In 2000, Michelle Theer was an Air Force wife in the military town of Fayetteville until a fatal shooting made her a widow. The investigation into her husband’s death led police to the door of an Army Ranger – taking orders from very unlikely accomplices. -Fayetteville, Sins and Secrets (S2,E3)
Sexy psychologist and doting Air Force wife Michelle begins a swinging affair with Army Sgt. Diamond while her husband, Captain Marty Theer, is away. But all’s fair in love and war, and Marty’s return will remind them that love is a battlefield. -Sergeant Swinger, Scorned: Love Kills (S4,E1)
Oxygen:
A frantic, distraught woman runs into a video rental store screaming that her husband has been shot. -Michelle Theer & John Diamond, Killer Couples
Killer Couples: S8 E5 Preview – Michelle Theer and John Diamond | Oxygen
Killer Couples: S8 E5 After the Verdict – Michelle Theer and John Diamond | Oxygen
Psychologist Debbie Layton-Tholl talks about her experience meeting with Michelle Theer. -Michelle Theer & John Diamond, Killer Couples
A lonely military wife and psychologist go searching for sex on the Internet with deadly results. -Michelle Theer & John Diamond, Killer Couples (S8,E5)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.
Preview: Joan wants to kill her husband, and her daughter may be the perfect hitman. -Behind the Picket Fence, Scorned: Love Kills (S1, E1)
An Army Major lay lifeless in his bed, shot twice at close range while sleeping next to his wife. Investigators would soon uncover an intricately planned murder plot involving sex parties, adultery and coercion. -Behind the Picket Fence, Scorned: Love Kills (S1, E1)
When Special Forces Major David Shannon is fatally shot in his family home, investigators wonder if his job made him a target. But a deeper inspection of his personal life reveals sordid secrets… possibly leading to his murder. -She Loves Me Not, Married with Secrets (S2,E3)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.
Army Staff Sgt. Joshua Eisenhauer was sentenced to 10 to 18 years in prison for shooting at police and firefighters from his apartment in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
It was a case that resonated with just about everyone who followed it. On New Year’s Day 2008, Meredith Emerson set out for a vigorous hike up Union County’s Blood Mountain with her black Labrador retriever mix, Ella. There she encountered a grizzled, toothless drifter searching for his next victim. AJC’s Rhonda Cook and Christian Boone talk about covering that story years ago, as well as talk to the lead GBI agent on the case John Cage, who is still moved by the very thought of Emerson, ten years later. Atlanta Journal-Constitution (December 31, 2017)
Oxygen’s Dateline: Secrets Uncovered featured ‘Mystery on Blood Mountain’ which is the true crime story of the ‘National Forest Serial Killer’ Gary Michael Hilton. The show started with the missing Meredith Emerson of Buford, Georgia who set out on a hike at Blood Mountain in the Chattahoochee National Forest with her rescue dog Ella. Meredith’s roommate became concerned when she never came back home and never showed up to work the next day. Meredith was reliable and never missed work so her roommate called the police department. Meredith’s friends and family and the local sheriffs office began a search for Meredith who was initially considered a missing hiker. Although the police found some disturbing items during their search for Meredith. The items were located in an area where the ground was disturbed, possibly a sign of a struggle and they were especially concerned about the expandable police baton they found. Witnesses reported seeing Meredith with a strange looking man with a white van. A hiker took a picture of the van and the police sent out a be on the lookout for the van. Police learned that Meredith wasn’t the only missing hiker.
A witness, John Tabor, suspected the description of the unsavory character police were looking for was Gary Hilton and he reported this information to the police. The police showed Hilton’s picture to the hikers who saw Meredith and they identified Gary Hilton as the man they saw with Meredith. The manhunt was on. In the meantime, police learned that Cheryl Dunlap of Florida was missing as well. Cheryl’s daughter-in-law called the police after Cheryl didn’t show up for work. After a search was initiated, the police found Cheryl’s car abandoned and parked well off the highway. It appeared, one of the tires had been purposefully flattened. More people gathered to look for Cheryl after it was confirmed something was definitely. In the meantime, the police looked at Cheryl’s financial activity and found that a male subject was using her ATM card. The police staked out the ATMs, but the man never reappeared. In mid-December 2007, hikers found a female body missing it’s head and hands. The police took a DNA sample and it matched Cheryl Dunlap. Authorities learned of two more homicides in the National Forest in North Carolina and this detective suspected Hilton was involved in these unsolved murders to.
