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You're listening to an ONO Media Podcast. Hi everybody and welcome back to the into the Dark podcast. I'm your host Peyton Moreland. I'm so glad you are here listening. If you are watching on YouTube, please do all the things interact with the video. It helps so much. And if you are listening and can leave a five star review that would be amazing. Thank you so much for being here and thank you for the continued support. Getting right into my 10 seconds. If you follow my personal social media, you probably saw that I was able to finally set up my little wildlife shelter in the ravine in the back of my house. I spent so much time trying to put that together and I'm also putting video out there so that I can keep everyone updated on if any little critters come and use what I put out. So go follow along on that journey. I'm really excited. It's something I wanted to do for a really long time and I'm just happy that I was able to do it this year. I don't really have much else going on this week, kind of just a normal week over here. But yeah, I think that's all and we can get into today's case A quick Trigger Warning this episode includes discussions of sexual assault, so please listen with care. If you've spent any time online in the past year, you probably heard about the meme going around. You ask a woman if they would rather be alone in the woods with a man or a bear, and a lot of times they pick the bear. Would you rather be stuck in a forest with a man or bear? The bear. They understand that bears are dangerous animals that could kill them, but the idea is that bears are a little more predictable than men. We understand why wild animals do what they do and we can take reasonable steps to reduce the chances of an attack. And on top of that, bears don't psychologically torture their victims or gaslight them or sexually assault them. So even if you do get killed by a bear, your death will be quicker, probably less painful than some of the terrible things that human murderers are capable of. And this is especially relevant today because I'm going to tell you the story of a group of people who went into the woods with the wrong man. And they paid for their mistakes with their lives. But before I get into the story, I want to be clear. Hiking and camping aren't inherently dangerous activities. Most people who hit the trails come home fine. It is very rare to get in any kind of real trouble. At the worst, the majority of hikers may have to deal with some bad sunburns, bug bites, poison ivy. It's actually pretty rare to be attacked by a wild animal or to get in any other kind of life threatening situation. If you know what you're doing, you can go on a safe hike. And a 24 year old Georgia based woman named Meredith Emerson was experienced and knowledgeable. She has a black Labrador retriever named Ella, and every now and then she likes to grab a leash and hit the trails with Ella, her dog, so they can both get some exercise. Now, whenever Meredith is on a hike, she likes to chat with other people she meets on the trail. She she's just one of those people who's good at making small talk and getting to know strangers. And Meredith is very open and approachable. She's witty. And when she's getting to know people, she makes little comments that are memorable and that put everyone at ease. So understandably, she likes the feeling of community that she gets when she's in the woods. And since Meredith lives pretty close to Vogel State park in Georgia, the it's only natural for her to take Ella on outings there on a pretty regular basis. Now on New Year's Day 2008, Meredith is off work thanks to the holiday. The weather isn't too bad in Georgia and she wants to hike. So she leaves a note in her apartment so her roommate won't worry if she comes home to an empty unit. She grabs her water bottle, tennis shoes and Ella's leash before heading off. And sadly, Meredith does not come back home when she said she would. So her roommate waits until after dark, well after Meredith and Ella should have been home. And when there's still no sign of them, the roommate reaches out to the authorities to report that Meredith, her Roommate had gone on a hike and didn't come home. Now, as soon as the police first get involved, they probably assume that Meredith had some kind of accident in the woods. Attacked by a wild animal, injured, lost, suffering from dehydration. Luckily, it's only been a few hours, so they know she isn't in danger of starving yet. So the officers organize search teams to march through the woods, calling Meredith's name and looking for evidence. And before long, someone does spot something alarming. Meredith's water bottle is lying on the ground in the woods. It is nowhere near the trail. It's in the middle of nowhere. There's no good reason for her to wander this far off the path. And it's the first sign that makes the police suspect she may have been a victim of foul play. See, the trail Meredith went on that day is very popular. Lots of people walk on it. And Meredith has been this way lots of times before. It's very unlikely she would have gotten lost or confused and wandered off the trail. Even if she had, someone probably would have seen her, told her how to get back. If Meredith got lost, it meant something else probably had to be a factor. Maybe someone convinced her to leave the trail, or they hurt her and ditched her things in the woods. The point is, the detectives are investigating pretty thoroughly now. And that's when they notice something else that is odd and hard to explain. See, even though Meredith never came home, somebody had been trying to access her bank account since she went missing. So it actually starts on the evening of January 1st, the same night she disappeared. Bank records show that on that evening, someone drove to town outside of the state park and tried to withdraw cash using Meredith's debit