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A deadly triangle in Tennessee

Posted: Monday, July 16, 2007 7:58 AM by Dateline Editor
Filed Under: , ,

by Tim Uehlinger, Dateline Senior Producer

We had just a few hours to make it all happen.

In March, I flew down to Knoxville, Tenn., with Today's Matt Lauer for an exclusive interview with the husband of a student teacher -- a husband charged with murdering her teenage boyfriend.

From the moment we arrived, it has been one of the most unusual stories I have ever covered.

When we landed in Knoxville, Matt and I were greeted not by the accused or his attorney, but by the news that prosecutors in Knox County had attempted to block the interview, citing the possibility of too much pre-trial publicity. This is unusual; it's usually the defense arguing that the accused is being harmed by public notoriety. After the judge eventually decided there were no grounds to stop the interview, the defendant was moved from his cell to a small conference room within the confines of the Knox County jail, and the interview was allowed to take place. It was one of the most compelling and emotional interviews I have ever witnessed: the defendant fully and freely admitted he had killed the 18-year-old boyfriend. But the story got stranger still.

In the last two months, correspondent Natalie Morales and I were assigned to follow up and expand on this unusual tale, and as you'll see, the ins and outs of the story only raise more questions. Was the accused a cold-blooded, pre-meditated murderer? A sympathetic character who snapped under the pressure of being caught up in a tragic love triangle? Or was it all an accident? The defendant again sat down for an in-depth interview, and this time, told the story of a marriage gone haywire--a couple who all the while had projected the image of the ideal, all-American family.

We went to great lengths to cover all sides of this story. It is a tale so disturbing that some people connected with the case wouldn't talk at all. But in our report, the story of the teenage victim is told, and for the first time, the former student teacher at the center of the case has her side presented. The former student teacher agreed to, then cancelled, a scheduled interview. But her attorney says the 29-year-old educator was trapped in "a classic, loveless marriage." There is a lot more to this story than appeared in the headlines, and we have it in a Dateline exclusive.

"A Deadly Triangle" premieres tonight, Monday July 16, on Dateline NBC at 10 p.m.

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I feel for all involved, but I think that she said or  did something to provoke this.
erin mcclean should also be held accountable!1 if she were so unhappy with eric, why didn't she leave him.  she had a thriving career and could have probably made it on her own. even if eric was a "bad husband" she had the brains to leave him and not entangle herself in such a scandalous lifestyle.. dont know her and i hate her!!!!
Please pass along to Eric's attorney.  Have Erin tested.  She sounds like she is a borderline personality disorder.  My son is married to one and Eric said some of the same things I have heard my son say.  Also rages and missing out on early dating, neglecting children, and physical abuse to names just a few.  Please pass along.  Could be vital to winning his case.
Erin McLean is as responsible for the death of Sean Powell as anyone can be.  She should have taken her leave of Eric before all of this got so out of hand.  She certainly should not have brought Sean into her home and flaunted him right in front of Eric!!  In my opinion, he was pushed beyond his limits of sanity.
For one thing, when they interviewed the children they were too young to know if they had been abused by their mother or not.  As a child you don't know any better,I KNOW THAT FOR A FACT. I think they were too young to even be interviewed at all.  I feel sorry for the father.  He may have killed that young boy but I blame the women. He should'nt have done that, but I think he didn't do it on purpose.  He made a mistake.  It was in Love that made him do it.
Eric is the victim in all of this. Erin sat through and tormented and toyed with Eric's emotions during the time leading up to the murder. She even drove him to get psychiatric help! She could have prevented all of this if she had just been civil and not a menacing bitch. Not surprising that she canceled the interview.
Man, it's tough to choose a side in this case. I feel bad for the husband. I honestly feel for him more than I do for the poor kid that was killed and the wife in the middle. He WAS the true victim of the 3. BUT, you can't kill people. We've all been wronged by people in our lives, but you can't kill people. The main reason we don't go around killing people is because we don't want to go to jail. I am not saying that I don't feel for the poor husband, but the bottome line is he shot the kid in the face. It was a crime of passion and I hate to see him go to jail. But you can't kill people. If you kill people, you go to jail. Unfortunately, no matter how bad I feel for this guy, he shot a kid in the face. We all have the choice to control ourselves, no matter the circumstances. His wife cheated on him, he had young kids, he worked all the time, but that was his choice. It was also his choice to shoot that kid in the face, and he is going to jail.
I agree, Erin McClean should be held accountable
she is no victim but the perpetrator none the
less. She knew what she was doing and was well
aware of the impact on their lives, especially her
young children and that trouble 18yr old kid.
The victim here the 18yr old former student!
Justice should prevail, may he rest in peace,
he had his life taken away because of this married
woman, she's responsible for not doing the mature
thing and leaving her husband if she was that miserable!
I feel sorry for the husband. Some women have no respect for being married and want the 2ed child hood and something new, it is very sad. But there are just as many men who do the same to there wives, and it takes 2 to make a problem. Makes you wonder why the kids of today have no respect for anyone.....
After being married for 30 yrs & finding out my spouse was lying, cheating, & doing unspeakable acts behind my back; I can relate with the anger one feels.  I sympathize with Eric.  Unfortunately he got caught up in the heat of the moment & crossed over the line. Somehow Erin should also be held accountable for her adulteress actions.  

