College football player charged in high school cheerleader's slaying Funeral services for slain Central High School cheerleader set for Saturday, National Park Service says never push a slower friend down when escaping a bear, Late power surge lifts No. After five hours of deliberation, jurors found Gaul, now 19, guilty of first-degree murder as well as stalking, theft, reckless endangerment and being in possession of a firearm during a dangerous felony. Boy next door, her mother Jill Walker said. Grief counselors were on hand at Central High on Tuesday. It almost seemed rehearsed, deliberate," Merritt told "20/20.". She had chosen to move on, Weldon told the paper. Emmas parents say their house immediately felt calmer, but the sense of peace wouldnt last for long. She loved leading and she loved football games. Emma Walker murder: No extra time for ex-boyfriend William Riley ", 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Its like a nightmare, Emma Watson's mother said after discovering her 16-year-old dead in bed in November 2016. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! "He was just like, 'No, no cops. On Thursday, Mr Lee signed a bill allowing gun owners over the age of 21 to carry firearms, open or concealed, without the need for a permit or training. The police officer was taken to UT Medical Centre with non-life-threatening injuries, and not other gunshot wounds were reported. He was convicted of her death and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. April 12 (Reuters) - Police shot and killed a Knoxville, Tennessee, high school student on Monday after they said he opened fire on them in a campus bathroom, wounding an officer. The Knox County Sheriff's Office reports that on Monday, Nov. 21, at 6:29 a.m., Gaul fired a gun into Walker's bedroom while she was asleep, hitting and killing her. The arrangement didnt sit well with Emmas parents, but Emma could be stubborn. Watch Later. Police in Knoxville issued a tweet saying they have established a reunification site at a baseball field behind Austin-East Magnet High School in the wake of a shooting that left multiple people, including a police officer, injured. On Tuesday night - just one day after Walker's murder, detectives wired the two teens up with microphones, a transmitter where police could listen in, and a video camera hidden in a key fob, and planned out a sting operation to recover the potential murder weapon. 2016 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Jill, however, wasn't convinced. William Riley Gaul appeared in court Wednesday. Knox County Criminal Court Judge Bob McGee retired in late 2019 and then COVID-19 hit. I never meant to take Emma's life. Officials said Gaul was being held at the Knox County Jail on $750,000 bond. He denied showing it to McCarty and also denied asking Walton about removing fingerprints from a gun. She said Gaul started waiting for Walker outside of the supermarket where she worked. Investigators said that on November 21, 2016, Gaul fired a gun into Walker's bedroom while she was asleep, killing the Central High School cheerleader. Knoxville high school after police When Knox County Sheriff's Lt. Allen Merritt arrived on the scene, he said he started looking at the outside of the house and noticed a bullet hole in the wall that was "about shoulder high.". Friends and family of Emma Walker are invited to Central Baptist Church of Fountain City. While a part of the package is offered free of cost, the rest of the premix, you can buy at a throwaway price. His friends witnessed his mood swings. As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, the fund has raised $1,408 of the $20,000 goal. Then, waste no time, come knocking to us at the Vending Services. We also offer the Coffee Machine Free Service. Student killed in shooting at Knoxville school November 23, 2016 / 3:49 PM I've been kidnapped. Weldon described her niece to the paper as abeautiful soul who was looking forward to graduating high school so she could begin studying to be a neonatal nurse. His trial date on charges related to the death of 16-year-old Emma Walker was set for April 30. WebDateline NBC: Noises in the Night is an episode that chronicles the 2016 murder of Emma Walker, a popular and bubbly high school student who was found slain in her bed in her The arrangement didnt sit well with Emmas parents, but Emma could be stubborn. He came in very polite, very nice in the beginning. It appeared to be a bullet hole.". Click here for more details on Pipeline. Chad Griffin, 15, and Josh Matthews, 14, said that they were sitting about 10 feet away from the victim and talking when they heard a sharp noise. A football star killed his cheerleader ex-girlfriend. An accident, as The cafeteria was a popular place to gather before classes started at 8:30 a.m., students said. She loved just being part of crowd appeal.. The shooting happened shortly after 8 a.m. at the Central High School cafeteria, Chief Deputy Bill Roehl said, and the suspected shooter was taken into custody minutes later on a nearby street. For every nasty message Gaul sent Walker, there was also a quick apology. Emma's 21st birthday would have been this week and to honor her, her family is asking everyone to do something kind for someone else. Law enforcement says the situation is no longer considered active.. