Harrowing message etched on fast food bag found next to UNC student’s dead naked body… as suspect is finally on trial 14 years later
The trial of Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares, 33, began this week in North Carolina for the 2012 murder of Faith Hedgepeth, a 19-year-old UNC student, marking the first day of proceedings fourteen years after her death. Hedgepeth was found naked and beaten to death in her off-campus apartment on 7 September 2012, with a disturbing message etched on a fast-food bag left beside her body. The case gained renewed attention as her roommate Karena Rosario testified about discovering her body, describing the scene in emotional detail and highlighting the closeness of their friendship.
The arrest came in 2021 after nine years without charges, using DNA evidence from Hedgepeth's rape kit, a wine bottle and the takeaway bag to identify a distant family member of Salguero-Olivares, which subsequently led to his identification as the suspect. Hedgepeth, a biology student from northeastern North Carolina and member of the Haliwa-Saponi tribe, had been beaten to death from blunt force trauma to the head and showed extensive skull fractures and injuries to her face, arms and legs. Salguero-Olivares is pleading not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offence and first-degree burglary.
- Murder trial finally begins 14 years after UNC student Faith Hedgepeth's death
- DNA evidence from rape kit led to suspect's identification 9 years after crime
- Suspect pleads not guilty to first-degree murder and sexual assault charges
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Faith Hedgepeth was a 19-year-old University of North Carolina student found beaten to death in her off-campus apartment on 7 September 2012. A disturbing message had been scratched on a fast-food bag left beside her body. The case went unsolved and no arrest was made for nine years.
In 2021, DNA evidence provided a breakthrough in the investigation. Investigators matched genetic material from Hedgepeth's rape kit and items found at the scene to identify Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares through a distant family relative. This led to charges in what had become a cold case.
Salguero-Olivares, now 33, is charged with first-degree murder, rape and burglary and denies all allegations. His identification came from DNA analysis of evidence gathered at the scene, demonstrating how advances in forensic technology can solve cases years after they occur.