Faith Hedgepeth murder suspect gets trial date more than a decade after her death
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- A trial date has been set for the man accused of the murder of UNC-Chapel Hill student Faith Hedgepeth, 13 years after her death.
ABC11 was in the courtroom Thursday morning as a judge set the trial date for Sept. 28, 2026.
Miguel Enrique Salguero Olivares is facing charges from Hedgepeth's death that include first-degree rape, first-degree burglary and first-degree sexual offense. He was arrested nine years after her 2012 murder in her apartment.
Olivares appeared before Superior Court Judge Keith O. Gregory, who stated that this case had gone on long enough.
The prosecution pushed for a September 2026 trial date to allow more time for evidence discovery, assuming the defense would want additional independent testing. The defense stated it did not.
The defense requested to depose two out-of-state witnesses since it would create a hardship to bring them to North Carolina for trial. The judge expressed that because of the severity of the crime, the witnesses should testify in person.
The defense had hoped for the trial to occur in May 2026 because their client had been in and out of court for more than four years.
New Development
In a major development, the defense stated that Chapel Hill Police wrote a report at the time of Hedgepeth's death stating they collected a blood sample left on the bathroom door. There are now questions around what happened to that evidence.
The defense told the judge that when they inquired about the evidence, the police department said it didn't have it.
Judge Gregory ordered the prosecution to get an explanation from the department on where the evidence is by the week of Dec. 13.
ABC11 asked the Chapel Hill Police Department whether the evidence had been lost. A spokesman with the department responded that its legal team is reviewing the judge's request and will respond.
Timeline of Hedgepeth's Murder
Below is a timeline that Chapel Hill police released in 2012 after Hedgepeth was found dead in her apartment.
Sept. 6, 2012: 8 p.m.
Police say that on the night of Sept. 6, 2012, Hedgepeth and her roommate, Karena Rosario, went to Davis Library, the student library on campus, to study.
"Faith left for a short time and then came back to the library and picked Karena up. And they went back to their residence at 'Hawthorne at the View,'" then-Chapel Hill Police Lt. Celisa Lehew told ABC News.
Sept. 7, 2012: midnight
Hedgepeth and Rosario left the library around 11:30 p.m. and returned to their apartment around midnight, police said.
Their apartment complex, at the time named Hawthorne at the View, is at the end of a road. The two women shared a second-floor apartment.
The complex is surrounded by trees and has only one way in and out.
Sept. 7, 2012: 12:30 a.m.
At the apartment for less than 30 minutes, Hedgepeth and Rosario locked the door behind them and left for a night of dancing around 12:30 a.m., police said.
Police said around 12:40 a.m., the two entered Thrill nightclub, which was a popular nightclub for undergraduate students. Those younger than 21 years old were allowed into the club.
Sept. 7, 2012: 2:06 a.m.
Video captured Rosario leaving Thrill followed by Hedgepeth at 2:06 a.m.
"(Rosario) did indicate that she wasn't feeling well when she left the club," said Lehew.
Sept. 7, 2012: 3 a.m.
By 3 a.m., the women were back at their apartment, police said.
A neighbor, who was up late watching TV, said she heard a trio of noises coming from the apartment above hers.
"The police asked me, 'What did they sound like?' And I said, 'Thumps.' I said, 'They sounded like it could have been a heavy book bag being dropped. It could have been an end table being turned over," the neighbor, identified as Joy, told "20/20."
Around this time, records show that someone accessed Hedgepeth's Facebook page.
Sept. 7, 2012: 3:40 a.m.
Police said at 3:40 a.m., Hedgepeth sent a text to Brandon Edwards.
Police say Rosario's phone records show she was calling Edwards around the same time. When there was no response, Rosario reached out to UNC soccer player Jordan McCrary.
"I would say he was -- somebody that she had a relationship with," said Lehew.
Sept. 7, 2012: 4:25 a.m.
At 4:25 a.m., police say Rosario left the apartment, got into McCrary's car, and headed to his apartment. The front door was left unlocked, police said.
"At that time, when she left the apartment, she knew Faith to be in bed in the bedroom," Lehew said.
Sept. 7, 2012: 11 a.m.
Later that morning, Rosario needed a ride home. She couldn't reach Hedgepeth, so she called their friend Marisol Rangel to pick her up.
Around 11 a.m., Rangel said they climbed the stairs and entered the apartment. She said they called out Hedgepeth's name, but got no response. They then went to the bedroom where they found her body, Rangel recalled.
"So Faith was found deceased, partially nude ... There was a lot of blood in the bedroom, and she had suffered what appeared to be severe head trauma," Lehew, now the police chief, said. "Faith was wrapped, partially, in a comforter that had been located on the bed. There was some blood splatter throughout the bedroom, as well as where the pillow might be."
Rosario called 911. Police say Hedgepeth was bludgeoned to death by an empty bottle of rum that was found in the apartment. They said they believed it was more likely than not that she was raped.
A DNA profile was generated from semen collected at the scene, and investigators said they believed that the DNA belongs to Hedgepeth's killer.
December 2012
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) came on board to assist the Chapel Hill Police Department in its investigation and developed a profile of the killer.
The profile told Chapel Hill police that they believed the killer knew Hedgepeth and may have lived close to Hedgepeth at one time.
The FBI also said it believed the killer may take on an unusual interest in the case and demonstrate other behavioral changes.
Two years later in 2014
The Chapel Hill Police Department released hundreds of pages of details and key evidence in the case, including a biscuit bag that was from the popular Chapel Hill restaurant Time-Out.
"On the bag was some writing that said, 'I'm not stupid, b----, jealous,'" Lehew said. "Obviously big evidentiary value."
The note was found on the bed, and the pen it was written with has DNA that matches the DNA found on Hedgepeth's body.
Sept.16, 2021: Olivares, of Durham, is arrested and charged in Hedgepeht's murder investigation, Chapel Hill Police announced.
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