The Cheerleader Murdered By Her Ex While She Was Sleeping On Her Bed - Emma Walker

16-year-old Emma Walker appeared to be living her teen dream in 2016. She had a lovely group of friends, was seeing a football player, and was a cheerleader at Central High School in Knoxville, Tennessee. But when she ended things with Riley Gaul, then 18 years old, everything fell apart, and as a result, he killed her.

Two years prior, when Gaul was a junior and Walker was a freshman, the two had started seeing each other. But, Walker's relatives and friends realized that Gaul was turning into a more domineering person as their relationship developed.

Walker made the decision to break up with Gaul shortly after he started college in 2016, but Gaul didn't take it well. He pretended to be his own kidnapper in order to catch Walker's attention.

Later, on November 21, 2016, early in the morning, Gaul snuck up on Walker at her home and shot her twice through the bedroom wall. The following morning, when her mother discovered her dead, she informed the authorities that she thought Gaul was to blame. The unstable ex-boyfriend wasn't arrested, though, until two of Gaul's friends assisted the police in a sting operation.

Riley Gaul and Emma Walker's Troubled Relationship

Emma Walker first noticed Riley Gaul when she began to cheer for the Central High School football team during her first year. Riley was a wide receiver. According to ABC News, he wasn't a "typical jock" but rather a humorous, bright young guy who enjoyed playing computer games and had a "nerdy" side.

John and Jill Emma's parents, felt that Gaul would be ideal for their daughter. Mark noted that "he was a really lovely young man who appeared well-mannered," while Jill described him as "quite likeable."

Walker's family and friends, however, soon became aware of Gaul's domineering side. He became extremely possessive and tight with her, and he wouldn't allow her to do some things, according to Walker's classmate Lauren Hutton.

Gaul and Walker regularly split up and got back together throughout the course of their two-year relationship, usually engaging in "very intense" arguments. Gaul once messaged her on Snapchat with the phrases "I despise you, I despise everything about you," and "you're dead to me...f— you.”

When Walker's parents read these texts, they instantly forbade Gaul from entering their house and took away their daughter's cellphone; however, Gaul offered Walker an iPod Touch so they could continue to communicate.

Around Halloween of 2016, Walker formally broke their relationship. She did return to being like her former self, according to Mark Walker. She would join us for supper and conversation after leaving her room.

Unfortunately, Emma Walker would only have a little time to bask in her newfound independence until Gaul ripped it away from her permanently.

The Constant Efforts Of Riley Gaul To Get Emma Walker's Attention

Only a few weeks after splitting up with Gaul, on November 18, 2016, Emma Walker went to a party at a friend's apartment. The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that she got a message at 11:30 p.m. from an unknown number that said, "Get to your car with your keys. Go alone … I have someone you love. I'll harm them if you don't obey.”

Walker and several of her pals went outside because they believed the texts were from her ex, Riley Gaul, and they discovered him face down in a ditch. Walker didn't believe him and continued walking when the man said he had been abducted and was unable to recall anything because his captors had beaten him in the head.

Walker noticed a weird, black-clad figure outside her home the very following day. She texted her pals, according to ABC News, saying, "I'm home alone and someone in all black walked down my block, came to my house, and rang the doorbell again and again. I believed I was about to die.”

She called Riley Gaul since he was the only one she could think of at the time because she was so scared. She said, "I despise you but I need you right now... and he answere, “I’m coming…Just give me a moment, I'm speeding.“

Shortly after, Walker's mother came home and was furious to see her daughter outdoors with Gaul. She informed Walker that the man in black was probably Gaul all along and requested him to go.

Walker's parents made sure she was safe the next day, Sunday, Nov. 20, by accompanying her to and from work. She went to sleep at around 12 in the morning, and that was the last time they saw her.

The investigation That Followed Emma Walker's Death

On November 21, 2016, around 6 a.m., Jill Walker went to her daughter's bedroom to get her up for school but discovered that she was not conscious.

She phoned the police right away, and they came running to the house to look into it. They initially thought Walker could have committed suicide, but then they saw a peculiar hole in her bedroom wall.

“There was a hole in the wall”, Knox County Sheriff's Officer Nikki Bules recounted to ABC News. “That seemed like a shot hole. I was aware at that moment that it most likely wasn't a suicide.”

A second hole was found in the wall, and there were two gunshot casings outside in the yard. Walker's pillow was hardly stained with blood, but it was obvious that she had been fatally wounded behind her left ear.

Lieutenant Allen Merritt, a second detective on the case, began questioning acquaintances and family members and noticed that the same name kept coming up. Because of their connection and the way Riley treated and interacted with her, Merritt said that everyone continued saying "Riley Gaul."

Gaul was working on Facebook and Twitter updates on Walker's passing in the meantime. He tweeted once, "Rest easy now sweetie. I'll always love you.”

Investigators immediately called Gaul in for questioning over Emma Walker's death despite his somber messages. "When I initially met him, I assumed he could have been a heartbroken boyfriend," detective James Hurst told ABC News. “I sensed a darker aspect as soon as we sat down in the interview room. He wasn't really passionate or caring.“

Gaul said to the police that Walker had blocked his number the night of her death during yet another phone battle, and he had sobbed there for two to three hours before going in. He exclusively referred to Emma Walker as "the girl" during the entire period, never using her name.

Despite the suspicious nature of the interview, the police were unable to accuse Gaul of Walker's murder until two of his close friends stepped forward.

Riley Gaul Is Investigated And Put On Trial

Alex McCarty and Noah Walton, two of Riley Gaul's college pals, immediately informed the authorities that Gaul had exhibited some worrying behaviors following his breakup with Walker.

Gaul had taken a handful of Vicodin and drank it down with beer in what seemed to be a suicide attempt not long after the relationship ended.

He had admitted to McCarty on Saturday, Nov. 19, the day following Gaul's alleged kidnapping, that he had taken his grandfather's gun to defend himself. Afterwards, he requested both of his pals to assist him in disposing of the weapon after asking Walton how to clean a pistol of fingerprints.

Gaul, according to Oxygen, claimed to his buddies that he hadn't killed Walker, but he wanted to throw the pistol into the Tennessee River out of concern that if the authorities discovered he had it, they may falsely link him to the crime.

Gaul's exact intentions were unknown to McCarty and Walton, who joined up with detectives to uncover the truth. They accompanied Gaul as he dumped the pistol he had used to kill Walker, and they were equipped with microphones and cameras.

McCarty and Walton saved the day when they alerted the police, who arrived just in time to discover Gaul in possession of the murder weapon, gloves, and black clothes that matched what Walker had observed the stranger wearing outside Walker's home.

Riley Gaul was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty at trial of first-degree murder, stalking, stealing, reckless endangerment, and possession of a handgun while committing a felony. He insisted all the way through that he never intended to hurt Emma Walker, though.

Gaul claimed to Walker's family at the sentence hearing, "I intended to frighten her. I never intended to kill Emma."