hearing things. >> your instincts were right. that something happened in the middle of the night. >> you think your child is safe in your home sleeping. >> she was just 16. emma the honor student cheerleader, volunteer. she can get along with anybody. always so kind hearted and sweet she wanted to be a nurse and she had a plan. >> she went to sleep one sunday night, and never woke up >> i saw a 16 year old female in her bed. there was a bullet hole in the wall. >> she was shot she had been shot from outside of the residents. >> was emma a target that weekend she had seen a mysterious figure dressed in black. >> she's unfair, she isn't panic. >> she was shaking. >> now, to brave friends set out on a mission. could they help catch her killer? >> you're trying to bring down a murder suspect. >> everybody take their hands out of the vehicle now! it all became a lot more real. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> hello and welcome to dateline! emma walker was a spirited teenager with a knack for storing up fun. pretty and smart, she had a whole life ahead of her, but after her death, detectives faced a tough investigation. whoever had shot her had been brazen, and they had a bold plan to catch the killer. here's andrea canning with noises in the night! >> when the autumn chill seeps into the community just north of knoxville, tennessee, hundreds of high school students are drawn to the blaze of friday nights to cheer on their hometown heroes, the bobcats. she was the friday night light who probably shone brightest of them all. emma walker, a cheerleader since her freshman here. >> she was a really good cheerleader, some would go through the motions but she would put her own sparkle on it. and what she would do. >> fellow cheerleaders kelsey and lauren said she could be sassy too. >> she said, i am kind of a big deal. >> and i'm taking it she said it with a hint of sarcasm >> yes. >> people who didn't know her, they're like, she is a super pretty cheerleader! but then they would meet her and see that she is the nicest person. >> -- they were longtime school friends. >> once you made her, it's like she was a down to earth person and really sweet. >> she had a smile that would light up the room. a big beautiful smile. emma's parents say that infectious smile was the hallmark of her playful personality >> she like to play jokes on me. grabbing my iphone. taking selfies of herself. i had no idea. >> emma volunteered at an animal shelter. at school, she was an honorable student with a clear career goal. >> she wanted to be a nurse, and when we would talk about the different professions, and we get to the ones about babies. and she said that's what i want to do. >> it is no surprise that emma got noticed by boys at school. and there was one boy that she definitely noticed back. >> that's really all she talked about at first, it was just that he was super cute. >> he was riley. two years older than emma. popular too. the standout wide receiver on the bobcats football team. >> did you think he was going to make it to the nfl? >> if there was anyone who was going to do it, it was him. >> heads grade school friend says it wasn't just a high school job. he was also in the church, and love star wars movies. >> -- . >> obviously. >> and then a little later in high school, he got a little bit more into football. but he kept with his nerd roots. >> it was really funny, and i think that's why i am a foul for him in the first place. because they were both super goofy. >> she had a big crush on him! >> she did! >> there was just one problem. riley already had a girlfriend. but he said he broke up with her to date emma. >> and things got serious pretty quickly between the two of them. >> yeah. >> but as the months went by, it was clear that riley, the school football player, was also a player. it turns out his acts was not really an ex after all. >> he had promised his ex girlfriend that he would take heard a prom that year, and take emma the senior year. >> and she was okay with us >> she wasn't okay but she let it happen. >> she couldn't let go? >> no. >> that must be hard for a parent when you see a guy who has two girls on the go? >> yeah. >> that's not cool. >> no, but she had a mind of her own and did not want us to voice our opinions about it. >> emma's determination to be with riley caused a lot of tension between her and her parents. >> how does it work when you're trying to be that parents, and your daughter has that strong personality? >> it's difficult. >> very difficult! >> she was just very stubborn and thought her way was the right way. she wanted to learn for herself. >> riley and emma dated on and off for two years. when riley graduated and went off to college, just half an hour away, they tried to keep the relationship going. but just before thanksgiving in riley's freshman year, she said she saw snapchats of riley with other girls on campus. she said she broke up with him for good. emma's parents say the tension at home evaporated. >> it must have felt so good to be a happy family again! >> it did. the whole household was different. >> the household was not calm for very long. on november 20th, 2016, a sunday, emma went for icecream with her dad. and plan to get up early for school the next morning. >> i told her i love you, i'm going to bed. and during the middle of the night, i heard this loud noise. >> what kind of noise was it? >> it sounded like someone was in the house, and opened a door and slammed it. and then i heard it again. >> mark jumped out of bed to check on emma and her brother. >> i opened up the door to her bedroom, and i stared at her for probably 15 to 20 seconds. and she was just lying asleep in her bed. and, i shut the door. and went to my son's bedroom and he was in the bed asleep. so i thought, i'm hearing things! so then i checked the doors around the house, and went back to bed. >> in the morning, emma's mom jill woke up early. >> i went to wake up and i couldn't wake her up. >> what's going through your mind in that moment? >> i had no idea. and i can't recall a lot of it. i just know i check for a pulse. >> and there was no pulse? >> no pulse. so, you