To reflect on the year, Chapelboro.com is re-publishing some of the top stories that impacted and defined our community’s experience in 2021. These stories and topics affected Chapel Hill, Carrboro and the rest of our region.
Just more than nine years after the murder of college student Faith Hedgepeth, whose case has long been an unsolved mystery in the Triangle area, came a break-through update. On September 16, Chapel Hill became the site of a major announcement: a suspect accused of killing Hedgepeth was in custody.
A mix of law enforcement officials, prosecutors and local leaders gathered at the front of Chapel Hill Town Hall to share a stunning update in the homicide case. After years of revisiting evidence from Hedgepeth’s death on September 7, 2012, and using modern technology to narrow a search for answers, the Chapel Hill Police Department shared that officers arrested a man who matched DNA evidence obtained from the crime scene.
Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares, a 28-year-old with an address in Durham, currently faces first-degree murder charges based on DNA from pieces of evidence from the science of the crime, including semen collected in a sexual assault kit.
Hedgepeth, a 19-year-old member of the Haliwa-Saponi tribal community in Warren County, North Carolina, was found beaten to death in 2012 in her off-campus apartment near the Durham-Chapel Hill town limits. A one-time UNC sophomore, her death and the resulting investigation left many in the Chapel Hill community and indigenous communities shaken, partially because of the extended time between substantive, public updates in the search for suspects.
Over the years, the Chapel Hill Police Department and other investigators released details about Hedgepeth’s death to try and gather tips or leads. In 2016, investigators revealed they had completed a computer-generated photo composite of a suspect based on the DNA evidence recovered at the crime scene. That DNA was eventually cross-referenced with more 229 different samples to rule out other suspects, according to police, eventually leading them to Salguero-Olivares.
Law enforcement, prosecutors and family members gathered at the Chapel Hill Town Hall on September 16, 2021, for an update in the Faith Hedgepeth murder case. A suspect, Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares, was arrested following a DNA match. (Photo via the Town of Chapel Hill)
The announcement was met with an outpouring of emotions and reactions from the larger Triangle community, as well as nationwide, since the case has become covered by true crime media and publications over the last nine years.
Not much is known about Salguero-Olivares, who authorities said was not initially a person of interest in the case. He is currently held in Durham County Detention Center with no bond after virtually appearing in court on September 17. Investigators could not reveal in September what relationship he had, if any, to Hedgepeth. Authorities also were unable to share how the DNA match to Salguero-Olivares was obtained.
What is known, however, is the judicial process in the homicide case is likely to be lengthy. On September 16, Chapel Hill Police Chief Chris Blue said it would be a while before the community got more details and answers for Hedgepeth’s death.
“Patience will be asked of you,” he said. “This story will take time to completely unfold.”
The homicide investigation will remain an active and ongoing case until the Durham County District Attorney tries the case in court. Later in September, Durham County District Attorney Satana Deberry’s office filed a notice marking the case of Salguero-Olivares as “non-capital,” according to the News & Observer. The move means when the trial is held, prosecutors will not seek the death penalty as punishment for the alleged crimes.
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