Prosecutor: Drifter to plead guilty in slain hiker case

DAWSONVILLE - A prosecutor says a drifter charged with kidnapping and killing a hiker will plead guilty in the case at a hearing this afternoon.

Sixty-one-year-old Gary Hilton is scheduled for a 1:00. hearing in Dawson County Superior Court in the death of 24-year-old Meredith Emerson.

Union County District Attorney Stan Gunter says he was told by his counterpart in Dawson County, Lee Darragh, that Hilton "is entering a guilty plea."

Gunter says Darragh did not provide details and that he didn't ask for any.

It's not clear what charge Hilton will plead guilty to or what sentence he might receive as part of any plea agreement.

Gunter had told The Associated Press previously that Hilton had led authorities to Emerson's body earlier this month in exchange for an agreement that prosecutors not seek the death penalty against him for Emerson's killing. Darragh has not made clear in public comments since then whether he would honor that agreement.

Authorities have said they believe Emerson was kidnapped in Union County and killed in Dawson County.

Her body was found nearly 50 miles from where she vanished during a New Year's Day hike near Blood Mountain in Union County. An autopsy report says Emerson was beaten to death and then decapitated.

Investigators in North Carolina and Florida also have looked at Hilton to see whether he was involved in killings in those states.