Fatal Exam: Solving Lubbocks Greatest Murder Mystery

On Monday, December 4, 1967, a body was discovered in the Science Building of the largest university in West Texas. The next day, citizens of Lubbock gathered for the Carol of Lights, an event typically the centerpiece of the holidays for the quiet college town. But in 1967, the normal festive excitement and anticipation were swiftly shattered by the harrowing events that had occurred just twenty-four hours earlier.

For the first time, the account of this shocking murder has been painstakingly reconstructed by Alan Burton and Chuck Lanehart. Piecing together timelines based on interviews, journalists archives, courtroom transcripts, and the personal experiences of Lubbockites, Fatal Exam situates the murder, relates the capture, and details the trial of the crimes perpetrator. Not your standard psychopathic master, the criminal at this tales center cuts a challenging profile, and his history shines an unusual light on the criminal justice system.

Fatal Exam is a crime story, but its also the story of a venerated institution in West Texas and the peculiar town-and-gown relationship that comes in such a far-flung setting.