Jury convicts man of rape, murder 14 years after UNC student Faith Hedgepeths death
A man accused of killing a North Carolina college student 14 years ago was convicted Friday of first-degree murder, rape and other charges after prosecutors told jurors that forensic evidence was “screaming his name.”Faith Hedgepeth was a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when she was beaten to death in her off-campus apartment in September 2012.Miguel Salguero Olivares was arrested nine years later after being pulled over for driving while intoxicated and providing a DNA sample that prosecutors say matched evidence from the crime scene.Salguero Olivares, 33, did not testify during the trial, and his attorneys rested their case without calling any witnesses.Jurors deliberated for six hours over two days before convicting him of murder, rape, sexual offense and burglary.He was then sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on the murder charge plus 45-65 years on the other charges.Hedgepeth’s mother, Connie Hedgepeth, told the judge that she forgave her daughter’s killer long ago.“It was just three weeks after her death.It didn’t matter who done it, I knew that I had to forgive, and I do forgive, but my heart aches for his family,” she said.
“It was just such a senseless and cruel act, but we have to go on, and we just have to trust God and go on with our lives.”Roland Hedgepeth, Faith’s father, said losing his daughter was like having his heart ripped out.He called her a beacon of hope who was born at a low point in his life and admitted it had been easier over the past 5,158 days to say he forgave someone he didn’t know.“Today it got very real,” he said.“Nevertheless, I say it without reservation, I forgive Miguel for what he did.”Calling those statements “powerful and kind,” defense attorney James Rainsford said he also could speak about his client and his client’s family but decided not to.
“For me to try to blend the two things, I don’t think that’s what everyb...