John and Irene Bryant retired in North Carolina close to the hiking trails they loved. They traveled extensively and both loved hiking; John hiked the entire Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. The couple went for a day hike in the Pisgah National Forest and they never came back. One of their sons started looking for them and eventually found their car. And not long after they began their search, they found Irene Bryant’s remains not far from their vehicle. She was bludgeoned to death. The search continued for John Bryant. During the course of the investigation, detectives discovered a male subject was successfully using the Bryant’s ATM card. Meanwhile, detectives in North Carolina noticed similarities in the Bryant’s case and Meredith Emerson’s case. They observed the crimes were all occurring in the National Forests. Gary Hilton was a suspect in the disappearance of Meredith Emerson and a person of interest in other homicides in the National Forest. John Tabor worked with Gary Hilton and he saw things change with him drastically in 2007. Hilton was missing several teeth and claimed he removed his own teeth with a pair of pliers. Tabor fired Hilton and Hilton threatened to kill him. Tabor armed himself and took every precaution including contacting the police and a couple days later, Hilton left.
Tabor said he spent 10 years with Gary Hilton and it wasn’t until the end of their friendship that he noticed the deterioration. A lawyer who represented Hilton claimed he was a conman but admitted that Hilton assisted him with making horror movies. One of the movies they worked on together was called Deadly Run. It featured women who were taken to the woods and murdered. Hilton wanted to make things dark and include rape and more murder. Coincidentally, they shot a scene in the Chattahoochee National Forest where Meredith went missing. The pair eventually had a falling out after Hilton stole his dog. After Meredith’s murder, Gary Hilton called his old boss John Tabor and acted like he knew nothing about the manhunt for him. He said he wanted to get back to work and was looking for money he felt was owed to him. John Tabor agreed to meet with him to give him the money and then called the police. On January 4, 2008, the U.S. Marshall’s Service discovered activity on Meredith’s bank card. They were failed attempts which most likely meant Meredith didn’t give Hilton the right code. Gary didn’t show up to pick up the money. Meanwhile, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) got involved with Meredith Emerson’s missing persons case. Then one day someone reported that a dog was roaming around with no owner. The dog looked like Ella and an identity chip confirmed it.
While police were canvassing the location, they discovered some of Meredith’s belongings in a dumpster including her identification and her bloody clothing. Meanwhile, another person reported a sighting of Gary Hilton and his white van at a gas station. Police quickly arrived a the scene and arrested Hilton. Detectives attempted to interview Gary Hilton so they could find Meredith but he lawyered up. So investigators offered to cut a deal with Gary so they could retrieve Meredith Emerson’s body for her family. Hilton told them where she was located and the police found her remains in a wooded area. Investigators were stunned by Gary Hilton’s confession. He said he ambushed Meredith as she was walking down the trail. She fought back using her martial arts and was able to get two weapons out of his control, a knife and a police baton. Hilton admitted he fought back hard to subdue her. After he wore Meredith down, he tied her to a tree, and told her he was going to shoot her. Later he led her back to his van, tied her up, and then took her ATM cards. Meredith didn’t give him the right numbers, probably in an attempt to stay alive. He made camp with his captive in a remote forest. He tried the ATM card again the next day and still nothing so he returned to his van. He let Ella the dog go because he didn’t have the heart to kill the dog.
Gary Hilton admitted that he bludgeoned Meredith to death, decapitated her, and dumped bleach all over her body. In a stunning twist, Hilton would not talk about any of the other homicides the police believed he was involved in. Hilton was found guilty of Meredith’s murder and sentenced to life in prison in the State of Georgia. The prosecutor honored the plea agreement and removed the death penalty off the table. State and federal investigators in Florida and North Carolina continued their investigation. They learned Hilton was more than a vagrant in a van. He was an Army veteran, a college graduate, he got a pilot’s license on the GI Bill, and was married three times before the wheel’s came off. Hilton was raised by his mother and a step-father he claimed to not get along with. When he was 14 years old, he shot his step-father who lived; Gary was institutionalized. He later joined the Army and admitted his time in the Army was the only time he worked full-time. He admitted to being a career criminal; he was a scam artist. In his interview with the GBI, he had grandiose conversation about his life and touted his exceptionalism. Gary has a very high IQ and believed he was smarter than the investigators.