Dateline used the word, "mistake" when referring to Erin's infidelity.  A mistake is when someone bought the wrong item at the grocery store.  Adultery is done knowingly WITH EYES WIDE OPEN!
Erin Mcclean is just as guilty of the murder of the 18-year old student as her husband. She drove her husband crazy, by having the young man show up at the house where she and her husband lived.  She should have had some feelings, and respect for her husband who worked several jobs so she could get her education.  
I sympathize with eric and agree that erin provoked him. The situation he was in with their mariage would have devastated anyone and drove them to do something rash. Of course, he should still pay for killing someone, but the sentence should be light. Think about the poor children!
I can not condone murder. This man had put his life on hold and allowed his wife to get her degree first, then she began to work on a second degree. I bet she did not care about him working two jobs to make ends meet. She was just concerned about herself. She said she was concerned about this young  man who lost his life. Well, again it seems selfish to me. She forgot about her family and her obligations to them. I feel that this young lady is as guilty an Eric. Her behavior cause the young man to lose his life. How can you bring another man into your home and have sexual relations with him and ignore the fact that your children are there too. She should do some time in prison, too. People please stop the senseless murders, that is not the answer to the problems....
I agree that Erin was wrong, basically flaunting the affair under his nose and in their house. The interesting part that got me was the 911 call, he described Sean as an intruder and was calm when stating he didn't want to talk to an officer. What I want to know is what happened in those 7 minutes? And why Sean would leave and then go sit in his truck?? and have a cigarette. Kind of leads one to believe he (or they) were baiting Eric in a way. I feel for all involved, but there has to be more to this story! And killing someone is never the answer no matter how hurt, angry or disillusioned your life has become.
Eric should be held responsible for his actions; he killed a human being.

Erin should be held responsbile for her actions; she had an affair with a student, I would bet money she did verbally abuse her children and husband, and who in their right mind would trust child protective services when they allow children to be abused and murdered and then claim they don't have enough resources.  One or several interviews with children doesn't even begin to uncover the truth.  We don't know what happened in that home but Eric and Erin do.  They are the ones that should be brought into a room together and let it all hang out.  They are both responsbile for being careless with a young mans life when their focus should have been on their children.

Erin...she fits the description of a person who is emotionally, mentally, and physically abusive.

