ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Transylvania County Sheriff David Mahoney said Friday there is "no question" that a man who pleaded guilty to murdering a hiker in Georgia is responsible for a similar case in North Carolina.

Mahoney said North Carolina authorities attempted to interview 61-year-old Gary Michael Hilton in Georgia on Thursday, but Hilton asked for an attorney to represent him in the case.

"We weren't really able to have any conversation with him," Mahoney said.

Hilton pleaded guilty Thursday to killing 24-year-old Meredith Emerson in the mountains of northern Georgia. He was immediately sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

Mahoney said Friday he had no doubt that Hilton also is responsible for the beating death of Irene Bryant, 84, whose body was found near a hiking trail in western North Carolina. She and her husband, John, went missing in October after setting out for a hike in the Pisgah National Forest.

John Bryant, 80, is still missing and presumed dead.

The day after the Bryants began their hike, someone withdrew $300 from the couple's account at an ATM in Ducktown, Tenn., about 50 miles from the area of the Georgia investigation.

Like Irene Bryant, Emerson also died from a blow to the head and her body were found near a hiking trail. Authorities said Hilton tried to use Emerson's credit card after she disappeared while hiking New Year's Day.

Brad Morris, an attorney who represented Hilton in Georgia, said he did not discuss the North Carolina case with Hilton and would not represent him here.