In January 2008, Mr. Bryant’s remains were discovered in the National Forest in North Carolina. And investigators in Florida believed Cheryl Dunlap’s case fit Gary Hilton’s modus operandi. The State of Florida indicted Gary Hilton in a capital murder trial for Cheryl Dunlap’s homicide but they were not allowed to enter any of the other suspected homicides or the Meredith Emerson case into evidence even to establish a pattern. In addition, the prosecution was not allowed to refer to the horror movie Hilton was involved with. A month after Cheryl went missing, Meredith went missing. So investigators went deep in the woods hoping to find additional evidence and they stumbled upon the head and hands of Cheryl Dunlap in a fire. It appeared someone had worked hard to destroy evidence. Unfortunately, no witnesses came forward to put Cheryl Dunlap with Gary Hilton so the prosecution had to make a connection in some other way. After they found the knife that Meredith wrestled away from Hilton, they found the link they needed to make the connection between Gary and Cheryl. The knife used in the Meredith Emerson abduction was the same knife used to decapitate Cheryl Dunlap.
Hilton’s homicide case for the murder of Cheryl Dunlap in Florida started in February 2011. This was a capital murder case and a death penalty case. Investigators left no stone unturned. They searched all of Gary Hilton’s belongings and his van and were able to make another connection. Cheryl’s DNA was found on Gary’s boots and his sleeping bag. In his defense, Gary Hilton declined to take the stand and his attorney claimed there was no direct evidence linking Gary Hilton to Cheryl Dunlap’s murder. The prosecution’s argument was compelling because Hilton was found guilty of first degree murder. And the prosecution was allowed to talk about Meredith Emerson’s homicide in the sentencing phase of the trial. The defense claimed Hilton suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury when he was a child and was also abused as a child. He was diagnosed with anti-social personality disorder and schizoaffective disorder. The prosecution’s rebuttal witnessed claimed Hilton was a psychopath who knew right from wrong. Gary Hilton was sentenced to death to by lethal injection in the State of Florida on April 21, 2011. Hilton was indicted in federal court in North Carolina for the murders of John and Irene Bryant and was a person of interest in other cases. Hilton filed an appeal in the State of Florida to have his death sentenced conviction overturned but the appeal was denied.
UPDATE: Gary Michael Hilton was found guilty of murdering Rossana Miliani, 26, Cheryl Hodges Dunlap, 46, John, 80, and Irene Bryant, 84, Michael Scot Louis, 27, and Meredith Hope Emerson, 24, between December 7, 2005 and January 4, 2008. Gary Hilton was sentenced to life in prison in Georgia on January 31, 2008, sentenced to death in Florida on April 21, 2011, and sentenced to four life sentences in North Carolina on April 25, 2013.
Source: ‘Mystery on Blood Mountain’ Dateline
Authorities met Tuesday to discuss possible links between Georgia murder suspect Gary Michael Hilton and cases in other states. -Associated Press (January 16, 2008)
Authorities say they have linked Gary Michael Hilton to the the slaying of a N.C. hiker and the disappearance of her husband. Earlier this month, he w as charged with killing a 24-year old female Georgia hiker. – Associated Press (January 17, 2008)
The man accused of killing a Hendersonville couple in the Pisgah National Forest was in court Monday morning. -WYFF News 4 (July 25, 2011)
A confessed serial killer, who pleaded guilty to killing two hikers from Henderson County, is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without parole. Last year, Gary Hilton admitted to killing John and Irene Bryant as they hiked in the Pisgah National Forest in October 2007. -WLOS News 13 (April 25, 2013)
Gary Hilton was sentenced today for killing John and Irene Bryant from Henderson County in the Pisgah National Forest back in 2007. A federal judge gave Hilton four more life terms without parole. That’s on top of his Florida death sentence for a killing there, and a life term for a killing in Georgia. -WLOS News 13 (April 26, 2013)
A double murder case in the mountains involving a serial killer finally comes to a close almost six years later. Gary Hilton was sentenced today for killing John and Irene Bryant from Henderson County in the Pisgah National Forest back in 2007. A federal judge gave Hilton four more life terms without parole. -WLOS News 13 (April 29, 2013)
“He was a military man, a respected Major in the US Army. When he was attacked in the middle of the night, police launched an investigation that would reveal wild secrets – secrets that might hold the key to murder.” –The Mystery of the Murdered Major, Dateline: Secrets Uncovered, Oxygen
On February 19, 2011, Vanessa Mintz was found shot and killed at her family owned mountain Lodge in Saluda, North Carolina. After police conducted a thorough investigation they learned that a shell casing at the scene of the crime matched a gun owned by Travis McGraw, a police officer in the Air Force Reserve. They also learned that Travis was in love with a woman by the name of Mary-Beth who gave him an ultimatum. Mary-Beth asked Travis to choose her or Vanessa and get back to her once he decided. Less then 48 hours later, Vanessa was dead. It is believed that Travis killed Vanessa for the $100,000 military life insurance policy. At trial, the public learned that Travis asked his Air Force Commander about the life insurance policy within twelve hours of Vanessa’s death. Travis was found guilty by a jury of his peers and sentenced to life without parole. Travis McGraw appealed his conviction but it was denied.
