A Tennessee man who ambushed and killed his ex-wife while she begged him to ‘stop’ on a bone-chilling 911 call has avoided a trial.
Charlton Craig Liner, 61, pleaded guilty on Monday to murdering his ex-wife Karen Liner, a mother of two and a well-known real estate agent in the town of Cleveland.
He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole – though the Tenth Judicial District Attorney’s Office said he will not be eligible for parole for 51 years.
‘I have no doubt he will never see the light of day again, and it’s certainly a punishment he absolutely deserves,’ Stephen Hatchett, the District Attorney for Bradley, Polk and McMinn counties told Local 3 News.
His heinous crime was documented in surveillance footage from a neighboring home.
The camera caught Liner pulling into his ex-wife’s driveway in broad daylight and firing five shots. He then walked away and got into a white sedan parked in the driveway.
Liner was then seen exiting the vehicle and firing at least one more shot, Cleveland Police Detective Don Nation testified at a preliminary hearing.
Meanwhile, police said a woman – believed to be Karen – called 911 and could be heard saying, ‘Please stop, Craig, please stop,’ before the sound of multiple gunshots, according to an affidavit obtained by the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Charlton Craig Liner, 61, pleaded guilty on Monday to charges of first-degree murder, felony murder and aggravated burglary in connection to the January 2025 murder of his ex-wife, Karen Liner
Karen was a mother of two and a well-known real estate agent in the town of Cleveland, Tennessee
‘You cannot listen to that 911 recording or watch that video and not have your heart break for an innocent person being victimized by someone who clearly had no remorse and no regard for her life,’ Hatchett said.
‘When you see it and you hear it, that makes it different,’ he continued. ‘That makes it different for the public. It makes it different for everybody.
‘It’s a brutal murder committed in real time. That is not something, as I can recall, that we’ve ever had in Bradley County.’
Following the shooting, Liner went to a friend’s house armed with three guns and said something along the lines of ‘It’s done, I killed her,’ according to the initial affidavit.
Liner’s cousin, Jay Collins, similarly claimed he told him, ‘It’s over’ and ‘I finished it.’
The cousin then went on to share at the preliminary hearing how Liner had been in the process of selling the home he shared with Karen, his wife of 20 years.
He had also recently been let go from his position as a pharmacist at CHI Memorial Hospital at the time of the shooting.
Liner has been held without bond following his arrest for Karen’s murder.
The heinous crime that took Karen’s life was documented in surveillance footage from a neighboring home
Liner has been held without bond following his arrest for Karen’s murder
Police responded to Karen’s home after they received a 911 call in which a woman – believed to be Karen – could be heard saying ‘Please stop, Craig, please stop,’ before the sound of multiple gunshots
Liner had also been caught on surveillance footage pulling up to Karen’s house that day and firing at least six shots
But while he was behind bars, Liner also allegedly offered to pay a fellow inmate to kill his ex-mother-in-law.
An inmate said that he wore a wire in May 2025 when Liner approached him and asked him to ‘solve his problem’ about his mother-in-law.
He reportedly offered to give the unidentified inmate his boat and his car, worth several thousand dollars, if he murdered Karen’s mother.
Liner allegedly explained that his ex-wife ‘took half of his money’ and his mother-in-law was ‘trying to take the rest,’ according to an affidavit obtained by Local 3 News.
The convict is now facing a charge of solicitation to commit first-degree murder in connection with that case.
But authorities said they hoped Liner’s life sentence could help Karen’s family begin to heal, as Cleveland Police Chief Mark Gibson told WDEF the victim’s mother was ‘pleased with the outcome.’
It is alleged while he was behind bars, Liner also allegedly offered to pay a fellow inmate to kill his ex-mother-in-law. Pictured: Karen and her brother.
He said he was also ‘honestly just relieved that he didn’t plea and didn’t take the family through a trial,’ noting that officials expected an emotionally difficult trial.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are moving with the Liners and the Hopper family. They’re the ones that are really gonna carry this burden for the rest of their lives,’ Gibson said, noting that the case proves that nobody is ‘immune from this’ and that it serves as a reminder to ‘cherish your time with your family.’
‘This is gonna be an instance that’s gonna affect this community for a long time,’ the police chief acknowledged.
Still, he assured the public ‘we’re gonna use every resource available to work these cases and carry them to an end.’
