Man convicted of murdering UNC student Faith Hedgepeth after 14-year case
Miguel Salguero-Olivares found guilty of first-degree murder and rape in the 2012 killing of 19-year-old UNC-Chapel Hill student Faith Hedgepeth.
Guilty verdict delivered in Chapel Hill murder after 14 years
A jury in Durham County found Miguel Salguero-Olivares guilty on Friday of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offense and first-degree burglary in connection with the 2012 killing of University of North Carolina student Faith Hedgepeth, wral.com reports.
Hedgepeth, 19 and a junior biology major at UNC-Chapel Hill, was found beaten to death in her off-campus apartment at Hawthorne at the View Apartments on Old Chapel Hill Road on 7 September 2012. The verdict closes a case that had gone unsolved for nearly a decade before Salguero-Olivares was arrested on 16 September 2021.
Judge Keith Gregory sentenced Salguero-Olivares to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder. Additional sentences were handed down for burglary (64 to 89 months), first-degree rape (240 to 348 months) and first-degree sexual offense (240 to 348 months), to be served consecutively. Salguero-Olivares is appealing the sentences.
As the verdict was read aloud in the courtroom, Salguero-Olivares could be heard saying, "It's not fair." His mother was seen crying, and Salguero-Olivares shook his head at times. His defence team had questioned the reliability of the investigation throughout the trial and argued that the prosecution had failed to meet its burden of proof.
Prosecutors built their case on DNA and fingerprint evidence, which they argued directly connected Salguero-Olivares to the crime scene. The jury began deliberating on Thursday, and before proceedings ended that day, jurors requested summaries of lab reports and fingerprint readings. They returned their verdict on Friday, the 19th day of the trial, including days set aside for jury selection.
Hedgepeth's mother, Connie Hedgepeth, delivered a victim impact statement. "I guess I have been really overwhelmed," she said. "Here we have been waiting a long time, over 14 years. And I am just glad we have the closure we need, we have peace." She added that she had forgiven what had happened.
Her father, Roland Hedgepeth, underscored just how long the family had waited. "That's 14 years, six weeks and four days — or 169 months and 18 days and 5,158 days — that's how long it's been," he said.
Judge Gregory noted from the bench that his own son is a year younger than Faith and was also enrolled at UNC-Chapel Hill at the time of her death.
Hedgepeth was a member of the Haliwa-Saponi tribe in Warren County and grew up in the Hollister community. She was discovered by friends on the morning after her death.
Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)