And then I heard about Gary
Posted in Friends by RB on January 11th, 2008 From the time she heard about the Meredith Emerson case, she’s been pretty freaked out about it, and rightfully so. Meredith Emerson was a young, athletic, and strong woman who knew how to defend herself. She was in her environment when she was killed, and it’s the same kind of environment that my wife feels very comfortable in - the north Georgia mountains.
While on her way home last night my wife stopped to talk to a neighbor. They talked about the holidays and how crazy they were, and the neighbor then said “And then I heard about Gary.” “Huh?” We had been told that Gary Hilton lived near our old house and that he was apprehended at a nearby gas station, but it really drove things home when she realized that he hung out in our neighborhood. It’s strange when you neighbors are interviewed by the GBI for a murder that took place 100 miles away. What’s more scary is that there’s nothing demographically that makes him more likely to live in the Chamblee area than in East Cobb or Gwinett. In some ways it would be easier if there was something more unusual about him; let’s just be blunt, if he were black or latino or talked to the voices in his head, then we all might feel a little more comfortable. But instead he’s just a neighbor who made what appeared to be idle threats to people who didn’t keep their dogs on a leash. It really sucks to fully understand that we could be walking alongside a murderer (someone who has probably already killed once and will kill again) and not even know it.
