Naman Shrestha
In the episode titled ‘Justice for Faith’ of ABC’s ’20/20,’ the primary focus is on the tragic and untimely death of a 19-year-old college sophomore named Faith Hedgepeth in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in September 2012. As the incident shook the entire college and community, the detectives investigated the homicide in an attempt to capture the perpetrator responsible for the horrific crime. However, the case remained unsolved for nearly a decade, with forensic evidence playing a major role in cracking it wide open. The documentary features in-depth interviews with Faith’s loved ones and officials involved in the investigation.
Faith Hedgepeth Was Staying at Her Friend’s Off-Campus Apartment When She Was Killed
Born on September 26, 1992, in Warrenton, North Carolina, Faith Danielle Hedgepeth was the beloved daughter of Connie and Roland Hedgepeth. A member of the Haliwa-Saponi Native American tribe, she grew up alongside two brothers, Chadwick and Caleb Hedgepeth, and a sister, Rolanda Hedgepeth. They were raised solely by their mother after their parents divorced within a year of Faith’s birth, in Hollister and Warrenton. After graduating from high school with flying colors, she attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill after earning a Gates Millennium Scholarship. Pursuing a degree in biology, she aspired to become a pediatrician. She was a volunteer at the American Indian Center and a member of the Carolina Indian Circle.
In 2012, Faith took a hiatus, but temporarily stayed in the Chapel Hill area in an off-campus apartment at the Hawthorne at the View apartment complex, which she shared with her friend, Karena Rosario. On September 6, 2012, Faith reportedly attended an Alpha Pi Omega Sorority event on the college campus before spending time at the library with Karena. As per reports, the two women returned to the apartment and then went to a nightclub in downtown Chapel Hill after midnight. A couple of hours later, Faith and Karena returned to the apartment. After 4 am, Karena was allegedly picked up by a friend, and she left the front door unlocked while leaving Faith home alone.
When Karena returned to her off-campus apartment around 11 am alongside another friend, she found 19-year-old Faith, wrapped in a quilt, dead in her bedroom. They called 911 and informed the authorities about the situation. The police set up a perimeter around the crime scene and collected forensic evidence, including semen and male DNA on a pen and her remains. They also found a message written in three lines on a white paper bag next to the remains that read — “I’M NOT STUPID / B**CH / JEALOUS.” The autopsy revealed that Faith had died of blunt force trauma to the head after being hit by an empty liquor bottle in the apartment.
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Faith Hedgepeth’s Killer Was Apprehended Thanks to DNA Evidence
With the help of the semen collected from the crime scene, the police developed a DNA profile. It matched the male DNA found elsewhere at the crime scene. As part of the investigation, the authorities interviewed Faith Hedgepeth’s roommate and friend, Karena Rosario, who claimed that she believed Faith was asleep in her room when she left the house after 4 am. Upon going through Faith’s cell phone records, the detectives learned that around 3:40 am, she had sent a text message to Karena’s ex-boyfriend, Brandon Edwards, that read, “Hey b. Can you come over here please. Rosario needs you more aha. You know. Please let her know you care.”
Initially, the investigators considered Karena’s former boyfriend, Eriq Takoy Jones, a person of interest, as he allegedly had a history of domestic violence towards Karena. Moreover, he had reportedly threatened to kill Faith over a phone call if he failed to reunite with her friend. He was eliminated from the list of potential suspects when his DNA didn’t match the DNA sample collected from the crime scene. They also tested the DNA of other men, including Brandon, who were with Faith and Karena at the nightclub in the hours before the murder, only to get a negative result. Nine years later, in August 2021, a man named Miguel Salguero-Olivares was arrested for a drunk driving incident in Wake County.
By the next month, Miguel, who moved from Guatemala to the US in 2010, was linked to the killing of Faith Hedgepeth as his DNA and palm print matched the samples gathered at her crime scene and murder weapon. On September 16, 2021, he was officially charged with first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, first-degree rape, and first-degree sexual offense in connection with Faith’s homicide. Five years later, his murder trial commenced on September 28, 2026. Weeks later, on October 23, he was found guilty of the charges against him. Consequently, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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