A Tennessee college football player allegedly killed his cheerleader girlfriend because she broke up with him, and then professed his twisted love for her several hours after she was found dead, according to reports Wednesday.

William Riley Gaul, 18, a freshman wide receiver at Division III Maryville College, faces a first-degree murder charge in the shooting death of Emma Jean Walker, 16, who attended Central High School in Knoxville.

Walker was found dead of a gunshot wound inside her home Monday morning. Evidence at the scene indicated she had been shot from outside while asleep in her bedroom, according to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, who announced Gaul’s arrest on Wednesday.

“I love you Emma, I can’t be around any of that yet, it’s too soon. I know you know I’m dying to be there but understand I can’t. I love you,” Gaul tweeted late Tuesday before he was arrested.

He also posted a lengthy tribute that appeared online several hours after she was found dead.

“To think that every memory we have, every happy special moment we shared, can’t ever be relived. I love you Emma Jane Walker,” Gaul wrote.

“The amount of pain your family, me, the community are in because of this is insurmountable. Every time we held hands, kissed, hugged, to imagine that I’ll never have that ever again hasn’t quite yet hit me yet,” he continued.

“I’ll never forget those times we talked about our future and what kind of dog we’d get and how awesome our family would be. I’ll never forget sitting on the couch, watching Dr. Pimple Popper and making popcorn and laughing and holding you,” he wrote. “You’re gone, but I promise your legacy will live on through each and every person who loves and cares about you and that number is endless.”

But Jenny Weldon, Walker’s aunt, told the Knoxville News Sentinel that her niece recently ended their relationship, and “had chosen to move on.”

“He refused to accept it. He chose not to accept her wishes,” said Weldon, who described her niece as a “beautiful soul” who was eager to graduate and begin pursuing studies to become a neonatal nurse.

“Her heart was in service,” Weldon told the paper. “She was born to be a helper.”

Gaul graduated this year from Central High, where he played football for the Bobcats. He is listed on the roster of the Scots, and most recently played against Greensboro in North Carolina on Nov. 12.

College spokeswoman Chloe Kennedy said the school is cooperating fully with the Knox County Sheriff’s Department.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family and friends and other individuals affected by this tragedy,” according to a statement from the college.

At the high school, grief counselors helped students cope with the tragedy.

“Our student was a wonderful young lady, a cheerleader and honor student with a promising future, whose life was cut too short, too soon,” Principal Michael Reynolds said in a statement Wednesday.

“At this time, our hearts and thoughts and prayers are with the family as they go through this grieving process. We thank everyone in our community for their tremendous support.”

Gaul, who was being held on $750,000 bond in the Knox County Jail, will appear in the Knox County General Sessions Court for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 2. officials said.

A crowdfunding page for Walker’s funeral expenses had raised more than $7,600 by Wednesday afternoon.