Faith Hedgepeth was 19 when she was found beaten to death in her UNC apartment in 2012, and 14 years later a jury convicted a man on all four counts

A jury found Miguel Salguero Olivares guilty on all four counts in the 2012 death of Faith Hedgepeth, a 19-year-old University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student who was found killed in her off-campus apartment. Judge Keith Gregory sentenced the 33-year-old to life in prison without the possibility of parole immediately following the verdict.

The jury reached its decision shortly before 4:30 p.m. on October 23, 2026, as reported by ABC11. Jurors deliberated for six hours over two days before convicting Salguero Olivares of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offense, and first-degree burglary.

The trial lasted nine days and featured testimony from 23 witnesses, including former friends, roommates, forensic experts, and agents from the State Bureau of Investigation. The verdict came 14 years after Hedgepeth was killed in September 2012.

Prosecutors said the DNA evidence pointed directly to him

Prosecutors told jurors that the forensic evidence collected from the apartment was “screaming his name,” pointing to DNA samples and prints found at the scene. Forensic scientist Erin Ermish testified that DNA found on the victim was 170 septillion times more likely to belong to Salguero Olivares than to an unknown individual.

Investigators also found his DNA on a note written on a fast-food bag and on a rum bottle that prosecutors said served as the weapon. DNA from the top of the bottle was found to be 48.6 tredecillion times more likely to come from the victim and the defendant than from two unknown people.

The state’s theory suggested Salguero Olivares may have been at a barbecue hosted by a neighbor that night. Prosecutors argued he might have been rejected after hitting on women in the parking lot and returned to the apartment angry after Hedgepeth’s roommate, Karena Rosario, left.

No witnesses corroborated that exact sequence of events. However, prosecutor Angela Garcia-Lamarca noted that jurors did not have to believe that specific theory to reach a guilty verdict.

The defense argued that investigators had tunnel vision, suggesting Salguero Olivares was a 19-year-old who had consensual sexual contact with Hedgepeth days before her death. Defense attorney Jason Murphy said he may have had too much to drink or forgotten about an encounter, and the defense argued that DNA from sexual activity can remain present for days.

The defense also pointed to potential errors in the investigation, including police failing to search certain areas of the apartment and losing some blood evidence. Special prosecutor Lisa Coltrane dismissed those arguments as noise, saying investigators “still got the guy” because “he left his DNA like confetti all over that room.” She also told jurors that Hedgepeth suffered extensive skull fractures and cuts to her face and head.

Salguero Olivares was arrested nine years after her death, following a traffic stop for driving while intoxicated, where he provided a DNA sample that linked him to evidence from the 2012 crime scene. Off-campus student killings have drawn national attention in other cases too, including the 2022 University of Idaho murders, which ended with Bryan Kohberger’s sentencing.

Salguero Olivares did not testify during the trial, and his legal team rested its case without calling any witnesses. He is appealing his convictions and sentences, WRAL reported.

Hedgepeth’s family spoke after the verdict. “It just seemed like such a senseless and cruel act,” her mother, Connie Hedgepeth, said, adding that her heart also aches for Salguero Olivares’ family.