ATLANTA — Meredith Emerson’s family slipped deeper into seclusion Tuesday after authorities gave word that the former Longmont resident may have been held hostage for three days before she was bludgeoned and decapitated.
Authorities charged Gary Michael Hilton with murder, and revealed that the 24-year-old hiker was not killed until Friday, three days after she went missing. The affidavit for Hilton’s murder warrant disclosed that Emerson died in Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area, 5 miles southwest of Dawsonville, Ga., where investigators found her body Monday. Hilton led authorities to her body in exchange for prosecutors agreeing not to seek the death penalty.
Emerson’s family did not appear at a planned news conference Tuesday. Peggy Bailey, family spokeswoman, said there would be a service for Emerson at 2 p.m. Friday at Central Presbyterian Church in Athens. Another service will be held later in Longmont.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
