In The News

I just have to say how disturbing the news is of late. In particular, last week was absolutely a heinous week for brutal killings, or so it seems. There was the case of the missing hiker from Buford, Meredith Emerson who was found beheaded, her body and head found in different places in the woods of Dawson County. The man charged with her death, Gary Hilton, is also accused of killing a north Florida woman whose body was found in December in the woods of the Apalachicola National Forest. She had also been decaptiated. There are many details of both murders which are very similar and which link Hilton to both. He will be charged with her death as well.

Also, North Carolina officials have named Hilton as a suspect in the slaying in October of an elderly couple. Avid hikers John, 79, and Irene Bryant, 84, were last seen alive on Oct. 20 in the Pisgah National Forest in western North Carolina. Her body was found bludgeoned three weeks later while John Bryant remains missing and is believed dead.

In each case, officials have placed Hilton in the vicinity. Further, each of the victims' ATM cards were used, and the bodies were recovered in state or national forests.

Then there was the disappearance of Cayle Bywater who was last seen with her dog at Memorial Park in Athens on the afternoon of Dec. 29. Her dog was found and her glasses were found a few days later but no Cayle. Her body was found in a lake in Memorial Park on Friday, January 11. An autopsy performed on Saturday confirmed she had drown. The authorities have determined there was no foul play and no link to Hilton.

Then the man from Idaho who believed he bore the biblical "mark of the beast" actually used a circular saw to cut off one of his hands, then he proceeded to cook it and then he had the foresight to call 911 before he bled to death. The man, who is in his mid-20s, was placed in protective custody at a mental health center. Do ya think?

And then there was the Vietnamese man who has admitted throwing his four young children off an Alabama bridge. The children ranged in age from a few months to three years. Two bodies of the youngest of the four have been recovered. Divers and search teams continue to search the bayou shoreline for the remaining two bodies.

Oh, and I can't forget to mention the man in Texas who killed and mutilated his girlfriend. Officers found what they thought was her ear boiling in a pot on a stovetop at the crime scene, and a hunk of flesh on a plate, impaled on a fork at the kitchen table. Authorities say it is unclear whether McCuin consumed any part of the woman's body.

I think the country has gone mad! I can't recall a more horrific news week. It honestly makes you not want to turn on the TV or read a newspaper. All I can say is it is all very disturbing. I am more than ever convinced I need to purchase a handgun for protection. Not to worry - when I do I plan to attend a gun handling class in my county that is specifically for women!

What else are we to do, I ask? That and perhaps put Prozac in the water system around the entire country! :) Now, that's an idea worth pondering.