Bad Romance: Shot in the Dark (Revisited)

Summary

20/20 “Bad Romance: Shot in the Dark (Revisited)”

Original Air Date: January 7, 2026
Podcast by: ABC News
Episode Theme:
A chilling true crime case explores the deadly consequences of young love gone wrong—the murder of Tennessee cheerleader Emma Walker by her high school boyfriend, Riley Gaul. Through gripping interviews, testimony, and real-time reactions, the episode investigates how a seemingly idyllic relationship devolved into obsession, control, and ultimately tragedy.

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Episode Overview

This episode revisits the murder of 16-year-old Emma Walker, tracing her relationship with Riley Gaul from an all-American high school romance to lethal violence. The story unfolds from a portrait of close-knit suburban Tennessee to the depths of manipulation, coercive control, and premeditated murder. Investigators, friends, and family walk listeners through the harrowing events that led to Emma's death, the subsequent police investigation, and Gaul's trial.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Setting the Scene: Knoxville & Emma’s World

• [02:06] Community Backdrop: Knoxville portrayed as a safe, tight-knit, football-loving town.
  • “It’s a slice of Americana, really…a nice place to raise your kids.” (Commentator/Expert, 01:51)
• [02:16] Emma’s Life: Emma, at 14, is a devoted, successful cheerleader with a bubbly and kind personality.
  • “She really loved doing it. You know, it was one of her passions.” (Friend or Family Member, 02:33)
  • “People described Emma as bubbly and fun loving and positive.” (Commentator/Expert, 03:02)

The Relationship with Riley Gaul

• [03:31] The Couple: Emma and Riley, a cheerleader and football player, met in high school.
• [03:53] Riley’s Personality: Not the typical jock, “a little nerdy on the side…just a normal guy.”
• [04:47] Early Red Flags:
  • Riley increasingly isolates Emma from friends; becomes possessive and controlling.
    • “He kind of became controlling over her…wouldn’t let her do certain things.” (Friend or Family Member, 05:07)
  • Dismissive of Emma’s friends and disrespectful/misogynistic in messages.
    • “I’ll see your name in the obituary.” (Friend or Family Member discussing a threatening text, 06:48)
• [06:12] Escalation:
  • Riley waits outside Emma’s work for hours and continues communication despite parental bans by giving Emma another device.

Patterns of Abuse and Isolation

• [07:25] Manipulation & Emotional Abuse:
  • Riley's apologies after outbursts (“I love you more than words can describe.”)
  • Repeated attempts by friends and family to pull Emma away, but Riley isolates her.
    • “He had a way of isolating her and making her think that he was the only one.” (Friend or Family Member, 07:34)
• [09:15] College Separation: Riley, now 18 and away at college, increases emotional manipulation as Emma becomes more independent.
• [10:13] Emma Tries to Break Away:
  • Emma breaks up with Riley, to friends’ and family’s relief.
    • “Hallelujah, thank you, Jesus.” (Friend or Family Member, 10:37)
  • Gaul threatens suicide to retain control.
    • “He would sometimes claim he was going to kill himself if they didn’t reunite.” (Commentator/Expert, 10:41)

Sinister Developments

• [11:43] Startling Events:
  • Emma receives disturbing texts from an unknown number: “Come outside alone if you don’t want to see a loved one get hurt.”
  • The ruse escalates with Riley staging his own “kidnapping,” feigning amnesia and confusion (12:31).
• [14:03] Stalker Incident:
  • Hooded, black-clad figure bangs on Emma’s door; she’s terrified and calls Riley for help.
• [15:16] Emma’s Last Evening:
  • Family describes her as happy and relaxed before bedtime.

The Crime

• [16:34] Discovery:
  • Emma’s mother finds her lifeless the next morning.
    • “I don’t remember a whole lot from that moment. I mean, I know I called 911.” (Friend or Family Member, 16:34)
  • 911 call captures mother’s heartbreak.
• [18:07] Investigation:
  • Bullet hole found in Emma’s bedroom wall; gunshot wound to head.
  • Evidence of shots fired into the house from outside, with shell casings located.

Unraveling the Case

• [20:04] Suspicions Mount:
  • Riley cited by friends/family due to controlling, violent behavior.
  • Riley’s social media posts play “grieving boyfriend” but avoid calling Emma by name.
• [24:35] Forensic Break:
  • Friends recall Riley showing them a stolen handgun.
  • Riley is emotionally flat and gives vague alibis in police interviews, denies knowledge of the gun.

Undercover Operation

• [31:01] Friends Cooperate with Police:
  • Friends Alex and Noah become informants, wear wires and hidden camera.
  • Riley is caught asking about removing fingerprints from the weapon and urging friends to lie.
  • Sting operation leads Riley to attempt to dispose of the gun; police intercept him and recover decisive evidence (gloves, black clothing, trash bags).

