A teenager has been arrested on murder charges after allegedly killing his girlfriend in her sleep.
Knoxville, Tennessee teenager, William Riley Gaul has been charged after allegedly shooting his 16-year-old girlfriend, Emma Jean Walker.
According to reports in the Knoxville News Sentinel, 18-year-old Gaul shot Walker from outside her bedroom as she slept. Most chillingly, Gaul’s pinned tweet dedicates a Bible passage to the young cheerleader.
Gaul’s Twitter bio also reads:
Living everyday through Emma Walker. I love you beautiful and I know you’re in a better place now.
From the outside, the high school footballer and the cheerleader painted a picture of the all-American dream, but when Emma moved on from the relationship, Walker found it difficult to accept.
Walker’s aunt, Jenny Weldon, said:
She had chosen to move on. He refused to accept it. He chose not to accept her wishes. Her heart was in service. She was born to be a helper.
Gaul has shared fond memories of Emma on social media.
One message read:
I miss you more than anything. You’ll weigh heavy on my mind for the rest of my life because no one can fill the void that’s in my heart now.
Another read: “To think that every memory we have, every happy special moment we shared, can’t ever be relived. I love you Emma Jane Walker.”
Gaul is being held on a $750,000 bond in Knox County Jail.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.