Crimeupdated 41m ago3 min read
Archive photo · 30 April 2023Durham County Jury Convicts Miguel Salguero-Olivares of Murdering UNC Student Faith Hedgepeth
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Miguel Salguero-Olivares convicted of first-degree murder in Faith Hedgepeth's 2012 death. Also found guilty of first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offense, and burglary.
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Conviction and life sentence
A Durham County jury found Miguel Salguero-Olivares guilty of the first degree murder of 19-year-old UNC student Faith Hedgepeth and also found him guilty of first degree rape, first degree sexual offense, and first degree burglary. Superior Court Judge Keith Gregory sentenced the Durham resident to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the first-degree murder charge, and the judge required Salguero-Olivares to register as a sex offender for the rest of his natural life. The judge ordered the sentences to run consecutively, and Salguero-Olivares received 64 to 89 months for burglary and 240 to 348 months for both the rape and sexual offense charges.
“Superior Court Judge Keith Gregory sentenced the Durham resident to life in prison on the first-degree murder charge, without the possibility of parole.”
The Times of India said jurors deliberated for six hours over two days before reaching their verdict, and The Times of India said prosecutors presented DNA, fingerprint and palm-print evidence linking Salguero Olivares to the crime. The Times of India reported that Hedgepeth was found beaten to death in her off-campus apartment in September 2012, and it said the case remained unsolved for nearly a decade before DNA evidence led investigators to a suspect.
Forensics at the center
Prosecutor Angela Garcia-Lamarca told the jury, "We know who did it. The forensic evidence is screaming his name," and she argued the forensic findings provided compelling evidence of Salguero Olivares' involvement.
Forensic scientist Erin Ermish testified that the DNA recovered from Hedgepeth's body was 170 septillion times more likely to have come from a mixture of Hedgepeth's DNA and Salguero Olivares' than from Hedgepeth and an unidentified person.
The defense challenged the investigation and forensic findings, and The Times of India said Salguero Olivares' lawyers argued investigators had focused on their client prematurely and failed to examine other possibilities.
Special prosecutor Lisa Coltrane said, "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," as the prosecution rejected the defense's arguments.
Chapelboro said Salguero-Olivares declined to comment to the courtroom afterward, with his attorney James Rainsford saying his recommendation was not to do so.
Appeal, forgiveness, and impact
Salguero-Olivares indicated to both his defense team and the court he wants to appeal the decision, and Chapelboro said he slightly shook his head and looked to the gallery behind him after the announcement.
“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.”
Superior Court Judge Keith Gregory said, "The facts bear it out that this is the appropriate sentence," as he sentenced Salguero-Olivares after reading the final sexual offense punishment.
Hedgepeth's mother, Connie Hedgepeth, told the court she had forgiven the man convicted of killing her daughter, and she said, "It was just three weeks after her death. It didn’t matter who did it, I knew that I had to forgive, and I do forgive, but my heart aches for his family," in the courtroom.
Connie Hedgepeth 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."
Faith's father, Roland Hedgepeth, told the court that Friday's verdict brought long-awaited closure, and he said, "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," as he marked the time between the murder and the verdict.