Motive and Trial

• [39:09] Investigation Finds:
  • Riley staged both the kidnapping and the “man in black” incidents to terrorize and manipulate Emma.
  • Ultimately shot her through the wall of her bedroom.
• [41:38] Trial Twist:
  • Defense concedes Riley fired into house but claims he only meant to “scare her into calling him for help.”
    • “To me, the hero defense was laughable.” (Detective Alan Merritt, 41:51)
• [42:40] Verdict: Guilty. Riley sentenced to life in prison without parole until his 70s.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the controlling behavior:
  • “He kind of became controlling over her…wouldn’t let her do certain things.”
    – Friend or Family Member (05:07)
• First signs of real danger:
  • “I’ll see your name in the obituary. He wrote that to her.”
    – Friend or Family Member (06:48)
• Emma’s mother finding her:
  • “I just tried to wake up my daughter for school and she has no pulse.”
    – Emma’s Mother via 911 call (17:13)
• Riley’s chilling disconnection:
  • “If that’s your girlfriend of two years…why aren’t you using her name?”
    – Commentator/Expert (25:59)
• Investigators’ conviction:
  • “It’s more like a horn. It was, yeah. A bell would be putting it mildly.”
    – Detective Alan Merritt, on realizing Riley was the main suspect (29:38)
• Riley’s final scripted apology:
  • “I’m sorry I took Emma away from me. My intentions that night were never to harm him, let alone take her life. I wanted to scare her.”
    – Riley Gaul at sentencing (43:27)
• Message to listeners:
  • “It’s not just bruises. It’s emotional and controlling.”
    – Friend or Family Member (44:48)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:43 – 03:31: Emma’s background, cheerleading, first meeting Riley
• 05:07 – 06:48: Early concerns, controlling behavior, threatening texts
• 09:15 – 10:41: Riley away at college, Emma tries to break up
• 11:43 – 13:08: Staged kidnapping, “come outside alone” texts, bizarre incident
• 14:03 – 15:16: Stalking escalates, Emma terrified, last night alive
• 16:34 – 18:07: Emma discovered dead, police begin homicide investigation
• 20:04 – 25:59: Riley’s manipulative aftermath, interviewing Riley, holes in his story
• 31:00 – 37:14: Friends’ undercover operation, evidence retrieval, Riley’s arrest
• 41:15 – 43:44: Trial, “hero” defense, verdict and sentencing
• 44:48 – 44:52: Family’s message about recognizing patterns of abuse

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Reflections and Takeaways

• Cycle of Control: The podcast underscores how early warning signs in teen relationships—control, possessiveness, isolation—can escalate to life-threatening violence.
• Victim Blaming and Hindsight: Emma’s friends and family struggled to reach her; their efforts, while loving, were thwarted by manipulation and the intensity of teenage emotion.
• Responsibility and Justice: Riley’s conviction hinged on the courage of his friends to act as informants—highlighting the critical role of intervention and personal responsibility in seeking justice.

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Summary

This episode of 20/20 meticulously reconstructs a haunting story of love, violence, and justice. It offers a sobering lens on intimate partner violence among teens, emphasizing that warning signs should always be taken seriously. Emma Walker’s memory is honored, and the episode closes with a plea for awareness: emotional control and isolation are as dangerous as physical violence—a message that resonates for parents, teens, and communities everywhere.

Transcript

[Narrator]

This show is sponsored by Killer Kin, a podcast from I D. Family dynamics can be tricky, and sometimes even the people closest to you can become the most dangerous. Killer Ken from ID explores real cases about how family life can fall deep into manipulation, obsession and murder. Unpack what happens when rivalry and desire for control lead investigators and relatives questioning what future fueled some of the darkest crimes ever committed. Does evil run in the family? Listen to Killer Ken wherever you get your podcasts. Hey there, 2020 listeners. This is Deborah Roberts, co anchor of 20 20. We've got a new spin off series we think you're going to want to hear, so we're making it available for you right here on our podcast. It's called Bad Romance. Have a listen.

[Host/Announcer]

They're the perfect high school couple. Prom dates, the cheerleader and the football player. But their story ends with a hooded man hammering on the front door, frightening texts, a mysterious kidnapping, and a deadly shot in the dark.

[Narrator]

Knoxville is a rural community. There's a lot of mountain folks around here.

[Commentator/Expert]

It's like a slice of Americana, really. It's a really suburban, beautiful city, a nice place to raise your kids, and presumably a safe place to raise your kids.

[Friend or Family Member]

Everybody goes to the football games Fridays. Everybody's excited at school to see how well we do. It's what our school revolves around, so it's exciting.

[Narrator]

The Central High Bobcats are a big deal, and it's just as big of a deal to be on the cheerleading squad. In the fall of 2014, Emma Walker was 14 years old.

[Friend or Family Member]

Emma really took cheerleading seriously. She really loved doing it. You know, it was one of her passions. She loved leading and she loved football games. She loved just being part of crowd.

[Narrator]

Appeal going into high school. Being a freshman cheerleader, was that a big deal for her?

[Friend or Family Member]

She had done competitive gymnastics as a young child and then competitive dance. When she tried out for cheerleader, she was the only freshman that made it. So she was very tickled with herself.

[Commentator/Expert]

People described Emma as bubbly and fun loving and positive. I think it was really effortless for her because it's kind of who she was. Anyway.

[Narrator]

I like the hand on.

[Friend or Family Member]

Emma was very kind and warm hearted, but she was goofy too at this. She could do the worm, you know, all of her other moves were kind of like, okay, Emma, you should probably stop now.

[Narrator]

So before long, freshman Emma is going out with the junior on the football team, number eight, Riley Gaul. Riley Gahl and Emma Walker were just this sort of quintessential high school couple. You know, the cheerleader and the football player was he the classic jock in high school?

[Friend or Family Member]

No, he's a little nerdy on the side, a little to himself. Kind of from the outside looking in, you just think he's just a normal guy.

[Narrator]

What did you think right away of this new boy? That she was smitten with the boy next door.

[Friend or Family Member]

He came in very polite, very nice. In the beginning I thought he was.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

A very nice looking young man, well mannered.

[Narrator]

What were the rules about dating and going out?

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Never would let them go out on a formal date. He could come over to the house. They would meet up after football games to eat and things like that.

[Friend or Family Member]

They had fun. They seemed like they really liked each other. We were happy for her that she found someone that she really liked.

[Narrator]

If you look at Emma's social media, they look like the couple so many envied in high school. And what was the relationship like?

[Friend or Family Member]

At first it was just kind of normal, like nothing out of the ordinary. He didn't really talk to us, her friends, a lot, but I was just like, oh, he's shy, like new boyfriend. It just seemed normal. But then after a while was when we got kind of concerned.

[Narrator]

What concerned you?

[Friend or Family Member]

That he didn't really have any interest in getting to know her friends. And he kind of became controlling over her. What she did, her activities, he got more possessive and more clingy towards her and, you know, wouldn't let her do certain things.

