At the Hands of a Stranger (34 page)

“Weigh all these factors very carefully,” Meggs told the jury.

Speaking of his final witness, Dr. Greg Prichard, Meggs said, “He talked in a plain, common-sense manner,” and he told the jury that Prichard was correct in his evaluation of Hilton: “He's a psychopath, who doesn't care about anything other than himself.

“Folks, I ask you on behalf of the state of Florida—your duty is clear. You must weigh the aggravating circumstances against the mitigating circumstances. Thank you for doing your duty, and your duty is about to come down to you in a very strong way. I'm asking you to vote for Gary Michael Hilton to be put to death. God bless you. Go vote and do your duty.”

Defense Attorney Robert Friedman had his work cut out for him, following such a strong closing argument by William Meggs. Friedman began by telling the jury that there had been three major mitigating factors that had been proven by the defense to have caused Gary Hilton to commit his crimes: his head injury, the childhood abuse he was alleged to have suffered, and his overprescribed Ritalin use.

Friedman spoke about Hilton's childhood abandonment, being placed in foster care after shooting his stepfather, Nilo, and the fact that a counselor told Cleo to leave Gary for Nilo. After being rejected by his mother at an early age, Friedman said, Hilton had enlisted in the army at age seventeen, where he eventually began to suffer auditory hallucinations during his second tour of duty.

“He was a loner,” Friedman said, “and never bonded with humans as he did with his dogs.”

Friedman pointed out that there had been no convictions for violence until after Hilton started seeing Dr. Delcher, who prescribed a larger-than-recommended dose of Ritalin. John Tabor had noticed a decline in Hilton after the Ritalin use began, and even Dr. Delcher had noted Hilton was having severe symptoms in July 2007, Friedman said, but the doctor did not change his medications.

Friedman stressed, over and over, about the symptoms and side effects of Ritalin, saying it pushed Hilton over the line and his problems were caused by mental illness, which was compounded by the use of Ritalin and Effexor.

Hilton had been deprived of a relationship with his biological father, suffered maternal deprivation, and lack of the normal mother/child bonding, Friedman said. Hilton had been put in foster care as an adolescent, grew up in a poor family, suffered traumatic brain injury as a child, and suffered from several mental defects.

Friedman summarized the testimonies of all the defense's expert witnesses, reminding the jury of Hilton's PET scan information, and the tests that showed Hilton as having an IQ that was in the top 10 percent of the population, but emotionally thinking like an eight-or nine-year-old child. Friedman spoke of Hilton's alleged schizoaffective disorder, which was said to have existed for a long time and was accelerated by his medications.

“No one gave him a sense of love anytime in his life,” Friedman told the jury. “On behalf of Mr. Hilton, I'm asking all of you to recommend a life sentence in this case.”

 

Judge Hankinson then turned the case over to the jury, ordering that all the evidence in the case would be sent back into the jury room with them. They left the room to decide whether they would recommend life or death for Gary Michael Hilton. It was two forty-seven in the afternoon when their deliberations began.

After the jury left, Hankinson addressed the defense and prosecution, saying, “I appreciate the professional job that has been done on both sides. This case has been very vigorously litigated—but in a professional manner—and I thank you for your service.”

After the jury had left, some of the spectators also left the courtroom; many remained, talking among themselves. The attorneys and court personnel did the same, milling around and going back and forth out of the courtroom. Paperwork was shuffled, packed into boxes and briefcases, and colleagues spoke with each other. No one seemed to want to get too far away from the room, and there was a general sense that the jury might not be out for long. The guilty verdict had taken a relatively short time, and that might also be the case for a sentencing decision.

Around four o'clock, only about an hour and fifteen minutes after they had left the courtroom, the jury returned with their verdict. Everyone quickly took their places and listened intently as the foreman handed the jury's decision to Judge Hankinson, who read it aloud: “‘In the
State of Florida
versus
Gary Michael Hilton.
A majority of the jury, by a vote of twelve to nothing, advise and recommend to the court that it impose the death penalty on Gary Michael Hilton, so say we all.'”

There was no sudden uproar in the courtroom, and the only real surprise in the decision was the fact that it had been unanimous. Judge Hankinson told the court that there would be two more court actions; one for him to hear any other information in the case that the defense might present, and the other for him to announce his final sentencing decision. The date for those actions would be announced later, he said, when the defense and prosecution attorneys agreed on a time.

Then Hilton was escorted from the courtroom.

 

Newspaper and media-outlet reporters eagerly asked the prosecutors for statements as they began to leave the room.

Prosecutor Georgia Cappleman told the press that the state was very pleased with the death penalty verdict, especially since it was unanimous. She said it was apparent that the jury saw what needed to be done.

“They brought justice, and that's what Mr. Hilton got today, and what Ms. Dunlap and her family got.”

