Who murdered playwright Olivia Mathews? Reward grows; person of interest sought

Local playwright's death under investigation

An early September murder shocked the Smyrna community after firefighters discovered a woman dead inside an apartment following an early morning blaze. Police later confirmed it was a homicide. Now, there’s a renewed effort to draw attention and gather tips to help solve the murder of playwright Olivia Matthews.

SMYRNA, Ga. - Smyrna police are renewing calls for help in solving the murder of 32-year-old Olivia Mathews, a respected playwright and member of Atlanta’s arts community.

Detectives say they’re still working the case and following up on new leads months after Mathews was found dead inside her Bella 10 apartment in early September. The discovery came after an early morning fire that police later ruled a homicide.

Smryna playwright murdered

What they're saying:

"This case has not gone cold. We are still following up on leads," said Lt. Meredith Holt, public information officer for Smyrna Police.

Investigators are now highlighting new information about a 911 call made a couple of months before the murder. The caller reported a man pacing outside her apartment, "peeping in the window" and "looking at different things" near her door, which was on a second-story landing. "She found that to be suspicious," police said.

Police released these images of a man they want to question about suspicious activity reported near the Bella 10 Apartments weeks before Olivia Mathews was killed in September. (Smyrna Police Department)

Detectives say they want to speak with that man, although he is not considered a suspect. Finding surveillance footage has been difficult. Investigators confirmed that several doorbell cameras across from the crime scene were damaged the night Mathews was killed. "While they were there and set up and somebody did damage them and take them away from the doors, they were not actually connected to any type of recording," Holt said.

Another neighbor told investigators that on the same night as the murder, she heard someone trying to open her sliding glass door, followed by footsteps going down the stairs.

Who was Olivia Matthews?

Dig deeper:

Mathews was a respected playwright whose work was celebrated across Atlanta’s creative community and beyond.

According to her online bio, she was originally from Central Florida, she earned her bachelor’s degree in theater arts from Rollins College and a master’s in playwriting from Ohio University. Her plays often explored themes of identity, memory, and the supernatural in the modern South.

Among her best-known works were Here Lies Vivienne Greene, developed through a fellowship with The Order of the Good Death; Absentia, which earned the 2020 Jane Chambers Student Playwriting Award; and The Nativity Starring Keisha Taylor, a finalist for the 2025 National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center.

Playwright Mary Olivia Mathews, 32, was found dead inside her Smyrna apartment after an early morning fire that police have ruled a homicide. (FOX 5 Atlanta obtained permission from the rights holder)

Her productions were staged in Atlanta, Miami, Houston, Vancouver, and New York, and peers described her as a rising voice in Southern theater whose storytelling blended mystery and empathy.

Reward in Olivia Mathews murder

What you can do:

Authorities say those tips are critical as the investigation continues. The reward for information leading to an arrest now totals $20,000, $10,000 from Crime Stoppers and another $10,000 from the Fireside Foundation.

Anyone with information about the murder of Olivia Mathews is urged to contact Smyrna police or Crime Stoppers Atlanta.