Miguel Salguero Olivares has been convicted of murdering University of North Carolina student Faith Hedgepeth, bringing a 14-year investigation to an end.
The 33-year-old was found guilty of first-degree murder, rape, sexual offence and burglary by a jury in Durham, North Carolina, on Friday 23 October 2026. 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. ([wral.com](https://www.wral.com/news/local/faith-hedgepeth-trial-murder-guilty-verdict-october-2026/?utm_source=openai))
Hedgepeth, 19, was beaten to death in her off-campus apartment in Chapel Hill in September 2012. Her body was discovered after friends became concerned when they could not reach her.
Salguero Olivares was arrested in September 2021, nine years after the killing, when DNA taken during a drunken-driving stop was allegedly linked to evidence from the crime scene.
Prosecutors told the court that his DNA was found in Hedgepeth’s body, on a note written on a fast-food bag and on a blood-covered rum bottle believed to have been used as the weapon. Investigators also found fingerprints and a palm print connected to him on evidence from the apartment.
The trial lasted 19 days and included evidence from 23 witnesses, including forensic experts and investigators from the North Carolina State Crime Laboratory. Jurors deliberated for about six hours over two days before returning their verdict. ([abc7.com](https://abc7.com/live-updates/faith-hedgepeth-murder-miguel-olivares-trial-enters-closing-arguments-jury-deliberations-verdict-phase-unc-students-death/19968490/?utm_source=openai))
In closing arguments, prosecutor Angela Garcia-Lamarca told jurors: “We know who did it. The forensic evidence is screaming his name.”
Defence lawyers argued that investigators had developed “tunnel vision” and wrongly focused on Salguero Olivares. They challenged the handling of the crime scene and the reliability of some of the DNA evidence.
“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,” special prosecutor Lisa Coltrane said.
Hedgepeth’s parents told the court that 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,” 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.”