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. According to local news outlet WBIR 10, an anonymous source told reporters that the suspect in the shooting has been shot and killed. Emma Walker, a beautiful and vibrant cheerleader, had been killed by a gunshot wound to the head after two bullets had been fired into her bedroom from outside the family's single-story home. The suspect and victim knew each other, Knox County School System Superintendent Bill McIntyre said. WebLaw enforcement officials would eventually determine that Emma had been killed in her sleep, shot with a 9mm handgun in the early hours that morning. He says the officers encountered him in a bathroom and ordered him out but he wouldnt comply. Gaul's attorney, Wesley Stone, filed the motion to acquit the young man or give him a new trial three years ago. I'm making sure Emma is OK, and he's trying to talk to me, and I just said, You know you're not allowed, you need to leave. And he did leave.. Your guests may need piping hot cups of coffee, or a refreshing dose of cold coffee. Either way, the machines that we have rented are not going to fail you. If you don't comply I will hurt them.". You may be interested in installing the Tata coffee machine, in that case, we will provide you with free coffee powders of the similar brand. Emma Jane Em Walker (2000-2016) - Find a Grave Memorial Every day for the rest of his life, wherever that may be, he will have to live with that reality. A local news outlet in Knoxville, Tennessee has reported that an individual has been detained as a suspect in the shooting at Austin-East Magnet High School that left multiple people wounded. I love you. She did become like her old self again, her father Mark Walker said. Her family describes her as a positive person who always saw the best in people. Varsity Coed Basketball. Maryvilles football roster indicates Gaul graduated from Central High. No cops,'" said Walton. ", Alex McCarty and Noah Walton are seen here during an interview with ABC News' "20/20.". He was a high school football player, she was a cheerleader in Knoxville, Tenn. At Central High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, a Friday night in autumn means a football stadium bathed in lights and two teams battling it out on the gridiron in front of a sea of red and black -- everyone decked out in support of the home team, the Bobcats. "Just things that he would just say a lot as a cry for help, I guess, in a way.". "Those two young men contacted us and asked if they could help us get what they believed to be the murder weapon back," Merritt told "20/20." "Obviously there's concerns for their safety. The school has a recent history of gun violence among its current and former students. Gaul's grandfather, who had kept the gun in his car, had reported the 9mm handgun missing prior to Gaul being questioned. William Riley Gaul appeared in Knox County Criminal Court on Friday morning to make his case. They also uncovered spent shell casings and a live round in the grass outside her home. Varsity Boys Wrestling Multi-team Event. "He basically told me that these people knocked him out, took his car and threw him in a van and he didn't know where he was.". So following Emmas death, they told detectives a secret Gaul had shared with his friend, Alex McCarty, the day after Gaul's alleged kidnapping. When Walker's parents first met Gaul, they said their first impressions of him were positive. Knoxville School Superintendent Bob Thomas said students who were not involved in the shooting at Austin-East Magnet High School have been released to their families. He knows he's not allowed here, Jill Walker said. So, find out what your needs are, and waste no time, in placing the order. Irrespective of the kind of premix that you invest in, you together with your guests will have a whale of a time enjoying refreshing cups of beverage. It sounded like someone was in the house and opened a door and slammed it, he told Dateline: Secrets Uncovered." A video appears to show an individual in handcuffs being led away from Austin-East Magnet High School in handcuffs in the wake of a mass shooting that left multiple people injured. "He never intended to cause her harm, never intended to cause her death," Wesley Stone, Gaul's attorney, told "20/20" exclusively. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee acknowledged the shooting at Austin-East Magnet High School in a statement, calling it a very difficult and tragic situation.. He called his friend Noah Walton and told him he had been kidnapped that night, but Walton didnt believe a word of it. A Knox County jury convicted Gaul, now 22, of numerous counts including the November 2016 murder of the Central High School teen. For more on this case and others like it, watch "Dateline: Secrets Uncovered," airing Thursdays at 8/7c on Oxygen, or stream episodes here. Emma was a beauty inside and out. Additionally, none of Walker's friends contacted the authorities about the alleged kidnapping that night. A jury found Riley Gaul guilty of Emma Walker's murder, and he was sentenced to life in prison. Afterward, Gaul told detectives, he went over to his grandparents' house briefly and then drove back to his college. She was shot through a wall of her home as she slept. ", Keegan Lyle is seen here during an interview with ABC News "20/20. