Home / Crime and Justice / Justice Served: UNC Student Murderer Convicted
Justice Served: UNC Student Murderer Convicted
24 Oct
Summary
- Miguel Salguero-Olivares convicted of murder in 2012 killing.
- Verdict delivered 14 years after Faith Hedgepeth's death.
- DNA and fingerprint evidence linked suspect to crime scene.
A jury has convicted Miguel Salguero-Olivares of first-degree murder, rape, sexual assault, and burglary in connection with the 2012 death of Faith Hedgepeth. The verdict was delivered Friday in Durham County, more than 14 years after Hedgepeth, a 19-year-old UNC-Chapel Hill student, was found beaten to death in her off-campus apartment.
Salguero-Olivares was arrested in September 2021, nine years after the crime. Prosecutors presented DNA and fingerprint evidence during the trial, arguing it placed him at the scene. Defense attorneys challenged the investigation's reliability and the prosecution's case.
Hedgepeth, a junior biology major and member of the Haliwa-Saponi tribe, was found deceased by friends in her Chapel Hill apartment. The trial spanned 19 days, including jury selection, culminating in the jury's deliberations and subsequent guilty verdict.