“If there was ever a case for it, this was it,” State Attorney William Meggs told the press about the unanimous verdict. He told the reporters that he greatly appreciated the law enforcement personnel in both Georgia and in Florida for their hard work over a long period of time, which resulted in the verdict just received. “They dug up the National Forest. They crawled in Dumpsters recovering evidence. Those folks deserve a lot of credit.”

Cheryl Dunlap's immediate family was absent from the courtroom throughout the trial, but one cousin, Gloria Tucker, had sat through every day of the trial. She said she was very satisfied with the verdict, saying that Hilton would now know how his victims felt before they died, knowing that they were doomed.

“He needs to know now that he's going to face death,” Tucker said.

She also told the reporters that her cousin had been such a good, loving person that she might not have wanted Hilton to die.

“Cheri was such a loving person, who always looked for the good in everyone …. I'm not sure she would be as happy as we are, but it's good that he won't be able to hurt anybody else.”

The jury's unanimous decision echoed the feelings of the residents of Cheryl Dunlap's hometown of Crawfordville and the citizens of Wakulla County. Many of them spoke to reporters following the trial, and all were glad that Hilton would face death for what he had done to Cheryl Dunlap and for the suffering her family and friends had endured because of her murder.

“We don't know how many other people he has killed, and probably never will,” one man said, adding that there was no rehabilitation for a person who committed such crimes.

Others said they were thankful that there would finally be some closure for the family, but it wouldn't bring Cheryl Dunlap back. And all were in agreement that the right sentence had been recommended. A Crawfordville resident said that because of the hideous nature of the crime, “[Hilton] didn't show Cheryl any mercy, so I don't think he deserves any mercy,” adding that he thought Hilton should be executed the same way that he had killed his victim.

One man spoke bluntly, echoing the sentiments of many other people who had been interviewed about Cheryl Dunlap's murder over the past three years. “I think they're taking too long in killing him,” the man said.

 

Among the people who had watched Hilton's trial on live streaming video from WCTV was a large group of Meredith Emerson's family and friends, who were keenly interested in the verdict. They felt that a death sentence was not only justice for Cheryl Dunlap, but for Meredith as well. When Hilton bargained his way to a life sentence in Georgia by leading authorities to Emerson's body, many felt that he was not getting what he deserved for her murder.

When Meredith's parents agreed to the Georgia plea bargain, they were made aware that Hilton would be immediately charged with capital murder in Florida as soon as his Georgia case was finished, and they had been told there was overwhelming evidence that Hilton had murdered Cheryl Dunlap. Many others, who did not know at that time that Hilton would be facing the death penalty in the Florida case, were glad when they learned that Hilton had been arrested and would be tried for Cheryl's murder. Thus, Meredith would finally get justice.

Julia Karrenbauer, Meredith's former roommate, told the press that she thought Hilton not only deserved the death penalty, but a whole lot more. She said she felt her friend Meredith had stopped a serial killer, which was the only comfort that those who loved Meredith could take from losing her so tragically.

Chris Hendley, Meredith's former boss, told the media that he was relieved when Hilton's sentence was announced, and he wasn't surprised. He had expected the verdict, he said.

 

There was another large group of trial watchers following the WCTV video, and they were the family and countless friends who were hoping for justice in the case of Irene and John Bryant, murdered in North Carolina in October 2007. It had long been known that Gary Hilton was the prime suspect in their murders, and their son Bob said that he felt the sentence was “just and appropriate.” But although the U. S. Department of Justice had kept a tight lid on the Bryants' case, releasing no information since 2008, Bob Bryant's sister, Holly, said the family had been told that anything Hilton said in his Florida trial could be used against him when he went on trial for her parents' murder. And he would indeed go to trial—the U.S. DOJ had told her—as soon as the Florida trial was over. The death penalty would also be sought in that trial; Holly said she had been assured of that.

A spokesperson for the U. S. Attorney's Office still claimed that nothing had been filed against Hilton in the case and the U.S. DOJ could not comment, but John and Irene Bryant's family had been told that action would soon be taken. Holly said the family had been informed that there was DNA evidence linking Hilton to the murders of her parents.

Bob Bryant told the press that he was disappointed with the time it was taking to pursue his parents' case, but he understood that Hilton couldn't be indicted for the crime until the Florida trial was finished, because of the guarantee of a speedy trial. The Florida case would have interfered with preparing a case in North Carolina, he said.

 

And if the bodies of any of the other missing persons considered possible victims of Gary Hilton were found, he might face even more charges. In one case in particular, that of missing hiker Rossana Miliani, shortly before she dropped out of sight in Cherokee, North Carolina, she had been seen with a man fitting Hilton's description. Her grieving family desperately needed closure in her disappearance, and they believed Hilton could be involved. A great many other people in law enforcement felt the same way; but with no remains yet located, Rossana Miliani's legal status would remain in limbo. For the time being, she could only be classified as a missing person, not a murder victim.

