Naman Shrestha
On the fateful morning of September 7, 2012, shockwaves were sent across the entire community of Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina when a sophomore student named Faith Hedgepeth was found brutally killed in the off-campus apartment she was temporarily sharing with her friend. Despite going through hundreds of potential suspects, the police couldn’t crack the case until nearly a decade later. In 2021, a man named Miguel Salguero-Olivares was apprehended on unrelated charges, after which he was connected to the 2012 killing. ABC’s ’20/20: Justice for Faith’ provides a detailed account of the entire case and the years-long investigation that ensued, with the help of exclusive and insightful interviews with Faith’s loved ones and the officials who helped solve the case.
Miguel Salguero-Olivares’ DNA Linked Him to Faith Hedgepeth’s Homicide
Born on March 13, 1993, in Guatemala, Miguel Salguero Olivares moved to the United States with his single mother in 2010, at age 17. By September 2012, he was living in the Chapel Hill area of North Carolina and reportedly working a job near the Hawthorne at the View apartment complex, where 19-year-old University of North Carolina sophomore Faith Hedgepeth was temporarily staying with her friend, Karena Rosario. When Faith was found dead in the off-campus apartment by Karena and another friend around 11 am on September 7, 2012, the police launched a homicide investigation.
With the cause of death being blunt force trauma to the head, the detectives gathered DNA evidence and semen from the scene. The autopsy also revealed that the student had been raped. Next to her remains, they also found a handwritten note on a plastic bag that read, “I’M NOT STUPID / BITCH / JEALOUS.” During the investigation, the authorities collected DNA samples from several men to find a potential match to the sample they found at the crime scene. In 2016, a composite sketch of the potential male suspect was generated using DNA phenotyping technology, with his ancestry determined to be Native American, European, or Latino.
Years later, in August 2021, the police took Miguel into custody for a DUI offense in Raleigh and collected his DNA. When his sample matched the DNA found at Faith’s crime scene, the case was finally cracked open. Initially, Miguel was not considered a possible suspect, but his facial features matched the 2016 composite sketch released by the authorities. Moreover, his fingerprints and palm print were also found on a liquor bottle, a fast-food bag, and the rum bottle, which was the murder weapon. At the time of his arrest, he was reportedly working as a painter and drywall finisher. On September 16, 2021, Miguel was officially charged with the first-degree murder of Faith Hedgepeth.
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Miguel Salguero-Olivares is Currently Incarcerated at a North Carolina Prison
In November 2024, Miguel Salguero-Olivares was additionally indicted on charges of first-degree burglary, first-degree rape, and first-degree sexual offense in connection with Faith Hedgepeth’s killing. While he was in the Durham County Jail awaiting trial in 2025, he was also charged with possessing methamphetamine and with possession with intent to sell. On September 28, 2026, Miguel’s murder trial commenced, with him pleading not guilty to all the charges against him. During the trial, the prosecution alleged that the defendant might have met with Faith and Karena on the night before the murder at a barbecue hosted by Karena’s neighbor.
They further theorized that he later went to the two women’s apartment, where he killed Faith. The prosecution also brought about two dozen witnesses, including state and law enforcement, crime scene technicians, Faith’s friends, and a DNA expert. Special prosecutor Lisa Coltrane stated, “He beat her until her skull cracked like an egg. That is what the last moments of this vibrant young woman’s life was.” Meanwhile, Miguel refused to take the stand and testify. In the closing arguments, the defense argued that the investigators had tunnel vision during the investigation and treated Miguel like a monster.
The prosecutor Angela Garcia-Lamarca said, “When the defendant brought that bottle down on her head and she started to bleed, that was the start of a bleeding that still hasn’t stopped. He sentenced her to death. He sentenced everybody else who loved her to life. There was no one there to protect her. There was no one there to stop him — until now. Y’all are here. You’re here now, and you can stop him.” After deliberating for six hours, on October 23, 2026, the jury found Miguel guilty of all the charges against him. He was then sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. As of today, the 33-year-old killer is serving his sentence at Central Prison, which is operated by the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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