Eric...he fits the description of a person who is heartbroken, disillusioned and was unprepared to handle a woman who is self consumed and resentful that she got pregant young, etc.  I think she is the truly evil one in this sad story.  The children deserve a good life which wouldn't be with their mother or father at this point....
I do feel for this once perfect family. Its the case where the steak is so high and every one is bound to react at the worst. So, it became a tragic case in the end. Eric might have dreamed a lot for his family and everything did turned strange. He sh'd stay really focused and listen to his advisor when he is down.
We cannot maintain our society if we just go around killing people that do us wrong.  Maybe Erin was morally right for what she did, that she must answer to a higher source for.  Eric on the other hand took on the position of the "moral police squad."  I think he knew what he intended to do, he prepared to do it, and he carried out premeditated murder.  Shame in Erin, but the court should have no mercy on the guy who pulled the trigger.
in the Bible, adultery and murder are VERY often grouped together, considering their catastrophic consequences on humankind ~ she's responsible for all of it. she doesn't know what love is ~ not even for those boys. selfishness.
Erin is guilty ,not Eric!
What a terrible tragidy.  I felt bad for Eric and truely believe he was telling the truth.  I'm sorry for the family that lost the young man.  Shame on this mother for flaunting this extra-marital affair in front of her son.  She didn't pull the trigger, but was the reason behind this tragedy.  Look at how many lives she ruined - the young man, his family, her own children, Eric, his family, and her own.  In my opinion she has more culpability than anyone.
WHY ISN'T ERIN BEING CHARGED AS AN ACCESSORY IN THE MURDER. SHE WAS THE SPARK THAT LIT THE FUSE, NOT TO MENTION HER AFFAIR WITH A MINOR STUDENT. SEEMS LIKE SHE DOESN'T HAVE CLEAN HANDS AT ALL IN THIS, AND IT'S SUCH A SHAME SHE WILL WALK AWAY SCOTT-FREE, NOT TO MENTION A BIG MONEY DEAL FOR THE STORY.
These people sounded pretty "perfect" and "happy" at the beginning, but it just sounded like they were young immature kids that didn't know what they were getting themselves into. In this case, I believe they were all at fault. If either of them had problems, they should have communicated with each other instead of having an affair or committing murder. It's called a divorce--not an affair and not a murder. The 18-yr-old is also at fault. He shouldn't have messed with a married woman in the first place, but then again, he was a "troubled", but INTELLIGENT kid. I thought intelligent kids would know better, but I guess it plays part of him being a immature in the matter and inexperienced. This was just all a big mess waiting to happen.
I have never felt so sorry for someone who shot and killed someone. His story is so compelling. I can't stop thinking about her lawyer saying that he was the alcoholic not her. Did you notice in one of the pictures aired that there was a liter bottle of wine  next to her at the dinner table? I really don't believe a word that she says. I hope someone else has guardianship of her children.
Well, Eric shot the rifle, but Erin and all she did,
totaly forced him to do it. Especially seeing Erin and Sean in their bedroom in the house was the last
straw. The killing was done in a rage, and Eric was no way himself when it happened.
I believe Eric did something in the spur of the moment without thinking because he loved his wife.  Erin should be the one convicted of a crime.  Eric should get community service and Erin should be locked up for life.
These responses utterly baffle me.  I do not understand how Erin is to blame for a boy's murder when she did not kill him.  No actions, no misery, no taunting can "cause" someone to kill another person.  No matter any situation, the person who pulled the trigger is to blame!  Eric, who is a fully grown man capable of thinking like a fully grown man, made the decision to murder a boy, and he should be held accountable.  My dad cheated on my mom and their marriage was (and still is) as rocky as the marriage described here, but my mom is not a psychopathic murderer and would never murder that woman.  And if she ever did murder that woman, I would blame my mother for killing her, not my dad for "taunting" or "causing" her to kill.

If the roles were reversed...if it was Eric having the affair and Erin killed the 18 year-old, everyone would be blaming Erin.  Just think about it for a second.  For some reason, society makes it okay for men to cheat, and women take the blame no matter what.  But when women cheat, the world is coming to an end and you bet she should be blamed for his death.  An affair is never acceptable, but an affair is hardly murder.  Until we learn that adults are grown-ups too and are responsible for their own actions and decisions, we will keep killing, raping, and beating each other, with no one to take the blame.  

