By Tammy Terry Anchor
Associated Press
ATLANTA (AP) - Authorities have recovered items including aAssociated Press
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Stumble It!hacksaw, baton, duct tape and a bloodstained yellow jacket from
Gary Michael Hilton's van -- evidence that could be important in
investigations into three other deaths.
Hilton is now serving a life sentence after pleading guilty in
the death of 24-year-old hiker Meredith Emerson of Buford, who
disappeared on an outing at Blood's Mountain on New Year's Day.
Authorities believe the jacket may have belonged to John Bryant,
who was killed along with his wife, Irene, after they were abducted
as they hiked in North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest on October
20th.
Florida officials also are trying to determine whether Hilton
was responsible for the death of Cheryl Hodges Dunlap.
Florida's State Crime Lab will look through the evidence
obtained through a search warrant executed on January 5th. That's
the day after Hilton was arrested at a DeKalb County gas station
while cleaning his van.
Hilton lived out of his van in the months leading up to his
arrest. Despite being a drifter, he had amassed an expensive array
of outdoor wear and equipment, including 20 shirts, a dozen pair of
pants, eight jackets in sizes ranging from medium to extra-large,
plus 29 hates, two pairs of boots and three sleeping bags.
Investigators also found drug paraphernalia and pornographic
magazines.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)