Meredith Emerson's murder and the possible other murders committed by this monster, Gary Michael Hilton, have really shaken me. I guess it's the idea that a serial killer was walking around within a few miles of my home, sometimes living in a park I've taken my children to, and mutilating and disposing of bodies in an area I used to go hiking in when I was the same age as the girl he murdered. It's really put me on edge and made me realize that I need to become more aware of my surroundings.
Last year there was a mugger or armed robber who targeted moms with small kids who would have to be put into car seats. He would wait in the parking lot until he saw the women putting the kids in the car and then approach them from behind, put a gun to the back of their heads and rob them, threatening to either kill them or their kids. Again, in the area where we live. He robbed one woman in the Whole Foods parking lot at the store I used to frequent once a week. Oh, yeah. He did this in broad daylight. He was eventually caught and arrested, but that made me start paying more attention to who was around when I had the kids with me.
But this just brings the issue of safety to the forefront of my mind again.
This article appeared in the AJC today and has some good tips. There is also information at the end of the article about free self-defense classes for women which are being sponsored by local radio station Q100.
The only bit of advice I have to add to the tips offered by the article is something a former cop told me once. He said never let an attacker get you in the car. If someone tries to carjack you, or push you into a car (yours or theirs) let them kill you on the spot before you get in the car. He said either way, you'll end up dead, but at least if they kill you on the spot your family will have you to bury and maybe someone will see or hear it happen.He said that very few people who get abducted are ever found at all. I always have that in my mind as horrible as it is. And I don't even know if it's true, but it sure sounds plausible.
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Apparently he may be linked to a case in NC too. This story has confirmed my overwhelming fear of going near parked vans at night. I avoid parking near them even when I have people with me.
Since I live alone, this story has freaked me out too.
That girl was from MY neck of the woods.
It is bad enough to hear these things on the news, or to read them in the paper.
But to realize that this murder victim was the child of a neighbor? Unthinkable.
I can not imagine the anguish that this family must be enduring.
He's most likely killed north of Atlanta, outside Tallahassee, and in or outside Asheville, and perhaps in South Florida as well, basically everywhere my brother and his wife have lived. Spooky.
Yeah...there's no telling how many people he has killed. What I'm wondering is why has there been, what seems like, an escalation in his killing. There are at least four murders in the last four months and possibly more. He may be linked to the murder of Cayle Bywater from Athens as well.
She went missing on Dec. 29 and the stupid police did not give her case much attention because she was (apparently) bipolar. It really makes me angry that they ignored her case and told her parents they assumed she just went off somewhere. They found her body in an Athens lake yesterday.
It all just makes me so sad. I don't understand how someone could turn into such a monster as to do these kind of things to people.
And I don't understand how law enforcement could not be more on top of the situation. There is a rumor that the GBI has known there was a serial killer working the area for years and didn't release the information.
Just browsing. Very, very interesting blog. Great read.
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