[Commentator/Expert]

Over time, I do think cracks began to emerge in this veneer. And they looked like another typical high school couple, an archetype that people are familiar with, which is the makeup and breakup couple.

[Narrator]

And when they had fights, were they big fights?

[Friend or Family Member]

They were really dramatic, I would say, just because it was usually just like yelling at each other or just like harmful words towards each other.

[Narrator]

The relationship did not seem healthy at all. They argued fiercely and then they sort of made up fiercely. But it was always drama, always drama with those two. He would comment on what she wore and tell her what not to wear.

[Friend or Family Member]

Yes.

[Narrator]

And what would you say to that?

[Friend or Family Member]

We're the decision makers in that. Not your boyfriend.

When things got really intense and bad, he would wait outside her work for her to get off and he would just wait outside for hours. Just wait.

[Narrator]

Did you all relate this to Emma? Did you feel concerned for her? Does she seem to feel concerned?

[Friend or Family Member]

I told her and some of the other friends told her just like, you could do better. Like, we don't like him, but like, she just kind of brushed it off. She did her own thing.

Riley didn't speak to her. The way that a guy should talk to a girl.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

He was just disrespectful.

[Host/Announcer]

I hate you.

[Friend or Family Member]

I hate everything about you.

[Host/Announcer]

You're the biggest bitch I've ever come into contact with.

[Friend or Family Member]

I felt like the texts were getting worse and a little bit threatening. We on one occasion saw one. I'll see your name in the obituary. He wrote that he wrote that to her and we questioned him about it. He said I was just angry. That's when it started to get many more red flags.

[Narrator]

Soon Emma's parents have had enough. They ban Riley from their home and take away Emma's cell phone so the couple can't talk. But it doesn't work.

[Friend or Family Member]

Riley gave Emma an ipod touch and she texted him through the wi fi so they could text and it go undetected.

[Narrator]

Emma, I'm sorry for however I act to you.

[Host/Announcer]

I love you more than words can describe.

[Narrator]

Did you attempt to break them up or advise her to break up?

[Friend or Family Member]

Yes, several times. But as you do that with a teenager, the more you butt heads, the more she is going to think he is in the right because he had a way of isolating her and making her think that he was the only one.

[Narrator]

Typical high school fights. But then weird things begin to happen.

[Commentator/Expert]

Out of the blue, someone just starts.

[Friend or Family Member]

Banging on her door and was like.

I'm getting these really weird text messages saying that Riley's been kidnapped and that's only the beginning.

[Host/Announcer]

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[Riley Gaul]

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[Friend or Family Member]

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[Detective Alan Merritt]

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[Host/Announcer]

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[Detective Alan Merritt]

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[Narrator]

By the fall of 2016, Riley Gaul is now 18 and away at college. He and Emma are still together for two years now. So when Riley went off to college, how did things change with Emma?

[Friend or Family Member]

She was Dating him. She didn't see him probably as much because he was busy. But I think she started to see he's out there living life and I'm sitting in my room. You know, you want to have fun with your friends, and she should be. At 16 years old, she'd never had.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

That opportunity in this relationship without him saying that he didn't want her to go or repercussion on her wanting to do things. She did become like her old self again. She would come out, out of her room, eat dinner with us, socialize with us instead of being so withdrawn.

[Narrator]

So was she interested in breaking it off?

[Friend or Family Member]

Yes. And I think she is a yes, I believe so.

[Commentator/Expert]

Emma realized she didn't want to be with Riley, and she broke up with him what was supposed to be for good.

[Friend or Family Member]

And then we were all like, yes, finally, like, it's happening, like what we've been waiting for.

[Commentator/Expert]

Her friends and her family, they're relieved. They're excited. They think they have Emma back.

[Friend or Family Member]

Hallelujah, thank you, Jesus. That she didn't plan on going back to him.

[Narrator]

But Riley isn't taking the break. Over in his college dorm, he takes some Vicodin pills and washes them down with alcohol in an attempt to take his life. One of the things that Riley, God was known for is when things would not go the way he wanted, he would sometimes claim he was going to kill himself if they didn't, you know, reunite. How did you hear that? He might have been suicidal.

[Friend (Alex or Noah)]

Just, like, be like, off to the side, like, moping, saying things like, I just feel so depressed, like, I want to hurt myself, blah, blah, blah, blah. But it was just things that he would just, like, say a lot as just, like a cry for help, I guess, in a way.

[Host/Announcer]

It's Friday night, the big playoff game, and the Central High Bobcats win. So Emma's off to a party at a friend's house to celebrate. Then around 11:30pm, something strange happens.

[Friend or Family Member]

I walk in and Emma's like, coming out of the bathroom and she's like, zach, I'm getting these really weird text messages. Come outside alone if you don't want to see a loved one get hurt.

[Narrator]

I've got someone you love.

[Host/Announcer]

If you don't comply, I will hurt them.

[Narrator]

Was she spooked?

[Friend or Family Member]

Yeah, she was just feeling really weird about it. I mean, it's a random number.

[Commentator/Expert]

She starts off being very dismissive of them, saying, you know, I don't believe you. This is bs. You're full of it. Riley put you up to this.

[Host/Announcer]

He's in a ditch beside her house. It's a shame you can all of a sudden not value someone else's life.

[Friend or Family Member]

We end up going back outside, and we look and we see a body laying face down like just a dark figure.

[Narrator]

It's a terrifying moment. And even worse when they see who it is. It's Riley.

[Friend or Family Member]

And then we finally get to him, and he's holding up his head, kind of has this confused face on. He's like. Emma's like, why are you here? He's like, I don't know what happened. I don't know how I got here. I've been kidnapped. Someone dropped me off here. I don't know what's happening. Where am I? How did I get here? Holding his head. Like, he got hit upside the head, kind of. It was just very weird.

[Narrator]

And when you stepped out, where did you see him?

[Friend or Family Member]

He was kind of up there near, like. Kind of the shrub, like, where those thin trees are kind of laying down.

[Narrator]

Mm.

[Friend or Family Member]

Park in the driveway, maybe.

