DURHAM, N.C. (Court TV) — Prosecutors say DNA proves a man standing trial on murder charges killed a student asleep in her bed, but the defense says he is innocent.

Miguel Salguero-Olivares, 33, is charged with first-degree murder, burglary, rape and sexual offense in the death of Faith Hedgepeth, 19, who was attending the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill when she was killed on Sept. 7, 2012.

At the time of her death, Hedgepeth was living with a roommate in a small apartment near her school. On Sept. 6, 2012, she and her roommate went out for drinks, then returned to their apartment after 2 a.m. on Sept. 7.

Hedgepeth’s roommate, Karena Rosario, told police that after returning to their apartment, she was sick in the bathroom for more than an hour before deciding to leave with a friend. Rosario said she assumed Hedgepeth was asleep when she left the house at around 4:30 a.m., leaving the door unlocked behind her.

The next morning, Rosario tried to call Hedgepeth 14 times but got no response. Another friend drove her home and went inside with her. Rosario told police she struggled to grasp what she saw: lots of blood and Hedgepeth on her bed.

Prosecutor Angela Garcia-Lamarca told the jury that the defendant’s DNA was found “all over the crime scene,” including on the presumed murder weapon: a bottle of Bacardi rum. A handwritten note left at the scene said, “I’m not stupid. B—. Jealous.” “The scene calls to mind, as we’ve all heard a dozen times, men — some men — are terrified women will laugh at them, make them feel stupid,” Garcia-Lamarca said. “Women are terrified men will kill them, correctly.”

“He crept into her apartment, under the cover of darkness; he walked past the kitchen, took two bottles off the counter: the Bacardi bottle and the blue Riesling bottle,” Garcia-Lamarca said. “He dropped the blue Riesling bottle on the floor and used the Bacardi rum bottle to come down on her head. She didn’t even have a chance to get up and he did it again and again.”

The Bacardi bottle, the Riesling bottle, boxer shorts that Hedgepeth had been sleeping in and a tampon that had been in her body were all found next to her bed.

Despite the DNA at the scene, Garcia-Lamarca said it took years to track down a suspect because the victim and defendant were strangers. But Salguero-Olivares’s attorney, James Rainsford, suggested that the two may have known each other and that any DNA found in the victim’s body was there from a previous consensual encounter. “The state has repeatedly said, ‘Well, they didn’t know each other at all. They were complete strangers.’ Prove it. That’s just a throwaway statement.”

Rainsford also accused investigators of mishandling evidence and suggested to the jury that the real killer was Hedgepeth’s roommate. The friend who had picked Rosario up on Sept. 7 later called the police to report that he had seen blood on her hand; when he asked her about it, Rosario changed the subject. “Now, some people might consider that to be noise, but other people might consider that something you want to consider when you’re sitting in judgment of somebody accused of murder,” Rainsford said.

DAILY TRIAL HIGHLIGHTS

DAY 1 – 10/7/26

• LIVESTREAM: NC v. Miguel Salguero-Olivares – Day 1 | The Faith Hedgepeth Murder Trial
• Prosecutor Angela Garcia-Lamarca delivered opening statements for the prosecution.
  • Framed the case as a violent home invasion, murder and sexual assault.
  • A single male DNA profile was found on multiple items at the crime scene and inside the victim’s body.
• James Rainsford delivered opening statements for the defense.
  • Gaps in time and missing or lost forensic evidence, potential contamination and alternative theories add up to reasonable doubt.
• Alexis Evans, victim’s niece
  • Described Faith Hedgepeth as academically gifted, a cheerleader, involved in youth organizations and church activities.
  • UNC Chapel Hill was Hedgepeth’s top choice for school; she was studying biology with plans to become a pediatrician.
  • Last saw the victim on the Sunday before her death. Received a text from the victim the night before her death asking ifshe was registered to vote.
  • She did not know the defendant and the victim never mentioned his name.
• Karena Rosario, victim’s roommate
  • Met Hedgepeth freshman year at UNC Chapel Hill; they lived together as roommates.
  • The victim moved in late July/early August 2012; the two girls shareed a single bedroom, mattress, car and only had one key to the apartment.
  • On Sept. 6, 2012, they studied at the library, returned to the apartment, changed, and then went to a bar around midnight.
  • Rosario became heavily intoxicated and emotional after seeing her ex-boyfriend’s family and was sick.
  • Hedgepeth drove the two of them home; Rosario threw up in a trash can and then spent time texting in the bathroom.
  • At around 4:20 a.m., Rosario left the apartment, leaving the front door unlocked, and got picked up by a friend.
  • Returned at around 11 a.m. on Sept. 7, to find Hedgepeth on the floor beside her bed.
  • Identified a blue wine bottle on the bedroom floor that normally sat on the kitchen counter.
  • She never knew the defendant and he had never been in her apartment, to her knowledge.