Shame on all of your for being so narrow-minded

WILL ERIN BE CHARGED AS AN ACCESSORY TO MURDER???  MAYBE SHE SHOULD SHE CERTAINLY MADE THE TRIANGLE & COULD HAVE LEFT THE SO CALLED LOVELESS RELATIONSHIP.  I'D LIKE TO SEE DATELINE KEEP TRACK OF THIS CASE AND ONCE IT GOES TO TRIAL I'D LIKE TO PURCHASE THE OFFICIAL COURT TRANSCRIPTS.
No wonder Erin didn't want to be interviewed - if I had created the situation that she did I wouldn't want to have to talk about it either. Her actions led to the tragedy and she should be the one answering for them now.
This is one tragedy that truly doesn't leave you despising the murderer. Yes, Eric McClean needs to be held responsible for his actions; he killed somebody. But his actions were provoked by emotional distress that was occurring way before the actual murder happened.

As much as Erin should be held accountable for what happened, she won't be. She will continue living her life knowing that one person lost theirs and all because of her selfishness and inability to make the right choice. A basic choice.

I feel for the young kids. This will follow them the rest of their lives.
It seems once again the "Me" generation of instant gratification and lack of personal responsibilty has collected another life.  

Erin seems to be sociopathic in her quest for her own gratification, whether it's social, educational, or sexual.  All at the expense others.  