[Narrator]

Lying down?

[Friend or Family Member]

Yeah. Like, face down, like this? Kind of.

[Narrator]

And how did Emma react?

[Friend or Family Member]

Very uneasy. She was very upset. She was crying.

[Commentator/Expert]

Emma doesn't know what to think because this is a boy she loved who she's realized now has become very unhealthy. But, like, part of her is, like, who would do something this elaborate if it weren't true?

[Host/Announcer]

And if that's not bizarre enough, Riley simply walks away and calls his friend Noah.

[Friend or Family Member]

He sounded like he'd been crying or like he sounding fatigued, I guess. And he basically told me that these people knocked him out, took his car and threw him in a van, and he didn't know where.

[Narrator]

He was essentially kidnapped.

[Friend or Family Member]

Yeah.

[Narrator]

Did you believe him?

[Friend or Family Member]

Not at all. You know, but what am I supposed to do?

[Narrator]

Did anybody offer to call the police?

[Friend or Family Member]

We talked about it, but he said no. Just like, no, no, no cops.

[Narrator]

Then the morning after Riley's supposed kidnapping, things go from strange to sinister.

[Commentator/Expert]

While she's home, out of the blue, someone just starts banging on her door. All she can see is this is this person. She's not opening the door. She's home alone. She's scared. She's talking to her friends. At the same time, I'm home alone, and somebody in all black walked down my street and came to my door and rang the doorbell over and over again. I thought I was going to die. Emma's obviously shook, and who do you think she calls? She calls Riley. I'm shaking and crying. I hate you, but I need you right now.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

I'm Coming.

[Narrator]

I'm speeding.

[Host/Announcer]

Just give me a minute.

[Friend or Family Member]

She was supposed to come meet me. She didn't show. I had an intuition. Something's going on. So I drove to home and Riley's car was sitting out front of the house and they were in the driveway.

[Narrator]

What was your first thought?

[Friend or Family Member]

I thought, you're kidding me. He knows he's not allowed here. And I just said, you know you're not allowed. You need to leave. And he did leave.

[Narrator]

Were you worried?

[Friend or Family Member]

Yes, I was worried, yes. And tried to calm her down and take her mind off of it.

[Narrator]

But she's thinking, what? That some stalker or maybe some burglar is trying to get into the house?

[Friend or Family Member]

I think we were watching her. I mean, Sunday we followed her to work, followed her back home to make sure she was safe.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

She said, I'm craving ice cream. So we drove to Sonic. We had a nice cold sonic blast and I wished her good night. I love you. See you tomorrow. I went to bed. She stayed up.

[Narrator]

And how did she seem?

[Detective Alan Merritt]

She seemed very happy. Very happy and relaxed. More of a. Like a weight had been lifted off her shoulder.

[Host/Announcer]

Everybody says good night, but her parents don't know that they're actually saying goodbye.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Where is your emergency?

[Commentator/Expert]

You have to imagine how Emma would have been feeling at this point. Friday, Riley is coming out of a ditch claiming to have been abducted. The next day she's home alone. She's taunted at home by someone dressed in black banging on her door. You know that is rattling. And two days of this now had to have been wearing her down.

[Friend or Family Member]

The next day I went in there to wake her up, which is usually very easy to wake her up, and said her name, didn't hear anything, bumped her leg, didn't hear anything, and then went to her face and realized and checked for a pulse and couldn't find anything. I don't remember a whole lot from that moment. I mean, I know I called 911.

[Commentator/Expert]

Emma's mother makes maybe one of the most heartbreaking 911 calls that I've ever heard.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Where is your emergency?

[Host/Announcer]

I'm joking.

[Friend or Family Member]

What's going on there?

[Host/Announcer]

I just tried to wake up my.

[Narrator]

Daughter for school and she has new pulse.

[Host/Announcer]

How old is she?

[Narrator]

She's 16.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

You said that she's non responsive?

[Narrator]

Yeah.

[Commentator/Expert]

And you hear in real time this mother sort of visceral response to realizing that like maybe she's not going to be okay.

[Friend or Family Member]

The call came out as a suicide.

[Narrator]

It was about 30 minutes before shift was over.

[Host/Announcer]

Officer Nikki Buels is sent to the Crime scene. She's now the lead forensic tech on the case.

[Narrator]

When I first got there, I started my photographs on the outside of the residence. I walked in, photographed the interior of the residence, photographed the. The bedroom. It's a classic teen girl's bedroom. A little messy, clothes and makeup all over. Pictures and cheer trophies on the wall. Except.

[Friend or Family Member]

There was a hole in the wall. It appeared to be a bullet hole.

[Narrator]

At that point, I knew that it.

[Friend or Family Member]

Probably was not a suicide.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

It's been upgraded from a suicide to a homicide.

[Narrator]

Lead detective Alan Merritt arrives next.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

So, you know, I'm standing outside here. The bullet hole is, you know, just about shoulder height there in the wall.

[Narrator]

Big hole?

[Detective Alan Merritt]

No, it's just a small bullet hole, about the size of a ballpoint ink pen.

[Narrator]

But there's no gun inside Emma's bedroom. Instead, there's a strange discovery on the outside of the house.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Roughly in about this area here, I locate this spent shell casing. The first spent shell casing.

[Narrator]

And on the far side of the walker's fence, another piece of evidence. A second shell casing?

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Yes, ma', am. A second shell casing. So now, you know, I've got a second shell casing. Where's. Why is it here? Where did it come from? Obviously, there was a second shot fired.

[Narrator]

So another hole right there.

[Friend or Family Member]

Once the detective got there, we were asked to leave the residence. They're wrapping tape around our house and walking around outside, so obviously it had turned into a. A crime scene at that point, but we still had no idea what had happened to her.

[Narrator]

What had happened? Emma Walker was killed by a gunshot wound to the head from somebody shooting into the house from outside. Those two bullets fired through the walls of her bedroom. One striking Emma behind her left ear, the second into the pillow by her head.

