A jury found Miguel Salguero-Olivares guilty of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offense and first-degree burglary in the 2012 killing of UNC-Chapel Hill student Faith Hedgepeth.
The verdict, delivered 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 burglary, 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 concurrently.
Salguero-Olivares is appealing his convictions and sentences.
As the verdict was read, Salguero-Olivares could be heard saying, “It’s not fair.” His mother was seen crying, and Salguero-Olivares shook his head at times.
Hedgepeth’s mother, Connie Hedgepeth, delivered a victim impact statement.
“I guess I have been really overwhelmed,” 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.”
Connie Hedgepeth also said she had forgiven what happened.
Faith’s father, Roland Hedgepeth, said Friday’s verdict brought 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 long it’s been,” Roland Hedgepeth said, noting the time between the murder and Friday’s verdict.
Judge Keith Gregory told Connie Hedgepeth that his son, who is a year younger than Faith, was also a UNC-Chapel Hill student at the time of the murder. Gregory hugged Faith’s mother and father after the proceedings finished.
Salguero-Olivares was arrested Sept. 16, 2021, nine years after Hedgepeth’s death. He was linked to the murder by DNA evidence gathered during a drunk-driving stop the month before his arrest.
During the trial, prosecutors presented DNA and fingerprint evidence 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 spread all over a room in Hedgepeth’s apartment. The prosecutors alleged that Salguero-Olivares was a stranger who killed Hedgepeth in a fit of rage.
“They still got the guy because he left his DNA like confetti all over that room,” Coltrain said.
Toward the end of her argument, Coltrain showed the jury a photo of Faith, contrasting with a photo from the crime scene, saying, “he turned that beautiful woman into this corpse.”
Forensic scientist Erin Ermish said DNA swabbed 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 court proceedings ended for the day. 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, she grew up in the Hollister community.
Friends found Hedgepeth dead in her apartment at Hawthorne 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 badly beaten on her arms and legs. Several jurors got emotional after seeing the autopsy photos of Hedgepeth.
Friday marked the 19th day of the trial, including jury selection. More than 25 SBI special agents worked on the case, and more than 400 DNA samples were collected, according to the SBI.
On Wednesday, the defense rested without calling any witnesses. Salguero-Olivares told Gregory that he would not testify in his own defense.