Both of them were flaunting it out in the open in front of her husband. I dont blame Eric at all for shooting that little punk. She brought all of this on herself and has no one to blame but herself that her boytoy got killed. Eric should be released.
Eric was taken disadvantage of ,by erin and sean and sean got what he deserves. he was at eric's house he knew erin was married.eric needs to be free and go home to take care of his 2 boys.he's a good dad and a good husband i dont think its fear for him to go to jail.erin is the one to go to jail she deserves it.because if it didnot happen like that ,eventually erin and sean would killed eric so they could be together,i think it was the best eric could do to save his self.free him,free him,he's not a bad person and i dont think he any danger to society.
I agree that Erin is guilty of much.  Eric is also a victim.  Yes, he shot that gun, but I think it was a matter of passion.  I can see that he still had love for her and strong love for his family.  The laws do not take that into account.  My prayers are with you Eric and your children.
eric is definately wrong for killing sean, but erin is also to blame for whoring around.... And where does Debbie flynn have any room to comment on the case as a whole seeing as she gave her son up and only saw him 15% of his natural life....
Eric was pushed to his limits and wasn't thinking rationally. Erin on the other hand was not trying to repair her marriage but instead whoring around with an underaged kid. I am sure Sean was impressed with an older ladies attention but in no way should they have been doing this right in Erics face. Put yourselves in Erics shoes, I would have done the same thing without thinking.
My heart and prayers go out to Eric and Sean, I wouldn't wipe my butt with Erin. SHE WAS SO WRONG!!!!!!
Eric was pushed to his limits and wasn't thinking rationally. Erin on the other hand was not trying to repair her marriage but instead whoring around with an underaged kid. I am sure Sean was impressed with an older ladies attention but in no way should they have been doing this right in Erics face. Put yourselves in Erics shoes, I would have done the same thing without thinking.
My heart and prayers go out to Eric and Sean, I wouldn't wipe my butt with Erin. SHE WAS SO WRONG!!!!!!
Eric MURDERED someone and he is a 'victim' to so many who have posted here????  BACK UP. He is a psycopathic, cold blooded killer.  Shot a guy in the face out of jealousy.  PLANNED IT!! Doesn't matter what 'triggered' his killing.  He shot someone's child, another human being.  He did it out of selfish jealousy.  He admits he had psychological issues and treatment did not work.  Erin obviously could not love this sick man.  She wasn't in love with the psycho and found someone who made her happy... it happens.  Eric should have done the LEGAL thing and got a divorce.  Maybe then he could be a contributing FATHER to his children.  This is why we have a legal system - to take care of issues.  MURDER IS NOT OK  
Life is so very unfair......you do things in a way that you believe to be correct and moral, and as it turns out (more than a little-bit) your life takes a drastic turn. And as usual, you end up doing something that you can neither take back nor change. Erin is completely to blame for this tradgedy. Completely! Everyone knows that we do not have the ability to think correctly when life throws these types of terrible curves at us.......... and that is not a reason to harm someone, but it is a reality. People can always stand back and say that they would have done this and that, but take a long, hard thought and put yourself completely in the picture. In the end, I think there should be a change in the law that allows an understanding of the human mind. This should not only be presented in mental incompentency cases, but in every case where it is clear that this was the situation at hand. The courts should admit and realize that this type of behavior happens more than a little, it is a part of who we are and as a result, this is what happens. And then they should change the law to reflect this. Then the party that appears to be guilty would get a fair and just trial based upon the true facts of the human mind. Everyone is always saying that adultry is a sin......a bad and unmoral thing. And it is. Our laws are supposed to be based upon this and the ability to administer punishment.......why is there no swift punishment for this type of behavior? If there were, maybe it would not be committed as much. Why is it not made punishable by the threat of death or something else. With the situations that arise from this type of behavior, the time has come to change..........everything!
Erin should be sent to jail. Cheating women are above the law in the court system. Eric did make a mistake, but Erin and her boyfriend would have taken the kids & the house. Maybe Eric has a better chance now that there is some public opinion.
This man commited the ultimate sin, murder.  If he was that upset he could have tried harder to fix his marriage or he could have left his wife and started over.  At the very most I could understand if he kicked this kid's ass.  But he MURDERED an unarmed man in cold blood.  Then gloated "congratulations" afterward.  If the dead man were your son or brother would you still feel that his murderer was the "victim"?
ok,yea he may have killed someone and it was his fault. But not all of it was his fault. The gun the pulling of the trigger yea that was but physically he pulled the trigger and emotionaly Erin pulled the trigger! He gave up to much in his young life to help Erin get what she wanted, like his career and schooling got put on hold. He worked 2 or 3 jobs so he could afford to pay for erin to goto school. Erin and Him seemed to have a good marriage when they started and it would have continued to be a good one if Erin would have thought... This kid is 18 i am an adult i have a husband 2 wonderful kids a house and a good career which i worked so hard to get. And that would have kept her from making the dumb choices. If she was adult enough to get married at 18 have a house and 2 kids then she should be adult enough to think things through before acting on them. Marriage is forever and that is how things should be. To many people are gettin divorces and throwing a marriage away when it can be fixed with communication and understanding of the other persons feelings and