Justice for Faith

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0:54For over a decade, the Halawasaponi tribe has been haunted by the murder of their beloved daughter, Faith Hedgepeth. To hear the absolute horrific things that were done to her, that's pure hate. Surveillance video from the nightclub where Faith and her roommate danced hours before the crime. A college town is shaken to its core when Faith is found murdered after a night on the town. News are on 911. Where is your emergency? She's unconscious. There's blood everywhere. Chapel Hill police say the 19-year-old's friends found her body inside her off-campus apartment. Her death has been ruled a homicide. The mystery of who killed Faith? Unsolved after 14 long years. So far, there have been no answers.

1:42Until just last week. Answers finally come to a North Carolina courtroom. Mr. Court, first I'm going to ask you to stand. Has the jury reached a verdict? I've been praying for this trial. I have faith. Our story begins here at the bustling campus of University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. I last came here for 2020 more than a decade ago to cover a mystery that has endured all these years. It's a tragic story about a 19-year-old UNC sophomore named Faith Hedgepeth. Faith was a bundle of joy. She was a godsend in my life. She was just a daddy's girl. Faith is always a very good-spirited child. And I just remember that wonderful, infectious smile that she had. When Faith was accepted to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, that was a very proud moment

3:03for her immediate family, for the rest of the community. She got accepted there on a Gates Scholar. She was very intelligent. This is the place that she had wanted to come all her life. People know Chapel Hill for its basketball national championships, for its great athletes. UNC is a really tough school to get into. The fact that Faith got in tells you a little bit about who Faith was and where she was going in her life. Faith and Yuna Chavis became friends when they were both freshmen at the University of North Carolina. She smiled, I smiled, and we were best friends from there. She jokingly called me Uniballuna, so she would say it in a very slow southern accent like Uniballuna, and I think that people in general were just attracted to her instantly.

4:00Faith grew up in the remote enclave of Hollister, North Carolina. This is a very tight-knit community. We support each other and take care of our own. The Dollar General there had a couple of grills and a couple of gas stations, and that's it for the most part. She loved her people. She loved being a Haliwasa pony. Faith was very involved in the church, so she grew up not only in the circle of the church but also in the circle of the powwow, meaning when they're dancing and singing, she stayed out of trouble that way. We were both interested in health care, serving our tribal communities, because a lot of American Indian communities struggle with diabetes or alcoholism, high teen pregnancy rates.

4:55She wanted to be a pediatrician. She wanted to give back. Faith was having trouble making ends meet, so she starts working at a local Red Robin, right? And temporarily, she moves in with her close friend, Karina Rosario. The two shared a one-bedroom apartment and even the same bed. Faith was waiting for some more money to come through from some scholarships so she could find her own place to live. September 6, 2012. And a seemingly ordinary night out is about to take a deadly turn. It's a Thursday evening when Faith and Karina decide to blow off some steam at this popular nightclub called The Thrill. That night while Faith and Karina were out, Yuna says her phone rang. I woke up about 2 o'clock in the morning and I had a couple of missed calls from Faith.

5:45She's notorious for doing a bullet dial phone call where she accidentally calls somebody with the phone in her pocket, so I just assumed that was what it was. And I went back to sleep, and the next morning I listened to it, and all I could hear was music playing, so I carried on with my day as normal. Normal? Well the next day was anything but normal for Yuna. I got a phone call from one of our mutual friends. Someone had called her and told her Faith was dead. On September 7th, 2012 the 19 year old UNC sophomore was found beaten to death in an off-campus apartment she shared with another student. I get on the computer and I went to ABC News and Faith's picture was on the screen and she had been found dead that morning.

6:35I first interviewed Faith's parents back in 2016 and they took me back to that day that forever changed their lives. How did you find out what happened to Faith? I was at work, and one of my managers came to the door and said that I needed to call this lady at the Chapel Hill Police Department. So I called her, and she said, Well, Ms. Hitchcock, I'm sorry to tell you, but Faith is dead. And I said, No. I saidbeck, I'm sorry to tell you, but Faith is dead. And I said, no. I said, she's not dead. I said, you must be mistaken. It has to be someone else. And she said, no, it's Faith. And when she told me that, I just dropped the phone and laid my head on the desk and cried. I called Roland. Connie called, and she told me

7:27they found Faith dead. I said, are you sure, Connie? And I said, no, not my baby. I lost it. I cried and cried and cried. Back at Faith and Karina's apartment, investigators are staring at a veritable bloodbath in the bedroom. Faith was hanging off the bed. Her shirt was pulled over her head. Faith was wrapped partially in a comforter that a peach Bacardi bottle, and there is also a blue Riesling wine bottle. Police won't say whether the 19-year-old was raped, but they confirm she died from blunt force trauma. Police believe that the Bacardi bottle was the murder weapon. They found tissue fragments on it, and they believed that it was used to bludgeon Faith Hedgepeth to death. Faith had many contusions about her body

8:32and some very deep lacerations about her head. There was some blood splatter throughout the bedroom. There was semen found in Faith's body. There was evidence of sexual assault and or intimacy. And I can't tell you whether that occurred before or after. It was a brutal, brutal death. We think it's very likely that it's someone that Faith knew. It was in her, if not close circle of friends, certainly someone who knew her. Faith was a popular young lady and she had lots of friends, including several men, that she actually spoke to the night she died. And cops need to talk to every single one of them. I just feel so bad for her. She was in pain. She was alone. Faith was one of those people that you meet once in a lifetime.

9:49Just the beauty that she brought. When the word came out that she had been murdered, it was a devastating loss. Two days after Faith's murder, the community of Hollister holds a candlelight vigil in her honor. It was really unfathomable to know that someone hurt her in such a way. Such a beautiful person, nice person, to be taken in such a manner was really a shock. Detectives begin piecing together Faith's final hours, starting with the person who last saw her alive, her roommate, Karina Rosario. Karina tells detectives that Faith attended a sorority gathering before the two met up later at the library. So as I remember the other night, you said that you and Faith left on Thursday evening at some point to go to the library?

10:46Yeah, we went to the library. And it's my understanding that she had returned back to the apartment around 7.30. And then around midnight, her and Karina decided to go out to the Thrill nightclub. We were talking to some Thrill nightclub. This surveillance video, taking the night Faith was murdered, He seemed interested in Faith, so they were talking. This surveillance video, taking the night Faith was murdered, shows her entering the thrill around 12.40 a.m. At around 2 a.m., you see Faith and Karina leaving the club. Around 2.15, I believe, that's when they just start wrapping everything up. A week. Everything kind of, around that time, got a little blurry for me because I was really drunk by that point.

