Flatmate recounts finding Faith Hedgepeth dead as murder trial opens
Karena Rosario testified about finding her flatmate, University of North Carolina student Faith Hedgepeth, dead in their off-campus apartment in 2012. Her emotional account was heard on the first day of Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares’s trial, where he faces charges connected to Hedgepeth’s murder and rape.
Hedgepeth, 19, was found naked and beaten on 7 September 2012, beside a fast-food bag bearing a taunting note. Rosario recalled their last night at a Chapel Hill nightclub and said Hedgepeth had driven them home at about 3am; Rosario later left with a friend. Investigators made no arrest for nine years, until Salguero-Olivares was taken into custody in September 2021.
- Hedgepeth’s roommate described finding her dead in their apartment.
- Rosario gave emotional testimony at the defendant’s trial.
- The 2012 killing went unsolved for nine years before an arrest.
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Faith Hedgepeth was a 19-year-old University of North Carolina student who was found dead in her off-campus apartment in Chapel Hill on 7 September 2012. She was discovered naked and beaten beside a fast-food bag bearing a taunting note apparently left by the killer.
For nine years, police made no arrests in connection with Hedgepeth's death despite the disturbing nature of the crime and significant public attention. The extended delay in solving the case weighed heavily on her family and the Chapel Hill community.
Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares was arrested in September 2021 and is now standing trial on charges relating to Hedgepeth's murder and rape. His prosecution marks a major development in a case that had remained unsolved for nearly a decade.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Murdered UNC student Faith Hedgepeth’s roommate recalls earth-shattering moment she found her dead”.