http://www.greenepublishing.com/oldsitesave/archivethirtyseven.html
A Close Encounter With A Killer Mind
By Tyrra B Meserve
Greene Publishing, Inc.
Since the beginning of time, within every culture, in every society, there have been those who are incapable of adapting and blending within the boundaries of their communal environment. Driven by a force that is incomprehensible to the peers upon which they prey, they feed on the terror and panic their crimes leave in the heart of the community. Unable to control their carnal desires for more than just brief moments, they reside in the dark recesses of the mind, opportunistically seizing victims to compensate for shortcomings they themselves are unable to overcome. Behind false smiles, it is truly then that the eyes become the window to the soul, or in some cases, the lack thereof.
In most instances, the serial killer acts alone, extracting pleasure from the anonymity that he presents. However, in rare cases, these predators find in each other a kindred mind, linking up to work together, proving the old adage of water seeking its own level, even for heinous reasons. Whether the union is long-term, or short-lived, these serial killing partners present a unique problem for law enforcement officers trying to solve crimes.
Recent developments have allowed Gary Michael Hilton to be charged with the murder of Meredith Emerson, and Cheryl Dunlap, however, questions still remain regarding Hilton’s involvement with other unsolved murders. It is currently under investigation as to whether Hilton is indeed a serial killer, and, if so, how many other victims did he claim, and, in what areas. In a recent interview with a Madison County resident, there has also now arisen the question as to if Hilton acted entirely alone.
Debra Stephens, a Madison resident for many years, recalls a strange event that took place back in 2000. A local, who knew some of the more obscure river access points and sun-bathing spots, was taking advantage of a warm summer’s day and the company of her dogs. As she was lying on her towel, soaking up rays, Stephens was startled by her companions barking.
“There’s canoers who go up and down the river all the time,” she said “so I didn’t think anything of it at first. Then I noticed there weren’t any other boats in the water and the dogs were focusing up the hill on the other bank.”
Following their line of sight, Stephens noticed two men standing at the top of the hill, on the other side of the river, watching her.
“I thought it was kind of odd when I noticed they were wearing blue jeans, sunglasses and boots. Not really boating clothes, if you know what I mean.”
When the men stepped back into the shadows of the trees and did not reappear, Stephens said her apprehension abated a bit and she returned to sunbathing. Then, a few minutes later, the dogs started barking again and Stephens, now nervous, looked around once more. The dogs, trotting ahead of her, rounded a close bend and Stephens walked straight down to the waters edge to get a better view.
“This older guy was paddling down in a canoe and it looked as though he was having a time of it. It was only he and his dog. At first, he asked if this was where they picked up the people for canoe rides. When I said no, this is private property, he kind of looked around, up the hill where the two guys had been.”
It was at this point that Stephens said the older man looked like he accidentally flipped the canoe, trapping the dog underneath. As Stephens was debating whether or not she should jump in and help, she noticed the man glancing up, occasionally looking up towards where she had seen the other two men earlier.
“He made it to the other bank and acted like he was going to lift the canoe,” Stephens remembered, “but then he just kept looking around and his dog was just laying there. His dog didn’t bark back at my dogs or anything. It was weird. It was almost like the dog had been through this before and he was trained.”
When the man fell to the ground, he appeared to accidentally push his canoe back into the water where it started to float downstream. Deciding to lend a hand, Stevens started to get into the water on the opposite bank.
“I looked up and there was one of the guys I had seen earlier, about halfway down the hill. I shouted up to him Hey, that man needs help, but he just looked at the older man, turned around and walked back up into the trees.”
Stephens stopped the canoe from floating away, and then gave it a good shove back toward the old man on the bank. Deciding it was about time to head home, Stephens kept an eye on the man as she swam back to her side of the shore, gathered her things and got set to leave.
“As I was walking back down the river bank to my truck, I glanced up the hill and there were those same two guys again. Well, one of them looked down at the older man and he looked back up at the guy and I thought they nodded at each other. When I passed by them on my side of the river, I remember thinking, now that’s weird; he doesn’t have anything in the canoe. Nothing, I mean, normally people have a life preserver, equipment, something. He didn’t. It was completely empty. Just him, his dog and a cane.”
Stephens also found it disturbing that, as she passed the scene, both men that she had seen earlier had not only re-emerged, but they had picked up the canoe and were carrying it up the hill with the older man and his dog in tow.
“I noticed that he wasn’t using his walking cane,” Stephens recalled. “He just followed them up the hill until they disappeared. That’s when I wondered how he had gotten the canoe down to the river by himself. There’s not a lot of places where we were at that you can drive up and drop a canoe, you have to hike it in and that didn’t seem like something he could have done by himself.
“When I got home, I told a couple of people what had happened and they just told me I was nuts. I couldn’t help thinking that if I had gone over to their side of the river, I wouldn’t have made it back, but everyone I told laughed and said nobody was trying to get me, so I just pushed it to the back of my mind and tried to forget it.”
Then, watching the news recently, Stephens got a jolt. A little thinner, a little older looking and worse for wear, Gary Michael Hilton looked like the man she had seen that day.
“Naw,” Stephens said to herself. “I’m just spooked.”
Letting it go once more, a week passed before on another airing of the local news, Stephens got a chance to hear Hilton speak.
“I jumped out of my chair,” she said, “yelling, That’s Him! That’s the *!#* man from the river.”
They were trying to get me,” Stephens stated with conviction “I know that now. I could feel that something wasn’t right. It was like they knew each other. It just felt wrong.”
Sergeant Tim Baxter of the Leon County Sheriff’s Department was not able to give much information due to Hilton’s ongoing investigation; however, he is interested in connecting Stevens with the right authorities to take her statement.
“The FBI is working with the different case investigators, developing a long term timeline for Hilton,” Baxter stated. “They are going back to before (Hilton) was born. So far, we believe he’s a loner, but we want to know where he’s been and whom he’s been seen with. We don’t want to rule out connections he may have to other cases.”
As police still gather leads linking Hilton with other crimes, they are tracing his footsteps in the past. Only time will tell if police have caught all the right men.