concerns. Erin knew what was going to happen when getting with the 18 year old and she knew that her husband would react to it. Any husband would!!! He had alot he was dealing with at one time. Like, His job, money, the kids, one of his kids seeing his mom kiss someone besides him, and this 18 year old boy getting with his wife in his home which he got with the woman he loves. No one should have to go through that! I think that Erin should spend as many years in prison as Eric does! If you look at it she lit the fuse to a ticking time bomb and it blew up. If she wouldnt have gotten her fire burning with this 18 year old there would have been no flame to set the bomb off. Therefore, the marriage would have been fixed because oviously Eric wanted it to be and when the man wants that you know it can be fixed. Guys are not emotional people they keep things bottled up and try to act like a rock hard man! So when your guy wants to fix things take what he says to heart because that means he really cares for you and wants to be with you. Therefor, I think the are both as much as fault with this and they both should get the same sentence! Things may be rough in this world and haveing the one you love with an 18 year old will never make it any better! i have alot more to say on this subject but its not like this will make a difference! Oh and in this case DONT JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER!
How can you excuse murder? Regardless of what Erin did, how much stress Eric was under, how offensive Sean may have been; nothing makes it acceptable to end a person's life. If Eric had moved out, filed for divorce, let them be together; he would have had his kids, probably met a mature woman who loved him and once out of the situation the only regret he would have felt was how much time he wasted on that loser, Erin. Sean would also have had the opportunity to realize he did not want her either and moved on. All the people, attorneys and grand jury members who say, "Well, there were extenuating circumstances" just perpetuate this crazy notion that killing is ok if you had a good enough reason. Give me a break; the boy was sitting in his car with no weapon. The only time killing is an acceptable method of ending a situation is if you will be killed THAT MOMENT if you don't kill them first. All Eric had to do was take his kids, get in his car and drive away. It's so unfair that Eric will have a chance to realize how many other ways he could have handled that situation but Sean never will. He killed Sean because he was in a loveless, abusive marriage and he acted out of anger and vindictiveness - period.
This whole thing is a tragic event that should never have happened.  But Erin is not faultless here.  Think about it, Sean was a troubled young man and she preyed on that.  She came to Nashville and has done the same thing to a student here at a local Christian school.  Who knows what could have happened to this young man had she not been found out.  Something should at least go on her record to where she can not have the access to our children.
What we all fail to see is that a young man lost HIS life. Any way we look at this, the facts still remain that a life was taken.A normal person doesnt buy a gun,load the gun, walk out and blow a persons face off.I still remember the Today Show where the killers attorney leaned over and said, suspected the affair.!!!! So, I guess, if you think something is going on, this gives you the right to kill.!!!!!! Of course, this is all a parlor game that is used to make a killer look good. Did Eric look into Mr.Powells eyes before he pulled the trigger?? Was a word spoken??? Looks like intent to me. I also loved the show on how Eric is now making a living, looks all staged to me. Is this a new way on how you dress for farming. He didnt have one bit on dirt on him!!Maybe we can sell a new line of farm clothes, and stand and look at chickens too!!!!!All staged. Now, it appears that both parents are pointing the finger at each other, shes bad, hes bad, well, I guess , she or he wont be getting a parent of the year award. She seems to be attacted to young men, he seems to like to blow heads off. I thought he wasnt to have any contact with his children, now hes trying to gain custody of them,Id be worried about spending time in jail,this is all an act.First, we hear that he was in school, then, he was a pizza driver, then he put off his schooling to help her, she had a job, then, he was playing in bars, just what story is the true story.I fear that we will never get the truth out of theses two. If she was abusing the two boys, why is he now coming forward, you mean to say that he, as such a good parent, allowed this to go on, bull!!!!!Hes too good to be true and Im the Queen of England.
I don't care if he was only 18, when I was 18 I knew enough not to move in on a man's family and I'm sure he did too.  I was in a very similar relationship and there were children involved including children from my ex-wife's other marriage.  I stayed in the relationship because I knew first-hand how courts treat fathers in this country, like 3rd class citizens.  At the time, I knew my wife was having an affair with a local police officer as did the children and their friends who apparently caught them in the act midday in plain view on the couch.  Guess who got custody of my baby girl that I haven't seen in 3 years.  Oh, and I caught that same "officer" attempting to plant something in my car at 3 AM one night and it's been documented but to no avail.  However, even though the system is designed to destroy families (fathers in particular) Eric should have taken her offer to keep the kids and the house and give her her "freedom", it would have been his freedom he was getting in return.  No woman is worth your life EVER!!!  There are 7 billion people on this planet, over half are female; get yourself a new female and quit trying to recycle the ones tainted with baggage.                      
Erin's own attorney said she routinely came in at 3:00am but yet claims she was a good mother!!  She let her little boyfriend spend the night before the murder on the family sofa?! Now, news reports claim angelic Erin has lost her new job.WHY?? According to the reports she found another under age kid to sleep with. She must still be in mourning over her deceased "soulmate"! She's just like any other pedophile.  


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