11:52After leaving the thrill, Karina said that she doesn't remember walking back up the stairs to her apartment. All I remember is growing up. I remember her trying to help me. And I saw there was a trash can next to my side of the bed with a trash bag in it. She had to have done that. After growing up, Karina says she went into the bathroom. What we see from both of the young women's cell phones is they're making phone calls and texts throughout the morning. Also in those early morning hours, Karina reaches out to another UNC student. And his name is Brandon Edwards. I texted Brandon, asked him where he was. He never responded. I think I called him. He didn't respond. Who's Brandon? Brandon Edwards. He's a good friend of me and Faith's. Um he's done a lot for the both of us. Like he's just always

12:55been there whenever we needed him and he knew um and Faith thought that me and Brandon like liked each other and Faith thought that Brandon like loved me and Brandon liked each other, and Faith thought that Brandon loved me. And she always was like, it's like, Karina, that boy loves you. Brandon never answers his phone, so Karina begins texting another man, Jordan McCrary, one of the soccer players she had seen earlier that night at the Thrill. I was there with some of my own teammates, just kind of hanging out. It was a place that you typically go to, and they were happy to be there. What we see is Karina asking him to please come pick her up. And I was like, I really don't want to stay here right now.

13:35So I called Jordan. I was like, can you come and get me, please? I was just curious on like why, what was going on? And she just kept iterating, please come. Can you come? Jordan agrees to pick Karina up and arrives at the complex around 4.25 a.m. I told him I was going to come outside because I knew he wasn't going to be able to find what part of it is because the numbers were weird. So I just got up off the floor, didn't turn off the bathroom light, didn't go back in the bedroom, just went straight out the door. Karina said that once she left the apartment, she didn't stop to look in the bedroom that she shared with Faith. Did you see her? No, I did not see her. I just figured she was in the bedroom either sleeping or watching TV.

14:29The following morning, Karina needs a ride home because Jordan's off in class. And she said that she called Faith several times but couldn't get an answer. So Karina calls another UNC student, Marisol Rangel. You see, Marisol, Faith, and Karina are all close friends. I was like, I can come pick you up, and I'll take you back to the apartment. She's probably asleep. So I picked up Karina, and we came back to the apartment, and we saw her car. That's when we went upstairs. And all I remember is just calling her name, just because we knew she was there, like, Faith, Faith. That's when we went to the room, and we found her. There's just blood everywhere. Karina describes the horrifying moment when she entered that bedroom. I started to see red blood, like red stuff on the pillows and the wall.

15:32And then I pulled the sheet down and I saw that she had black eye. I didn't think she was dead, though. I thought it was just she had passed out. She had suffered what appeared to be severe head trauma. And she was obviously deceased. We're on 911. Where is your emergency? Around 1101, Karina calls 911. She sounds very upset. Hi, um, I just walked into my apartment, and my friend was just, like, unconscious, and there looked like there was blood everywhere. Okay, listen to me. Okay, okay. How old is she? She's 19. She sounds very upset, very panicked. The 911 dispatcher asked her to see if she was breathing, and Karina didn't want to touch her at that point. I didn't want to touch her, but...

16:26Listen to me. Is she breathing? I don't know. You need to check and see. Is she breathing? I don't think so. I don't think so. Okay, listen to me. There's blood everywhere. No one had any clue about who did it, and the person who did it was still out there on the run. As investigators begin to process the crime scene, they believe Faith's killer left behind the holy grail of physical evidence, DNA. They did a rape kit and found some male DNA on Faith's head. That DNA that was found on Faith's body was also found somewhere else. The Bacardi bottle appears to have a bloody palm print and two thumbprints. That DNA also matched DNA found on the blue Riesling bottle. There is forensic evidence that could turn this case around,

17:29but with more than 1,800 people on their radar, virtually anyone could be the killer. In her hometown of Hollister, Faith Hedgepeth is laid to rest. It's a huge turnout to support the family. There were so many people there that they had like four wakes. They were all down the roads and everywhere. We just kind of sat there in shock, like, I don't understand. Days later, a memorial at her high school. I like to cry because I know she won't want us to cry. Keep the hope and the faith that they catch the person that did this. Here is this promising young student, this bright energy. She had so much potential. And she was murdered, and no one knew how or why. I think we get so caught up in the details of her, this gruesome murder, that we forget that it was just this outstanding, great woman.

18:41Back in the investigation room, the list of potential suspects is growing. Faith knew hundreds of people. She was very personable, loved by many. So as time went on, it just grew and grew. So the investigators did a really good job of collecting the information we needed, the cell phone tower dumps, the video surveillance. They were going down investigative paths in their work to try to find the killer, but it kept turning up dead ends. The palm and fingerprints that were lifted from the scene, police don't find any match in any database. Investigators turn to the strongest evidence they have so far, that DNA found on Faith's body and at the crime scene. They knew they had male DNA and it didn't match anything

19:35in their database. So they went out, they went out and they tried to figure out who this might be. They start with the two men who had been texting Karina and Faith that night, including one whom they saw at the Thrill nightclub, the same person who came and picked up Karina in the early morning hours, Jordan McCrary. Chapel Hill investigators were able to link multiple men to the murdered UNC student. Police say some of the men were reluctant to provide DNA, while some flat-out refused. From the beginning, I was trying to help. The police asked me to take a DNA sample, and I complied. Jordan McCreary's DNA is tested, but it is not a match. Next, police look at Brandon Edwards. Now remember, he's the guy that Karina was so desperately trying to

20:27reach in those early morning hours. And once again, it's a dead end. Brandon Edwards isn't a DNA match either. So you DNA tested scores of people from the Thrill Nightclub, from her workplace, other people that Faith came into contact with. And were any of them a match for the DNA that was found on Faith? No. You ended up DNA swabbing everybody on the soccer team. Because, you know, there was an association. You know, it's an exhaustive search. And somebody out there has the DNA that matches. How many people have you pursued in this case? Over 1,800. 1,800 people? Yes. I mean, is that, it just boggles the mind when I hear the number. Despite that number, Faith's loved ones are still in the dark.

21:18Everyone wants answers. Everyone needs answers, especially those closest to her. Faith's family was really frustrated. They were hoping investigators would have some leads, but the family had nothing. One of the hardest things in dealing with no information from the police is that family is constantly asking, do you have any suspects, persons of interest? It's a hopeless feeling. We're just one big family together. So if it happens to one, then you've certainly included all of us. We're very understanding of how traumatic it is to experience something like Faith's family's experience. But everything we've said or chosen not to say has been with finding Faith's killer in mind. I hope and praise no one we know,

22:07but it may be someone we've met before. As police continue their investigation, one person who catches their attention is Karina's ex-boyfriend, Eric Takoi Jones. Police say he knows both Faith and Karina. Takoi Jones is the ex-boyfriend of Karina and he had previously lived there with Karina. So even though Jones moved out of the apartment just before Faith moved in, he still lived in another building within the complex. He also had a past with Karina that raised some red flags for police. So she brought a restraining order against him? Yes. Now, according to the restraining order, Karina alleges that her boyfriend came into her apartment, began verbally abusing her, and pushed her to the ground.