know. >> emma's younger brother also rushed in. >> for evan too, i bet that's something that you wish -- >> i wish he had never had to experience it. it's like a nightmare. >> jill called 9-1-1. >> i just tried to wake up my daughter for school, and she has no pulse! >> you say that she is not responsive? >> yeah. >> what had happened to emma walker? >> coming up! >> the investigation begins! >> i saw a 16 year female laying in her bed with a small amount of blood on her pillow. >> people thought she overdosed on something. >> they thought she had ingested poison or whatever. >> this is a mystery right now? >> it's all a mystery. >> when dateline continues! hey jim! can we talk about casual fridays? oh sure. what's up? get fast, powerful cough relief with robitussin, and find your voice. ♪robitussin♪ i have moderate to severe crohn's disease. now, there's skyrizi. ♪ things are looking up, i've got symptom relief. ♪ ♪ control of my crohn's means everything to me. ♪ ♪ control is everything to me. ♪ feel significant symptom relief at 4 weeks with skyrizi, including less abdominal pain and fewer bowel movements. skyrizi is the first il-23 inhibitor that can deliver remission and visibly improve damage of the intestinal lining. and the majority of people experienced long-lasting remission at one year. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine or plan to. liver problems may occur in crohn's disease. ♪ now's the time to ask your gastroenterologist how you can take control of your crohn's with skyrizi. ♪ ♪ control is everything to me. ♪ ♪ learn how abbvie could help you save. teeth sensitivity is so common. it immediately feels like somebody's poking directly on the nerve. i recommend sensodyne. sensodyne toothpaste goes inside the tooth and calms the nerve down. and my patients say you know doc, it really works. my a1c was up here; now, it's down with rybelsus®. his a1c? 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[coughs] when caroline has a cough, she takes robitussin. so, she can have those one on ones again. hey jim! can we talk about casual fridays? oh sure. what's up? get fast, powerful cough relief with robitussin, and find your voice. ♪robitussin♪ monday, november 21st, 2016, and find your voice. monday, november 21, 2016 was supposed to be was supposed to be a regular school morning. instead, first responders were arriving at the walker family home, and word that something terrible that had happened to emma was tearing her town apart. friends calling friends. >> she was just balling, and i was like you have to calm down and breathe and tell me what's going on. she said emma was, that i was like what are you talking about? because it didn't register in my mind. no, not our emma. >> it did not seem real at first to nathan either. >> i was like, yeah that's my best friend but she did not pass away. it hit me i started falling. >> emma's ex-boyfriend riley was at his home when his phone was flooded with calls and texts. he wrote on social media. >> how much he misses her and loves her. >> she's at a better place now. tell god about our bible verse. >> did the hearts go out to riley? that he's lost. >> a lot of people had commented i'm so sorry. prayers for you. >> still, no one knew yet how emma had died. >> what are some of the rumors now floating around on social media about what happened to emma? >> people thought she might have overdosed on something. some kind of brain bleed. >> the biggest thing that upset us the most was people who didn't know her and were like, she killed herself. >> was there any part of you that was confused and thinking maybe it was possible? >> no. no part of me thought that emma would never take her own life. >> this is a mystery right now as to what happened. emma is there, and you know that she hasn't survived whatever has happened. but you don't know what! >> it's all a mystery. >> investigators arrived with just sketchy details from first responders. >> they thought originally it was a suicide, that she had ingested something poison or whatever. >> major mike mcclain was put to investigate the case with major crimes detective allen marin. >> they found her lying in bed with a small amount of blood on her pillow. something would confuse that with her getting sick or a -- >> but when the detective looked closer, he's found something unusual. >> first responders did not immediately see the home in the wall. >> there was a hole in the wall next to her bed. a bullet hole. and only a little blood was visible on the pillow. when investigators inspected her head, they saw a small entry wound. >> so she's been shot? >> yes, ma'am. >> shot in her own bed! >> the bullet struck her just left and above the ear. basically a fatal wound. >> she had to have been shot through the wall? >> yes it's kind of obvious that someone had shot from outside of the residents into the residence, striking her in the head. >> this is not the kind of neighborhood that has drive-by shootings. right? >> yes, ma'am, that's correct. it's a fairly low crime rate area. >> as the detectives process what was now a crime scene, they had more clues as to what might have happened. >> we got side the residents, and that's where we determined that there was a second shot that had been fired through the end wall of the house. >> so, bullet holes in two separate walls. and there, in the walker's yard? >> we found a shell casing. a spent casing that had been fired. and then, as we work around the residents, we found a spent casing and a live round. >> when emma's parents learned what had happened, they were barely able to take it in. >> they had told us that she had been shot. >> it's unthinkable! >> emma's father mark recalled with horror those noises he heard during the night. >> knowing that those noises during the night were gunshots, and they sounded nothing like gunshots. >> but your instincts were right that something happened in the middle of the night? >> and you think your child is safe in your home. sleeping. >> but who would want to kill this sweet, popular girl? whose goal in life was to care for newborn babies? it turned out the last few days of her life had been anything