Were yall able to listen to last week’s episode? If not, I’m telling you right now, to get the full effect of tonight’s show you have to listen to episode 43. #43 and #44 go hand in hand with each other. So the entire case is the Knoxville Trio. Last week we discussed Erin McLean’s side of the story. Today’s episode is going to be Eric McLean’s side and the conclusion to the case. Trust me, listen to the end because you’re going to be shocked at the outcome.
Also, before we start, we’re just reminding you again to listen to episode #42 – January Missing Persons. The February missing person’s episode is coming up at the end of this month – it’ll have the January updates if there are any – and it’ll list the current missing persons. In the meantime, listen to episode 42 and share share share. Go to our website, www.murderandlove.com, to get the images of those missing and share that page as well. Actually, I’m going to put the link to the case file on our website in the show links below. It’ll make it easier for yall to copy, paste, and share. Remember we’re trying to help get these people home. Imagine if it were your loved one. Let’s work as hard to help bring them home to their loved ones.
Now, on to the show.
Last week we already talked about their beginning lives and everything – this is why it’s important to listen to the last episode.
So we’re going to pick up here:
On March 10 2006, right before 9pm Eric made a 911 call. Someone was at his home and he needed officers to come and help remove him. After awhile though, Eric said the intruder left on his own and no further assistance was needed.
7 Minute later, another 911 call came in, but this time, someone had been shot.
Police were dispatched and, when they arrived, the intruder was found dead.
Erin met with officers, but Eric was no where to be found.
Let’s figure out what happened here.
Eric’s Story
During 11 years of marriage Eric worked multiple jobs to support his family and allow his wife to go to school. He put off going to college and following his dream to allow Erin to do this first. During the beginning of the marriage, Eric and Erin split the family duties and put their kids first. Finally, when Erin graduated, she got a job and Eric started on his goal of becoming a band director. After a short time, Erin quit her job and decided to go back to school. Eric wasn’t happy with this, but if it would keep Erin happy and on the goal to achieving her dream, then he would deal with it. In the last 5 years of marriage, Eric found himself raising the kids primarily alone, working, and going to school. According to Eric, Erin seemed to be making less and less time for the children and were less interested in what they were doing. Eric became both mother and father to the 2 children. He took them to school before he went to work, he helped them with their homework when he got home from work, he cooked for them, took them to their activities, put them to bed, everything. Even though this was a lot of work, he didn’t complain because he saw how busy Erin was with school and her internship.
After Erin started her internship, things started to change. She spoke excessively about this young man who had been given up for adoption when he was 6 but later on reunited with his mother. One day, as she was talking about other students, this adopted student’s name came up – Sean Powell. She started having phone conversations with this student, telling Eric that it was for school purposes.
Some time later, she spoke with Eric about having an open marriage, which really wasn’t something he wanted. He wrote an email and asked for advice on this (I read this email in the last episode).
Neighbors started him telling about a Mercedes that had been in his driveway when he’s not home and that once the kids were locked outside of the house while it was cold and Erin was inside with a mystery man.
Allegedly, one day, towards the end of January or beginning of February, Eric’s eldest son came and told im that mom had pushed him into a closet because he saw something he wasn’t supposed to see and she didn’t want him to tell and also she took them to a liquor store to meet some man there. By the way, this happened when they were already supposed to be in bed for school the next day. He also told Eric that mom had been taking them to the playground and some guy came along but they were always holding hands.
Later on, Erin scratched her son out of anger when she found out that he told Eric about this encounter.
This news, of the infidelity, really affected Eric and towards the end of February Eric stole a gun from one of his family members so that he could put himself out of his misery. But as he was thinking about ending it all, he thought about leaving his children and realized he couldn’t do that and didn’t go through with it.
He decided to try and incorporate Erin’s student, Sean, into some of their family outings at her insistence. I guess she figured he knew by now so why not. While they were out, her and Sean didn’t even try to hide their relationship. So, in front of her husband and kids, Shawn was flirting with her and they even go home together.