 

A few days after Hilton's guilty verdict and the jury's death sentence recommendation, it was announced that final evidence and victim impact statements would be heard on April 7 at 9:00
A.M
. at a Spencer Hearing in Judge Hankinson's courtroom 3A. At Spencer Hearings, both sides would be given the opportunity to present any last-minute evidence to the judge, and statements would be given—both in person or by letter—by Cheryl Dunlap's friends and family. Just as the trial had been, the Spencer Hearing also was scheduled to be carried on live video feed on the Internet. Many of the interested parties who had watched the trial by that means were also planning to go online to see the April 7 hearing.

When the morning arrived for Hilton's Spencer Hearing, his appearance had changed, yet again. He looked quite different than he had only a month earlier. He had gained some weight, and his hair was cut very short. Instead of a suit, he wore his jail clothing. He had also grown a short beard, and his coloring appeared a little less pale than it had looked a month earlier. He didn't look nearly as frail as he had during his trial. One thing had not changed, however; he still rocked back and forth in his chair and made constant chewing motions with his lips.

When Judge Hankinson entered the courtroom and took his seat at the bench, he called the hearing to order and said that the proceedings had been set in order to “give either side the opportunity to present any additional evidence they may have.”

Prosecutor Willie Meggs told the judge that there would be three witnesses who would like to read their victim impact statements to the court, and others who had sent letters to be presented to the judge; then the state would have a brief argument.

“I have received the letters,” Hankinson told him. “I have not read them yet.”

Hilton's attorney Robert Friedman told the judge that the only aspects of the victim impact statements that should be permissible as evidence were those pertaining to the victim, not anything about Hilton—such as his character or speculation about him. Friedman then proceeded to read a long list of objections from the large number of letters that had been submitted to the court, giving the name of the writer and reading aloud what they had written that the defense considered to be unacceptable.

In a letter from Cheryl's friend Tonya Land, Friedman objected to her use of the phrase: “fear and mistrust in the community.”

Nancy Hedman, another friend, used the words “may justice be served in this crime” which also brought an objection from Friedman.

Friends Amber Collins wrote that Crawfordville had
lost its sense of safety and civility;
and Hannah and Ashton Collins spoke of Hilton's not just taking Cheryl's life, he took a mother, grandmother, friend, and mentor. After reading their words, Friedman objected to them.

Friends and neighbors James C. Misso and Nancy Duran wrote letters that Friedman said he objected to almost in their entirety.

Scores of other church friends, family members, and co-workers sent letters to the judge. The last sentence of Steve Alt's letter, which said there would never be anyone who could replace Cheryl, and Aletha Arkley's written comment that Hilton's sentence could
make a bold statement to any other offender
were both objected to by Friedman.

Kimberly Smith wrote,
Justice will bring a level of comfort,
and Jennifer Glaubius penned,
He needs to pay for the hurt he has caused.
Friedman objected to both of these statements, as well as an entire letter from Michael L. Brown, Ph.D.

All the following individuals also wrote letters with sections that brought objections from Friedman, although he was reading each of them aloud for the judge to hear: Toby Peters wrote,
grieved by her senseless murder;
Scott Volk penned,
I am confident that to her last breath, Cheryl was praying for her abductor;
Robert Gladstone wrote,
No doubt, Hilton found out what kind of person Cheryl was;
Gaby Godfrey put on paper that
My life changed and I was honored to know her. Her legacy will live on forever.

Friedman also objected to almost all the content of letters from Tom Barry, Becca Anderson, Kasie Forbes, Ben Godfrey, and Marsha Misso. In total, there were over two dozen letters, and the defense had objected—to one extent or another—to all of them but one.

When the defense's litany of objections finally ended, Meggs told the judge, “Given the fact that we're aware that the purpose of victim impact statements is to give what the victim meant to the community, the court can consider the statements, what sentences will be imposed, and the court can readily distinguish parts admissible for death or kidnapping or grand theft. The state doesn't think the court will be ‘inflamed' by the statements. The victim's family and friends have a right to be heard. The state asks that the letters be made part of the record and that the live statements be allowed to be heard.”

Friedman then asked that various other rulings be considered as to victim impact statements, in an attempt to get much of the letters and live statements disallowed, but Hankinson told him, “We will continue with these letters. It seems odd to have only heard the portions of them that the defense has objected to. The court can consider the letters in their entirety. All objections are denied.”

Hankinson then told the prosecution that he would allow the witnesses to speak, reading their letters to him, and Friedman said that he would have a standing objection to the letters.

 

While all the legal maneuvering concerning the victim impact letters and statements was taking place, there was a great deal of discussion about the case taking place on the video feed's message board, just as there had been during the trial. One writer said that he had been following John Cagle, the Georgia investigator, on the Internet. Cagle was one of the key investigators in the Meredith Emerson and Patrice Endres cases, among very many others, and was keenly interested in the outcome of Hilton's Florida trial. The writer said Cagle had indicated that he thought as soon as the sentencing of Hilton was finished, North Carolina would step in, indict him and move forward with their case.

This would surely be welcome news for the family of John and Irene Bryant.