Life was quite perfect for the former Maryville College freshman football player Riley Gaul until he fired two bullets outside his ex-girlfriend’s bedroom and ultimately ended her life. Despite his initial denial, the police would later gather enough evidence to place him behind bars. At the moment, he is serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 51 years.
Gaul and Walker seemed like high school sweethearts until their relationship became toxic. Efforts from friends and family to keep them apart were futile as they managed their tumultuous relationship. Sadly, when 16-year-old Walker decided to break up, her then-boyfriend pulled the trigger and sent her to an early grave.
Riley Gaul is a Currently 26 Years Old
There are no records of the early life and family background of Riley Gaul. Also, details about his parent’s identity and his siblings are not known. However, from what we gathered he was 18 years old in 2016 when he murdered his girlfriend which means he was born sometime in 1998. If all our findings are correct, then Gaul is 26 years old at the moment.
As for his education, he attended Central High School and later proceeded to Maryville College where he played football.
Gaul and Emma Walker Started Dating in 2014 while at Central High School
At the time Riley Gaul and his girlfriend Emma Walker started dating in 2014, he was a junior student at Central High School and also a football player. Though they have been students of the same school for a while, she only caught his interest when she started cheering during her freshman year. Their teenage relationship wasn’t a smooth one following several issues they encountered. Her parents considered him a great fit for their daughter since he was easily likable and had a great sense of humor.
At some point, Gaul became controlling and their relationship suffered even more. One of Walker’s classmates confirmed that he became possessive of her and made decisions on her whereabouts and certain things.
Their relationship was off and on as they broke up several times but always managed to reconcile again. It got bad after her parents saw a toxic message sent to her in one of their fights and banned him from their home. They also ceased her phone to stop every form of communication between them but that didn’t end their relationship. Gaul and Walker reconciled their differences and he gave her an iPod touch so they could stay in contact.
They were seemingly fine for a while but around Halloween of 2016, the pair got into a fight and this time, Walker was ready to end things completely. Following the breakup, her father confirmed that it was fully over between them seeing that she became her old self again and enjoyed family time.
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The Former College Football Player Killed his Ex-Girlfriend Emma Walker in 2016
Following the breakup, Gaul who wasn’t completely over Walker found ways to get back into her life but that was not possible. He even had to fake his kidnap and on November 18, 2016, a few weeks after they parted ways, Walker received a text message from an anonymous number asking her to go to her car alone to meet someone she loves. The sender also threatened that their victim would be hurt if she doesnt comply.
On receiving this, she walked outside with a group of friends and they found Riley Gaul lying facedown in a ditch. He later claimed to have been kidnapped and could hardly remember anything but his story didn’t gain any pity from Walker who decided to walk away.
The following day, she spotted a stranger dressed in black outside her house which made her fear for her life since she was home alone. She then contacted her friends to let them know about the stranger who had been ringing her doorbell over and over. At this moment, she reached out to her ex-boyfriend Gaul to let him know she was scared and he eventually showed up in a few minutes. But his rescue mission was dismissed by her mother who showed up a few minutes later and sent Gaul away. She also told her daughter that Gaul may have been the one trying to scare her.
Her parents also followed her to work the following day and brought her home thereafter. Unfortunately, she didn’t live until the following morning as she was shot from her room that night.
Emma Walker’s Killer was Arrested While Trying to Discard the Evidence of his Action
When Walker’s mother walked into her room on November 20, 2016, she found her lifeless body on the bed and immediately called the police. Walker’s parents initially thought their daughter committed suicide until the police discovered bullet holes in her bedroom wall.
It was at this time that all fingers began to point at Gaul after Knox County Lieutenant Allen Merritt interviewed Walker’s friends and family.
Gaul on the other hand was pretending to be a grieving boyfriend and posted mournful messages on his Facebook and Twitter. nut this did not shift the focus from him.
“Rest easy now sweetheart,” he wrote in one tweet. “I love you forever and always.”
He was later interviewed and claimed to have been in his car crying on the night when she was killed. According to his story, his then-girlfriend had blocked him from calling her that night following a heated argument. As such, he couldn’t reach her that night. His story sounded suspicious, especially for his constant use of “the girl” in referring to Emma Walker. However, the police had no solid proof to charge him.
A few days following in investigation, two of Gaul’s friends, Alex McCarty and Noah Walton reached out to the police to give out a few information that would link them to more evidence. This included details on his actions following the breakup, his suicide attempt, and even how he stole his grandfather’s gun to protect himself.
The police alongside his friends came up with a plan that brought him to light. They agreed to accompany him and discard his grandfather’s gun leaving trail for the police and secretly recorded him leaving a trail for the police. The police soon reached their location and found Gaul with not just the gun he used to kill Walker but also items such as gloves and black clothing.
Riley Gaul is Currently Serving a life Sentence Without the Possibility of Parole for 51
Emma Walker’s killer, Riley Gaul was arrested and was found guilty at his trial. He was convicted of first-degree murder, stalking, theft, reckless endangerment, possession of a firearm during a felony, and theft between $500 and $1,000 on May 8, 2018. He was then sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 51 years.
At his trial, not only did he confess to shooting the gun but he also added that he only wanted to scare her and not to take her life. He also admitted that “there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about
So far, he has served for 5 years and has over 4 decades more. Over the years, there have been multiple appeals for a re-trial but none have been accepted.
