Emma Walker and Riley Gaul Case: Trial, Sentence, and Appeals

The Emma Walker and Riley Gaul case ended with Gaul, then 18, convicted of first-degree premeditated murder for shooting his 16-year-old ex-girlfriend through her bedroom wall in Knoxville, Tennessee, on November 21, 2016. A Knox County jury returned that verdict in May 2018, and Judge Bob McGee imposed a life sentence that requires Gaul to serve 51 years before he becomes eligible for parole.¹ Every appeal since has failed.

Who Emma Walker and Riley Gaul Were

Emma Walker was a cheerleader at Central High School in Knoxville who wanted to become a NICU nurse. Riley Gaul played football at the same school. They began dating in the fall of 2014 and broke up and reconciled repeatedly over roughly two years. Friends later testified that Gaul was controlling and possessive, and that he sent Walker threatening messages, including one reading, “I’ll see your name in the obituary.”² Walker told at least one friend she was trying to “get away from him for good,” and she ended the relationship about two weeks before her death.³

The Staged Incidents Before the Shooting

In the days leading up to the killing, Gaul carried out a series of ruses that appeared designed to frighten Walker back to him. On November 18, 2016, Walker received anonymous texts claiming a loved one had been kidnapped and would be killed if she didn’t come outside. When she and her friends went out, they found Gaul lying face-down in the yard. He later admitted to police the kidnapping was staged.⁴

The following night, a figure dressed in black and wearing a face covering appeared at Walker’s door. Friends testified the figure was Gaul, who had parked his car at a nearby swimming pool. During the incident Walker texted friends, “I thought I was going to die.” Gaul initially denied being at the door, then arrived at Walker’s home positioning himself as a rescuer.⁴ At trial, his defense would argue the fatal shot was one more scare tactic gone wrong.

The Shooting

Between November 18 and 19, 2016, Gaul stole a 9mm handgun from the vehicle of his grandfather, James Walker (no relation to Emma). The grandfather reported the weapon missing to Knoxville police on November 20 and told them he was concerned Gaul may have taken it.³ In the early morning hours of November 21, Gaul went to Walker’s home and fired two rounds through her bedroom wall from outside. Investigators determined the entry hole aligned directly with where her head rested on her pillow. One bullet struck her behind the left ear, killing her. The Knox County medical examiner, Dr. Christopher Lochmuller, confirmed the cause of death as a gunshot wound to the head.⁵

How the Case Was Solved

Walker’s body was discovered the following morning, when police found the small bullet hole in her bedroom wall. Three of Gaul’s friends, Isaac Ewers, Noah Walton, and Alex McCarty, knew he had taken the gun. Ewers later testified that he didn’t come forward at first because “I didn’t want to get my friend in trouble.” Once they learned Walker was dead and realized Gaul had lied about returning the weapon, they contacted the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.⁶

Investigators outfitted McCarty and Walton with a recording device. In captured conversations, Gaul tried to persuade them to lie to police, coaching them to claim they were “on acid, high and drunk” if questioned. He also texted, “Why did you tell them about the gun? … Just, God, please promise me if any cop asks you any more questions, just tell them you’re not willing to answer.”⁶

Officers then set up a sting. Gaul traveled with McCarty and Walton to a bluff near the University of Tennessee campus, intending to throw the gun into the Tennessee River. Police followed and arrested him as soon as he parked and produced the weapon.⁶ Cell tower data placed Gaul in Knoxville between 12:29 a.m. and 3:45 a.m. on the night of the shooting, contradicting his alibi, and DNA matching Gaul was recovered from a shoe and sweatshirt in his vehicle.⁵

The Trial and Verdict

A Knox County grand jury indicted Gaul on seven counts: first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree felony murder, especially aggravated stalking, theft of property valued over $500, tampering with evidence, reckless endangerment, and employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony.³ The trial ran from May 1 to May 8, 2018, in Knox County Criminal Court before Judge McGee, as Case No. 109744.¹

