NC NC - Faith Hedgepeth, 19, UNC student, Chapel Hill, 7 Sep 2012 #2

[raiders444]

He probably just made an assumption and took a risk, which is inherent in any sort of criminal activity. The type of person I'm talking about is a petty sneak thief who's always on the look-out for an easy score. He sees someone leave a one bedroom apartment in a bit of a rush, get into a waiting car, and drive away. He sees an opportunity. He checks the door, finds it unlocked, and goes in to grab a couple of things. It turns out, he made a very bad assumption and the whole thing went horribly wrong. He's gone the next day, and since police believed it was a different kind of crime than it was, he gets very lucky that his trail goes cold before they make a serious attempt to question the neighbors.

This doesn't work for me. If we are playing FBI profiler, and assuming the perp is a "petty sneak thief" who made a bad assumption- I can see maybe some sort of confrontation by FH and then the bashing in the head. But the semen? The note? Those things to me indicate crime of passion or obsession rather than random stranger thief who made a split second decision

 

[CADwrest]

This doesn't work for me. If we are playing FBI profiler, and assuming the perp is a "petty sneak thief" who made a bad assumption- I can see maybe some sort of confrontation by FH and then the bashing in the head. But the semen? The note? Those things to me indicate crime of passion or obsession rather than random stranger thief who made a split second decision

Fair enough. I don't like how the semen and note fit into the theory, either. I think it's just possible a random killer would stage them, but I don't think that's particularly likely.

 

[raiders444]

I love all the different theories. None of us really knows what exactly happened but posting our own theories I think helps keep this thread alive and near the top, where it's visible to new members who might have new stuff to add. It also helps foster debate and can open up new ideas or close ones that just don't work.

I wanted to add that I am warming up to the recently mentioned scenario of her being attacked in her sleep. This is based on where she was found in bed. Also-the defensive wounds- what nature were they? I would imagine if a guy was trying to rape her she might have at least scratched him and they'd find some DNA under her nails? Or broken nails? I suppose she could have been hit elsewhere- say in the main "living room" and then had her body staged where they found it, but was blood ever found in other places in the apartment? Makes me think it all happened in her bed

 

[CADwrest]

I love all the different theories. None of us really knows what exactly happened but posting our own theories I think helps keep this thread alive and near the top, where it's visible to new members who might have new stuff to add. It also helps foster debate and can open up new ideas or close ones that just don't work.

Totally agree. There really are a lot of different ways you can go here, like Webthrush mentioned. The interesting thing (to me, anyway) is that every theory I've ever heard always has a glaring weak spot in it, some sort of thing that just sounds really implausible. Makes me think that whatever happened that night, there was an element of implausibility in it.

I wanted to add that I am warming up to the recently mentioned scenario of her being attacked in her sleep. This is based on where she was found in bed. Also-the defensive wounds- what nature were they? I would imagine if a guy was trying to rape her she might have at least scratched him and they'd find some DNA under her nails? Or broken nails? I suppose she could have been hit elsewhere- say in the main "living room" and then had her body staged where they found it, but was blood ever found in other places in the apartment? Makes me think it all happened in her bed

There are pictures around of the living room/kitchen (which I think was the only other room, aside from a bathroom or closet), and there isn't any blood visible in them. There aren't any pictures of the bedroom, but the 9-11 call makes it sound pretty bad. KR says "there's blood everywhere" over and over again, and mentions that there's a lot of it soaked into the bed.

The defensive injuries in the autopsy are:

Contusions of the posterior right upper arm
Contusions of the knuckle of the right index and middle fingers
Contusions of the posterior right hand

They are then described in more detail later in the autopsy. There's no mention of damage to her fingernails. In the summary, it mentions a contusion on her left index finger as well.
To me, the contusions are indicative of her instinctively using her hands to shield herself from the bottle, and receiving injuries to them.

 

[Webthrush]

Totally agree. There really are a lot of different ways you can go here, like Webthrush mentioned. The interesting thing (to me, anyway) is that every theory I've ever heard always has a glaring weak spot in it, some sort of thing that just sounds really implausible. Makes me think that whatever happened that night, there was an element of implausibility in it.

There are pictures around of the living room/kitchen (which I think was the only other room, aside from a bathroom or closet), and there isn't any blood visible in them. There aren't any pictures of the bedroom, but the 9-11 call makes it sound pretty bad. KR says "there's blood everywhere" over and over again, and mentions that there's a lot of it soaked into the bed.

The defensive injuries in the autopsy are:

Contusions of the posterior right upper arm
Contusions of the knuckle of the right index and middle fingers
Contusions of the posterior right hand

They are then described in more detail later in the autopsy. There's no mention of damage to her fingernails. In the summary, it mentions a contusion on her left index finger as well.
To me, the contusions are indicative of her instinctively using her hands to shield herself from the bottle, and receiving injuries to them.