card. But they entered the wrong PIN number so they couldn't get any money out. And then a short while later, someone attempted to make a withdrawal in a different town called Gainesville, Georgia. It's actually not too far from the first ATM they visited if you're driving, but it is too far to walk. Now, in Gainesville, they used a different PIN number to try and withdraw cash. And again, it was still wrong. They didn't get any money. Now, the next day, on the second. So after the night, into the next morning, the this person tries again. They attempt to withdraw Meredith's money in a town called Canton. Now, once again, they have the wrong PIN and failed to get any money. And finally, on the third, the person successfully withdraws all of Meredith's cash. Keep in mind, it had now been two full days since her disappearance, and Meredith still hadn't been found. But the person at the ATM uses her real PIN number to empty her bank account. Now, when police pull the security Cameras from those ATMs they see who's been trying to get into her account. It is not Meredith. It is an older white man, but it's hard to get a very good look at him. He has a hat down low over his face. It's pretty obvious he's trying to disguise himself from the security cameras. And clearly this person doesn't want to be recognized because he's obviously doing something he shouldn't be. And even though he's trying to hide, the police are able to get a good picture of his face, which is how they identify him as 61 year old Gary Michael Hilton. Now, Gary had a pretty spotty background. For most of his adult life, he's had trouble sticking with things. He was always good at making a positive first impression on people and then bad on follow through. He's never had a hard time getting a date. Gary was very charming when he wanted to be, but his relationships tended to be short lived. He'd been married and divorced three times. And similarly, he's good at landing new jobs, but then bad at keeping them. He has a long history of getting hired, then quitting or being fired pretty soon afterward. For example, when he was middle aged, Gary landed a telemarketing gig and at first he was really good at it. He made small talk on the phone, put his customers at ease, his co workers and bosses liked him. The only problem was that Gary was always asking his colleagues and his supervisor to loan him money. And anytime people did give him cash, he would fail to pay them back. It was like he had no intention of settling his debts. And even worse, as time went on, Gary started getting lazy at work. He didn't make as much of an effort. He came in late or left early and he started being rude to customers. Became clear that Gary did not respect his supervisors and he resented it when they told him what to do. So they had no choice but to fire him. And at that point in his life, Gary decided he was tired of the rat race trying to keep his bosses happy. So rather than keep sending out resumes, going through the interview process and getting rejected again, or landing a job he hated and didn't want to do, he just accepted that he was never going to work again. And Gary was okay with that. He decided he would rather be broke than have to spend his days doing a job for a paycheck. And sometime after he made this call. It's hard to say exactly when Gary decided to become a survivalist. So he walked off into a state park in the hopes that he could hunt and forage all of the food he needed to eat. Gary had a van which he slept and lived in and he had his dog with him. This time of year it's sensory overload everywhere but one feeling we are still chasing cozy and Bombas has the socks, slippers, tees and basically everything to get you there. Honestly, there's something weirdly therapeutic about fresh socks and the sock. Scientists at BOMBAS have found a way to channel that energy into everything from slippers with sink in cushioning to satisfyingly weighty teas. And that filling, it doesn't stop after one wear, it keeps going. I love bombas. I have talked about them for a while, but I have more than just their socks. I have their slippers, I have their tees and I love all of it. And one of my favorite things about Bombas is that they donate one for every purchased. So it is giving back in such an amazing way, especially around this time of year year. So head over to bombas.comaudio and use code audio for 20% off your first purchase. That's Bombas B O M B A S.com audio code audio@ checkout all right you guys. An ad and you may have heard of HelloFresh. They are the number one meal kit in America making home cooking easier with chef crafted recipes and fresh ingredients delivered straight to your door. I know I've said it before, but HelloFresh is truly one of my main constant times in my life where I am cooking at home. But guess what? HelloFresh has also doubled its menu. Now you can choose from 100 options each week including new seasonal dishes and recipes from around the world. They've also made it healthier. It feels you can feel great with an even healthier menu and tastier get steak and seafood recipes delivered every week for no extra cost. Now with three times the seafood options. And the thing about HelloFresh is you don't have to be an amazing cook or you can be an amazing cook and you're still getting quality food. And honestly, it's fun. It's one of my favorite date nights is to get a HelloFresh meal and cook it with Garrett. We both do our little part. It is so fun. So the best way to cook just got better. Go to hellofresh.com peyton10fp m spelled p a y t o n 10 the number fm now to get 10 free meals plus free breakfast for life. One per box with active subscription. Free meals applied as discount on first box. New subscribers only. Varies by plan. Again, that is HelloFresh.com Peyton10FM to get 10 free meals plus free breakfast for life. See, Gary at this point doesn't really like people anymore, but he loves