Guilty Verdict and Life Sentence Delivered in 2012 Cold Case
Miguel Salguero Olivares was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Friday after a Durham, North Carolina jury convicted him of first-degree murder, rape, first-degree sexual offense, and first-degree burglary in the 2012 death of Faith Hedgepeth. Hedgepeth, a 19-year-old University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill sophomore, was beaten to death in her off-campus apartment on September 7, 2012. Salguero Olivares was arrested nine years later following a traffic stop for driving while intoxicated that yielded a DNA sample matching crime scene evidence.
Forensic Evidence Versus Defense Tunnel Vision Claims
During the trial, prosecutors presented extensive DNA and fingerprint evidence linking Salguero Olivares to the crime scene. State crime lab forensic scientist Erin Ermish testified that DNA swabbed from Hedgepeth’s body was 170 septillion times more likely to be a mixture of DNA from the victim and Salguero Olivares than from the victim and an unknown individual. DNA collected from the top of a blood-covered rum bottle identified as the murder weapon was 48.6 tredecillion times more likely to belong to the pair than to two unknown, unrelated individuals. Prosecutor Angela Garcia-Lamarca told jurors during closing arguments that the forensic evidence was “screaming his name.”
Defense attorneys presented no witnesses and did not have Salguero Olivares testify. In their closing arguments, defense counsel accused investigators of having “tunnel vision” by targeting their client and suggested he might have had consensual sex with the victim days prior. Defense attorney Jason Murphy argued that Salguero Olivares may have simply forgotten about an encounter after drinking. Special prosecutor Lisa Coltrane dismissed those arguments as noise, emphasizing that the defendant left his DNA “like confetti all over that room.”
Witnesses describe events leading to murder
Nearly two dozen witnesses testified for the prosecution, including law enforcement personnel, DNA experts, and friends of the victim. Karena Rosario, Hedgepeth’s roommate, testified that she was drunk and sick when Hedgepeth drove them home from a club at around 2 a.m. on September 7, 2012. Rosario stated she subsequently called a friend to pick her up and left Hedgepeth alone in the apartment, returning hours later to discover her roommate’s body. Prosecutors suggested Salguero Olivares had attended a neighborhood barbecue, unsuccessfully hit on the women in the parking lot, and returned angry after Rosario departed. An autopsy revealed Hedgepeth suffered extensive skull fractures, facial cuts, and severe beating injuries to her arms and legs.
When was Miguel Salguero Olivares arrested?
When was Miguel Salguero Olivares arrested for the murder of Faith Hedgepeth?
Salguero Olivares was arrested nine years after the 2012 killing, following a traffic stop for driving while intoxicated where he provided a DNA sample that matched evidence recovered from the crime scene.
How long did the jury deliberate before reaching a verdict?
The jury deliberated for six hours over two days before finding Salguero Olivares guilty of first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, first-degree sexual offense, and first-degree burglary on Friday afternoon.
What specific forensic items contained the defendant’s DNA?
Experts testified that Salguero Olivares’s DNA was found inside Hedgepeth’s body, on a note written on a fast-food bag, and on a blood-covered rum bottle used as the murder weapon. His fingerprints and palm print were also recovered from a wine bottle at the scene.