Ex-Division III player found guilty of first-degree murder

Posted May 08, 2018 7:00 am

By STEVE MEGARGEE

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Former Division III college football player William Riley Gaul has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2016 shooting death of his former girlfriend in Tennessee.

The eight-man, four-woman jury announced its verdict Tuesday after four hours of deliberation. The first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory life prison sentence with no possibility of parole for 51 years.

Gaul was a wide receiver who had just finished his freshman season at Tennessee's Maryville College when 16-year-old Emma Walker died on Nov. 21, 2016. Gaul was dismissed from the team after his arrest.

The 19-year-old Gaul also was convicted of felony murder, stalking, theft of between $500 and $1,000, tampering with evidence, possession of a firearm in a dangerous felony and reckless endangerment. Gaul pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment before the trial.

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