Murder Under the Friday Night Lights: Who was Tristan Dilley?

The October 2017 murder of high-school cheerleader, Tristan Dilley, brought the small town of Buna to a standstill. Dilley was known to be a compassionate girl who was active in sports during her time at Silsbee High School. She was found with two gunshot wounds to her head on Oct. 1, 2017.

Tristan Dilley had been dating the suspect in the case, Paul Audrey Adams, who was later found to be a 19-year-old nursing student at Lamar State College. While Adams shot himself to death the following day leaving a note behind, the investigators believed he was Dilley's killer.

The Murder Under the Friday Night Lights episode A Homecoming Murder chronicled Tristan Dilley's 2017 murder as it aired on Jan. 24, 2024, at 11 p.m. EST on Investigation Discovery. The synopsis reads:

"The family of a high school cheerleader finds her murdered in her room the night after the homecoming dance; detectives surmise that she knew her killer, and because so many people are back in town for the big football game, everybody is a suspect."

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Who was Tristan Dilley? Details explored

Tristan Hope Dilley was born on Oct. 3, 2002, in Beaumont to Bonnie Coon and Phillip Dilley. Sge initially resided at Buna before moving to Vidor, Texas. A freshman at the Silsbee High School in Texas, Tristan was known to be a compassionate young woman who was loved by many.

Dilley was a cheerleader in her school and was also active in basketball, volleyball, softball and track. She had attended a school dance on Sept. 30, 2017, after which she spent the night at a friend's place for a sleepover.

The following day, Tristan stayed home while her family stepped out for shopping as she was allegedly tired after the night out. However, Dilley was found shot to death on her bed the next day by her 13-year-old brother.

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How did Tristan Dilley die?

The 14-year-old Tristan Dilley was two days away from turning 15 when she was found dead in the second-floor bedroom of her mother’s home on County Road 784, south of Buna, by her 13-year-old brother, per KJAS report.

Dilley was found with two gunshot wounds on her head made with a small caliber rifle on Oct. 1, 2017.

The Jasper County Sheriff Mitchel Newman spoke to Beaumont Enterprise saying:

"Her mother hollered at her and when she didn't answer, she told her brother to go upstairs and wake her up."

Tristan Dilley's room did not indicate signs of struggle and there wasn't evidence of forced entry either.

Dilley had been allegedly dating a 16-year-old high school basketball player by the name of Adam. However, as investigations into her 2017 murder began, the investigators from the Jasper County Sheriff's Office found that he was a 19-year-old nursing student at Lamar State College who was originally named Paul Audrey Adams.

Both Tristan and Adams kept their relationship secret and often coordinated their visits over Facebook and phone calls depending on the time when Tristan's mother would or would not be at home.

Sheriff Newman further stated:

"From what we could gather, they were trying to see each other when her mother was gone."

The police recovered the information as they instructed dispatch to look into their cellphone records thereby turning Adams into a suspect overnight.