Ga. killer on trial for Fla. Panhandle slaying

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A drifter who killed a woman in Georgia is on trial for the similar decapitation slaying of a nurse in the Florida Panhandle.

A prosecutor said in her opening statement Friday that beads, blood and a bayonet will be key pieces of evidence against Gary Michael Hilton.

He got a life prison sentence in Georgia and could face death if convicted in Tallahassee of murdering Cheryl Dunlap.

The 46-year-old nurse's body was found in the Apalachicola National Forest southwest of Tallahassee in December 2007.

The 64-year-old Hilton pleaded guilty to killing 24-year-old hiker Meredith Emerson in Georgia. Her body also was found in a forest there.

Authorities also suspect Hilton in three other slayings in North Carolina and Florida.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

http://accesswdun.com/article/2011/2/235895