[Commentator/Expert]

You know, to hit a target that you can't see, you would have had to know exactly where Emma's head was going to be. That realization, I think, is a stunning and chilling one.

[Narrator]

You talked to her parents. Did you ask them if they thought there was somebody who could be out to hurt her?

[Detective Alan Merritt]

We spoke to the family, we spoke to her friends, and everybody kept giving us the name Riley Gough because of their relationship, because they had seen the way that Riley had treated her, the way he had talked to her.

[Narrator]

The Knox county sheriff's office goes to talk with Riley, and he's distraught.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

He didn't say a whole lot. He was just kind of in a daze a little bit. He was sad over his girlfriend losing her life.

[Narrator]

Riley goes to social media posting rest Easy now, sweetheart. I love you forever and always.

[Commentator/Expert]

What stood out to me from these tweets immediately was the repetitive nature of him saying, I love you, I love you, I love you. If you just saw that, you would think that this was an ex boyfriend who just lost his first love. The people of Knoxville were floored. Emma's a cheerleader who everyone knows and loves.

[Friend or Family Member]

I was confused.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

All I knew is she was dead and there's nothing.

[Friend or Family Member]

It didn't register in my mind. No one would expect our Emma to be, you know, dead.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Students will be gathering at Central High.

[Host/Announcer]

School tonight to remember the life of a classmate who recently died.

[Commentator/Expert]

Riley seems devastated, but he doesn't go to the vigil, ladies and gentlemen, that is held for Emma. You know, he justifies his absence at this vigil as he's just too broken to attend.

[Host/Announcer]

Remember, Riley had attempted suicide once. So his friend Alex gets nervous and tells detectives about the night Riley was found in a ditch outside the party.

[Friend (Alex or Noah)]

He ended up telling me, like, that night he was so fearful for his life, that he had stolen his grandfather's gun, and he showed it to me.

[Narrator]

He showed you his grandfather's gun?

[Friend (Alex or Noah)]

Yes, and I held it in my hand that night.

[Narrator]

So he's been acting strangely, and then he shows you a gun. How worried were you about him?

[Friend (Alex or Noah)]

I was very worried. He reassured me over and over again that he was the farthest thing from suicidal. He was just so scared of these people where I had to get him out to get Emma.

[Narrator]

He said he had the gun for.

[Friend or Family Member]

Protection from the kidnappers.

[Narrator]

What did you hear from the friends about what struck them as odd?

[Detective Alan Merritt]

There had been a series of events leading up to the homicide. One particular incident and the alleged kidnapping. There was another incident the next morning where a person dressed all in black, head to toe, even sunglasses, a hoodie on, face covered, goes to Emma's house, tries to get in, scares her.

[Narrator]

Did you think maybe there was some other suspect out there who had been stalking her?

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Sure.

[Host/Announcer]

Now investigators are screening everything they can find on security cameras. We had the exits from this residence.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

We saw cars going by.

[Host/Announcer]

We couldn't identify them.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

The cameras didn't have enough resolution.

[Narrator]

But surveillance footage from a neighbor's house has something.

[Host/Announcer]

Could it be the mysterious man in black? Is this Emma's killer? Tell Me Lies returns with an all new season. I'm willing to forgive you after everything you've done.

[Friend or Family Member]

Everything I've done?

[Narrator]

What about everything you've done on January 13th?

[Commentator/Expert]

Every single time you try to make something better, you end up Making it so much worse.

[Host/Announcer]

Every betrayal.

[Friend or Family Member]

Why are you doing this?

[Host/Announcer]

Has consequences.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Because I want to hurt you. And I don't know how else to do it.

[Host/Announcer]

Tell me lies.

[Narrator]

Tell me.

[Host/Announcer]

New season January 13th. Streaming on Hulu and for bundled subscribers on Disney plus terms apply.

[Narrator]

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations.

[Commentator/Expert]

A shot for Knoxville and a Knox county high school. A cheerleader shot and killed. Knoxville teen found in her home dead.

[Host/Announcer]

An investigation right now underway this afternoon in the death of a Knox county teen.

[Narrator]

Riley Gaul's social media portrays him as.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

The grieving boyfriend, and this is from a gun case.

[Narrator]

Police want to talk to him. Sixteen hours after Emma's body is discovered, Riley is brought in for questioning.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

You have the right to remain silent.

[Narrator]

Detectives with the Knox County Sheriff's Office want to know about his whereabouts over the past weekend.

[Riley Gaul]

I went over to my friend Noah's house and stayed there. I think I spent the night there, actually. I think.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Who else at Noah's when you get there Friday night?

[Riley Gaul]

It was just me and him. And then I think it was just me and him on the night. I don't remember anybody else showing up.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

And you said you spent the night?

[Riley Gaul]

I'm pretty sure I did, yes.

[Friend or Family Member]

Actually.

[Riley Gaul]

Yes, I'm positive I did. I did spend the night.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

You can't remember if you spent the night at Noah's or stayed at your grandparents?

[Narrator]

Did that strike you as strange that he couldn't remember if he spent the night here, what time he went there?

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Yeah, you know, we're talking about, you know, what'd you do yesterday and not what you did two years ago? His answers were vague.

[Commentator/Expert]

They were expecting, you know, someone who's 18, emotional, heartbroken, and instead of referring to Emma by her name, he keeps calling her the girl.

[Riley Gaul]

The girl she texted me.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Which girl?

[Riley Gaul]

The one that passed away. Okay.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

What's her name?

[Friend (Alex or Noah)]

Emma.

[Friend or Family Member]

Yeah.

[Commentator/Expert]

If that's your girlfriend of two years, who you're in love with, who you're posting these heartbreaking tributes to on social media. Why aren't you using her name?

[Detective Alan Merritt]

When I first met him at his grandpa, he might have been a grieving boyfriend. When we got into the interview room and sat down, I felt like there's a dark side. He didn't have a whole lot of passion or concern.