One day, Eric gets home to find Erin and Sean having sex. Instead of being apologetic or even embarrassed, Sean taunts Eric by telling him that the children will be calling Sean daddy pretty soon. Instead of beating his face in, Eric leaves. (If you remember in Erin’s story though she said that Eric tried to start a 3 some, but Sean said no and proceed to have sex with Erin and Eric was just like “well ok then”)
I’m just wondering why didn’t Eric just leave because in my opinion, that’s alot to take on!
Well, someone actually asked him why he didn’t just leave her and he gave a quote, “I couldn’t leave her because I love her.”
On March 10, 2005 –
Sean had been camped outside of the house for a couple of days
On this day Sean was with Erin when Eric came home so that him and Erin could go on a previously arranged date.
Told Sean to leave and was ignored
Called 911 to convince Sean to leave “trying to bluff a young man who won’t listen to two adults into leaving.”
Hello. I have an intruder in the house.
911 : Where are you?
ERIC : 2424 Coker Avenue.
911 : You have an intruder in your house? What do you mean by an intruder?
ERIC : Trespasser.
But then he told them everything was fine
The two exchanged words, and Powell left.
Instead of driving away, however, Powell waited in his car smoking a cigarette for Erin to join him.
A few minutes later, Eric McLean left the house and went to his truck. He removed a 30-30, high-powered hunting rifle, walked to Powell’s car, cocked the weapon and pointed it at Powell.
When he pointed it at Sean he just wanted him to leave, “The gun was a bluff, too. It just didn’t work out right.” What happened instead, he said, was that Sean mocked him and grabbed the gun by the barrel. When Sean pulled on the gun, that’s when it went off.
Erin called 911 the second time:
911.
ERIN : My husband just killed someone.
911 : What`s the address, ma`am?
ERIN : 2424 Coker.
911 : Is he there with you right now?
ERIN : No, but the body`s here.
911 : How did he do it?
ERIN : He shot him with a shotgun. Please come! Hurry! Hurry!
911 : Stay on the line, please. Don`t hang up.
ERIN : Oh, my God. Oh, my God!
When the gun went off and Eric realized what happened, he freaked out and left. Eric drove to a spot near West High School, abandoned his truck and was found walking along railroad tracks several miles away the next day.
Police arrested him and charged him with 1st degree murder, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 51 years in prison in the state of TN.
Once news of all of this came out, Erin was fired from her internship.
During the investigation, a suicide note from Eric, which had been written months ago, was found. So it looks like he had been thinking of suicide.
Autopsy and toxicology records showed that at the time of his death, Sean had cocaine in his system and a blood-alcohol level of 0.13%. What’s the legal blood alcohol level again?
While the news frenzy and investigation continues, Eric files for divorce from Erin and files for custody of the kids. Which, if he was so horrible, why wasn’t she the one to file for divorce. In the meantime, the boys stayed with Erin, but a child psychologist authorized unsupervised visits with Eric and his sons. Later it came out that Erin had falsified a resume, went by her maiden name, and had gotten another teaching job. At that job, she’d started another relationship with another teenager. She got fired from that job when the school got wind of who she was. She then checked herself into a mental facility for awhile but when she got out, she left Knoxville. Police and everyone said she was on the run at that time and an amber alert had been put out on the kids, because she went out of state with the kids but without Eric’s consent. First she moved to Nashville first but never stayed with the family she had there. Instead, it was reported that she stayed in seedy motels with alcohol bottles all over the place – with the kids around that. Once, someone walked in and caught her engaged in an act (the act wasn’t mentioned and this is allegedly) with another teenager, while her two boys were in the room. She then moved out of state and took the kids to Austin, TX.
When the trial began, of course Erin never went.
Eric, on the other hand, gave TV interviews about the murder and said it was an accident. I don’t think it was a good look to have interviews during the investigation – what do you think?