23:01Downstairs neighbor Joy Barker says Faith played an active role in seeing his relationship with Karina end. Faith drove Karina to the courthouse to fill out the paperwork to get the restraining order. But after the murder, Jones only had good things to say about Faith. I mean, if Faith was the sweetest person in the world. I can't believe any of that. I'm still in shock. All right, it's unreal. He actually spoke fairly fondly of Faith and was surprised at what happened to her. I mean, at first glance, he looked like a good suspect. Jones's DNA was eventually compared to the DNA that was found in Faith's apartment. You tested his DNA? Yes. Was he a match for any of that DNA on Faith or in that apartment?

23:55No. It's another DNA dead end. Jones is eventually cleared. Tomorrow will mark a year since the UNC Junior's friend found her body inside her off-campus apartment. So far, there have been no answers. All of a sudden, it's the first anniversary of the murder. It doesn't get any easier. That's our biggest question is why. We can't move on. We just. We've been stuck for a year. I pray that we won't be here next year talking about, you know, the case is not solved. Just as the case appeared to be going cold, the cops released this message that was next to Faith's body. An ominous message. Who wrote it? How did it get there? All part of the deepening mystery. Was that someone random who might have seen them out or from the neighborhood?

25:15Someone's out there living their life like nothing happened. Nearly two years later, and with at least two agencies investigating, there have been no arrests. It was a deepening mystery, week after week, month after month, year after year, that was really gripping this community that wanted answers. Despite having what they say is a strong case and that male DNA, investigators from Chapel Hill PD and the State Bureau of Investigation have been unable to find a match. Police officers probably have a lot of different cases, but it's like, when it's someone that closes, like, you want an answer. Over the years since that atrocity occurred, a lot of us have wondered, what's taking so long? When will it come to a resolution?

26:04Because everyone wants answers. Everyone needs answers. We have a killer out there, and we are going to find him or her. There isn't a minute or a day that goes by that we don't look at this case or think of Faith. It consumes us. More than a year and a half ago when the UNC student was found dead. No suspects been identified. No closure for Faith's friends and family. a year and a half ago when the UNC student was found dead. No suspects have been identified. No closure for Faith's friends and family. Everyone wants answers, and the media puts pressure on the department. So Chapel Hill decides to release hundreds of pages from their murder book. And this is the first time that the public is able to take a look at that horrific crime scene.

26:48One of the key things to emerge from these documents when they were released was this paper bag that had a note scrawled on it at the crime scene. What was some of the most important evidence that you collected from the bedroom? There was a biscuit bag that was from Time Out restaurant. Time Out is very popular in Chapel Hill and it's immediately identifiable. Faith's roommate Karina tells police what she remembers about the bag. I was at Time Out on Wednesday. A friend had gotten me a, it was in a white bag, a biscuit. I literally just left it in the bag. And was it in the bag when you left it in your room? Mm-hmm. I left it out. And what do you think you left in it? I don't know. I just, I just drove things.

27:32It might have just been on my side of the bed, like right next to it. It might have been on the table. On the bag was some writing that said, I'm not stupid bitch jealous. What did you make of that? Obviously, big evidentiary value. Police find that said, I'm not stupid bitch jealous. What did you make of that? Obviously, big evidentiary value. Police find that note, and they observe that it's written in pen in block letters. Now, even though there's blood pretty much everywhere, there's hardly any on this note. But guess what there is? That male DNA. My biggest concern about the note was that the paper bag was clean. There was no visible blood on the bag or anything. How did this paper bag play into the investigation?

28:13What did it mean? Who wrote it? How did it get there? I have heard different experts discuss that bag, and some have said that they feel like it was written by the person that killed Faith, and others have said that they feel like it was planned. As to the intended target, per se, about the note, there were two residents there, and it would make sense the note was left for one of them. I think that Corrina knows a lot more than she's saying. I think that Karina knows what happened to Faith. Faith's father Roland told us that he's long suspected that Karina could be the key to this case. 911, where is your emergency? Faith's family finds her 911 call questionable. They wonder why Karina never mentions the friend who was with her when Faith's body was discovered.

29:10I was in the room and Karina kept walking out and in of the room. I was just telling her to tell him to hurry up. Just to hurry up. Do you think Karina's behavior was strange on that 911 call? It was strange. It was strange behavior. She never said Faith's name. From that 911 call, do you think that there was something that Karina was hiding? There were questions that resulted from that 911 call that we had to clarify with Karina. Downstairs neighbor Joy Barker told me Karina also had what she described as a memorably serene demeanor when she exited the apartment that morning. That's the striking thing. You would never have known that they had just come from discovering what turned out to be a horribly brutal murder scene.

30:10Was she crying? No. No crying at all? No. And I was outside from 11 o'clock until about 1.30. I never saw Corina crying or upset. Moment of crisis, it's hard to judge whether someone's behavior is normal or abnormal because everybody reacts differently. Faith's downstairs neighbor also told investigators that she heard some curious noises coming from Faith and Karina's apartment before Karina left with Jordan McCrary early that morning. What did you hear in the early morning hours upstairs in that apartment? Between 3.30 and quarter to four, I heard three thumps. They were basically together, thumps, and that's the right word to describe them. And remember, Karina herself said that she did not leave that apartment until 4.30 in the morning.

31:13Police want more answers. Whether or not she is giving us all of the information that she knows and or truthful information continues to be under investigation. There were questions that were beginning to emerge about Karina and about Faith and what was happening inside that apartment. Police discover Karina's friend spots something on Karina's body the night of the murder. She grabbed the car and she looked at her finger, and it was like a small smudge of blood. This show is supported by Chime. Here's a message your younger self would have liked to hear. There's a bank out there where you don't have to pay all those endless fees. It's called Chime. Chime is a breath of fresh air compared to all the other banks that charge you for everything. There are no monthly fees, no overdraft fees, and no minimum balance fees.

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34:31hidden fees. Be smart. Get wise. Download the wise app now. T's and C's apply. There were questions that were beginning to emerge about Karina. They were wondering about the relationship she had with Faith. Is Karina Rosario a person of interest? She remains a person of interest. There are several people in this case that continue to be persons that we need to talk to. We're dealing with a lot of information, and we just want to make sure that we're clear on everything we talk about. How many times has the Chapel Hill Police Department interviewed Karina? I would estimate over ten times. Has she been cooperative? Yes. They're trying to figure out her story and whether she's telling the truth.

35:30So I called Jordan, and I guess I asked him to come get me. It was a little out of it, but I was like, can you come get me, please? She called me early in the morning, and basically she was saying, please come. And I was just curious on like why what was going on and she just kept iterating please come can you come. Around what time does he get to the apartment? Maybe about an hour. So he arrives around four or so in the morning. When you left the apartment are you sure that it wasn't locked? I'm sure it wasn't locked. I mean, you didn't have a key to lock it, right? I didn't have a key to lock it. Did it seem like there was forced entry going into the apartment? No. There was no sign of forced entry.

