Gary Hilton - Cheryl Dunlap murder TRIAL

[HopeFloats]

Here's the title from one of today's Tallahassee Democrat stories:

Florida's death penalty process overdue for review

and here's a little snip:

Among the report's findings was death penalty defendants in Florida often receive abysmal legal representation.

 

[climbergirl]

Rebuttal Witness Dr. Prichard and Meggs:

Did GMH know right from wrong?
Yes, he clearly knew right from wrong.


Did GMH know the criminal nature of his conduct?
Yes, because he covered up the evidence
He took their clothes off so no forensic fibers
and the most heinous of all is the removal of the head and bleaching the body of ME to cover it up
He is a psychopath

ATM cards- he wore a mask clearly proving he knew it was wrong because he doesn't want to get caught.


Could he have conformed his behavior to the confinements of the law?
Yes, he CHOSE not to.
He is a psychopath in my opinion.

 

[Reader]

http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Gary_Michael_Hilton_Trial_-_Penalty_Phase_116396099.html

[UPDATE] Life or Death?: Gary Michael Hilton Trial Penalty Phase

The family and friends of Cheryl Dunlap may find out today whether convicted killer Gary Hilton will receive the death penalty for her 2007 abduction and murder.
Posted: 8:03 AM Feb 21, 2011
Reporter: Julie Montanaro, Amy Long

The jury is expected to hear cross examination of the state's forensic psychiatrist first and then hear final arguments from both sides before it begins deliberating.

The defense has moved for a mistrial twice this morning.

First it claimed that the state's forensic psychiatrist improperly commented on the testimony of the other experts. The judge denied that motion saying Dr. Pritchard gave his opinion but did not attack the credibility of the other experts.

Second the defense claimed that the state violated a court order when it questioned defense expert Dr. Joseph Woo about Hilton's involvement in the making of a 1995 movie called "Deadly Run." Prosecutors say Woo brought it up on the stand himself first, saying Hilton was clearly delusional when he claimed to be involved in the movie.

The judge is considering extensive argument on this.

 

[Native New Yorker]

Judge now giving final instructions to the Jury, which will give an Advisory sentence to the Judge, who will give it great weight, in determining which sentence to impose.

Go Judge! Go Jury! Hang Him High...

On a side note, I am very, very disappointed in the lack of coverage this case has gotten. Very little, if anything in the national media. Nothing on the West Coast, nothing here in the Midwest ( where another crime forum is based)
Also, even on this board, interest seemed to fall away.
I guess this is a reflection on the jaded nature of the world we live in.

 

[Native New Yorker]

CLOSING Arguments now by the Prosecution and the Defense.....

 

[HopeFloats]

Anybody here?

Did Tabor testify? Why not?

 

[Native New Yorker]

Tabor not called, not sure why. I think perhaps he would not be a good witness for either side....too sleazy and dishonest for either

 

[HopeFloats]

From what I saw, Hilton looked the same throughout most of the trial. Sitting in his chair, eyes glazed, rocking back and forth slightly and moving his mouth as if chewing on gum. Perhaps nicotine gum since he was a smoker?

The only time I saw him otherwise, was right before the verdict. He was bouncing his legs up and down which made me think he was anxious or nervous.

 

[HopeFloats]

The courtroom is empty except for Suber who has been sitting at her seat diligently writing something.

 

[Native New Yorker]

Probably the APPEAL to have it all ready.......

 

[Native New Yorker]

unanimous for DEATH by Jury, judge will pronounce final verdict in about 2 weeks, at sentencing hearing. Doubt he will override jury recs. Should be able to have victim impact statements at that time, too.

 

[CharlieChan]

The Judge will not reverse the jury. I suspect Florida death row will be just a little different than what he's used to. Smokin ciggs, drinkin coffee & watchin TV.

 

[Mustang Sally]

update:

The jury gave Gary Michael Hilton the Death Penalty in the death of Cheryl Hodges Dunlap. The Sentencing Phase will make it official. God Bless the jury for having the courage to bring forth this verdict. The sad thing is that the Appeals Process will drag it on Forever. Dear God, Please be with Cheryl's family and friends. Rest In Peace...Cheryl Dunlap and Meredith Emerson..True Angels of God!

 

[watcher9]

The Judge said the jury had reached the unanimous decision by 12-0 for death and then he polled each juror to verify it was their decision.

I was so excited to hear it, but then the Judge said they would NEXT have a Simpson (?) hearing in order for GMH to come up with any extenuating circumstances that he had not been brought up before and THEN there would be another hearing for the Judge to sentence him. Is this the normal procedure?

I may not have got it right, but I do know I was shocked because I thought after the jury was polled, the Judge was going to have GMH stand up so he could sentence him to death.

 

[HopeFloats]

The Judge has been careful about following procedure so I am going to assume that it is the normal standard procedure.

I've learned a lot about the judicial process through this ordeal but I hope that a case like this never, ever comes to my town again.

 

[CharlieChan]

I am so sad for these ladies suffering. To him, none of this means anything---zero---zilch. Whereas we all wish that we could hug them right now, he doesn't give a crapola. His attitude is somewhat like BTK (Dennis Rader). Gary calls it hunting--Dennis calls it trolling. They have their day in the spotlight and everyone else is left with an aching heart. Where does it end?

 

[Mustang Sally]

I am just here to tell each of you THANKS for your caring concern for my Friend Cheryl Dunlap!

That being said....I posted this something like this quote on the wctv.tv live stream.....

"Cheryl MAY be saying....Praise The Lord....Justice has been served!!"

Someone else jumped on me and said that they DO NOT think Cheryl would say this because she was not vengeful and she did not have any evil thoughts. I personally just laughed at that person's opinion...

