Natalie Morales • Profile

Knoxville, Tenn. - One image said it all.

His head was in his hands, his hands were in cuffs, and his wedding ring was in place.

He was a man accused, dissolved in tears.

And recently, on a warm afternoon, in the gently rolling hills of east Tennessee, there he was.

A solitary figure.

Looking at him as he worked in the fields, you might not ever imagine what he'd been through, what he did, and what he was about to face.

But a killing has sent a chill through the warmth of the Tennessee spring.

And from the countryside, to a nearby high school, to a major university, to a close-knit Knoxville neighborhood, it's a murder case that no one around here can put out of their minds:

Geneva Dyer [neighbor]: "I remember coming home from a birthday party. Hadn't been home but a few minutes when I heard a gunshot.
Natalie Morales [Dateline Correspondent]: You knew immediately it was a gunshot?
Geneva Dyer: Yes.

This is the story of a community shattered, families ripped apart, and a secret relationship -- a bond that ended with a rifle blast that echoed though this quiet neighborhood.

The saga begins in a much less tragic way, with a story of young love and a happy couple who had big dreams and wanted to raise a family. 

Tamara and Brian Mulkey were friends and neighbors of the couple for years.

Tamara Mulkey: Eric and Erin were extremely motivated people.  And they were really looking to get that all-American family, just right there, and they weren't going to let anything stop them.

The husband, Eric McLean, was born in 1975 and grew up in and around Knoxville in a deeply religious family. His parents, Norman and Tanya McLean, say he was carefree and outgoing.

Tanya McLean: He was always smiling.  He had these long dimples and was … just so much fun to be around. He never saw a stranger. Never.

As Eric grew, he developed a passion for music. A talented drummer, he wanted to teach high school music and be a band director.

Brian Mulkey:  Music, and to teach music, and music, it was everything to him.

It was everything, that is, until the age of 18 when he met a 16-year-old girl named Erin Myers.

She, too, wanted to be a teacher.
  
Erin was into drama, theater, and literature.  Friends remember a free spirit, a nonconformist, who was also a gifted student. 

Tamara Mulkey: Vibrant, intelligent, well-spoken, well read.  She was just the all-around perfect girl.

Although Eric's parents didn't know her very well at the time, they admired her obvious intelligence.

Tanya McLean: Very, very smart. But she was pleasant.

Norman McLean: She seemed like a nice enough girl.

It was obvious Eric and Erin were in a hurry to get started in life. Though barely out of high school, they decided to live together, and even saved enough to buy a house.  And to Eric's parents, Erin seemed determined to make the relationship work.

Tanya McLean: He was her life. He really was her life.

About two years after their first date, when Eric was 21, and Erin was 18, she became pregnant. 

They had a baby boy named Eric, Jr., and soon after they got married.

Tanya McLean: They decided it was best. They loved each other. And they wanted to create a family.
Natalie Morales: Did you have a good father-in-law, mother-in-law relationship with Erin?
Norman McLean: Eric was real close with the family. But she was a little bit distant from us. And even when she'd come back, she would sort of hang off and stay by herself more.

But Eric and Erin's marriage seemed strong.

Tamara Mulkey: In the beginning they were like every perfect married couple, loving and attentive towards each other, and just a lot of fun to watch. And I know that sounds silly, but they were in love, and you could see it wherever they went.

Eric was so dedicated to Erin that he put his education on hold and worked several jobs to put his wife through a masters program in English literature.

Tamara Mulkey: Eric did put his life on hold.  He was dedicated to his family and he wanted his wife happy … and wanted to make sure she was happy and then at that point, then, to take care of himself.  But it didn't get to that point for him.

But even though Erin and Eric had been struggling financially, another son, Ian, was born. 

By last fall, Erin and Eric could no longer be called young people in a hurry.  By then, they'd been married ten years, and were among the older students in their courses.

Eric, then 31, no longer deferred his dreams and was finally studying to be a music and band teacher.  Erin, 29, was getting another masters degree, in education, and was about to start a student teacher assignment at Knoxville's West High School. 

But there was trouble on the way and by late last year, in their house on Coker Ave., there were signs something was amiss.

Tamara Mulkey: Almost as if she were sad, or just kind of missing; there physically, but maybe not emotionally.

Norman McLean: I thought maybe they were just under pressure from school and work and everything.  That the tension and the pressure was getting to them. And I tried to encourage them to try to work things out. You know, I had no idea what all was going on in the background.

If Eric's father knew it, he might not have believed it.

Print this Email this Blog this  IM this

MORE FROM DATELINE

Dateline Section Front

Closing the book on comic book murder   10 messiest celebrity meltdowns Death and the Beauty Queen Reality bites for modeling hopefuls It's not easy being green Bed bugs can live in your new mattress Prime suspect: Follow the clues Murder in the family Tricks of the trade Britney's next act Dateline Section Front   Add Dateline headlines to your news reader: