TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A North Georgia killer has been convicted of a similar decapitation murder in the Florida Panhandle.
A 12-member jury found Gary Michael Hilton guilty of first-degree murder after deliberating for less than four hours on Tuesday.
The 64-year-old drifter could get a death sentence for murdering 46-year-old nurse Cheryl Dunlap of nearby Crawfordville.
He's already serving a life sentence after pleading guilty to murdering 24-year-old hiker Meredith Emerson in northern Georgia.
The bodies of both victims were found in forests three years ago and each had been beheaded.
Hilton, who declined to testify, also is a suspect in at least three other killings in Florida and North Carolina.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Thursday
May 1st, 2025
11:55PM
