NC NC - Faith Hedgepeth, 19, UNC student, Chapel Hill, 7 Sep 2012 #3

[CADwrest]

I really don't blame police for focusing so much on Takoy in the beginning. He was a good suspect, until he was cleared by DNA. If I had been in charge, I would have focused on Takoy as well. He had motive, he'd threatened Faith Hedgepeth prior to the murder, he was physically abusive towards Karena, and he'd broken into the apartment before. Oh, and those weird Facebook posts from before and after the murder.

All of those things would have caused me to believe that Takoy was probably the guy, and I would've focused on him just like the police did.

I absolutely do blame irresponsible true crime documentaries and podcasts for continuing to present Takoy as a suspect after he'd already been definitively cleared. And for irrationally insisting that Karena would suddenly conspire with a man who'd beaten and abused her to murder her own best friend, for no discernable reason.

To be fair, the police were still making it really clear they suspected him, even years later. All that "just because someone's DNA doesn't match doesn't mean they're in the clear" stuff was obviously directed at him.

 

[CADwrest]

I linked to the source. The source is the police notes, reports, and warrants that were released to the public. There's a description of footage from inside the club, people she interacted with, etc. They never released that part to the public. That's why it is accurate to say that there is apparently lots more.

They rewatched the footage in 2013. It had been preserved, and presumably watched before that. It's all in the police docs that I linked to.

I'm not totally sure one way or the other. The part where they talk about people having conversations with each other seems like it'd be odd if that were taking place in the entry way. Where do you specifically see reference to footage taken inside the club?

 

[Ibiz]

To be fair, the police were still making it really clear they suspected him, even years later. All that "just because someone's DNA doesn't match doesn't mean they're in the clear" stuff was obviously directed at him.

I think the interview he did with the media outside the apartment contributed to him becoming a suspect early on,

Coupled with a very funny looking mugshot made him irisistible to all the crime docs and podcast,

Then their was the Arlo West character who had to write his little script about the but dial. I sure hope he won't be testifying in any future cases.

 

[CADwrest]

Then their was the Arlo West character who had to write his little script about the but dial. I sure hope he won't be testifying in any future cases.

That literally made me laugh out loud.

 

[Ibiz]

That literally made me laugh out loud.

It is funny but back in the days before DNA, people were wrongfully convicted of crimes because of this type of junk science where creeps like West were just out to make a quick buck. Even after the police confirmed that the call was made around 1:30am, though phone pings and everything else; he still tried to defend his non basis nonsense by stating there was some sort of cliche with the phone company.

I hope that was the last $800.00 he ever makes with his scame.

 

[CADwrest]

It is funny but back in the days before DNA, people were wrongfully convicted of crimes because of this type of junk science where creeps like West were just out to make a quick buck. Even after the police confirmed that the call was made around 1:30am, though phone pings and everything else; he still tried to defend his non basis nonsense by stating there was some sort of cliche with the phone company.

I hope that was the last $800.00 he ever makes with his scame.

There’s one case where a woman was convicted in large part because he “cleaned up” the audio from a recorder police had placed under the seat of her car.
If I were her, I’d be asking my lawyer to see about getting me a new trial, using West’s behavior here as a basis. It was just one ad hoc rationalization after another and it was never in good faith.

 

[Ibiz]

Agreed,

 

[fluffypaste]

HLN's "Real-Life Nightmare" is set to cover this case soon. The episode is scheduled to premiere on Dec. 12. Based on articles about the show, it looks like they fully intend to talk about the voicemail, so unfortunately, Arlo West will probably be making a new appearance. I mean, if they're going to talk about the voice-mail, then they pretty much have to bring him in because he's the only person who can hear anything in it.

 

[Webthrush]

HLN's "Real-Life Nightmare" is set to cover this case soon. The episode is scheduled to premiere on Dec. 12. Based on articles about the show, it looks like they fully intend to talk about the voicemail, so unfortunately, Arlo West will probably be making a new appearance. I mean, if they're going to talk about the voice-mail, then they pretty much have to bring him in because he's the only person who can hear anything in it.

Just guessing, but I bet they also place a lot of weight on some sort of linguistic analysis of Karena's 911 call... 2 things I've never put much faith in are the analyses of either the voicemail or the 911 call... though, with that said, at this point almost nothing will surprise me in the eventual conclusion of this bewildering case!

 

[Curious_in_NC]

HLN's "Real-Life Nightmare" is set to cover this case soon. The episode is scheduled to premiere on Dec. 12. Based on articles about the show, it looks like they fully intend to talk about the voicemail, so unfortunately, Arlo West will probably be making a new appearance. I mean, if they're going to talk about the voice-mail, then they pretty much have to bring him in because he's the only person who can hear anything in it.

Maybe his company is called Creative Forensic Services for a good reason. BBM
Audio Forensics Services - Creative Forensic, LLC

 

[CADwrest]

HLN's "Real-Life Nightmare" is set to cover this case soon. The episode is scheduled to premiere on Dec. 12. Based on articles about the show, it looks like they fully intend to talk about the voicemail, so unfortunately, Arlo West will probably be making a new appearance. I mean, if they're going to talk about the voice-mail, then they pretty much have to bring him in because he's the only person who can hear anything in it.

