing,

[00:12:26] the person actually took a photograph of him

[00:12:29] thinking it might have some investigative value later.

[00:12:33] As it turns out, the individual was correct.

[00:12:36] Item number two, as I mentioned, Gary was employed from 1997 to 2007.

[00:12:43] His former employer, who is the one who identified him to the police in Georgia,

[00:12:48] had a lot to say about his experiences with Gary.

[00:12:51] For example, at first, Gary was a good employee,

[00:12:54] a hard worker, charismatic and easy to get along with.

[00:12:58] Over time, Gary started behaving in a bizarre fashion.

[00:13:02] For example, he said that he pulled out several of his own teeth

[00:13:05] with a pair of pliers and enjoyed the new look

[00:13:09] because it frightened people.

[00:13:11] Eventually, Gary became belligerent, combative, volatile and threatening.

[00:13:16] Item number three, early in Gary's criminal career,

[00:13:20] he committed several low-level offenses.

[00:13:23] He was represented by an attorney and they sort of became friends.

[00:13:27] This attorney described Gary as charming and articulate.

[00:13:32] I talked about how Gary had been in a low budget movie in 1995.

[00:13:36] This movie was titled Deadly Run and it was produced by the attorney.

[00:13:41] It was about a serial killer who chased women in the woods.

[00:13:45] Gary became very excited about the topic and worked on the movie as a consultant.

[00:13:50] According to the attorney, he knew a lot about serial killers.

[00:13:54] One of the locations in the movie was a cabin near Blood Mountain.

[00:13:59] The possible connection to Gary's behavior is the only thing that makes

[00:14:03] the movie even remotely interesting.

[00:14:05] It never would have been confused with a good movie

[00:14:08] or even a movie that would not cause bad acting induced nausea.

[00:14:12] The film was described as direct to video,

[00:14:15] but a more appropriate designation would have been direct to trash.

[00:14:20] Item number four, Gary was convicted of four murders,

[00:14:23] but he was also investigated in connection with at least five unsolved murders

[00:14:28] dating back to 1997.

[00:14:30] It is reasonable to believe that Gary did not begin his homicidal career

[00:14:34] in October 2007 when he was just shy of 61 years old.

[00:14:40] I think he probably started many years earlier,

[00:14:42] but managed to avoid getting caught.

[00:14:45] In June 2008, when Gary was being transported from Georgia to Florida

[00:14:49] by the authorities, he talked for the entire trip

[00:14:53] and his voice was recorded.

[00:14:55] He implied that it would have been very unusual for him

[00:14:57] to start committing murders as late in life as he did.

[00:15:01] The homicidal behavior was attributed to him losing his mind

[00:15:05] for a little bit and being unable to get a grip.

[00:15:09] Now moving to item number five,

[00:15:11] what do I think happened in this case?

[00:15:14] This is just a theory, my opinion.

[00:15:16] Gary exhibited anti-social traits from a young age.

[00:15:19] Like many people with those traits,

[00:15:21] he used them to illegally obtain money.

[00:15:24] His people skills made him good at manipulation

[00:15:27] which facilitated his career as a small-time con artist.

[00:15:31] At some point, he was no longer satisfied,

[00:15:33] which is stealing.

[00:15:35] Gary wanted to be a serial killer.

[00:15:37] He didn't start killing because he needed money.

[00:15:40] He could have made more money committing

[00:15:41] other types of crimes.

[00:15:43] The homicides occurred

[00:15:45] because that's exactly what Gary wanted.

[00:15:48] As he progressed into violent activity,

[00:15:50] he became increasingly bizarre and erratic.

[00:15:54] This may have been caused by the progression

[00:15:57] of some type of mental illness,

[00:15:59] but there's no way to know for sure.

[00:16:00] His behavior was more organized

[00:16:02] than would be expected if he had schizophrenia.

[00:16:05] Maybe his problems were more related to personality pathology,

[00:16:09] like he was anti-social, narcissistic,

[00:16:12] and had magical thinking.

[00:16:13] One thing is for certain,

[00:16:15] it was obvious to people that something was wrong with Gary.

[00:16:18] He did not have a good disguise as a serial killer.

[00:16:21] Rather, he practically checked every box

[00:16:23] for what people expect from a homicidal offender.

[00:16:27] This decreased his ability to manipulate

[00:16:30] and forced him to work harder to find victims.

[00:16:33] Gary had the most success concealing his true nature

[00:16:37] with people who focused more on the fact

[00:16:39] that he had a dog with him.

[00:16:41] Essentially, he used his dog to conceal his creepiness,

[00:16:45] but as it turns out,

[00:16:46] there are limits to the social advantages imparted

[00:16:49] by having a dog.

[00:16:51] No dog, no matter how gregarious,

[00:16:54] could conceal the overwhelming creepy power

[00:16:56] of Gary Michael Hilton.

[00:16:58] Even a whole pack of dogs

[00:17:00] would have been insufficient for this task.

[00:17:11] This has been true crime psychology and personality

[00:17:14] from Ars Lange Media.

[00:17:16] This content is for educational

[00:17:18] and entertainment purposes only.

[00:17:21] Ars Lange, Vita Brevis.

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