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? When Gaul started college, Emma discovered he had been photographed with other girls and ended the relationship for good just before Thanksgiving. Just hours before Emma was shot the next day, Gaul told investigators he had spoken to Emma on the phone. At this point, detectives said they knew from McCarty that Gaul had shown his friend his grandfather's gun. Our community was blessed to know her.". 2 Vols to series-clinching win over Zags, Pickens perfect game highlights day two of the Tennessee Classic, Knoxville utilities crews work to restore power after intense storms, Missing elderly Knoxville woman last seen at hospital, police say. Police identified the victim as Ryan McDonald, a sophomore who lived with his grandmother and had alopecia, a condition that left him bald and the target of endless teasing as a child. (Knoxville Police Department) One man was killed and a police officer injured at a Tennessee high school shooting on Monday afternoon. It was for my roommate. Matthews said he thought it was a fake at first but then realized the shooting was real. It's not OK," she said. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. So, they want to share that same kindness and grace with others. She ran out of the house and found Gaul standing outside. Knox County Sheriffs Office officials announced Wednesday that William Riley Gaul, a freshman wide receiver, was arrested in connection with the death of Emma Walker. "When I first got there, I started my photographs on the outside of the residence. I walked in, photographed the interior of the residence. "He sounded like he'd been crying or he was sounding fatigued, I guess," Walton told "20/20." Someone dropped me off here' I don't know what's happening' Where am I? The Knoxville County Sheriffs Department issued a statement to local broadcaster WBLT saying there was no active threat at Austin-East Magnet High School following a mass shooting that left multiple people wounded, including a Knoxville Police Department officer. He chose not to accept her wishes.. She was a 16-year-old Central High School student, the same school he had graduated from in the spring. [On] Sunday, we followed her to work, followed her back home to watch and make sure she was safe.. "There was a hole in the wall. But however people show kindness, and to whoever they share it with, they also have one additional request: to wear purple. At first, the relationship seemed just kind of normal," said Keegan Lyle, one of Walker's best friends. When she didn't rouse the next morning, Emmas mother, Jill Walker, went to check on her and discovered she was dead. Seemingly dejected, Gaul walked off down the street, alone. WebThe funeral service will follow at 3 at Hill Cemetery. Example video title will go here for this video. I found this story on USA TODAY High School Sports and wanted to share it with you: "But she said if I would help her write her paper, she would talk to me," Gaul told detectives. Emma Walker: How Did She Die? Who Killed Her? - The Cinemaholic The YouCaring account says, "Our hearts are heavy with the tragic loss of Emma Walker of Fountain City, Knoxville. Gaul had graduated and was an 18-year-old freshman at a nearby college by then, and Walker was in her junior year of high school, but their tumultuous relationship had continued despite her parents attempts to keep them apart. 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Stone raised numerous reasons why his client should be acquitted or given another trial including the jury not being sequestered for a case that drew national attention, a crime scene photograph of Watson, objection to coverage by Law and Crime and McGee's refusal to toss some of the grand jury's counts against Gaul. Soon, the cheerleader's social media accounts were filled with pictures of a seemingly perfect pair paddle boarding together, embracing and taking silly selfies. It appeared she had been shot from outside the He quickly came to her aid and searched the house and neighborhood but found no signs of the hooded figure. But I was just like, Oh he's shy it just seemed normal. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Young Williams Animal Shelter or to the Emma Walker Memorial Fund. He refused to accept it. It was one of her passions. Police said in the tweet that the situation was still active, contradicting earlier information claiming that she situation was no longer active. One bullet had hit her behind her left ear and the second had lodged into her pillow. "(I) said her name, didn't hear anything, bumped her leg, didn't hear anything," Jill Walker said. Gaul told detectives he had been trying to speak with Walker that weekend, but she wouldn't engage with him. Gaul said he thought he had spent Friday night at his friend Noah Waltons house. WebEmma Walker, 16, was sleeping at home in her bed in North Knox County, Tennessee, in November 2016, when two shots were fired into her bedroom, one of which hit her in the / CBS/AP. Then, "Go alone," said another, and another said, "I've got someone you love. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims family and friends and other individuals affected by this tragedy, Maryville athletic department spokesman Chris Cannon said in a statement. "She's just like, 'We just broke up. Emma Walker was shot by Riley Gaul, her ex-boyfriend, as she slept in her North Knox County home. She had a smile that could light up the room, a big, beautiful smile, Jill said.