The 18-year-old niece of Johnny and Bobby Majors was stabbed to death in New York City's Morningside Park near Columbia University on Wednesday night.
Police said Tessa Majors was walking down steps to the park when she was confronted by a group of teens seeking to rob her.
One of the youths stabbed her repeatedly in the stomach.
The Barnard University freshman, who was from Charlottesville, Va., was rushed to the hospital, but could not be revived.
Police followed a trail of blood to a nearby fifth-floor apartment building. They took into custody a 16-year-old there.
Ms. Majors was the daughter of James Madison University professor Inman Majors and Christy Burton. Inman Majors is the author of six novels.
Johnny and Bobby Majors were star football players at Tennessee, and Johnny Majors was a Vol football coach. Bobby Majors lives in Chattanooga.