[Narrator]

Riley tells them he'd been trying to speak with Emma all weekend, but she. She wouldn't engage. That she even blocked his number.

[Riley Gaul]

And she just kept blocking me on stuff, so I just kind of gotcha. But she said if I would help her write her paper, she would talk to me. And I used one of my friends phones on campus to call her.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Tell me about this phone call.

[Riley Gaul]

You and mi. I was crying and I was trying to get her to reason with me on being back together with me. And she just kept saying no. She said she didn't even care about the relationship anymore. She said, you need to stop. You're crazy. You need to get a life. Hung up the phone. Block me.

[Narrator]

Riley offers police his alibi, saying after Emma hangs up on him, he goes to his grandparents house, then drives back to his dorm where he breaks down in the parking lot.

[Riley Gaul]

I just sat there for about two or three hours and just wept. Just looking at pictures of us and stuff like that.

[Narrator]

He was really, really upset about this. But when you saw him, was he broken up?

[Detective Alan Merritt]

In my opinion, he was emotionless. His interview was probably one of the most disconnected. It almost seemed rehearsed, deliberate. You have no idea what a grandfather's gun said? No, sir. Okay.

[Riley Gaul]

And you do not own a handgun, correct?

[Friend or Family Member]

No, sir.

[Narrator]

And you begin asking about the gun.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

He did not have the gun, didn't know where the gun was, and basically didn't have anything to do with it.

[Narrator]

Now, you had already talked to friends of his who had told you that he had this gun?

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Yes, ma'.

[Friend or Family Member]

Am.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

What if I told you someone told us that they saw you with a gun? What would you think about that?

[Riley Gaul]

I would wonder who said that and where they saw me with a gun.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Alex McCarty said that you showed him a handgun. Where is the gun?

[Riley Gaul]

I did not know.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

You understand though, for us, Alex has no reason to lie about something like that.

[Riley Gaul]

Yeah, but I'm telling you, I don't know where it's at.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

He said that you showed him the gun, you told him that you had it, and you told him that you got it from your granddad.

[Riley Gaul]

Don't have the gun. I don't know why he would say that.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

I knew immediately, within minutes of sitting down to talk to him. Riley Gall wasn't going to confess to anything. He wasn't going to do it.

[Narrator]

Detectives then turn up the heat, Pressing Riley about an odd question he had for his friend Noah.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Do you ever remember having a conversation with Noah about getting fingerprints off a gun? How do you get fingerprints off a gun?

[Riley Gaul]

No.

[Friend or Family Member]

He asked if I knew how to get fingerprints off a gun, how to.

[Narrator]

Get fingerprints off a gun.

[Friend or Family Member]

He said he was asking for his roommate. I told him obviously not and not to ever ask me anything like that again. And he said, I know. I know. It was for my roommate. I thought it was weird.

[Riley Gaul]

Am I a suspect in her passing?

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Should you be?

[Riley Gaul]

I just feel like I'm being badgered with question. I hope to God I'm not a suspect in her death.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Did I say you were?

[Riley Gaul]

I hope you don't think it's because I wouldn't hurt that girl.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Did you shoot into Emma's house?

[Riley Gaul]

No, sir.

[Narrator]

By the time you finished this interview with him, is there a bell going off in your head saying this is the guy?

[Detective Alan Merritt]

It's more like a horn. It was, yeah. A bell would be putting it mildly. Yeah. Everything. Everything about the interview. His answers, his body language. It's screaming that he's got something to do with this, that he's involved in some form or fashion.

[Host/Announcer]

Riley Gaul has gone from person of interest to suspect in the death of Emma Walker. The problem is, they don't have enough evidence to hold him.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

I do want to thank you for coming in and talking to us. I do appreciate it.

[Commentator/Expert]

Following Riley's interrogation, he reaches out to his friends, and he's really angry.

[Host/Announcer]

Why did you tell him about the gun?

[Detective Alan Merritt]

They think I shot her because of it.

[Friend (Alex or Noah)]

I told him he had no reason to withhold the weapon if he had nothing to hide, and that if anything, it could prove that he was innocent. At that point, I asked him just outright, like, what happened to the gun that you showed me? And he said, I returned it to my grandpa. You don't have to worry about it. And his mom walks out and begins questioning Riley in front of me about the whereabouts of the gun.

[Narrator]

So what are you making of this?

[Friend (Alex or Noah)]

He bold facelighted me just then.

[Commentator/Expert]

That's when the two friends, Noah and Alex, start to realize that something's really wrong here.

[Host/Announcer]

I didn't kill her, and I'm probably going to jail.

[Narrator]

What's his demeanor like?

[Friend (Alex or Noah)]

He's frantic about getting caught.

[Friend or Family Member]

He was on edge, and he was.

[Friend (Alex or Noah)]

Like, the only thing we can do is I just have to get rid of it. I have to get rid of the gun. In order to. For me not to get pinned for something that I didn't do. In order for me not to go to jail for something that I didn't do, I have to get rid of this weapon. That's When I knew he did it.

[Commentator/Expert]

Riley starts scheming ways that he can help his friends backpedal out of what they said.

[Riley Gaul]

Tell him you're on lsd. You were drunk.

[Narrator]

But what Riley doesn't know, his two friends have a plan of their own. They want justice for Emma. And to do it, they're gonna have to go undercover and get it all on tape.

[Riley Gaul]

I'm trusting you guys, like, with my life.

[Host/Announcer]

Alex McCarty and Noah Walton are convinced their longtime friend killed Emma, his high school sweetheart. After all, she was shot. Riley had a gun.

[Narrator]

He said he wanted to go and throw the gun away.

[Friend (Alex or Noah)]

Yeah, I just knew that if there was a chance that he could get rid of the murder weapon.

[Friend or Family Member]

You should stop it.

[Friend (Alex or Noah)]

I had to stop it.

[Narrator]

The teens decide to work with police to lay a trap for Riley.