but normal. and might be the key to unraveling the mystery. coming up! >> she sees a person dressed all in black. >> a mysterious figure at emma 's door. >> then this person comes to the front door, and starts trying to get into the house. turning the doorknob, beating on the door. she is in fear and panic. >> i would have to say i will be absolutely terrified! >> yeah. >> when dateline continues! shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and upset stomach. shingles doesn't care but, shingrix protects. shingrix is now zero dollars for almost everyone. ask your doctor about shingrix today. i got this $1,000 camera for only $41 on dealdash. dealdash.com, online auctions since 2009. this playstation 5 sold for only 50 cents. this ipad pro sold for less than $34. and this nintendo switch, sold for less than $20. i got this kitchenaid stand mixer for only $56. i got this bbq smoker for 26 bucks. and shipping is always free. go to dealdash.com right now and see how much you can save. you want to be able to provide your child with the tools or resources they need. with reliable internet at home, through the internet essentials program, the world opened up. fellas, fellas. that's how my son was able to find the hidden genius project. we wanted to give y'all the necessary skills to compete with the future. kevin's now part of this next generation of young people who feel they can thrive. ♪ ♪ emma walker was shot dead in emma walker was shot dead in her own bed. her own bed. at 16 years old, she had her whole life ahead of her. >> we know all the great things she would've done, proms, graduations. things that we eoulf never get to see. >> getting married, having kids. >> as emma's family began to imagine life without her, police were focused on finding her killer. they were talking to her family and friends about the days right before the shooting. >> a lot of activity in a period of two days that is unexplained. >> it was the weekend before thanksgiving. friday night, emma and her group were celebrating at a friends house. her friend zach was at a party when emma received a text message from an unknown number. the message said something about riley, he had been taken. >> the text messages said someone has riley. >> someone has riley? >> yeah. someone kidnapped him. >> riley kidnapped? the strange messages kept coming then her phone rang. riley was on the line. >> he was screaming in the back, help me, help me, emma, i need your help. >> you can hear him on the call calling for help? >> yes. >> and there was riley. >> he had his hands on his head, he was confused. i could see her yelling at him she was really angry. >> emma was confused with riley. she and her friends thought it was some kind of prank. >> it sounds very farfetched for him to be kidnapped. we didn't think twice about it. >> but if the kidnapping was a joke, what happened the next morning was no laughing matter. emma's friends told police that saturday she drove herself home from her friends house. >> as she's pulling into the subdivision, approaching her residence, she sees a person dressed all in black. and as she gets closer, he puts his hood up and sunglasses on. emma was texting her friends a play by play. >> she gets to the residence, then this person comes to the front door and starts trying to get into the house. turning the doorknob, beating on the door. she is in fear, panic. so she reaches out to the one person that she thinks can help her. which was riley. >> emma had just broken up with riley, and was angry at him for what she thought was a strange kidnapping stunt the night before. still, she texted him this i hate you, but i need you right now. she faced called him and asked him to come over. >> why do you think she reached out to him given the fact that they had just broken up? >> i think he was security to her. and he was a protector from other things. >> riley searched the house and neighborhood but saw no signs of anyone. neither called the police. but now, detectives were investigating the murder. they discovered surveillance footage from the neighbor's house. and there he was. >> so this was the mysterious man in black. >> at that point, it is. >> were you able to see a face? >> no. >> a possible intruder? a in tempted kidnapping? what was going on? police needed to talk to riley right away. they asked him for details about the kidnapping, and he insisted that it really happened. >> it was traumatizing, i didn't know what to make of it. i went up to my stepdad's house, and i pulled out of the driveway and this then pulled over across from the semi circle and these two guys were walking across the street. the next thing i know, one of them grabs my bag. the other ones around the corner and they just like, puts their hands over my face and just took me to their van or whatever. well why would someone do that to you? i genuinely have no idea. they did ask me, they were like, who would you want to talk to for the last time -- so i called emma, and she thought it was a joke. she thought i was playing a prank on her. >> emma didn't buy the story. but she was genuinely terrified when she called him the next day about the man in black. >> and that's when she facetimed me. and she was crying and freaking out. so i said okay, i'll come check it out. >> that's the only person that reilly could think of who would want to harm emma. >> the only thing that i thought of was, whoever the person was at her. that saturday morning. that's the first thing i thought. >> riley told police, even though he and emma had broken up, he still cared for her. in fact, they spoke on the phone friday night in the hours before she was shot. >> i just told her how much i loved her, and that i was sorry that she had didn't wanted what we had anymore. she said she didn't care about the relationship anymore. she said she did care about me and she loved me but she didn't want the relationship. >> riley was on campus about 25 miles away, crying over the breakup. >> i just sat there looking at pictures of us. >> he woke up to people texting and calling with their condolences. >> so i was like, what are you talking about? did you not hear wha