36:17So in your mind, it sounds like either the killer is someone she knew or the door was open so somebody could just walk in. Yeah, and you know that we live in a college community, and I would have to say just how I was in college. Security is not on everybody's forefront. It's not unusual to find college students that leave doors open or vehicles unlocked. Did Jordan ever go inside the house? No, he did not. He picked her up outside. She came outside the house. So the only people that were ever in that house, at least when Karina left, were Faith and Karina. Yes. One day after Faith was found murdered, Jordan McCrary says he remembers something strange about Karina when he picked her up. He calls in a tip to Chapel Hill Police.

36:58Hi, this is Jordan McCrary. You did say call you if I remembered anything, and I just wanted to quickly say, yes, I do. In the car ride, Karina was looking at her hand, and I looked over, and that's when I remember she mentioned that there was blood on her hand. She looked at her finger, and it was like a small smudge, a small smudge of blood. And she was like, I don't know why I'm blowing my finger. I finger i said yeah why do you have that on your finger and she just goes i don't know did it look like it's um fresh blood no it didn't it seemed like because when she was going this it didn't like smear anything it just stayed the same why does Karina have a bloody hand when her roommate is found inside beaten to death

37:50in a bloody crime scene? Do you remember him asking you about blood on your fingers? You don't? Mm-hmm. Because apparently you had some blood on your hand that he asked you about. I don't. I mean, I was throwing up red stuff, but I don't remember there being blood on my hand. I really don't. Do you have any idea how that was found on your hand? Maybe from throwing up. But I don't know. Any idea how that was down on your hand? He was thrown out. But I don't, I don't know. I don't think it was blood. I mean, I didn't, I wasn't bleeding anywhere. Police tested Jordan's car door, and their initial test indicated that it was blood, but there was not enough to obtain any DNA that they could identify.

38:562020 made numerous attempts to reach Karina back in 2016 with no luck. So I paid her a visit in person. Karina? Hi, I'm Ryan Smith with ABC News' 2020. Hoping to hear her side of the story. I just wanted to know if there was a chance for us to talk to you. We just want to clear the record on the Faith Hedgepeth case and really just kind of get your story out. Is there any way that we can talk to you at some point? We just had no other way to reach you. I don't want you to... Can I ask you one question? Police found no evidence directly linking Karina to the crime scene. No evidence indicating Karina was involved in any way. We maintain a master list of people. Many of those were those that were at the thrill.

39:50Many of those are associates of Faith's, whether they be from her hometown, her place of work, the apartment complex she lived in. So you DNA tested scores of people, and were any of them a match for the DNA that was found on Faith? No. It's been four found on Faith? No. It's been four years since Faith's murder. No arrests, no suspects, and the idea that perhaps Faith knew her killer seems to have gone nowhere. But then there's a huge development that breathes life into this cold case. New DNA technology that could actually reveal the face of Faith's killer. This is a real revolution in the way DNA is used in forensic investigations. Nobody knows the killer's name, but could this be his face?

40:37We put all of that together into this composite to display what this person may look like. It's been four years since a UNC sophomore was found brutally murdered inside her Chapel Hill apartment. The UNC student's killing still unsolved. Investigators also collected a male suspect's DNA. But so far, there have been no answers. The police were not telling us really anything about what had happened to her. Chapel Hill Police did not volunteer any information to me whatsoever. It was like pulling a tooth, so to speak, trying to get anything out of them. A lot of us have wondered what's taken so long. Everyone wants answers. Everyone needs answers, especially those closest to her, so that they can at least be able to have some degree of closure.

41:42Years have passed since Faith's murder, and authorities haven't named any suspects, let alone made any arrests. We're going to do it. We're going to get the guys or the people involved in this. I promise you. Desperate for answers, Faith's father, Roland, turns to a private investigator, Hunter Glass, to take a fresh look at the case. When I was brought in on the investigation, when I was asked in, I made a few phone calls for Roland and his family. As Roland explained to me, he was, they were not getting any answers. But I could also understand why law enforcement does that. A lot of times when families are involved, you don't want to give them too much information. You don't want them jumping to conclusions. You don't want any form of vigilantism.

42:25One Avenue Glass Explorers is that middle-of-the-night pocket dial that Faith's friend Una received from her the night of the murder. Get off me. I definitely heard that. Help me again. That's definitely a man with a deep voice. Police think that call happened in that club. What did you hear on that call, and what do you think really happened? I think whatever started, started before it got here, and the club just accelerated it. Alcohol, crap talking, and I think that just accelerated it, and it just got out of control. What do you think is the accelerant? What's the accelerant that happened in that club that led to Faith's death? Well, it's written on the letter. Jealousy. I believe that may have just have an angry person who was

43:21very jealous of Faith. But if jealousy was a motive here, that would imply that there was some intimate relationship that would make at least one person mad. And it seems that theory has already gone by the wayside. All of Faith and or Karina's associates and or extended associates were canvassed or asked voluntarily for a DNA swab, you know, our investigative leads exhausted. Much to the dismay of the Hedgepeth family, try as he may, the private investigator just didn't turn up anything new. And the case remains cold. Cops might not have a name to connect to that unknown male DNA sample, but investigators tap into a new technology that can analyze that sample to determine hair, eye, and skin color,

44:12and potentially a glimpse at what Fate's killer could look like. So we have a parabon snapshot, which is a makeup or composite of the DNA profile that we collected at the scene. Snapshot predicts eye color, hair color, skin color, freckling, face morphology and ancestry. What snapshot is doing is treating the DNA like a blueprint, the genetic blueprint that allows us to predict what someone looks like. I wouldn't say we would eliminate anybody based on a composite. However, it gives us a direction and or information to further use as a resource or tool that we have. This person has dark olive or light olive skin. This person has brown or hazel eyes. This person most likely has black hair. We typically see this profile in Latino individuals.

45:09So this gives us again, a general snapshot. Faith's family was looking for a break in the case. All of us in this community were looking for a break in the case. When Parabon Labs came out with this, it was a vivid image. You could see who potentially was the killer, who investigators should be looking for. Tonight on 2020. In 2016, 2020 aired our original program on Faith's murder. And tonight, police are bringing in 2020 and you to help crack the crime. And we shared that sketch with our viewers. A killer still on the loose, but by the end of this hour, you will have in your hands what may be the portrait of that killer. Investigators were hoping that someone might see it and put an end to the mystery of who killed Faith.

45:57September of 2021, that all changed. Finally, a real face and a name will emerge. The arrest was made this morning. He's been charged with first-degree murder of Faith Danielle Hedgepath. engagement ring trends for a magical holiday proposal. Vintage-inspired styles with intricate details, bold rings with thicker gold bands, and unique diamond shapes like antique cushion. We have so many beautiful ring styles and diamonds in stock to compare side by side. Plus, we'll protect your ring with our all-inclusive free lifetime warranty. Visit us in-store or at shaneco.com. Shane Company, your friend in jeweler. PrizePix packs are here. Rip digital packs and get real basketball, football friend and jeweler. Another way to run your game. New users, download the PrizePix app today and use code SPOTIFY

47:10to get $25 instantly in bonus packs when you buy your first $5 pack. PrizePix, run your game. 18 plus eligible areas, terms apply, collect responsibly. Does checking your bank statements feel like digging through a dusty attic full of forgotten subscriptions and old free trials? Experian can help take the pain out of canceling by handling it for you. Think of it as Operation Get Your Sanity Back. Over 200 subscriptions are cancelable. So get started in the Experian app and see how much you could save. Results will vary. Not all subscriptions eligible. Savings not guaranteed. Paid membership with connected payment account required. See Experian.com for details. Faith was an enrolled tribal citizen of the Halawa-Saponi Indian tribe.

