Emma

Lore & Background

Emma Walker met Riley Gaul in the fall of 2014 when she was a 14-year-old freshman and he was a 16-year-old junior. Gaul initially seemed attentive and kind, but friends and relatives soon noticed possessive and toxic behavior. He didn't like Emma spending time with anyone else or doing things he didn't approve of. Their relationship was on-and-off for two years, and Emma's parents considered it toxic. In October 2016, they grounded Emma and banned her from contacting Gaul. Emma attempted to end the relationship in November, but Gaul refused, sometimes threatening suicide. He continued to contact her anonymously, and on the night of the murder, he entered her home through an unlocked door and shot her while she slept.

In Their Own Story

On November 18, 2016, Gaul stole a 9mm Glock from under the seat of his grandfather's vehicle. His grandfather feared he had taken it to commit suicide. On November 21, around 12:30 a.m., Gaul drove from his dorm at Maryville College to Emma's house in the Sterchi Hills neighborhood, after calling a friend to ask how to remove fingerprints from a gun. He fired two shots from different locations outside the home into the area where Emma's bed was located. One bullet struck her behind the left ear, killing her. At approximately 6 a.m., Emma's mother went to wake her and found her not breathing, her tongue sticking out of her mouth. She called 911. The lead forensic technician discovered a bullet hole in the bedroom wall, leading her to suspect it was not a suicide. Two shell casings were found outside; one bullet lodged in Emma's pillow.

Reader's Guide

The investigation quickly focused on Gaul after interviews with Emma's family and friends. A close friend of Gaul, Alex McCarty, told detectives that Gaul had stolen a gun from his grandfather the weekend Emma died. Gaul denied this and later asked friends not to talk to detectives. McCarty and another friend, Noah Walton, convinced Gaul was lying, collaborated with authorities to recover the murder weapon. Detectives equipped them with microphones, a transmitter, and a hidden video camera. Walton invited Gaul to his house under the pretense of playing a video game and recorded him. Gaul denied killing Emma and suggested they tell detectives they were under the influence of alcohol. He then proposed going to the Bluffs, a wooded area near a river. They stopped at Gaul's stepfather's house, where Gaul had hidden the gun in the basement along with gloves, trash bags, tennis shoes, black tape, and black clothing. After seeing the gun, McCarty exclaimed, 'Oh my God! That is a real gun,' while Walton notified authorities. A minute later, Gaul was arrested.

Did You Know?

• Emma Walker was a 16-year-old high school junior at the time of her murder.
• Gaul stole a 9mm Glock from under the seat of his grandfather's vehicle on November 18, 2016.
• Gaul called a friend to ask how to remove fingerprints from a gun before the murder.
• Two of Gaul's friends, Alex McCarty and Noah Walton, helped detectives recover the murder weapon by wearing hidden microphones and cameras.
• Gaul was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 51 years.