A man has been convicted of murdering University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student Faith Hedgepeth, bringing a 14-year-old case to a close.
Miguel Salguero Olivares, 33, was found guilty in Durham County of first-degree murder, rape, sexual offence and burglary over the death of Hedgepeth, who was 19 when she was killed in September 2012.
He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder, followed by a further 45 to 65 years for the other offences.
DNA evidence linked Miguel Salguero Olivares to the crime
Hedgepeth was found beaten to death in her off-campus flat in Chapel Hill. Prosecutors said evidence recovered from the scene included Salguero Olivares’s DNA, fingerprints and palm print.
His DNA was also said to have been found in Hedgepeth’s body, on a note written on a fast-food bag and on a blood-covered rum bottle identified by prosecutors as the weapon.
Salguero Olivares was arrested in 2021 after police obtained a DNA sample during a drink-driving stop and alleged that it matched evidence from the murder scene.
Prosecutor Angela Garcia-Lamarca told jurors during closing arguments: “We know who did it. The forensic evidence is screaming his name.”
The defence argued that investigators had developed “tunnel vision” and had wrongly focused on Salguero Olivares. Lawyers also challenged the handling of the crime scene and the reliability of parts of the DNA evidence.
Special prosecutor Lisa Coltrane rejected the argument, saying: “No matter what kind of mistakes were made or things that were missed, it doesn’t erase the palm print; it doesn’t somehow lift the DNA out of Faith.”
The jury deliberated for about six hours over two days before returning its verdict. The trial lasted 19 days and prosecutors called 23 witnesses, including forensic experts and agents from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.
Hedgepeth’s parents told the court they had forgiven the man convicted of killing their daughter.
“It was just three weeks after her death. It didn’t matter who done it, I knew that I had to forgive, and I do forgive, but my heart aches for his family,” her mother, Connie Hedgepeth, said.
Her father, Roland Hedgepeth, said: “Today it got very real. Nevertheless, I say it without reservation, I forgive Miguel for what he did.”