[Commentator/Expert]

So the two friends reach out to the detectives and offer to help in any way they can.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

If they could help us get what they believe to be the murder weapon back. Huge, huge piece of information.

[Commentator/Expert]

At this point, all the police really have is circumstantial evidence against Riley. What they needed was the gun to conclude and prove that the bullet that left the barrel that entered Emma belonged to to Riley's grandfather. Which meant that Riley was the killer.

[Narrator]

They wire up the two guys with microphones, a transmitter so they can listen in, and a video camera hidden in a key fob. So you two now offer to help the police in a sting operation. Were you worried about that?

[Friend (Alex or Noah)]

I was just fearful that maybe justice couldn't have been done if we made the wrong move.

[Friend or Family Member]

The camera is right on the tip of the key fob. Let me set it down. Pointing right at the couch.

[Narrator]

It's now Tuesday, the day after Emma's body was discovered. Alex and Noah invite Riley over to play video games.

[Riley Gaul]

I don't know who shot Emma. I put that on my life. I'm not. I wouldn't lie to you. Right here, right now. I don't know who did. I would never hurt her a day in my life. I had that gun because I was scared about what happened. I know you don't believe me. You probably don't either.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Whatever.

[Commentator/Expert]

Riley starts scheming ways that he can help his friends backpedal out of what they said.

[Riley Gaul]

If the cops talk to you again for any reason, tell them you're on lsd. You were drunk and you were high. Your mind was altered. Whatever statement you give them wasn't a straightforward answer.

[Friend or Family Member]

He basically wanted to nullify all our previous statements by saying we were under the Influence. And we didn't know what we were talking about.

[Narrator]

What do you say to that?

[Friend or Family Member]

I said, okay, I didn't do it. But I was like, okay, sure, bro. My bad. I didn't know I was gonna get you in trouble.

[Narrator]

So you're playing him at this point.

[Riley Gaul]

Yeah, but I'm trusting you guys, like, with my life. Cause, I mean, this is 70 years in jail. If I get convicted of something I didn't do. Are you guys. Are you busy right now? Like, are you about to do anything?

[Friend (Alex or Noah)]

Well, can we go to the bluffs?

[Riley Gaul]

Because I. I need to get rid.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Of the gun at the bluff.

[Riley Gaul]

I'm gonna throw it into the water. They will never. They'll never find it in the river.

[Narrator]

The bluffs is out in the woods overlooking the Tennessee River. They've all been there. It's a place where teenagers go to hang out.

[Riley Gaul]

I want to get rid of it. Well, do you guys want to go right now?

[Narrator]

And just like that, the sting operation is on. Now, Riley doesn't know, but three unmarked SUVs are tailing the boys.

[Riley Gaul]

Hey, we gotta go up to Seth's house first.

[Friend or Family Member]

Yeah.

[Friend (Alex or Noah)]

He tells us that he doesn't have the gun on him, and we have to go pick it up from his stepfather's house. He said he hid it down in the basement. Me and Noah wait in the car.

[Friend or Family Member]

He didn't want us to come in.

[Friend (Alex or Noah)]

And he comes back with his trash bag.

[Narrator]

Success bag of trust.

[Riley Gaul]

I just threw it in there. I don't know what's in there.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

We had told the boys that it was imperative that they actually physically see the handgun before they give us the signal to take him down.

[Riley Gaul]

I just want to throw it and be done.

[Narrator]

Are you anxious, like, you want to see it right away, or do you know that you've got to pace yourself? What do you think?

[Friend or Family Member]

We tried a little bit.

[Friend (Alex or Noah)]

We did try to coax it.

[Friend or Family Member]

Dang. Is it in there? Like, let me see. It's cool. I don't see guns a lot.

[Narrator]

And he doesn't buy it.

[Friend (Alex or Noah)]

No, he does.

[Friend or Family Member]

He actually was kind of weird about it.

[Narrator]

Throughout the ride, Alex and Noah try to keep things as casual as possible. They're telling jokes and singing along to the radio.

[Friend or Family Member]

Just don't descend up. I wish that I could make her sing.

[Narrator]

And even going on a run for some fast food.

[Friend or Family Member]

She's just a flavor.

[Commentator/Expert]

I can't imagine what the mood was like inside of that car. We have two friends in danger in putting themselves in this situation because Riley is armed.

[Friend or Family Member]

This is where the trail is that.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Leads you to your bluffs area.

[Friend or Family Member]

So they parked here, and they sat.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

In the vehicle for.

[Narrator]

I'd say, probably.

[Friend or Family Member]

Five, ten minutes or so talking.

[Friend (Alex or Noah)]

He was, like, putting on white gloves and waiting everything. He's very meticulous about how he got everything out. And then we just, like, kept waiting and kept waiting and.

[Narrator]

Are you texting at that point? The police.

[Friend or Family Member]

I told him when we got the bag, I told him we didn't see it yet, but he had a bag full of, like, black clothes. And it was. It's supposedly in there. And it was about to happen soon.

[Commentator/Expert]

I don't know when they're about to reach the apex. Sort of the climax of this entire mission. And things could go wrong at any moment, minute.

[Narrator]

Oh, my God.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

What?

[Friend (Alex or Noah)]

This is a real gun? Actually, it was a. A good three or four, maybe up to five minutes of him having the gun out and getting other things out after Noah had already texted the keyword and that the cops finally, like, did show up to where we were.

[Narrator]

Everybody put your hands out of the vehicle now.

[Host/Announcer]

What the.

[Friend (Alex or Noah)]

Oh, my God.

[Host/Announcer]

Leave your hands out of the vehicle.

[Narrator]

It actually goes down in less than 90 seconds. Police spring. Guns drawn.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Oh. Step out of the vehicle.

[Friend or Family Member]

Riley. He's just freaking out. He's swearing left and right. He says, I can't go to jail. I can't go to jail.

[Narrator]

We didn't suspect that this. This would be the person we would be filming at 11 as the suspect tonight. A Maryville college football player behind bars.