The family of Sgt. Amanda Sheldon hopes her death may spark change. The 2004 Belding graduate’s body will return to West Michigan on Thursday night, about one week after Sheldon took her own life while serving at a Fort Bragg, N.C., military base. -WOOD TV8 (October 14, 2010)
“Just like any other soldier, whether she died in combat or some other way, she’s still a fallen soldier. She served her country and she served it well.” -Renee Orcatt (Amanda Sheldon’s mom)
Army Sgt. Amanda Sheldon, 24, took her own life while stationed with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Sgt. Sheldon was found unresponsive at her off-post home in Fayetteville and was pronounced dead at the local hospital on October 7, 2010. Sgt. Sheldon was attached to the 18th Fires Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg. She joined the Army in October 2005 and was assigned to Fort Bragg in February 2010. The family of Sgt. Amanda Sheldon hopes the circumstances surrounding her untimely death will spark military-wide change. In 2010, the Department of Defense was concerned about the increase in active duty suicides and since then the numbers have only increased. CNN reported the suicide rates among active-duty Marines and the Navy are at a 10-year high on January 28, 2019. Task and Purpose reported Army suicides reached a five-year high on January 31, 2019. Military.com reported Active-Duty military suicides are at Record Highs in 2018.
Army Sgt. Amanda Sheldon, 24, took her own life while stationed with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Sgt. Sheldon was found unresponsive at her off-post home in Fayetteville and was pronounced dead at the local hospital on October 7, 2010. Sgt. Sheldon’s mom, Renee Orcatt, went public with Amanda’s story in an effort to raise awareness, change policy, and save lives. Renee told the local media that Amanda was a victim of rape in the military at the hands of a superior officer. Amanda reported the crime to the Army and informed them she had been drugged and raped. As a result, the suspect was criminally convicted and discharged from the Army. Initially, Amanda sought help from military counselors and the family reported that she was getting better, yet still struggled with depression. Amanda wanted to deal with it and move on to serve her country as she had originally intended to do.
Unfortunately, according to Renee, this wasn’t the last time Amanda would have to confront her past while serving in the Army. When Amanda was up for promotion, she was asked why she was going to counseling. She would go on to get her promotion, but this line of questioning was something she never wanted to experience again. After making the realization that her past and seeking help was not confidential, counseling was out of the question in her future if she wanted to preserve her career. Sgt. Sheldon felt judged for seeking treatment for military sexual trauma. Her mom reported that Amanda recognized she needed counseling again and was planning on getting out of the military. When she died, she was serving out her final year of enlistment, had plans to go to college, and wanted to start a new life outside the military, with her new love. But her unit got tasked with a deployment to Afghanistan and she set about making plans to go to Afghanistan with her unit before she was discharged from the Army.
Amanda would learn that in order to accomplish this, she would need to re-enlist for two more years. Amanda didn’t want to stay in for two more years and made the devastating decision to stay back. She felt like no matter what decision she made, she was letting someone down. Renee observed that Amanda never came to grips with this decision and entered into depression. Amanda’s mom begged her to get counseling but to Amanda that was no longer an option. Sgt. Sheldon was attached to the 18th Fires Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg. She joined the Army in October 2005 and was assigned to Fort Bragg in February 2010. The family of Sgt. Amanda Sheldon hopes the circumstances surrounding her untimely death will spark military-wide change. In 2010, the Department of Defense was concerned about the increase in active duty suicides and since then the number of suicides in the military has increased.
Editor’s Note: CNN reported the suicide rates among active-duty Marines and the Navy are at a 10-year high on January 28, 2019. Task and Purpose reported Army suicides reached a five-year high on January 31, 2019. Military.com reported Active-Duty military suicides are at Record Highs in 2018.
“Just like any other soldier, whether she died in combat or some other way, she’s still a fallen soldier. She served her country and she served it well.” -Renee Orcatt (Amanda Sheldon’s mom)
Source: Soldier’s Mom speaks out on suicide, WOOD TV8 (October 14, 2010)
The family of Sgt. Amanda Sheldon hopes her death may spark change. The 2004 Belding graduate’s body will return to West Michigan on Thursday night, about one week after Sheldon took her own life while serving at a Fort Bragg, N.C., military base. -WOOD TV8 (October 14, 2010)
