A jury found Miguel Salguero-Olivares guilty of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offense and first-degree robbery for the 2012 murder of UNC-Chapel Hill student Faith Hedgepeth. The verdict, handed down Friday in a Durham County courtroom, came more than 14 years after Hedgepeth, 19, was found beaten to death in her off-campus apartment in Chapel Hill on Sept. 7, 2012. Salguero-Olivares was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder conviction. He also received sentences of 64 to 89 months for robbery, 240 to 348 months for first-degree rape and 240 to 348 months for first-degree sexual offense. The judge ordered the sentences to run consecutively, rather than simultaneously. Salguero-Olivares is appealing his convictions and sentences. As the verdict was read, Salguero-Olivares could be heard saying, “It’s not fair.” Her mother was seen crying and Salguero-Olivares shook her head at times. Hedgepeth’s mother, Connie Hedgepeth, gave a victim impact statement. “I think I’ve been really overwhelmed,” Connie Hedgepeth said. “We’ve been waiting a long time here, more than 14 years. And I’m glad that we have the closure we need, that we have peace.” Connie Hedgepeth also said she had forgiven what happened. Faith’s father, Roland Hedgepeth, said Friday’s verdict brought some long-awaited closure. “That’s 14 years, six weeks and four days or 169 months and 18 days and 5,158 days… that’s how much time has passed,” Roland Hedgepeth said, pointing to the time between the murder and Friday’s verdict. Judge Keith Gregory told Connie Hedgepeth that her son, who is a year younger than Faith, was also a student at UNC-Chapel Hill at the time of the murder. Gregory hugged Faith’s parents once the process was over. Salguero-Olivares was arrested on September 16, 2021, nine years after Hedgepeth’s death. He was linked to the murder by DNA evidence collected during a drunk driving stop the month before his arrest. During the trial, prosecutors presented DNA and fingerprint evidence that they argued connected Salguero-Olivares to the crime scene. Defense attorneys questioned the reliability of the investigation and argued that prosecutors had failed to prove their case. On Thursday, prosecutor Lisa Coltrain pointed to the fact that Salguero-Olivares’ DNA was scattered throughout a room in Hedgepeth’s apartment. Prosecutors alleged that Salguero Olivares was a stranger who killed Hedgepeth in a fit of rage. “They still caught the guy because he left his DNA like confetti all over the room,” Coltrain said. Toward the end of his argument, Coltrain showed the jury a photo of Faith, which contrasted with a crime scene photo, and said, “He turned that beautiful woman into this corpse.” Forensic scientist Erin Ermish said the DNA extracted from Hedgepeth’s body was 170 septillion times more likely to be a mixture of DNA from Hedgepeth and Salguero-Olivares than from Hedgepeth and an unknown individual. Jurors began deliberating Thursday and requested additional evidence late in the afternoon before the day’s court proceedings ended. They asked for summaries of lab reports and fingerprint readings. Hedgepeth was a 19-year-old junior majoring in biology at UNC-Chapel Hill. A member of the Haliwa-Saponi Tribe in Warren County, he grew up in the community of Hollister. Friends found Hedgepeth dead in her Hawthorne apartment at the View Apartments on Old Chapel Hill Road. An autopsy showed Hedgepeth suffered extensive skull fractures and cuts to her face and head, and she was also severely beaten on her arms and legs. Several jurors became emotional after seeing Hedgepeth’s autopsy photos. Friday marked the 19th day of the trial, including jury selection. According to the SBI, more than 25 SBI special agents worked on the case and more than 400 DNA samples were collected. On Wednesday the defense rested without calling any witnesses. Salguero-Olivares told Gregory he would not testify in his own defense.