Police finally caught up with Erin. Guess how they did it? Well, this guy who had been on the run with her, 38 year old Michael “Mickey” Franks. He’d met her at that institution in TN and he helped her take the boys from their home. He said that they lived in the motels that I told you about and that they worked odd jobs to be able to have money. He said that Erin would wake him up from sleep with the sex that she would be having with an 18 year old – while in the bed same bed her sons were in. So basically her, her sons, and some 18 year old all shared the one bed in the motel, while Mickey was in another bed. He would be fast asleep and Erin’s sex noises would wake him up and he would leave the room because it was too much for him. Meanwhile, her sons were sitting there being traumatized. WTF?!
So like I said, police found her and removed the kids from her home. And guess what? She was living with ANOTHER 18 year old at the time. She told police that, “Oh no, he’s just my temporary helper.” They took them to Eric’s parents home in TN. Erin appeared at a custody hearing between her and Eric and was arrested for taking the kids out of state without permission. She was sentenced to 90 days in jail.
Meanwhile, during the trial:
Prosecutors Bill Crabtree and Takisha Fitzgerald painted the picture of Eric committing premeditated murder.
While the defense, attorney Bruce Poston, argued that the murder was accidental.
The medical examiner for Knox and Anderson counties took the stand and said that the autopsy found that the gun was fired from close range and Sean had a graze wound on his hand and a little black residue on it. So in their expert opinions, the wound was defensive in nature and that Eric’s claim of him grabbing the gun wasn’t conducive with the evidence. Yes, Sean’s hands were probably close to the gun, but not touching it.
Eric took the stand and told his story of the relationship between him and Erin. He told them basically everything I’ve told you in this episode.
He said that after he’d called the police to get Sean to leave, Erin began belittling him and taunting him and Sean, who was still outside, joined in. Then Erin went outside with Sean and sat on a swing they had outside their house. They kept taunting him. Erin went to leave with Sean, but Eric pleaded with her to stay. She said she was going to get her children and leave with Sean. That’s when Eric went to get the gun to scare Sean away; so he could leave him and his family alone.
Eric acknowledged killing Sean, even though he says it was accidental. He said that there was not one day that went by where he didn’t regret what happened. He apologized to both Sean’s adoptive parents and his mother.
Before sentencing, people were sending in letters to the judge with the punishment they thought she should give Eric. A lot of people stood with him, while they stood against Erin. The community hated Erin and said she was a bad mother and wife. I mean, in terms of media, it was a normal media frenzy of a crazy case such as this.
A jury of six men and six women deliberated nearly 11 hours for two days before returning the verdict.
The jury came back with a verdict:
Not guilty for first degree murder
Not guilty on voluntary manslaughter
Guilty of reckless homicide
Eric was taken away immediately to prison.
In a pre-sentence report prepared by Board of Probation and Parole employee, Laura Thompson, she argued that Eric was eligible for probation.
“The current offense appears to be his only criminal conviction. He does not appear to have any mental health problems. He denied any excessive use of alcohol and any use of nonprescribed and/or illegal drugs. He has a high school diploma and has completed several years of college. He is gainfully employed. He is divorced and has two minor children.”
So basically because he had no prior criminal history, the law presumes him eligible for probation
Eric was sentenced to 4 years in prison and had to serve 47 days in jail and then 12 year of probation. He spent 42 days in jail and then posted bond. After that, he spent the additional 47 day in jail.
If he violates his probation, he would serve no more than the four-year sentence. So basically they gave him 12 years of probation so they could keep him under their legal thumb for up to 12 years.
To me, I feel like this 18-year-old kid, Sean, was 100% a victim. He was still a kid, even though at 18 people think you’re an adult, and this adult woman took advantage of him for her own selfish purposes. I think Eric shouldn’t have brought out the gun whether the shooting was accidental or not.
Eric is currently done with his probation. The McLean boys are almost grown and they live in Lenoir City. Erin is currently living in Texas where she is a freelance writer.
And that is the story of Eric McLean, Erin McLean, and Sean Powell.
So, what did you think of that case?
What did you think of the outcome?
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