‘It’s Time’: Serial Killer Gary Michael Hilton Finally Confesses to 2007 Murder of Florida Nurse

After remaining silent about one of his most notorious crimes for nearly 18 years, convicted serial killer Gary Michael Hilton has finally admitted that he murdered Cheryl Hodges Dunlap, a Florida nurse whose death helped earn him a death sentence.

Hilton, known as the “National Forest Serial Killer,” made the confession during an interview with Court TV journalist David Scott in 2025. At 78, Hilton said he wanted to speak publicly about the killing because his health was deteriorating.

“It’s time after 17 years to break my silence,” he said, according to PEOPLE.

Dunlap, 46, was a nurse at Florida State University and a Sunday school teacher. She disappeared in early December 2007 after failing to show up for her church duties. Her remains were discovered later that month in Apalachicola National Forest in Florida. Investigators found that her body had been severely mutilated, and her head and hands had been removed.

The case shocked the community and launched a major investigation. Evidence presented at trial connected Hilton to Dunlap’s disappearance and death, including financial records and witness accounts placing him in the surrounding area. He was ultimately convicted of first-degree murder in 2011 and sentenced to death.

For years, Hilton refused to admit that he had killed Dunlap, even as he acknowledged responsibility for other murders. His new confession marked a significant change in his public account of the case, although he noted in the interview that the Florida conviction was still under appeal.

Hilton had already confessed to killing Meredith Emerson, a 24-year-old hiker abducted while hiking in Georgia in January 2008. He also received multiple life sentences for the murders of John and Irene Bryant, an older couple who disappeared while visiting a North Carolina national forest in 2007.

Investigators believe Hilton used his survivalist experience and familiarity with remote wilderness areas to target victims in isolated locations. His crimes across Florida, Georgia and North Carolina earned him the chilling nickname associated with national forests.

The disappearance and murder of Emerson ultimately helped bring Hilton to justice. Her case generated widespread attention and led investigators to connect him to other killings.

In the Court TV interview, Hilton spoke about his crimes with little apparent emotion, according to reporter David Scott. Hilton said his declining health was one reason he had decided to confess.

For Dunlap’s loved ones, the admission came years after a jury had already found Hilton guilty. While the confession did not change his conviction or sentence, it offered a rare public acknowledgment from the man responsible for her death.

Source:  PEOPLE