48:20She was one of our own. She participated in our powwows, wore a few crowns. A 19-year-old student who had her entire life ahead of her, promising future, attending the UNC Chapel Hill, ready to pledge Native American sorority. New wrinkles this morning in an unsolved murder case. A college student from North Carolina was found dead in her apartment. Chapel Hill police are releasing the gruesome details of their investigation into the murder of University of North Carolina sophomore Faith Hedgepeth. This is not something that happens, you know, often or every day in Chapel Hill. Everybody was just shocked, like, oh my God, you know, what happened? Faith's story is deeply personal, but for indigenous communities across America,

49:11her murder speaks to a much larger concern, the safety of indigenous women and their loved ones. The Red Handprint Movement is also another name for missing and murdered indigenous women and people. And I think Faith's case brought attention to the movement. When something happens to one of us, it kind of happens to all of us. Faith Hedgepeth was just 19 years old when she was murdered. As the years passed by without an arrest, grief was only compounded by unanswered questions. But investigators do have something solid that they were able to find in the early days of this investigation dna they collected at the scene that points to an unknown male suspect and we have to find that person we never stopped looking for the person who murdered faith

50:09since we last spoke to her salisa leahue has gone from a lieutenant with the chapel hill police We never stopped looking for the person who murdered Faith. Since we last spoke to her, Salisa Leahy has gone from a lieutenant with the Chapel Hill Police Department to its chief of police. This case always came with me. It really did become personal beyond just my role as an investigator. Sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to sleep, and I'd come into work. It was really important to me to solve this case. The last big break in the case? When a breakthrough in DNA technology led to that composite sketch of the alleged killer, which aired publicly on 2020 in 2016.

50:46And since our original report aired, investigators worked tirelessly to put a name to that unidentified male suspect profile. I knew immediately upon seeing the match list that this was going to be a very challenging case, and it would likely take a long time for us to be able to identify Faith's killer. I'm CeCe Moore. I'm the chief genetic genealogist at Parabon Nanolabs. In 2018, the Chapel Hill Police Department asked me if I could use genetic genealogy to help them identify the suspect in the Faith Hedgepeth 2012 homicide case. So investigative genetic genealogy is using a totally different type of DNA testing and many, many more markers. First, we get a list of people who share DNA with that unknown suspect,

51:39and we have to identify all those individuals and then build their family trees. But there were definite challenges involved because these family trees, once we started building them, almost immediately left the United States. It became clear very quickly that this person had roots in Guatemala. But I hadn't been able to zero in on just where in Guatemala. I'm not an expert in Latin American genetic genealogy. So that's why I brought Carol in to help on that. Well, Zizi asked me to take a look at it in 2020. And because this was a Latin American case, it is much more helpful if you have somebody who has the ability to read the records. I took the lead documenting these family trees and doing all of the building back in time to, you know,

52:32sometimes it's over a hundred years ago when we're looking for common ancestors. And then we begin bringing those families forward in time, generation by generation. And so as we start to build the trees of these matches of this unknown individual, all of them are leading back to two specific departments within Guatemala. That was one of the patterns that emerged. The Catholic Church has done an amazing job of documenting births and baptisms and marriages and deaths throughout time, really going back, you know, three, four, five hundred years in some cases. This is a marriage record from a very small town in Guatemala that I used to help build the trees of some of those matches. So when we're doing genetic genealogy we're

53:14always looking for that branch of the family tree that moves closer to the location of the crime. Carol really laid the foundation with her extensive genealogy work and yet was unable to find a line that came to North Carolina. We were working collaboratively with another researcher, and as it happens, he was able to find another line that had been missed. That turned out to be the line, as it came forward in time, that ended up right where the crime happened. At that point, candidates were identified to be further researched, and that was provided to Chapel Hill Police Department, and they took it from there. We were able to develop a lead using that genetic information. We used that genetic genealogy, and we got to a place in which we used other investigative tools,

54:08and one of the persons we found lived in our city. Law enforcement was able to identify an individual they believed may be connected to this. It was the hard work of genealogists and research that we're able to slowly, painstakingly, over the course of years, fill in that family tree until we got closer and closer to the person we believed was our suspect. Now, after years of searching, investigators may finally be able to find Faith's killer. Once the branch of this family tree was found that led to North Carolina, we knew we were getting very, very close to identifying Faith's killer. But at that point, law enforcement investigation takes over. In this case, social media ended up providing a lead that we hadn't been able to find any other way.

55:16Police find a photo on social media taken in a church right there in Chapel Hill of a young man who could be the person they're looking for. His name is Miguel Salguero Olivares, and he would have been 19 years old at the time of Faith's murder. The Parabon NanoLabs phenotype snapshot that was released back in 2016 matches some of the characteristics that Miguel shares. Dark hair, dark eyes, and Latino ancestry. You feel like you have your guy, but you have to get his DNA. How was the DNA obtained from Miguel? Investigators spent an entire day following Miguel around without his knowledge. So we waited for an opportunity that we could collect an item that we know would have his DNA on it. They actually worked it like 24-7 until they had the results.

56:17I remember calling one of the SBI investigators and saying, is it back yet? Is it back yet? And probably 10 minutes later, he came through my door and I knew at that point. And it was a lot of emotion. So as soon as we had a match from the lab, we huddled up as an investigative team and we decided to approach him early in the morning before he went to work. The rest of us were listening through the body-worn camera. We just want to talk to you and see if you got any information about it. About what? About the case we're working. Do you know this girl? No. You don't know her? No. Never. You've never met her before? No. Have you had sex with her? No. He seemed very dismissive and nonchalant about it. It was nine

57:04years and nine days to when the crime occurred. What would you say, Miguel, if I told you that I know that you killed this girl? And that I know that you were there? How are you going to tell that to me? What if I told you that I know that 100%? Would that change your mind at all? I don't get that. He was arrested right there in the parking lot and transported to the Chapel Hill Police Department. Now, you're under arrest, man. Finally, nine years after Faith's murder in 2021, there was an announcement that an arrest had been made. Today is an important day as we announce that we have arrested Miguel Enrique Salguero Olivares, age 28, of Durham. He's been charged with first degree murder of Faith Danielle Hedgepath.

