The fascinating story of how two brothers—one an English professor, the other a cop, and as different as night and day—tag team as authors to solve North Carolina’s most notorious cold case …
On April 15, 1973, two high school students discovered the body of 19-year-old drama major Virginia Marie Olson on a trail near the campus of the University of North Carolina-Asheville. The scene was horrific. Olson had been bound, raped, and brutally stabbed to death. The murder shocked the Asheville community and set off an investigation that would span three generations of detectives.
A MURDER ON CAMPUS: The Professor, The Cop, And North Carolina’s Most Notorious Cold Case by Brian and Cameron Santana is the first book to present the story of law enforcement’s dramatic efforts to find Virginia Olson’s killer and bring him to justice.
Readers will experience the obstacles and confusion that the Asheville Police Department and the North Carolina SBI navigated, from the 1974 abduction of a UNCA student on the first anniversary of Olson’s murder to a second rape and murder victim found feet from Olson’s crime scene just as campus life returned to normal in 1978.
For more than 50 years, whispers about the killer’s identity have circulated throughout Buncombe County—from an escaped mental health patient from nearby Highland Hospital, to one of North Carolina’s most notorious serial killers, to a mysterious prime suspect whose wealthy and influential family kept his identity secret from the public … until now.
Author Brian Santana
Brian Santana is a college English professor and writer. After graduating from UNC-Asheville in 2003 with a degree in Drama, he earned a M.A. in English at North Carolina State University and a PhD from The George Washington University. He currently resides in West Virginia with his wife and children.
Author Cameron Santana
Cameron Santana is a veteran law enforcement officer with over 18 years of experience. He holds an Advanced Law Enforcement Certificate and spent his first 16 years with the Raleigh Police Department. He attended Western North Carolina University and currently lives in Raleigh, NC with his wife and children.