dogs. And the whole time he was living alone in the woods, he had pets with him. This was his life for years. Before Meredith goes missing, he didn't always stay in the same park. Sometimes, to avoid getting caught, he would drive hundreds of miles to find a new forest to live in. But he seemed to like this lifestyle for the most part. The problem was Gary couldn't take care of all of his needs in the woods. He still had to go into town on occasion for food, warm clothes, blankets and other necessities. And since he didn't have a job or any way of making money, Gary took to stealing cash from hikers and campers. It was the only way he could pay for the things he needed and wanted while maintaining living off grid. Now, here's where things get scary. We know Gary has a history of theft, but he also attempted a homicide in his past. When he was just 14 years old, Gary got into a fight with his stepfather. And during the argument, he got so angry that he picked up a shotgun and fired it at his stepdad. Now, the blast hit him in the face, but by some kind of miracle, the stepfather survived. And because Gary was so young, he had managed to avoid any serious prison time. Instead, he had to see a psychiatrist. And after several sessions, the mental health professional diagnosed him with a number of issues. This included a fascination with violence and death, a fascination that apparently didn't go away even when he got older. So this is what the police know about their main suspect. Gary is capable of taking a life, or at least of trying to, given what had happened with his stepfather. He knows the forest very well because he's been living in it for years. And he appeared on security cameras taking Meredith's money out of the bank right after her disappearance. So, of course, the police think Gary probably did something to Meredith. Perhaps he had taken her hostage or even killed her in a robbery gone wrong. So they decide to release Gary's photo to all of the local news outlets. They want his picture on tv, in the papers and online, because the clock is ticking. If Meredith is still alive, she might only have a few hours. And the police need every tip they can get in order to find her and rescue her. Sure enough, the phones start ringing. With new information. This includes leads that come from other police departments in other states. They're like, hey, Gary is actually a person of interest in one of our open cases, including several unsolved murders. Now, these reports go back to October of 2007. That was when a retired couple named John and Irene Bryant went missing from a camping trip in the Pisgah National Forest, which is in North Carolina. They didn't disappear anywhere close to where Meredith had vanished, but otherwise, their case was really similar to hers. And even though John was 80 years old and Irene was 84, they were both very experienced hikers. So no one worried too much when they said they were going to hit the trails together. But after they went missing, someone withdrew their money from the bank using their ATM card. They only got $300, which is especially tragic because Irene's body was found a month later in November. She had been beaten to death, killed for a few hundred bucks. And as for her husband John, all anyone ever found was his skull and pacemaker. And these weren't recovered until early 2008. So after Meredith's disappearance. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Instead, let's cover another development that came on December 3, 2007. Now, by this point, Irene's body had been found, but John hadn't, and Meredith hadn't gone missing yet. Now, on that day, which was a Sunday, a woman named Cheryl Dunlap failed to show up for church. This is a big deal because Cheryl was very religious and she taught Sunday school classes. She would never skip a service without letting someone know. Her friends were obviously immediately worried, and they reported her missing. Two weeks later, on December 16, her body was found in a forest near a hiking trail, and her head was missing. However, her injuries were not consistent with a wild animal attack. Instead, it was clear that somebody had murdered her and mutilated her body. When the police talked to witnesses, a bunch of people reported they had seen Cheryl hiking, and she wasn't alone. She was with an older white man who had a dog and drove a green van or truck. Now, at this time, that wasn't enough for the police to go off of. But now that the authorities in Meredith's case had released what they knew about Gary, they figured this was probably Gary in this case, too. So Gary at this point, has been linked to three other murders, but he hasn't been arrested or charged yet. Still, it's clear he's a very dangerous man. We know he is connected to Meredith's disappearance because he had her bank card. So the police Push even harder for tips, making sure his face is all over the News. And on January 4, one day after he withdrew Meredith's money from the bank, they get the break they've been waiting for. A man calls 911 while he's at a gas station. He says he spotted Gary at the same gas station filling up his van's tank. He'd recognized him from the news. And now, in this call, the man almost seems a little panicked. To be clear, Gary isn't hurting or threatening anyone at the gas station, but he's also in a hurry. He wants to get his gas and go, and the caller is worried that Gary will get away before the police can arrive. He offers to pick a fight with him or tackle him to try to keep him from escaping. And the operators tell him, hey, that's a bad idea. She doesn't want him to put his life in danger. This is good advice, because the police arrived almost right after that exchange. But now Gary has already left the station at this time. But he's only a little ways down the road, close enough for the officers to actually see him and pull him over. And they manage to apprehend Gary without