Man accused of killing UNC student Faith Hedgepeth nearly 14 years ago enters plea

Miguel Salguero Olivares pleaded not guilty Monday to raping and killing UNC-Chapel Hill student Faith Hedgepeth nearly 14 years ago.

Read more Weekend storms over Columbia caused flash flooding, downed a century-old tree

“Not guilty to all charges,” attoney James Rainsford responded when his client was asked how he pleads to the charges connected to the September 2012 killing.

The plea came during a hearing on pretrial motions that will determine what evidence jurors may see and which witnesses may testify when the trial begins Sept. 28.

Durham County District Attorney Satana Deberry has said she won’t seek the death penalty in the case. If a jury convicts Salguero Olivares of murder, he would automatically be sentenced to life in prison.

In the courtroom Monday, Hedgepeth’s relatives, including her father Roland Hedgepeth, sat behind the prosecutors, while Salguero Olivares’ supporters sat behind the defense attorneys.

Defense filings raise questions about whether roommate was present

On Sept. 7, 2012, police found Hedgepeth’s body in a Chapel Hill apartment she shared with Karena Rosario, a fellow UNC-CH student.

Hedgepeth, a 19-year-old sophomore, was found in the one-bedroom apartment hanging off the bed, tangled in a bloody comforter after being raped and beaten to death, court documents state.

Rosario told investigators that Hedgepeth was asleep when she left the apartment around 4:25 a.m. About seven hours later, Rosario called 911, frantically describing finding Hedgepeth’s body around 11 a.m.

Nine years after the killing, Chapel Hill police arrested charged Salguero Olivares. Police said they used DNA found at the apartment to identify his relatives, which eventually led to him being charged in 2021.

At the time of Hedgepeth’s killing, Salguero​ Olivares was 19. He had been in the United States only a couple of years and spoke little English, a​ friend of his family told The News & Observer after his arrest.

Read more One person killed in single-vehicle crash in Richland County, per Highway Patrol

Salguero Olivares was raised by a single mother who brought him with her to the U.S. around 2010 from Guatemala, the friend said. At the time of his arrest, he had recently been working as a painter and drywall finisher.

In 2024, prosecutors added burglary, rape and sexual offense charges, alleging Salguero Olivares had broken into Hedgepeth’s home and raped her.

Documents filed last summer on his behalf add yet another tangle to the killing of Hedgepeth, a member of the Haliwa-Saponi tribal community who grew up in an area on the border of Warren and Halifax counties.

In court filings over the past year, Salguero Olivares’ attorneys have raised questions about whether Rosario was in the apartment when Hedgepeth was killed.

About the pretrial motions

Prosecutors have been critical of the filings, calling them misleading as they unsuccessfully sought to seal pretrial motions, arguing they could bias the jury.

In the pretrial motions, prosecutors ask the judge to prevent the defense from introducing evidence or arguments suggesting another person is guilty of harming Hedgepeth.

They also seek to prohibit references or introduction of evidence regarding dozens of polygraph or lie detector examinations, and to bar the media from recording or taking video or photographs during the testimony of Rosario and Marisol Rangel. Rangel was with Rosario when she found Hedgepeth’s body.

The defense team asked a judge to force prosecutors to disclose communications and other evidence related to their decision not to charge Salguero Olivares with rape when he was first arrested on the murder charge in 2021.

The defense also wants to prohibit the prosecutors from arguing that a “Courtyard.com” pen found by the bedroom door is the one that was used to write a message left on a white bag in the room.

Read more One person dead, another arrested after shooting in Columbia area, sheriff says