I wonder if the episode was finished before or after the arrest was announced?

 

[fluffypaste]

I wonder if the episode was finished before or after the arrest was announced?

Definitely before. The episode is to be the 5th episode of the 3rd season of Real-Life Nightmare, so the episode was has to have been filmed long ago.

 

[Moonbeam456]

We aren't allowed to link to social media here, but there has been some local chatter by members of LE that he was on their radar for petty crimes and they were familiar with him. MOO, the reason that the court date hasn't been resceduled is that his counsel is trying to work out a deal.

It’s the prosecutor that has to offer a plea deal and I highly doubt they are going that route so soon, that usually comes later in the game. There is something going on, I’m wondering if it’s due to his immigration status.

 

[Webthrush]

It’s the prosecutor that has to offer a plea deal and I highly doubt they are going that route so soon, that usually comes later in the game. There is something going on, I’m wondering if it’s due to his immigration status.

He's been here for close to a dozen years by now... what do we know about his (or for that matter his mother's) immigration status... and in any event how would that status interplay with the court system?

 

[fluffypaste]

He's been here for close to a dozen years by now... what do we know about his (or for that matter his mother's) immigration status... and in any event how would that status interplay with the court system?

Maybe I'm just ignorant of law, but I can't think of any reason why his immigration status would have any relevance to a murder charge.

 

[Moonbeam456]

He's been here for close to a dozen years by now... what do we know about his (or for that matter his mother's) immigration status... and in any event how would that status interplay with the court system?

It has been reported he is not a legal immigrant and I didn't know if that could possibly impact the way the court handles things, I was just wondering, I'm not trying to make anything racial out of it, I just don't know if that makes a difference when there is a criminal court case.

 

[Skigirl]

It has been reported he is not a legal immigrant and I didn't know if that could possibly impact the way the court handles things, I was just wondering, I'm not trying to make anything racial out of it, I just don't know if that makes a difference when there is a criminal court case.

I don't know this for a fact, but what I think I've observed in most cases involving the undocumented is that the trial (or plea) goes on as it otherwise normally would, and assuming a conviction, the person serves a sentence here and then is promptly deported upon release.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

I don't know this for a fact, but what I think I've observed in most cases involving the undocumented is that the trial (or plea) goes on as it otherwise normally would, and assuming a conviction, the person serves a sentence here and then is promptly deported upon release.

I think you're right. I suspect that is what happened in the eerily similar case in neighboring Carrboro, where a violent rape occurred in the same early morning hours only a few miles from Faith's murder. The perpetrator was also a 19 year old Guatemalan. I don't know his immigration status, but another poster in thread #2 alleged he was back in Guatemala after his sentence. I can't confirm this however.
https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2012/09/man-charged-in-connection-to-carrboro-rape

I still think there's too much similarity between these two crimes to be a mere coincidence. There have been relatively few reports of gang activity locally but, who knows, maybe that is a connecting factor. MOO

BBM From:
MS13 in the Americas: Major Findings
"In Honduras and Guatemala, the gang is still largely urban. In El Salvador, however, the gang has steadily spread into more rural areas. Expansion beyond urban areas has also happened in places in the United States, most notably in Long Island and North Carolina, and increasingly California."

 

[Skigirl]

I think you're right. I suspect that is what happened in the eerily similar case in neighboring Carrboro, where a violent rape occurred in the same early morning hours only a few miles from Faith's murder. The perpetrator was also a 19 year old Guatemalan. I don't know his immigration status, but another poster in thread #2 alleged he was back in Guatemala after his sentence. I can't confirm this however.
Man charged in connection to Carrboro rape

I still think there's too much similarity between these two crimes to be a mere coincidence. There have been relatively few reports of gang activity locally but, who knows, maybe that is a connecting factor. MOO

BBM From:
MS13 in the Americas: Major Findings
"In Honduras and Guatemala, the gang is still largely urban. In El Salvador, however, the gang has steadily spread into more rural areas. Expansion beyond urban areas has also happened in places in the United States, most notably in Long Island and North Carolina, and increasingly California."

Wow, you weren't kidding, they WERE eerily similar! I would bet he was on the suspect list for Faith's crime and was ruled out by DNA. Creepy! I used to live right near there.

I don't think the take-home is that this is a common MO of migrants from Guatemala, however. I think the take-home is that a LOT of stranger rapes are crimes of opportunity, and sociopaths are happy to commit any kind of crime imaginable. That, and that home invasions often start with an unlocked door, since if someone's looking for a little mayhem, it's easier, quicker and quieter to enter in through an unlocked door than it is to kick a door in or break a window.

 

[Skigirl]

I can't get over the similarities. Is it possible that Miguel actually committed both??? Do we know what happened to the guy who was charged? Did he go to prison, or did coverage of the case peter out to the point where if he was exonerated by DNA, we never heard about it?? The perp in the Carrboro rape case looks a lot like the composite of Faith's killer. I am dying to know what Miguel looked like 9 years ago. I would be willing to bet that he was a lot less heavy.