AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
Faith Hedgepeth was a UNC sophomore when she was killed on Sept. 7, 2012. Her murder was unsolved until Sept. 16, 2021, when Chapel Hill police made an arrest in her case. The murder trial begins Sept. 28, 2026. Here’s ongoing coverage about Hedgepeth and the case.
Read more MrBeast turns struggling Raleigh mall into viral playground with new video
Before a picture of Faith Hedgepeth, always smiling, became known to strangers during the yearslong search for her killer, she was a daughter, a sister, and a UNC-Chapel Hill college student working at Red Robin for grocery and gas money.
The 19-year-old attended UNC on a scholarship, hoping to become a pediatrician and return to serve the Haliwa-Saponi Tribe where she grew up, about a 90-minute drive northeast of Chapel Hill.
For years, local, state and federal investigators searched for whoever killed Hedgepeth on Sept. 7, 2012, in an off-campus apartment in Chapel Hill.
In 2021, investigators used genetic genealogy to link DNA found on and near Hedgepeth to Miguel Salguero Olivares, a man with no prior criminal convictions and no previously known connection to her. He has denied killing her or ever meeting her, according to court documents.
Salguero Olivares’ trial, which began with jury selection on Sept. 28, brings 14 years of questions into a Durham County courtroom. The trial will be streamed live on Court TV, ABC11, and other outlets.
The following traces what we know — before testimony begins — about Hedgepeth’s final hours, her roommate’s account of finding her and the evidence that led investigators to the man now on trial for her killing, according to previous News & Observer reporting, along with statements made by attorneys in court and in legal filings.
Salguero Olivares, now 33, was arrested in September 2021 and charged with killing Hedgepeth.
At the time of Hedgepeth’s killing, Salguero Olivares was 19. His mother had brought him from Guatemala around 2010, a friend of his family told The N&O after his arrest. He spoke little English.
At the time of his arrest, he told police he had been working as a painter and drywall finisher.
Here’s a timeline of events starting with the night before Hedgepeth’s death.
8:30-11:30 p.m. Hedgepeth attended an Indigenous sorority recruitment event, then went to UNC’s Davis Library with her roommate, Karena Rosario, according to police. They returned to Rosario’s apartment, where Hedgepeth was staying temporarily, changed and drove to The Thrill, a now-closed nightclub in downtown Chapel Hill.
12:40 a.m.: The women arrived at the club. Accounts differ about their drinking, but Rosario told police both underage students drank.
Around 2:20 a.m.: Surveillance footage shows them leaving. Rosario told police she felt unwell.
Around 2:50 a.m.: Hedgepeth drove them home. Rosario told police she didn’t remember getting upstairs but recalled vomiting in bed before moving to the bathroom, according to court documents.
3-4 a.m.: A downstairs neighbor reported hearing three or four loud thumps, Defense attorney James Rainsford said in court.
3:04 a.m.: Rosario texted Jordan McCrary, a friend they had seen at the club.
3:40-3:55 a.m.: Rosario repeatedly called Brandon Edwards, a friend of hers and Hedgepeth’s.
3:41 a.m.: A message from Hedgepeth’s phone urged Edwards to come over: “Hey b. Can you come over here please. Karena needs you more aha. You know. Please let her know you care.”
At 3:51 a.m.: Another message was sent from Hedgepeth’s phone to a friend, saying she still loved him.
4:04-4:21 a.m.: Rosario called and texted McCrary, asking him to pick her up.
“Please come,” she wrote at 4:10 a.m., sending her apartment’s address.
About 4:25 a.m.: Rosario told police she left Hedgepeth asleep in bed and the front door unlocked, according to court documents. She was waiting in the parking lot when her ride arrived, according to statements in court.
After Rosario sat in the car, McCrary noticed blood on her right hand, he told police in an interview played during pretrial hearings.
Rosario looked down and said, “I don’t know why I have blood on my finger,” McCrary said.
A friend picked up Rosario from McCrary’s. When they returned to the apartment, Rosario dialed 911 around 11 a.m. and told the dispatcher that her roommate was unconscious and that there was “blood everywhere.”
Read more Faith Hedgepeth murder trial live updates: Roommate questioned, 911 call played
Police found Hedgepeth face up, her body hanging off the bed, according to a search warrant released in 2014.
Medical examiners concluded that Hedgepeth died from blunt-force trauma to her head. Her autopsy also documented cuts and bruises on her arms and legs and blood under her fingernails.
Police believe a Bacardi peach rum bottle was used as the murder weapon. They found it wrapped in the comforter and bedding beside her body.
Investigators reported finding male DNA on the rum bottle, a blue Riesling wine bottle, boxer shorts and evidence collected in the rape kit.
They also recovered male DNA from a fast-food bag with a handwritten note that said “I’M NOT STUPID B- – – -” and “JEALOUS.”
Unlike other items on the bed, the bag did not have blood on it. At least one investigator thought the note was staged, according to statements in court.
Chapel Hill police spoke to hundreds of people, with help from the State Bureau of Investigation, FBI, consultants and private detectives. A prosecutor later described the investigation as one of the largest the North Carolina State Crime Lab had seen.
Pretrial filings and hearings revealed that investigators repeatedly interviewed Rosario and pursued untested analyses of her 911 call and statements.
Chapel Hill investigators cooperated with an ABC “20/20” special on Hedgepeth’s killing and publicly disclosed for the first time that Hedgepeth had likely been raped.
They also released a computer-generated image created by Parabon Nanolabs using male DNA recovered in the case. The analysis indicated that the man was likely Latino.
Investigators turned to DNA testing, public genealogy data, and other records to connect DNA collected at the scene to Salguero Olivares, who had lived in Chapel Hill around the time of the killing.
Sept. 16, 2021: Salguero Olivares was arrested and charged with killing Hedgepeth. He has been held at the Durham County jail since then.
October 2024: Prosecutors added burglary, rape and sexual offense charges, alleging that Salguero Olivares broke into Hedgepeth’s apartment and raped her.
June-December 2025: Attorneys for Salguero Olivares filed motions questioning whether Rosario was in the apartment when Hedgepeth was killed.
Aug. 3, 2026: Salguero Olivares pleaded not guilty to killing and raping Hedgepeth.
Sept. 21, 2026 : Judge Keith O. Gregory granted the prosecution’s request to prevent Salguero Olivares’ attorneys from arguing that Rosario killed Hedgepeth.
Sept. 28: Jury selection began in Durham County, more than 14 years after Hedgepeth’s death.
Salguero Olivares’ defense team includes James Rainsford, Christopher Barnes and Jason Murphy.
Prosecutors in the case include Durham Assistant District Attorneys Angela Garcia-Lamarca and Brooks Stone.
Lisa Coltrain, a special state prosecutor, said that questions about Rosario have “logical, reasonable explanations” and that investigators charged the appropriate person after the DNA pointed to Salguero Olivares.
Read more A Raleigh café is closing, citing federal hemp regulation changes
McClatchy Service Journalism Editor Brooke Cain contributed to this story.