I do not care how they wanted to interpret my thoughts....the Bible does say...""an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth"" ...So in my opinion..."Justice has been served"

Being the little ole Southern Baptist Girl that I am... All I have to say is that I feel that God's Will was followed today. Cheryl's personal thoughts on that...we will never know...unless we are called home by our Heavenly Father! If and when that HAPPENS TO ME...I will remember to ask Cheryl about today's events! So how about those grits?(Girls Raised In The South!!)...LOL

Generally...I was sickened by the expression on GMH's face when the verdict was read..It looked to me like he was actually laughing!! Why in the he77 would someone who was normal...snicker about being given the Death Penalty. Perhaps the humor that he was feeling was related to the fact that he was going to get a lot of attention with the MANY Appeals that Suber is planning to use to keep his sorry a$$ alive.

It was very creepy to be in the room with such an EVIL person...I could almost feel the waves of evilness comming off GMH as he sat rocking in that courtroom chair. He was really enjoying knowing that he was the subject of all the ""Fuss""" that was happening in Tallahassee for the past 4 years. He was really reveling in the sorrow and pain felt by the family and friends of Cheryl. It looked to me like GMH actually turned a looked over his left shoulder just before the sentence was read by the judge.

I will really be surprised if any of Cheryl's family give an impact statement. I do not see the aunt talking to him. G. Tucker has invested a lot of time an emotion on the trial...So she may be planning to represent the family.

I have two more days to spend with my kids before they travel back to the frozen North. Talked to my niece in Maryland and it was snowing there as we were talking...they were expected to get about an inch an hour. So, I'm thinking that they may have to travel in some rain, sleet or snow as they travel back to Connecticut.

Off to bed...DH has been there for a while.

lovingly...mustangsal

Rest In Peace...Cheryl Hodges Dunlap and Meredith Hope Emerson! You two are perhaps the happiest angels tonight!! Sing a little song of joy for all or us who love and admire you. You each lived your lives to the fullest and were both blessed with a love for God, Family, Nature and life!!

 

[Mustang Sally]

wctv.tv update:

UPDATED 2.21.2011 7:20pm by Julie Montanaro

The jury took three and a half hours to find Gary Hilton guilty of the 2007 kidnapping and murder of Cheryl Dunlap, but just an hour and 15 minutes to decide he should be sentenced to death for it.

The foreperson handed over the verdict form a few minutes after 4pm this afternoon.

"State of Florida versus Gary Michael Hilton. A majority of the jury by a vote of 12 to nothing advise and recommend to the court that it impose the death penalty on Gary Michael Hilton, so say we all," read Circuit Judge James Hankinson.

The unanimous verdict stunned the courtroom.

"We are extremely pleased with the death verdict and even more so that it was unanimous. Obviously the jury saw what needed to be done to bring justice and that's what Mr. Hilton got today and Ms. Dunlap and her family got," said prosecutor Georgia Cappleman as she left the courtroom.

State Attorney Willie Meggs said he was surprised by the unanimous verdict, but said if there were ever a case for it, this was it. And he thanked law enforcement agents in two states for all they did to help bring this case to court.

"Words cannot describe what those folks did to get this case to this point," Meggs said. "They dug up the National Forest. They stopped every black truck in Leon County, some of them four and five times.The recovered evidence. They crawled in dumpsters and those folks deserve a lot of credit."

It's been more than three years since Crawfordville Sunday School teacher and FSU nurse Cheryl Dunlap disappeared.

She would be found murdered and dismembered two weeks later.

Her cousin, Gloria Tucker, has been in court every day to hear the testimony and was literally doing fist pumps as she left the courtroom.

"I think it's extremely important to me because I feel that he's deserving of death. He's tortured and tormented his victims and who knows how many of them there were, but he needs to know now that he's going to face death. It may take years, but all those years he's going to know just like his victims knew before they died.that he's going to die," Tucker said.

http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Gary_Michael_Hilton_Trial_-_Penalty_Phase_116396099.html

 

[Mustang Sally]

Tallahassee Democrat:

unanimous Leon County jury recommended Monday afternoon that twice-convicted killer Gary Michael Hilton be sentenced to death for the December 2007 murder of Cheryl Dunlap.

Circuit Judge James Hankinson will formally impose Hilton’s sentence, likely in about two weeks.

The jury of six men and six women, which found Hilton guilty last week of the kidnapping, theft and murder of the 46-year-old Crawfordville resident, deliberated for an hour and 20 minutes before reaching its decision.

It is the first time in 19 years that a Leon County jury has recommended the death penalty.

State Attorney Willie Meggs, his chief assistant prosecutor Georgia Cappleman and Dunlap’s family and friends welcomed the jury’s decision.

“I think it was the right verdict,” said Meggs, who was surprised by the rare unanimous recommendation of death. “If there was ever a case for it, this was it.”

After Hilton abducted Dunlap, a nurse and Sunday school teacher, from Leon Sinks Geological Area on Dec.1, he kept her captive in the nearby woods for up to two days, evidence showed, finally strangling, shooting or bludgeoning her death.

Finally, he sawed off her head and hands in an effort to cover up his crimes, incinerated them in his campsite burn pit and dumped her dismembered body about five miles away, where it was found two weeks later by a hunter who noticed buzzards, covered with leaves and palmetto fronds.

Dunlap’s cousin Gloria Tucker praised the jury.

Read more: Update: Jury recommends death sentence for Hilton | tallahassee.com | Tallahassee Democrat http://www.tallahassee.com/article/...mends-death-sentence-for-Hilton#ixzz1Ef3ibdzU

 

[CharlieChan]

I'm under the impression that most amenities that you receive in prison like cigarettes and TV have to come from your commissary (?) account. These accounts are usually kept replenished by friends and family on the outside. In his particular case, I'm wondering who those people would be.