Florida Jury Unanimously Recommends Death for Gary Michael Hilton in the 2007 Murder of Cheryl Dunlap
The jury deliberated about an hour. Hilton was already serving life in Georgia for killing hiker Meredith Emerson; a judge imposed death two months later.
Published
Gary Michael Hilton was already serving life in Georgia for killing a hiker. On February 21, 2011, a Florida jury unanimously recommended that he die for the 2007 murder of Cheryl Dunlap.
The Leon County jury, which had convicted Hilton, 64, days earlier, reached its recommendation after about an hour of deliberation. Circuit Judge James C. Hankinson said he would give the recommendation "great weight." Dunlap, 46, disappeared from the Leon Sinks Geological Area in Leon County on December 1, 2007, and her body was found in the Apalachicola National Forest on December 15, an area where Hilton used to camp. Hilton had pleaded guilty in Georgia to killing Meredith Emerson, a 24-year-old hiker from Athens, and was sentenced to life there. He was also suspected in at least three other killings, two in North Carolina and one in Florida.
On April 21, 2011, the trial court followed the jury's unanimous recommendation and sentenced Hilton to death. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed his conviction and death sentence on March 21, 2013.
A CBS News headline said Hilton "gets death penalty" on February 21, while the Florida Supreme Court recorded that the jury only recommended death that day and the judge imposed the sentence on April 21, 2011.
Sources
- Hilton v. State, No. SC11-898, 117 So. 3d 742 (Fla. 2013), Supreme Court of Florida (via FindLaw)
- Gary Michael Hilton, suspected serial killer, gets death penalty in Fla. for 2007 beheading murder, CBS News (AP)
Related News
- January 31, 2008: Drifter Gary Michael Hilton Pleads Guilty to Murdering Hiker Meredith Emerson and Gets Life in Prison