The Murder of Meredith Emerson: Why Women Should Own and Carry Guns

By Jim on March 24th, 2008

Incredibly sad and disturbing story of a woman who ran into a killer while she was out hiking. She fought like a champ but was ultimately overwhelmed and later killed by this scumbag. My condolences to the family of Meredith Emerson, God rest her soul.

He told investigators he targeted the 24-year-old University of Georgia graduate because she was a woman.

For a time, they had hiked together on New Year’s Day near the Appalachian Trail in Union County, but the 61-year-old Hilton couldn’t keep up.

When Emerson turned and headed back down the trail, Hilton was waiting with a military-style knife. He demanded her ATM card and Emerson immediately went on the defensive, grabbing the blade and a baton Hilton used to counter her struggle.

“She wouldn’t stop,” Hilton told investigators. “She wouldn’t stop fighting. And yelling at the same time. So I needed to both control her and silence her.”

Hilton said he did that by punching her, blackening both her eyes and possibly breaking her nose. He said the blows also broke his hand.

When he thought he had worn her down, Emerson fought him again, he said.

Hilton said he calmed her down by telling her that he just wanted her credit card and PIN number, then avoided established trails as he led Emerson back down from the mountains and placed Emerson and her dog in his van.

On the day Hilton killed Emerson, he told her “she was going home.” He secured her to a tree, walked back to his van to collect himself and make coffee, and when he returned, he said, Emerson told him: “I was afraid you weren’t coming back.”

He said he walked behind her and hit her several times with the handle from a car jack.

Hilton said he couldn’t bring himself to kill Emerson’s dog. When Bridges asked if Hilton had the same equivocations about Emerson, Hilton described the experience as “surreal.”

“It was hard,” Hilton told the investigator. “You gotta remember we had spent several good days together.”

I had some opinions on this, here they are in no particular order.

Disclaimer: Please note that the thoughts below are based on what I read in the article linked to above and you should consider them as just opinions. You should make up your own mind and make your own decisions based on the information you have at the time should you ever be in a dangerous or life threatening situation. Don’t necessarily base your decisions on a blog entry you read on the internet.

1. Never hike unarmed!
Even if you have a dog with you like she did, don’t assume that it will protect you against one or more determined attackers. Always have a revolver or pistol with a back up mag or rounds with you. Even if the terrain you are hiking in is a victim disarmament zone, carry a gun with you anyway. Civil disobedience in that kind of situation could save your life.

It’s also better not to hike alone. If you are hiking with another person then at least one of you (preferably both) should be armed with lethal (revolver or pistol) as well as non-lethal (pepper spray) means.

2. Remember that guns are equalizers for women and small or older men.
Sometimes even martial arts training is not enough to stop a larger, determined attacker. A firearm is a tool that can mean the difference between life and death for a woman or smaller/older man.

3. Never let an attacker bind your hands or arms!
Once that happens you’ve lost control totally and it may result in your death.

4. Don’t believe what your attacker tells you.
This guy clearly lied to her and managed to get her cooperation by telling her he only wanted her wallet or PIN. Keep fighting no matter what, make it as difficult as possible for your attacker(s) to achieve his/their goals and don’t believe them if they say they only want your money. If he/they have physically attacked you then you have to assume that they want to kill you and you should act appropriately to defend your life or the lives of your loved ones.

It’s a sad story and I truly wish that it had ended with her pulling out her revolver or pistol and shooting this disgusting excuse of a human being. Now she has died and he lives on to smugly tell the tale of his attack on her and her death. That is just not how things should have ended.

A gun is no guarantee that you’ll walk away from a life threatening attack but it evens the odds considerably. If you’re a woman then consider joining the Second Amendment Sisters and check your state laws regarding concealed carry. Also be sure to check out the NRA’s excellent women’s programs. If you haven’t owned or used a firearm before then be sure to take a basic firearms safety course before buying or carrying a firearm.