KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — It's been six years since 16-year-old Emma Walker was killed inside her Knoxville home by her ex-boyfriend. It was a case that captivated the world and broke the hearts of people in East Tennessee.
Today, Emma Walker is remembered through her memorial room at the East Tennessee Children's Hospital, a scholarship for students studying healthcare at Central High School, and a dedicated dog park. Emma Walker is a name East Tennessee will never forget.
Six years later, Emma's mom, Jill wants to make sure Emma's situation serves as a constant reminder for other teens and parents: red flags in relationships are real.
Jill said she always wanted a baby girl. She always wanted to name her Emma. When she finally had one, it was a huge blessing.
As Emma 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.
"She was super excited and made a lot of friends," Jill said.
It's also part of how she met her boyfriend, and later killer, William Riley Gaul. He was a junior and she was a freshman when they started dating.
Jill said she paid close attention to the relationship, due to their age difference.
"We kept a close eye on it, and seemed very healthy in the beginning," Jill said. "Then, as time went on, we started to see signs of it being controlling."
Jill 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.
Emma's parents started looking through her phone messages to get a better idea of what was going on.
"We were noticing some very unhealthy, not-nice things that were being said between the two of them. It's normal to argue, but they were breaking up and then getting back together and then breaking up again and again. That just continued," Jill said.
Jill said the family tried to talk to Emma about healthy and unhealthy relationships. They even stopped allowing Gaul to see their daughter. In the fall of 2016, Emma broke up with him permanently. At that point, she was a junior in high school and Riley was at Maryville College.
"I think she felt the freedom and the big weight off of her shoulders. So we were very excited about that," Jill said.
Emma started hanging out with the family again and seeing her friends. She seemed happy, Jill said, despite Gaul's desperate attempts to contact her.
On the night of November 21, 2016, Gaul shot Emma in the head as she was sleeping at night. There were two bullet holes in her bedroom.
"He knew what he was doing and meant to do it," Jill said. "He had been in our house, he knew where she slept."
Gaul was convicted of first-degree murder charges after Emma's death. He is serving a 51-year sentence without opportunity for parole. In June of 2021, Gaul sought a new trial. He was denied due to a lack of evidence.
"You feel like justice has been served. But your story doesn't change. I mean, it doesn't change her life," Jill said.
While Jill can't bring Emma back, she can bring awareness to teen dating violence and warn teens and parents about the warning signs.
"If they won't listen to family, tell them to listen to their friends," Jill said. "If your friends don't like who you're dating. There's a reason why all your friends don't like who you're dating."
Also, she said the digital footprint is a big thing to pay attention to.
"Monitor that phone," Jill said. "I think phones have become a huge issue. They can be talking and you don't even know, everything that's going on."
As many as 1 in 3 young couples will find themselves in an abusive or unhealthy relationship. If that's you or your child, get help.
Anyone can call the local domestic violence hotline at 865-637-8000. Trained professionals can walk people through the next steps.