58:04There was a sense of relief for Faith's family. There was a sense of relief for her friends and people in the college community. It's been a long nine years. Of course, I know this is not, this is not, the case is not solved. This is not the end. This is just the beginning. When I got the news this morning, I didn't do anything but cry and thank God and praise God. I'm praying and asking God that everything will be revealed that happened that morning, a faith step. I think a lot of people think when there is a DNA match, done deal, case over. But far from it. Why? It wasn't like a sigh of relief because we were still working and it wasn't over yet, but it was almost like, okay, now we're moving on to another chapter.

58:56You've got to look nine years earlier, back to 2012, and start figuring out those pieces of the puzzle. Where was he? How is he connected? Is he connected? Despite this long list of suspects, no one's heard of this person. No one knows who he is or how he is connected to Faith Hedgepeth. Miguel arrived here with his mother from Guatemala. And at the time of Faith's murder, he was 19 years old, essentially the same age as Faith. So it makes sense that two people of that age in this college campus community could somehow get connected to each other. My immediate thought when this person was arrested for killing Faith was, well, she definitely was not dating him. And I say that because I've met several of the guys

59:50she did date or casually talk to. From speaking with residents at the apartment complex where she lived, investigators developed a theory about how Faith and Miguel crossed paths. So we're here at Hawthorne at the View Apartments. The night of the murder, there was a cookout going on out here. So the thought of law enforcement is perhaps Miguel was at this cookout and at some point Miguel encountered Faith and Karina coming home. That is the best theory that we have right now that fits the evidence we have. So describe to me what's happening around 2 45 a.m. Well, we believe that Miguel would have likely seen the two girls coming back from the club. We believe that he interacted with them and would have approached them right here.

1:00:34And the thought was that it was a negative interaction. Some sort of thing went down. They go their way. But it puts him just really feet away from where they were. That's the best theory we've got right now. Yes. None of Faith's friends had ever seen this guy and they knew nothing about him. But we did talk to a woman named Laura Kissel Ellen, and her daughter was a UNC student at the time and actually worked with Miguel at a local pizza place. Miguel spoke very little English, so he spoke Spanish with him. They just clicked. It just wasn't a romance. It was just a close friendship. Katie, who sadly has since passed, told her mother she was shocked to learn that Miguel was accused of murder because she hung out with him around that very time.

1:01:26She said he wouldn't hurt anybody. Katie was very clear. I would have noticed a change in him, and there was no change in him. I think what she said was, you don't kill someone and then go to work the next day and tell the same goofy jokes. After she talked to him that first time on the video call, she texted me, and what she said was, if he wasn't wearing an orange jumpsuit, you'd never know that he was in jail. I personally can't imagine any kind of malice coming from this person. Newly revealed court documents show he is additionally charged with first-degree rape, burglary, and sexual offense. The indictment says he entered a hedge path's home with the intent to commit a felony and assaulted her. Miguel pleads not guilty to all charges,

1:02:27and finally, after years of waiting for justice, the trial date is set. Miguel Salguero Olivares will stand trial in September of 2026. The defense is fully aware that they've got a mountain to climb when it comes to the prosecution's DNA evidence. So on the eve of the trial, they've got a strategy that they hope works. They want to shift the blame to someone deep inside Faith's inner circle, her roommate, Karina Rosario. Somebody else might have blood on their hands. The man charged in the 2012 murder of UNC Chapel Hill student Faith Hedgepeth faced a superior court judge for the first time in person since his arrest. So a week before the trial, there was a hearing to discuss whether the defense could introduce third-party evidence

1:03:28suggesting that someone other than Miguel might have killed Faith. That third party that the defense wants to shift focus on is none other than Faith's roommate and close friend, Karina Rosario. And they believe that it's very possible it was Karina who wrote that very strange note. So the defense, they were comparing to the note that was written on the white bag. And the note said, I'm not stupid, bitch, jealous. We saw interrogation video of Karina talking with investigators. And she kept saying, I'm not stupid. I think I heard like, yeah, and she kept saying, I'm not stupid. I think I heard like, yeah, I was drunk, but I'm not stupid. But the thing is, it's like, you hear about it and you're like, oh, that'll never be me. I'm not stupid. I know the signs.

1:04:22I'm not stupid. I'm really not. It's correct. I'm not stupid. I'm not stupid. I'm not stupid for Ms. Rosario. First thing written on that white bag. In his argument, the defense brings up something that we had heard from that neighbor, Joy Barker, that just after finding her best friend's body, Karina seemed very serene. What's the downstairs neighbor, Ms. Barker, the one that heard all the thumps, what did she say? I never saw Karina crying or upset. No, I can't say, I never saw her crying. She, you, you would have never thought she had just discovered anything bad. The defense makes note that even an investigator noticed Karina's behavior when he accompanied her back to the crime scene. Officer Matthews talks with Ms. Rosario.

1:05:17He documents. She's trying to be emotional at times. Doesn't cry, doesn't shed a tear. He's more specific. There's a bloody mattress still in the room. And he sees her, look at her. And notices. Absolutely no emotion. Demeanor evidence, again, right, it's subjective. And I've responded to thousands of 911 calls where people were in crisis over my career. And everybody acts a little bit differently. She was met with a horrific scene of her best friend that she describes as a sister relationship and so I I don't think there's any right way to respond to that. The case law in North Carolina is really clear that you have to not only be able to show that there is definite evidence that this person was involved, but also that their client was not involved. If this defendant wants a not guilty verdict, he wants a fair trial, he can accomplish that

1:06:22or attempt to accomplish that by showing the insufficiency of the state's evidence, not by casting some spurious allegations on a person who is not charged. She, you know, she lost her best friend. They ran out of other leads and she was the last person who saw her alive besides the killer. And so they just went back to her and interviewed her over and over and over again. And she started second guessing herself and questioning herself because she was drunk and she couldn't remember exactly what happened that night. It was just really clear to us that she had nothing to do with this. It's now up to Judge Keith Gregory to decide if he's going to let the defense present this argument that Karina, who Faith considered one of her closest friends,

1:07:07might have had something to do with her brutal murder. This inference that when it says, I'm not stupid, that she wrote that on the back, I don't know that. I wouldn't consider that a phrase that is so out of the ordinary that anybody can't just use that phrase. I'm going to sit right over here and be fair and impartial to the best of my ability. What I'm not going to do is allow myself to fall for inferences and conjecture. And I do agree with the state. Therefore, the state does prevail. After weighing both sides, the judge ultimately rules that the defense may not bring up Karina as a potential third party participant. And one week before trial gets underway, it's a big blow for the defense.

1:07:59Now prosecutors have to prove to jurors that Miguel was the killer and that he was the one who wrote the note found next to Faith's body. But will this video of Miguel shown to jurors help make their case or sink it? and diamond studs feature the prettiest hand-picked hand-matched diamonds. We have beautiful 14-carat gold chains that make great gifts for both men and women. You can personalize a piece, too. Add an engraving, pick a natural gem in their favorite color or birthstone, or give a letter charm. Come see for yourself, in-store or at shaneco.com. Shane Company, your friend and jeweler. This holiday, all plans, even unlimited, are just $15 a month. A holiday deal this good obviously deserves an enormously expensive holiday song. Your friend and fees extra.

