ODESSA, Texas — Some students at UT Permian Basin can now call themselves published authors.
Dr. John Fisher is an assistant professor of criminology and criminal justice at UTPB.
In early 2023, Dr. Fisher and 13 of his research students decided to do a Public Information Research Project where they profile 13 local crimes.
They gathered public information and even had the chance to interview officers involved in murder or cold cases.
After a year of all that research, they compiled all their articles and got the book published in October.
It's called "Murder And Mayhem In West Texas".
This book is 13 true crime stories in West Texas with seven unsolved crimes, three serial murders and many missing persons cases. It also dives into human trafficking.
The goal of the class is to teach students how to publish and how to write a book.
"I really love the experience," UTPB Student Aliyah Marrufo said. "We got to talk to detectives and actually spoke with Texas Rangers which was something out of my comfort zone. So it brought me to be open minded and I learned a lot about missing cases in Odessa Texas...we actually have a lot."
If you're looking to read the book, "Murder And Mayhem In West Texas" is available on linuslearning.com.