Hilton Vows To Fight Extradition

BARNESVILLE, Ga. (AP) -- Gary Michael Hilton, who pleaded guilty to the murder of hiker Meredith Emerson in January, told a Lamar County Superior Court judge Thursday that he would fight extradition to Florida, where he faces murder charges.

The Herald-Gazette newspaper of Barnesville reported that Hilton, in a booming voice, told Judge Tommy Wilson he wished to contest the validity of his Florida charges and demanded a court-appointed attorney to help him fight extradition.

Wilson gave him 20 days to file a habeas petition to challenge the Florida arrest. The judge denied the request for court-appointed counsel because habeas is a civil action and the state is not required to appoint counsel in a civil action.

Hilton pleaded guilty to the murder of Emerson whose decapitated body was found last December 15th.

Hilton is being held at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Butts County.

Besides murder, he also faces charges in Florida of kidnapping, grand theft auto and grand theft.

State Attorney Willie Meggs said Hilton is wanted in Florida in the death of Cheryl Hodges Dunlap, who was found in December in a national forest in Florida.

Emerson was kidnapped while she was taking a New Year's Day hike in the north Georgia mountains with her dog, Ella, authorities say.

Investigators in North Carolina have also linked Hilton to the slaying of 84-year-old Irene Bryant and disappearance of her 80-year-old husband, John Bryant.