[Host/Announcer]

Accused of killing a Knox county teenager.

[Narrator]

Investigators believe he was trying to destroy evidence.

[Commentator/Expert]

Once he was taken into custody, Riley was charged with first degree murder and six other felonies.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

It was a major relief to me knowing that, you know, he's. He's gonna pay for what he done.

[Narrator]

And after investigators searched the trash bag Riley was using, they believe he's responsible for even more than Emma's murder. What was in there with the. With the gun? Gloves.

[Friend or Family Member]

There was. There was gloves and trash bags and tennis shoes. The black tape, some of the black clothing.

[Narrator]

You think those were the shoes that were used?

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Yeah, I really think that that was the clothes used not only the night of the murder, but I think also that was the clothes that was used the morning of the man in black incident.

[Narrator]

Those bizarre events leading up to Emma's death all make sense now to investigators. They're convinced that Riley faked his own kidnapping and posed as that mysterious man in black to stalk Emma. Emma's parents are now facing the young man Accused of murdering their daughter. What are your feelings toward him, Mark?

[Detective Alan Merritt]

I don't know that I can tell you that on camera. But I would like to tell him one day, hey, I gotta quit.

[Host/Announcer]

It seems like they've got him until Riley's trial, when the defense team delivers an unexpected twist.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

We looked at each other and said, did you.

[Narrator]

Did he just say that? This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easier. Easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home in auto policies. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states. The College football Playoff isn't over. Not yet. That epic run, that wild dream.

[Commentator/Expert]

Not over till the clock hits zero.

[Narrator]

Till the stadium shakes, till the wild things are let loose, till the trophy is lifted and the confetti falls. This is the national championship. When it's over, you'll feel it. This is the wild world of College Football. The CFP National Championship. Monday, January 19th at 7:30pm Eastern on ESPN and the ESPN app. By May 2018, nearly two years after Emma Walker's death, it's finally judgment day for Riley Gaul.

[Commentator/Expert]

This was a very different person that I didn't recognize. You know, every day, he dressed in a polo slacks, didn't look up, didn't talk to anyone. Riley had denied being involved in this period. So opening arguments occur day one.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

We'll ask you to find Mr. Gall guilty of revenues.

[Narrator]

Thomas.

[Host/Announcer]

There's a defense lawyer, Wesley Stone, admitting that Riley fired the gun into the house. But he says it wasn't to kill Emma. He wanted to scare her into calling him for help. That way, he could be her hero.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

To me, the hero defense was laughable.

[Narrator]

In his mind, oh, I'm just gonna.

[Friend or Family Member]

Scare her by shooting at her through.

[Narrator]

The wall where she's laying her head. And it was his desperate attempt to get attention from her.

[Friend or Family Member]

Then it was really, truly a bad idea.

[Narrator]

Prosecutors point out the trajectory of the two bullets that struck Emma.

[Host/Announcer]

The trajectory was a crossing pattern that came where both would have struck her. This is an absolute intent to kill. Did Riley Gull murder Emma Walker by.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

The definition of murder?

[Host/Announcer]

No.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

I do believe it was a reckless homicide.

[Friend or Family Member]

You didn't play football.

[Narrator]

After a week of testimony and more than 30 witnesses, the jury has a verdict.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Guilty.

[Narrator]

And when you heard guilty, It's a good feeling.

[Friend or Family Member]

I mean, it doesn't bring her back, but that's the best we could get. He shouldn't get to live his life either.

[Narrator]

19 year old Riley Gaul sentenced to life in prison.

[Friend (Alex or Noah)]

Take a life, give a life. It's exactly what he deserves. Honestly.

[Narrator]

Why do you think he killed Emma?

[Friend or Family Member]

If he couldn't have her, then nobody can have you.

And so that's really the only thing I can think of. He claimed he loved her, but it wasn't a healthy love. More of just ownership of her he felt.

[Commentator/Expert]

At his sentencing hearing, Gaul breaks his silence, offering a scripted apology.

[Riley Gaul]

I'm sorry I took Emma away from me. My intentions that night were never to harm him, let alone take her life. I wanted to scare her.

[Friend or Family Member]

Riley, you are not Emma's hero. You ended her life. No punishment will ever bring Emma back. But what helps is knowing that you can't do this to anyone else.

[Narrator]

What do you want to see come out of this that might help someone else?

[Friend or Family Member]

If you boyfriend or girlfriend is telling you you can't go there or what to wear or who to hang out with or who to talk to, that it's not okay. And I think when they become quiet and withdrawn, it's a big sign too. It's not just bruises. It's emotional and controlling.

[Host/Announcer]

Riley Gaul appealed his sentence. Three years after his conviction, he was back in Knox county criminal court to request a retrial, but the judge said no. So since there was no new evidence and the state supreme court has since rejected any further consideration of the case, Riley remains behind bars serving a life sentence for the murder of Emma Walker. He'll be in his 70s before he's eligible for parole.

[Narrator]

I love you so much. The Walker family finding comfort in unexpected surprises. Emma left behind and you didn't know she put this on.

[Friend or Family Member]

That's their thing.

[Narrator]

Very cute. Do you find yourself going back looking through these or.

[Friend or Family Member]

Oh yeah.

[Narrator]

They'Re home. Like a living photo album locking Emma in their hearts and memories. You can watch fresh episodes of bad romance from 2020 on Monday nights at 10pm right after the Bachelor. And of course, tune in on Fridays at 9 for all new episodes of 2020. Thanks for listening.

[Host/Announcer]

FX is the beauty. Imagine the hottest new superdrug that makes you effortlessly beautiful. From executive producer Ryan Murphy. This is the closest to the fountain of youth anyone's ever going to get.

[Friend or Family Member]

Are there side effects? I just went in, woke up and looked like this.

[Host/Announcer]

I would like the first pope. FX is the beauty. Premieres January 21st on FX, Hulu and.

[Detective Alan Merritt]

Hulu on Disney plus for bundle subscribers.