Jury finds Miguel Salguero Olivares guilty of murder of UNC student Faith Hedgepeth

Virginia Bridges and Twumasi Duah-Mensah, The News & Observer on Oct 23, 2026

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Jurors found Miguel Salguero Olivares, 33, guilty of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, first-degree sexual assault and first-degree burglary in connection with Faith Hedgepeth’s September 2012 killing.

The decision came after a day of deliberation and nearly two weeks of testimony in a Durham courtroom.

Salguero Olivares was arrested in September 2021, nine years after Hedgepeth, 19, was found dead in the apartment she shared with a roommate on Sept. 7, 2012.

He did not testify at trial, and the defense called no witnesses and presented no evidence during the trial.

Prosecutors contended that Salguero Olivares entered the apartment after Hedgepeth’s roommate, Karena Rosario, left early that morning, sexually assaulted Hedgepeth and beat her to death with a glass rum bottle.

Their case centered on DNA evidence they said linked Salguero Olivares to Hedgepeth’s body and items found at the crime scene, along with fingerprint evidence on a wine bottle.

Defense attorneys challenged what that evidence proved about when Salguero Olivares might have been in the apartment and what happened there. They also questioned the investigation, pointing to missing evidence and items that were never tested.

The trial left several questions unanswered, including how Salguero Olivares allegedly found Hedgepeth’s apartment and the meaning of a handwritten message left on a paper bag on her bed.

In their closing arguments, prosecutors said Salguero Olivares’ motive was revenge: Hedgepeth took Rosario home from the club after the latter became sick from drinking. Salguero Olivares made a romantic advance toward Rosario, and Hedgepeth rebuffed his approach, they suggested. Embarrassed in front of his friends, prosecutors say Salguero Olivares took his anger out on Hedgepeth.

But it wasn’t until closing arguments that prosecutors revealed Salguero Olivares’ alleged motive. Prosecutors did not present direct evidence for a motive.

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