KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Editor's Note: Violent crime is not routine, and it is not just a statistic. Behind every victim is a family and a community, and WBIR wants to make sure the people who fall victim to it are not forgotten. More than a Number is a series meant to share their stories and highlight their humanity.
Emma Jane Walker was a 16-year-old Central High School cheerleader who was shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend in 2016. She would have turned 24 years old in 2024.
Walker's ex-boyfriend shot her from outside her home while she slept, the bullet pierced through the wall of the home and hit her in her bed. Emma Walker's mother reflected on the love she had for her daughter.
"I always knew I wanted to name my daughter 'Emma,'" Jill Walker said. "Very spunky. She liked to make people laugh."
Sixteen-year-old Emma was Jill Walker's only daughter.
As she grew to be a teenager, Jill said she was radiantly beautiful, vibrant, and strong-willed. She was athletic and quickly picked up cheering as a sport. As a freshman, Emma made the cheer team at Central High School.
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"I was very excited to have a little girl," Jill said. "She would have never wanted to hear that she looked like me."
Jill said their mother-daughter relationship was one of a kind.
"Her mannerisms and things were a lot alike," her mother said. "That's probably why we bumped heads a lot."
According to her mother, Emma spent her time under the "Friday night lights," cheering on the Central High School football team during their games.
"She enjoyed the cheer, but she enjoyed watching the game too," Jill said.
Emma was an honor roll student with a calling to help the most vulnerable.
"She wanted to be a NICU nurse, so that was her goal," her mother said. "She loved animals, but she also loved babies too. And she loved love."
Jill said she kept a close eye on her daughter's relationship with her boyfriend due to the age difference when they got together. She also said she started to see signs her boyfriend was becoming controlling.
She said Emma started detaching herself from social situations, stopped going out with friends, stopped communicating with her family and often remained isolated in her room. She said the family tried to talk to Emma about healthy and unhealthy relationships. They even stopped allowing her boyfriend to see their daughter. In the fall of 2016, Emma broke up with him permanently.
While Jill can't bring Emma back, she wants to bring awareness to teen dating violence and tell teens and parents about the warning signs.
There is no normal amount of abuse or violence in a relationship. Anyone in East Tennessee who may be in a dangerous situation and needs help can reach out to the McNabb Center's Domestic Violence Crisis Hotline by calling (865) 637-8000.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is also available at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).