1:09:11New customer offer for initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. Prize Picks packs are here. Rip digital packs and get real basketball, football, and Pokemon cards on Prize Picks packs. Available now nationwide. Once you see your pool, you have a choice to sell back instantly for real cash or ship it home. Cash from your sale will immediately be added to your PrizePix balance. It's just another way to run your game. New users, download the PrizePix app today and use code SPOTIFY to get $25 instantly in bonus packs when you buy your first $5 pack. PrizePix, run your game. 18 plus eligible areas, terms apply, collect responsibly. Miguel Soluero-Olivares is standing trial in Durham on charges of first-degree murder, rape, burglary, and sexual offense in connection with the death of Faith Hedgepeth.

1:10:03Madam, yeah, are you ready for me to bring the jury on? It was a solemn feeling day one, 14 years in the making, a lot of anticipation. I just want someone to pay for what they did. The defendant, hardly do her own permit, beat her in the head, sexually assaulted her, and left dead or still dying alone. And we walked in and there's just blood everywhere. Faith was like someone wrapped in a comforter. And so we just, it just froze. My heart cried out for Faith's family, that they are still having to endure things that happened to their daughter. I was right there in court, five feet away from the defendant, when I'm watching the prosecution tell the jury that the murder weapon was a rum bottle. We learned that it in fact was a homicide and that she had a lot of trauma

1:11:18to her head and so she she died of blunt force trauma. And used the Bacardi rum bottle to come down on her head and he did it again and again and again. You see things in movies and all that stuff but this is a real person, somebody's real life and it was it was horrible. Investigators would recover DNA that prosecutors say is crucial evidence against Miguel Olivares. They had this single male DNA profile inside her body. The analysts who examined that internal DNA told the jury that it was 170 septillion times more likely that it belonged to defendant Olivares than anybody else. 170 septillion is a one followed by 26 zeros. He left his DNA on the murder weapon of a Cardi rum bottle. He left his DNA and his palm print and his left thumb print

1:12:25on a blue Riesling bottle that was found on the floor of his building. The palm print was compared to lab item 77 on a blue reasoning model that was found on the floor of his building bed. The palm print was compared to lab item 77 and identified as the left palm of Miguel Enrique Saldorio Olivares. Olivares is facing up to life in prison, but his defense is ready to attack. You see television shows and a crime's been committed and someone swabs something and says, well, there's DNA there, we cracked the case because that must be the person. Don't worry about the rest of the evidence in this case. Just focus on that because everything else is noise. Except it's not. During cross-examination, the defense tries to focus on some of that rest of the evidence,

1:13:07like no physical signs of sexual assault or proof when the internal DNA was left. No, I can't determine the time when it was deposited. So could have been several nights prior? There is the potential. I have no way of knowing that. The swab of blood from the bathroom doorway that never got sent to be tested. Every time we bring in evidence on a case, it's entered in individually. That item was not there. And that rum bottle? So when you hear, well, this DNA is on the murder weapon, do it closely. It doesn't mean what you think. The defense insists to the jury those DNA results were not conclusive and don't tell you exactly who committed the crime. They poked so many holes and for me, they kind of made my focus shift.

1:14:03But prosecutors counter this case goes beyond DNA. I think the DNA was great, but people still want some kind of narrative, that he didn't just fall in from the sky and didn't have any connection to this apartment complex. Would you tell us who you knew lived in the Hawthorne at the View apartments? Vivía ahí Ariel Velazquez. Ariel apartments. I lived there. Ariel Velasquez. Ariel Velasquez lived there. Hugo Miranda. I do. The prosecution calls two different men to the stand who testify that many Guatemalan people lived just across the parking lot from where Faith and Karina lived. That's a picture that my wife took at the moment that we were making the cookout. We had a cookout the night Faith was gone.

1:14:56It started at about 6 p.m. and it went until about 5 a.m. the next morning. Luis Lopez testified that there were people coming and going at all hours throughout that barbecue. Could Miguel Olivares have been one of them? No, no, no. No, I don't remember. Luis Lopez says he just doesn't remember. The defense denies he was there altogether. They pulled cell tower records to see if they can put his cell phone in the area at the time. Nothing. Then there was that odd handwritten note found at the scene. The note was found on the bed at the crime scene, written on a white paper bag. Were you ever able to obtain a known sample of the defendant's writing? Yes. It leads to the most visible display of emotion Uh, yes. Can you hear me on mic? I can hear you.

1:15:55It leads to the most visible display of emotion in this entire trial. I knew this was going to happen. As prosecutors play the video of that jailhouse phone call between Miguel and his friend Katie, Miguel breaks down in tears. Prosecutors contend handwriting Olivares shows in the jailhouse camera is similar to the handwriting on the note in Faith's apartment. It's all in caps. All of the letters are the same size. There were certain letters that seemed distinctive. The defense disputes that, and they claim Olivares didn't speak English well and that the note itself is problematic. It's pure speculation. Somebody can't break in and block print a note that doesn't make any sense for someone that's already been killed.

1:16:40They will never fully win. The prosecution, however, says it all makes sense. Proof against Olivares is overwhelming. The evidence is loud and clear and he he is guilty of murder of a man. But there's one witness the defense is counting on to muddy the waters. Even though the judge already ruled that the defense cannot say that Karina Rosario committed any crime. They can use her to make the jury wonder, are we hearing the entire story? Do you remember having a conversation with him about having blood on her hand? It's perhaps the key moment of the trial against Miguel Salguero Olivares, as prosecutors call Faith Hedgepest's roommate, Karina Rosario. Thank you, Your Honor. Yes, ma'am. Our next witness will be Karina Rosario.

1:17:43Good afternoon, Karina. Good afternoon. She was the last person to see Faith alive after the two came back to their apartment after a night out. Do you remember what, if anything, Faith was doing once y'all got back to the apartment? No, I don't remember. I think I was just so focused on throwing up and I was feeling really sick. She tells the jury that she spends about an hour on the floor texting Jordan McCrary, asking him if he was going to come and pick her up. What did you do when you realized he was there at the apartment? I got up off the floor and I walked out. Do you know where Faith was at that point? No. Then she testifies about the next morning, describing the horror when she says she returns to the apartment to find Faith dead.

1:18:38And I saw that she had a black eye, and she wasn't wearing anything from the waist down, and her shirt was pulled all the way up. To me, she seemed terrified. She stared straight ahead. She never looked at the jury once, giving her testimony. Now, Judge Gregory already ruled the defense cannot argue that Karina Rosario had anything to do with the murder. But the defense hopes its questions about her testimony will raise reasonable doubt with the jury. From the time you say that you sat on the bathroom floor until the time you left the apartment, did you ever get off the bathroom floor? No. Corrina testifies that Faith never came into the bathroom to help her. And the defense wonders if the jury finds that strange.

