Teacher-Student Love Turns Deadly
March 18, 2007 — -- The latest student-teacher sex scandal wasn't just about lust -- it had deadly consequences.
Eric McLean is accused of killing Sean Powell, an 18-year-old high school student who was allegedly having an affair with his wife, Erin, who worked as a counselor at Powell's Tennessee high school.
The McLeans seemed to lead a happy life. They were married for 11 years and had two children.
"Everybody liked Eric," said his mother, Tanya McLean. "He was a good father, an excellent father, good husband."
Both were students at the University of Tennessee when Erin took a teaching internship at a high school in nearby Knoxville. That was where the 30-year-old first met Powell, then a high school senior.
"She's started an affair with him," said Norman McLean, Eric's father. "There was alcohol involved a lot. Eric loved his wife and tried to stop it. … It all culminated Saturday evening."
At their home on March 10, the McLeans got into an argument about the teenage student who had come between them. Police say Eric shot and killed Powell outside his home, leaving a trail of shattered glass in his wake.
"Eric called 911 to get police help to get him out," his father said. "He said from there it's all a blur, he doesn't remember what happened."
On "Good Morning America Weekend Edition," Powell's mother, Debra Flynn, spoke about his murder.
"He was a teenager, he was a kid, he was a beautiful son," she said, her voice shaking. "It was just heartbreaking. This is every parent's worst nightmare."
Flynn said she found out about her son's death from Erin. At first, she couldn't believe the news.
"She had called me Saturday evening probably five minutes after it happened and she said Sean been shot," Flynn said. "I thought it was a joke."
Powell had told his mother that he had a high school counselor, but Flynn had no idea that his relationship was sexual until after he died.
Related Stories
ABC News Live