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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. Here’s ongoing coverage about Hedgepeth and the case.
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A Durham County judge’s ruling Monday will limit the evidence Miguel Salguero Olivares can introduce to support allegations that Faith Hedgepeth’s roommate was involved in her murder.
Judge Keith O. Gregory granted the prosecution’s request to prevent Salguero Olivares’ attorneys from arguing that a third party killed the 19-year-old UNC-Chapel Hill student in 2012.
Using DNA collected from Hedgepeth’s body, police used ancestry technology to find and charge Salguero Olivares with Hedgepeth’s murder in 2021.
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The prosecution’s request followed filings by Salguero Olivares’ attorneys over the past year raising questions about whether Hedgepeth’s roommate, Karena Rosario, was in the apartment when Hedgepeth was killed on the morning of Sept. 7, 2012.
To overcome the prosecution’s motion, Salguero Olivares’ defense team would have had to meet a two-prong legal test.
The test requires the defense to introduce evidence that implicates another person or points directly to that person’s guilt. The evidence must also be inconsistent with the defendant’s guilt.This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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This story was originally published September 21, 2026 at 4:46 PM.