Gary Hilton Timeline

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Dec. 7, 2005: Rossana Miliani, 26, is last seen in Bryson City. She told her family she was going hiking.


Oct. 21, 2007: John and Irene Bryant disappear on a hike in North Carolina’s Pisgah National Forest.



Nov. 22, 2007: Michael Scot Louis, 27, disappears in Ormond Beach, Fla.

Dec. 1, 2007: Cheryl Hodges Dunlap, 46, is reported missing in Florida.


Dec. 6, 2007: Parts of Louis’ body are found in three trash bags near Tomoka State Park in Ormond Beach.

Dec. 19, 2007: Dunlap’s decapitated remains are found in Apalachicola National Forest, southwest of Tallahassee, Fla.

Jan. 1, 2008: Meredith Emerson disappears while hiking along the Appalachian Trail.



Jan. 7, 2008: Following his capture in Chamblee, Hilton leads searchers to Emerson’s decapitated body in a Dawsonville forest.

Jan. 31, 2008: Hilton avoids a death penalty trial, pleading guilty to Emerson’s murder. He’s sentenced to life in prison.

Feb. 1, 2008: Transylvania, N.C. Sheriff David Mahoney announces his investigators have enough evidence to charge Hilton with the murder of John and Irene Bryant. Those charges have not been filed, though Hilton remains the only suspect.

Feb. 28, 2008: A Florida grand jury indicts Hilton on charges he killed Dunlap. He’s still awaiting trial in Leon County, where prosecutors will seek the death penalty.

June 18, 2009: Hilton named a “person of interest” in the death of Ormond Beach stock clerk Michael Scot Louis.