Updated 6:25 a.m., July 3, 2014
Investigative documents and 911 calls regarding the murder investigation of UNC student Faith Hedgepeth were unsealed Wednesday, according to the Daily Tar Heel.
Durham County Superior Court Judge Howard Manning ordered the redacted search warrants and un-redacted 911 calls to be released after The Daily Tar Heel, Capital Broadcasting Company, Inc. and the News and Observer Publishing Company filed the motion to halt the sealing orders on March 3.
A 911 call tells how Hedgepeth’s roommate, Karena Rosario, found her face down in her bedroom. She told the 911 operator that she believed someone was in their apartment and even Rosario’s room.
The search warrants released were heavily redacted, but they showed that the Facebook accounts and laptops of Rosario were search, the apartment was search on September 7 and 10, and that police searched a 2012 Jeep on September 11.
Nineteen-year-old, Hedgepeth was found dead by her friends in her off-campus apartment on September 7, 2012.
The cause of death remains sealed, although Hedgepeth’s parents have said they believe she was beaten to death.
Durham County District Attorney Leon Stanback first asked the court to seal the documents three days after Hedgepath’s death, to keep from “compromising the investigation.” Since then, the documents have been sealed every 60 days, until the motion to halt the orders was filed.
According to the state’s previous motion to keep the documents sealed, there were search warrants for a 1977 Honda Accord, a unit in Hedgepeth’s apartment complex, and her own apartment, WNCN reported. Investigators also searched a laptop and a Facebook account.
Stanback told WCHL News in September of 2013 that he would seek to keep the documents sealed for as long as the courts allow.
The Durham District Attorney’s Office will prosecute a suspect, should any arrests be made, though the Chapel Hill Police Department is the investigating agency.
On January 8 of this year, the CHPD released details of the investigation, including DNA of a male suspect found at the scene.
Authorities continue to seek any information that could help in the investigation. Anyone with information should call the Chapel Hill Police Department at 919-614-6363 or Crime Stoppers at 919-942-7515.
A reward up to $39,000 is available to anyone with information that can help solve the case.
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines