Faith Hedgepeth's dad watches as accused killer appears in court
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- Faith Hedgepeth's father told ABC11 on Friday that he's been very emotional since he got the news about the arrest in the case of his daughter's death nine years ago.
Those emotions were near the surface as Roland Hedgepeth watched as the murder suspect made a virtual appearance in a Durham courtroom Friday morning.
"It's just a new beginning. Everything is just starting," Hedgepeth said.
Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares, 28, of Durham, is accused of killing Faith, a 19-year-old UNC student, on Sept. 7, 2012. Salguero-Olivares would have been 19 at the time of the murder. Authorities said he was arrested with the assistance of SBI on Thursday morning and is charged with first-degree murder.
He's being held on no bond and was appointed a public defender. On Friday, he was assigned a probable cause hearing on Oct. 7.
READ MORE: Family, Tribal members react to arrest in Faith Hedgepeth murder investigation
Authorities said DNA from the crime scene connected them to the suspect nine years later. But they didn't give details on whether Salguero-Olivares knew Faith Hedgepeth.
The murder suspect's past remains murky. A neighbor told ABC11 that Salguero-Olivares moved here from Guatemala.
We know the suspect was a painter. UNC officials told ABC11 on Friday that Salguero-Olivares was never enrolled there as a student.
A few people who said they knew him were shocked by the allegations and arrest.
READ MORE: Bittersweet relief for Faith Hedgepeth's family after arrest
But Hunter Glass, who once worked the Hedgepeth case as a private investigator, was less surprised when Salguero-Olivarez was named as the suspect in the murder that shook the Chapel Hill community.
Glass said the suspect's name had come up and added that he believed Salguero-Olivares had been at a party at Hedgepeth's apartment complex cul-de-sac but he said the suspect didn't stick out -- he just seemed like somebody who was in the crowd.
"I would want to know why and who else knew," Glass said. "I don't believe that only one person knows this case. And I don't believe that there was only two and one can't tell us. So, I do believe that there were either other witnesses, I believe, or not witnesses, at least heard something, knew something but kept it close to their chest because they didn't want to talk about it, or they were afraid they would be implicated in it."
Chapel Hill police would not comment on whether there was a party at Hedgepeth's complex.
TIMELINE: What happened the night Faith Hedgepeth was killed
Glass said he was glad to hear about the arrest.
"I'm really happy. I mean, I still feel sorry," Glass said. "Faith was obviously a very beautiful child and her father and mother were fantastic, but her father was really a good man. And, you know, I'm so glad that something's come out of it and I'm glad that Chapel Hill never let it go."
WATCH: Investigative journalist shares insights into Faith Hedgepeth case
Asked how he wanted his daughter to be remembered, Roland Hedgepeth replied:
"As a person, she was, I mean, who she was as a person, not as the young lady who got murdered."
He said he'll always remember her smile and her loving ways.
On Sept. 7, 2012, UNC student Faith Hedgepeth, 19, was found dead in her off-campus apartment.
Hedgepeth's roommate Karena Rosario came home to find Hedgepeth dead. In a 911 call, she told an operator that there was "blood everywhere."
Autopsy results concluded that Hedgepeth had been brutally beaten and raped. On the bed next to Hedgepeth's body was a handwritten note scrawled on a bag from a fast-food restaurant. Investigators said they believed the killer wrote the note.
THE NIGHT OF THE MURDER
The evening began with Hedgepeth and Rosario at Davis Library on UNC's campus. They got home just after midnight and then went back out.
They arrived at the Wallace Parking Deck on East Rosemary Street just before 1 a.m. and walked to a bar called The Thrill -- a Chapel Hill nightspot that has since gone out of business.
Hedgepeth and Rosario left the bar together at 2:38 a.m. and drove back to the Old Durham Road apartment in Hedgepeth's white Nissan Altima. Police say Rosario left the apartment again at 4:27 a.m. She returned at approximately 11 a.m. with a friend and found Hedgepeth's body.
DNA EVIDENCE
Investigators said they collected a significant amount of DNA at the scene of the crime. With such strong DNA evidence in the case, investigators collected samples from hundreds of men, but for many years were unable to come up with a match.
20/20 shows composite of what Faith Hedgepeth's killer may look like
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