Teacher Smackdown

JUST IN: 12:45 MT

Nashville attorney Gary Blackburn told The Associated Press that he’s been in touch with Erin McLean. She’s in another state with friends and has enrolled her eight- and 11-year-old sons in school.

UPDATE: Erin McLean, the Knoxville, Tennessee high school teacher who was having an affair with one of her students, has gone missing with her two children. She’s been out of contact with her family since she left her parents’ home in Nashville on Saturday.

McLean’s husband, Eric McLean, is charged with killing Sean Powell, the teenager Erin was having an affair with. However, Erin McLean isn’t charged with any crimes, and has legal custody of her children even though she tried to commit suicide with her children in the house.

Erin’s attorney says she’s emotionally distraught - probably because she was recently fired from Pioneer Christian Academy in Nashville, where she was teaching high school English. She used her maiden name of Myers and misrepresented her teaching history to get the job. (So much for running a background check on someone’s Social Security number.)

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Eric Mclean’s lawyer got him on TV again, this time on NBC’s Dateline. (The first time was on The Today Show.) The program featured an interview with Eric, and interviews with friends and relatives of the McLeans and the victim, Sean Powell. (Watch the video here.)

His estranged wife, Erin McLean, wasn’t interviewed by NBC. Her attorney defended her, saying she was in a loveless marriage with a troubled man. (So the solution is having an affair with your teenage student and trying to kill yourself? Getting a divorce attorney never crossed your mind?)

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Could the killings at Virginia Tech been prevented if more teachers and students complained about Seung-Hui Cho’s bizarre behavior and his violent writings?

Lucinda Roy, a co-director of the school’s creative writing program, taught Cho in 2005. She was concerned about his behavior - he wore sunglasses to class and a cap pulled low over his eyes - and the violent themes in his writings. She also was worried for her safety because took cellphone pictures of her in class.

When she notified authorities about Cho, she was told there would be too many legal hurdles. Police told her they couldn’t act since the writing wasn’t explicit enough and he didn’t threaten a specific person. Maybe their hands were legally tired, but couldn’t campus administration have intervened somehow, for example asking for a psych evaluation because he was a threat to himself and others.

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The McLean-Powell tragedy continues to grow. The Associated Press reported that Erin McLean attempted to kill herself by overdosing on pills. Her friend, identified by the police as “David,” contacted 911 to report the suicide attempt after talking with Erin on the phone.

Police have released the 911 tapes, which you can listen to on the AP Video website.

As a result of Erin’s actions, Eric McLean’s attorney is going to seek emergency custody of their two sons - ages seven and 10 - on his behalf.

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Eric McLean, Erin McLean, Sean Powell, student-teacher affair, sexual abuse, Knoxville Tennessee, shooting, murder, suicide, custody

FOR THE LATEST NEWS ON THE MCLEAN-POWELL STORY click here.

I guess Eric McLean, the husband of Erin McLean who was having an affair with her 18-year-old student Sean Powell, really did want to go on the TODAY show.

This morning McLean told TODAY host Matt Lauer that the shooting was an accident - he never meant to kill Powell, just scare him. The interview took place in the jail where Eric is being held on a first-degree murder charge. Also present was his attorney, Bruce Poston.

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FOR THE LATEST NEWS ON THE MCLEAN-POWELL STORY click here and here.

Here’s a really good reason never to have an affair with your teacher, no matter how badly you want to go on The Today Show - their spouse may try to kill you.

In Knoxville, Tenn. student Sean Powell, 18, was having an affair with his married 30-year-old teacher, Erin McLean. Sean was shot and killed outside the Powell home by Erin’s husband, Eric McLean. (That’s Eric and Erin on the right.)

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