The Hedgepeth family waited alot of years for answers and now, 14 years after Faith Hedgepeth was killed in September 2012 in her off-campus apartment in the Chapel Hill/Durham area, a Durham jury found Miguel Salguero-Olivares guilty on murder and related charges. He was convicted by a jury on Oct. 23, 2026 of first-degree murder, rape, sexual offense and burglary after prosecutors tied him to the scene with DNA evidence and testimony, and he had been arrested in 2021 after investigators used DNA leads. It’s been a long, painful run thru the courts and I hope the family finally gets the justice and answers they deserve.

Faith Hedgepeth was a 19-year-old UNC-Chapel Hill student and Gates Millennium Scholar when she was beaten to death in her off-campus apartment on September 7, 2012. Her family described her as caring, involved in campus and community organizations, and planning a career working with children. Faith and her roommate, Karena Rosario, had returned from a campus nightclub in the early morning hours; Karena left later and found Faith’s partially nude, bloodied body around 11 am and called 911.

The crime scene included severe head trauma, evidence that an empty wine bottle had been used in the assault, semen matching DNA found elsewhere in the apartment, and a small white paper bag on the bed bearing the words I’M NOT STUPID BITCH JEALOUS. Investigators later used DNA from Faith’s rape kit, the wine bottle, and the take-out bag to trace a match through distant relatives. In September 2021, law enforcement arrested Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares after obtaining his DNA during a DWI stop and linking a palm print on the wine bottle to his left palm. He is being held pending trial.

If anyone knew Faith, her routines, or saw unfamiliar people near her Old Chapel Hill Road apartment in early September 2012, what can be shared with investigators?