Prosecutors relied on testimony from Ewers, Walton, and McCarty about the stolen gun, the staged kidnapping, and Gaul’s attempts to get them to lie. They also introduced evidence that Gaul was familiar with “wall banging,” the tactic of shooting through walls, from the video game Call of Duty, used to argue premeditation.⁷ Gaul’s college roommate testified that Gaul did not return to their dorm until 4:45 a.m. that morning and later sent a Snapchat message telling him not to talk to police.⁵

Defense attorney Wesley Stone argued Gaul had only intended to scare Walker by firing into the wall and had wanted to “play the hero” afterward, framing the shooting as another in the week’s pattern of ruses.⁴

The jury deliberated about four hours and convicted Gaul of first-degree premeditated murder along with first-degree felony murder (later merged into the premeditated count), stalking as a lesser included offense of the aggravated stalking charge, theft, tampering with evidence, reckless endangerment, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. He was acquitted of especially aggravated stalking and of employing a firearm during a dangerous felony. Judge McGee imposed the mandatory life sentence, which under Tennessee law carries a 51-year minimum before parole eligibility.¹

At sentencing, Gaul addressed the Walker family: “I’m sorry I took Emma away from you, that I robbed you of the experience of watching your daughter grow up… I wanted to scare her… I never meant to take Emma’s life.”²

Appeals

Every appeal Gaul has pursued has been rejected. His 2021 motion for a new trial, arguing insufficient evidence, was denied by Judge McGee.⁸ In February 2023, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the convictions on all counts. The only change was reducing the felony theft conviction to a Class A misdemeanor, which did not affect his prison time.⁷ The Tennessee Supreme Court denied his request for permission to appeal in September 2023, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied his petition for certiorari (Case No. 23-6446) on March 4, 2024.⁹

In mid-2025, Gaul filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief and asked for appointed counsel. The petition argues his trial lawyer was ineffective for conceding guilt on the theft and evidence-tampering counts during closing arguments and for failing to argue the distinction between second-degree murder and reckless homicide. It also invokes a 2024 legislative change Gaul says should shorten his time until parole eligibility. That claim rests on a bill that never became law: a 2024 version failed, and the 2025 version, HB0720/SB0475, died in the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 3-to-5 vote in March 2025.¹⁰¹¹ A hearing on the petition was scheduled for July 25, 2025.

Where Riley Gaul Is Now

Gaul, now 26, is serving his sentence at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee. He will not be eligible for parole until he has served 51 years.¹²

Emma Walker’s Legacy

Emma Walker’s mother, Jill Walker, has become a public advocate for Marsy’s Law, the constitutional amendment effort to expand crime victims’ rights. She has described her work as “giving my pain a purpose.”¹³ In Tennessee, the effort advanced in 2025 when SJR 0009, a joint resolution proposing a victims’ rights amendment, passed the General Assembly and was signed by both chamber speakers in late April 2025.¹⁴ In Knoxville, March 24 is observed as Emma Walker Day, marked by community acts of kindness. The date commemorates the first memorial scholarship auction held at Central High School.¹⁵

1
Knox County District Attorney General. William Riley Gaul Convicted of First-Degree Murder
2
ABC News. Picture-Perfect High School Sweethearts’ Toxic Relationship
3
WVLT. Warrant Reveals New Details of Emma Walker Homicide Case
4
Knoxville News Sentinel. Witnesses Detail Staged Kidnapping Before Central High Cheerleader Slain
5
WVLT. Jury Reaches Verdict in Cheerleader Murder Trial
6
Knoxville News Sentinel. Friends of Accused Killer William Riley Gaul Secretly Recorded Him
7
Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. State of Tennessee v. William Riley Gaul, E2021-00734-CCA-R3-CD
8
Knoxville News Sentinel. Riley Gaul Unlikely to Get New Trial
9
Supreme Court of the United States. Docket No. 23-6446
10
WATE. Man Convicted of Killing Central High Cheerleader Asks Court to Reconsider Sentence
11
Tennessee General Assembly. HB0720 Bill Information
12
Yahoo Entertainment. Where Is Emma Walker Killer Riley Gaul Now
13
Marsy’s Law for TN. Emma Walker’s Legacy Gives a Voice to Victims of Domestic Violence
14
Tennessee General Assembly. SJR 0009 Bill Information
15
WATE. Family, Friends Remember Late Knoxville Teen on Emma Walker Day