On the morning of November 21, 2016, 16-year-old Emma Jane Walker was found unresponsive in her bed at home in Knoxville, Tennessee, after her mother went to wake her for school. Investigators discovered a bullet hole in the bedroom wall; a 9mm round had struck Walker behind the left ear and another lodged in her pillow, and her death was ruled a homicide.

Police quickly focused on her recent ex-boyfriend, 18-year-old William Riley Gaul. In the days before the shooting he reportedly sent anonymous, disturbing text messages, staged a fake kidnapping, and then came to Walker’s house the night she died and fired two shots into her bedroom from outside after stealing a handgun from his grandfather.

Two friends of Gaul cooperated with investigators, secretly recording a conversation and helping lead to his arrest; officers later found the gun, black clothing, and gloves in his possession. Gaul was indicted on multiple charges including first-degree murder, especially aggravated stalking, tampering with evidence and employing a firearm during a dangerous felony, and was convicted at trial in May 2018.

Did anyone in the Knoxville community have concerns about Emma and William’s relationship before November 21, 2016?