The year 1973 was a time of change, growth, and learning for 19-year-old Virginia Marie Olson. Until darkness emerged in daylight and ended her life. In a crowded University of North Carolina Ashville garden, in the middle of sunny spring day, Virginia was studying when she was attacked and killed. Two teenage boys came across the bloody murder scene that same afternoon, but several decades later, there has been no justice.

Join us for Unsolved: The Murder of Virginia Olson. Today we’re looking into the investigation and evidence as it has evolved over the past 53 years. With the passage of time, students at UNCA don’t know Virginia the person and cannot grasp the tragedy of her life cut short. In many ways, she has been reduced to a stack of photos and case files. But not everyone has forgotten or given up on solving her murder.

Sources

1973 murder, rape of woman on UNC Asheville campus still under investigation, WBTV.com, Kelsey Graeter & John Carter, 12/16/2025.

A Murder on Campus: The Professor, The Cop, And North Carolina’s Most Notorious Cold Case by Brian & Cameron Santana