incident. Problem is, he's alone. Meredith is not in the car with him, so to all appearances, it must be too late. She's probably not in the car because she's already dead and her remains are somewhere in the woods. But the police don't want to give up all hope, yet they still have to question Gary to see what he knows. So they pull him into an interrogation immediately, and right away, he admits to killing Meredith. And he doesn't stop there. Gary goes on and on, rambling about his motives, his psychology, his history, and any other thought that pops into his head. Gary claims he murdered Meredith because he was angry at society. He thinks life is unfair, so he wants to make other people suffer the way that he has suffered. Gary also claims he has psychological problems, including sociopathic tendencies. And then more confessions come spilling out. The detectives don't even have to try. Gary says that in addition to Meredith, he also killed John and Irene Bryant, the elderly couple who were killed during a hike in the fall of 2007. Gary says he had never murdered anyone before those deaths. John and Irene were his very first victims, and he only did it because he was broke and needed their money. Supposedly, he thought it would be easier to rob someone and kill them than to steal from them and let them live. Gary says his plan that day was to wait near a bend in a trail, planning to attack the next person who came around the corner, he didn't know who it would be, so. So he left the decision up to fate. Well, John and Irene appeared on the bend, and he hesitated because he was only prepared to murder one person. He'd never planned to commit a double homicide as his first murder. Now, Gary could have just let them pass and waited for another target, someone who was walking alone. But for whatever reason, he decided to rob and murder John and Irene. So he jumped out, told John to hand over his credit card, and John actually attempted to tackle Gary rather than give it over. Remember, he, Jon is old. A struggle ensues, and John beat Gary with his hiking sticks and actually was able to spray him with pepper spray. And Irene grabbed another stick off the ground and tried to help fight off Gary as well. But somehow, even though it was two against one, Gary was unarmed. He managed to overpower the elderly couple. Gary tied John and Irene up, took their debit and credit cards from their wallets, and then dragged them off into the woods with him. They marched all of the way to where Gary's van was parked. Then he told John and Irene to get into it, but Irene refused. So Gary beat her to death right then and there. He left her body in the woods and then drove to town with John, went to an ATM and asked John for his PIN number. John cooperated, possibly because he was too scared to fight back anymore. He just watched his wife get beaten to death. And with John's help, Gary emptied his bank account and then drove back into the woods. And that's where he shot John, killing him. Now, Meredith's story began a little differently in this interrogation. Gary didn't ambush her. He hiked with her for a while before he attacked her. Apparently, he enjoyed getting to know her before he murdered her. It made him feel excited and powerful, like he was toying with her. So basically, Gary pretended that he just happened to be going down the same trail Meredith was on. Then he walked alongside her for a while, chatting and acting friendly. He had his dog with him, and she was walking her dog, Ella, so they bonded over that. Keep in mind, Meredith was 24 years old and Gary was 61, so he used his age to advantage. He pretended to be too old to walk very fast or very far so he wouldn't seem threatening. At one point, he even faked that he was exhausted and paused to get some rest. And Meredith waited with him to make sure he was okay. And while her guard was down, Gary drew a knife and jumped at her. But unlike John and Irene, Meredith was young, she was fit. And on top of that, she had studied martial arts. She knew how to defend herself. She put up a hard fight and almost got away. Except once again, Gary managed to beat the odds and overpower Meredith. The police asked him how he did it, and he gave a bizarre answer. He said that he had psychic powers and he could mentally influence people to make them feel calm and cooperative. Seriously. According to him, he tells detectives he convinced Meredith to trust him using his psychic powers. And then, allegedly, she stopped struggling, then let him tie her up and force her into the car. Obviously, I don't know if we can actually believe that's what happened or if he expected the police to accept that. But he also said he decided to let her dog Ella go. Like I mentioned before, he liked animals, not humans. He'd already decided to kill Meredith after he robbed her, but he didn't want to hurt Ella. In fact, he drove the black lab into town and let her go unharmed. On January 4, the authorities actually found her alive and well in a parking lot. If you're a last minute shopper like me, you know the feeling. Shelves are empty and ideas are running low. But Aura Frames is the solution with a gift that feels personal. Garrett and I have gifted aura frames to many members of our family and it always is something that just is a special Christmas gift. And it's easy. It's right there, you guys. So if you don't know what to give someone in your life, give them an aura frame using my code. Okay? You can upload unlimited photos and video. You just download the Aura app and connect WI fi. So you can literally upload pictures to your family members or a frame that's in their house. You can even preload photos before it ships. So when they get it, there is already pictures on there and there's a gift box included. Every frame comes packaged in a premium gift box with no price tag. So it really is is the perfect gift. 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