1:19:24Ms. Hedgett was described as a wonderful, loving person. It's odd that she would not have come and checked on Miss Rosario, who was only a few feet away. And equally curious to the defense. In all that time, Karina Rosario says she never cleaned herself up at all. So that whole 50-minute time period, you didn't get up and go brush your teeth, wash your hands, anything like that? No, I mean, I was drunk. I wasn't thinking to look presentable for anybody. I was home. Police would later find evidence of blood in the bathroom sink. And when that friend Jordan McCrary testifies about picking Karina up, he says they discussed blood on her finger. And then she had said that she doesn't know why there's blood on her finger.

1:20:22And I asked, yeah, why do you have blood on your finger? And she just said, I don't know. Being asked to testify about the blood on Karina's finger was a nervous, I guess, moment. I've never had to testify. I've never been in a situation like this before. I trust him. I don't see him to be a liar. Do I believe it was blood? No. Did I tell him I was throwing up red slushies all night? No. There was nothing that would have caused me to come into contact with blood. So I deduced it to my vomit. The defense, that was like kind of their big thing. It was Karina. She was hard to read. So there was like little seeds of doubt that were kind of planted in my mind. Did you feel that the defense at times came close to crossing the line

1:21:12between what wasn't supposed to come into the trial in this regard? I think that we were ready to object. I don't think we ever got to the point where we needed to. If somebody did this, and if it wasn't him, they've got to point the finger at someone else. Whoever did this would be covered in blood. There's no blood on what Karina was wearing that night. There's not a scratch on her. This theory of Karina being involved falls apart when you use your reason and common sense. And first here on Eyewitness News at 5, the prosecution resting its case against Miguel Salguero Olivares. As the defense gets ready to present its case, everyone's wondering, will Miguel Olivares take the stand? Have you made a decision about whether or not you're

1:22:05going to testify? Yes, I've made the decision. I'm not going to testify. The fact that the defendant decided not to take the stand is not unusual. Happens all the time. But what the defense did next was truly surprising. Will there be evidence for the defense in this matter? No, Your Honor. We will be not offering evidence and we will be prepared to close tomorrow. Imagine the shock that filled the courtroom when the defense announced it would not be putting on any evidence. I gasped inside. I was stunned. I remember looking at one juror, her face, she did this. Grabbed her cheeks. And all that's left for the jury to hear are closing arguments. He beat her. He beat her. Again and again and again

1:22:56till he could get what he wanted. This is a murder trial. You have accused someone and said beyond a reasonable doubt this person committed these horrible crimes. We are here to test the state's evidence. That's your job. Did they give you enough? His DNA was there because he was there. crimes. We are here to test the state's evidence. That's your job to make if you a nut. His DNA was there because he was there. Nothing else is reasonable. Nothing else makes sense. Some people call it a red herring. Other people might call it reasonable doubt. Nobody's coming in here and saying if anything was done wrong then you never can convict on anything because they forgot to collect something small. These aren't small things. This evidence is loud.

1:23:37It is clear. It is screaming at you that this defendant did this. This is what the evidence has been saying for 14 years. Put the guilt where it belongs. Find him guilty. They have not proved their case. Hold them to their burden. He did not prove. He's not guilty. The fate of defendant Miguel Saguaro-Oliveres is now in the hands of the jury. As they go out to deliberate, what's going through your mind? It's hard to be totally confident, but, you know, there's always the possibility of a hung jury. It's hard to get 12 people to decide on a kind of pizza to order. Could he be found guilty? Could he be not? I mean, his fate lies in their hands. We are following breaking news right now. We are being told that the jury has reached a verdict.

1:24:42What's the atmosphere like in the courtroom? What are you feeling? I mean, just a kind of anticipation that makes it feel like time is standing still. The jury, they were deliberating for a little more than a day. I remember looking at Mr. Hedgepeth, and he's like, Akilah, I think about where would she be today? Where would my baby be? Has the jury reached a verdict? Yes. I look at one of the jurors. She's crying. I look at Faith's family. They have their arms around each other. They're grabbing Kleenex. It was emotional. Miguel, all the various circles stand and face the jury. There's a lot of drama as the judge hands the verdict to the clerk, who will stand and read it aloud. We as well members of the jury, we now respond to be count one guilty of first degree murder.

1:25:37I don't think I've ever heard a more quiet courtroom. Nobody moved. A Durham County jury found Miguel Salguero-Oliveres guilty of murder, rape and burglary. And when you hear the verdict, what was your reaction? Relief? Relief for the family of Faith. It seemed to me that he was in shock, that he was found guilty. As the judge is individually polling the jurors to confirm their verdict, I could see sitting behind the defendant him just shaking his head back and forth. What did you make of that? It's not shocking I don't suppose but it's devastating. I wish for him for his own sake and for his family's that he was in a position to take some accountability. These 12 people struggled. It was not an easy decision.

1:26:29We kept getting caught on the burden of proof. What ended up being most compelling for the jury? The evidence, that DNA. That DNA and fingerprints. The DNA was found. Hi, I'm Katie, your friend and jeweler at Shane Company. As a Shane Company jewelry consultant and gift insider, here are my top three engagement ring trends for a magical holiday proposal. Vintage inspired styles with intricate details, bold rings with thicker gold bands, and unique diamond shapes like antique cushion. We have so many beautiful ring styles and diamonds in stock to compare side by side. Plus, we'll protect your ring with our all-inclusive free lifetime warranty. Visit us in-store or at shaneco.com. Shane Company, your friend and jeweler.

1:27:10In her and on her, on her clothes and on the murder weapon. This is someone's life. And so to raise your hand and say guilty is terrifying. Today we have justice for faith. Like my sister said, the fight will always continue and we will always have faith. Everybody's been really good to us and we just want to say thank you to everyone. And please continue to pray for us. We still miss her every day. Sentencing is immediate, but before he rules, Judge Gregory hears from Faith's family. I don't want to address the defendant. I don't have words. What he took from our family, we feel it in every event, in every moment, every place we go. To the person who took our life, you know, I'll say this, you didn't have any reason

1:28:12to take her life and you didn't have any right to take her life. I do forgive, Miguel. Only God has the right to forgive sin. I do forgive. It just seemed like it was such a senseless and cruel act. We just have to trust God, and she's in a better place than we will ever be here on this earth. But I want to meet her one day, and I know I will. The jury has spoken, and the family has spoken. This jury hasn't found you guilty of first-degree murder. This court will sentence you to life without the possibility of parole. Olivares gets additional time for the other convictions as well. His defense says they plan to appeal. Back in our hometown of Hollister, North Carolina, memories of Faith still run deep.

1:29:16After her death, the community gathered to film this musical tribute in Faith's spirit is still here. It lives on in song. I try the best, but sometimes Her spirit is here forever. Waiting To see your face again I'll be waiting Oh, oh, hey, Daddy. I have a last voicemail from her. She says, uh, hey, Daddy. I love you a lot, and it's fun to talk. And I love you a lot. Bye. Just like the first time we met. And that's our program for tonight. I'm David Muir. And I'm Deborah Roberts.

1:30:48From all of us here at ABC News in 2020, good night.