I think it’s worth noting that according to the autopsy fingernail scrapings or swabs were taken, as well as swabs from the rape assault kit, and sent off for analysis — but we’ve never heard the result. Maybe there were no findings, or quite likely there were and they’ve never been publicly released.

And sorry to be repetitive, but I believe the autopsy shows there was a defensive struggle happening before FH was suddenly bashed in the head with a nearby object (bottle), again implying to me that she was doing something (in the struggle) that enraged the perp to make such a rash decision.

 

[Simplestarz86]

To me, the contusions are indicative of her instinctively using her hands to shield herself from the bottle, and receiving injuries to them.

Yes, this is what my fiance and I figured out when we "replayed" that scenario. every single injury made sense that way with the exact way I moved to protect my head. I mentioned this role play way up thread.

 

[Webthrush]

Here’s an end-of-year article of possible interest on genetic genealogy:
Crime solvers embraced genetic genealogy

…and, a quote from it:
“Today, if you’re a criminal and you’ve left your DNA at the crime scene, you may as well turn yourself in now. We will catch you”

 

[RookieInvestigator]

I saw the 48 Hours program on this case...It's sad that you aren't safe at your own home...I read some of the thread...Hopefully I'm not repeating something that was already said...

There are some cases with very little evidence, but they have plenty of potential suspects and evidence...

I didn't recall them mentioning investigating customers or co-workers at her two jobs...They mentioned that Grace worked at Red Robins...Does anyone know where else she worked? I think it's kind of weird that someone put a heart around her name on their receipt...A customer could've had a crush, but the feelings weren't mutual...

The co-worker angle could fit with the note found in the apartment...It's possible she told them where she lived...Was a co-worker stalking her...It seems like people knew she liked to party...It's not a stretch that she may tell her co-workers where she hangs out on weekends...

LE should consider talking to her professors or classmates...The note mentioned something about "dumb"...Did she unknowingly offend someone and they sought revenge....

Parabon mentioned a possible Latino suspect...Hopefully all Latino men who worked and lived in the complex were investigated....I would question maintenance, the office staff and landscaping....

 

[Ibiz]

We covered all that stuff Rockie Investigator.

In conclusion, I think we are all in agreement. The #1 reason this case was not solved is due to the fact that to much emphasis was placed on the mysterious DNA evidence; thus the lack of old fashion detective work in this case which has somewhat frustrated the investigation.

It is believed that professional investigators, Kris Mohandie, and Derrick Levasseur, were able to breath some life into any hope of solving this crime during the two hour ID series called “Breaking Homicide.”

Levasseur and Mohandie concluded that the roommate possibly holds the key to solving this case. After reading much into this case, I think that we all agree with these two expert investigators.

The butt dial phone message leads us to believe that a heated conversation took place between Faith and another woman, and two men at the Thrill nightclub.

According to reports, Faith and her roommate left the club around 2:30AM, (roommate drank to much didn't feel good) and arrived at the off campus appartment in the neighborhood of about 3:00AM.

The lower floor neighbor who was up watching TV, heard approximately three loud thumps coming from the upper floor apartment where the two women had been living.

At this point, Faith's Facebook account was accessed, and several suspicious messages were sent from her phone. Along the same time frame; her roommate was diligently making phone calls to get a ride away from the appartment (crime scene.)

As another poster pointed out. The message from Faith's phone which was sent to an obsessive old BF, seemed to be an attempt to lure him to the appartment - thus explaining the note found at the crime scene.

 

[RookieInvestigator]

We covered all that stuff Rockie Investigator.

In conclusion, I think we are all in agreement. The #1 reason this case was not solved is due to the fact that to much emphasis was placed on the mysterious DNA evidence; thus the lack of old fashion detective work in this case which has somewhat frustrated the investigation.

It is believed that professional investigators, Kris Mohandie, and Derrick Levasseur, were able to breath some life into any hope of solving this crime during the two hour ID series called “Breaking Homicide.”

Levasseur and Mohandie concluded that the roommate possibly holds the key to solving this case. After reading much into this case, I think that we all agree with these two expert investigators.

The butt dial phone message leads us to believe that a heated conversation took place between Faith and another woman, and two men at the Thrill nightclub.

According to reports, Faith and her roommate left the club around 2:30AM, (roommate drank to much didn't feel good) and arrived at the off campus appartment in the neighborhood of about 3:00AM.

The lower floor neighbor who was up watching TV, heard approximately three loud thumps coming from the upper floor apartment where the two women had been living.

At this point, Faith's Facebook account was accessed, and several suspicious messages were sent from her phone. Along the same time frame; her roommate was diligently making phone calls to get a ride away from the appartment (crime scene.)

As another poster pointed out. The message from Faith's phone which was sent to an obsessive old BF, seemed to be an attempt to lure him to the appartment - thus explaining the note found at the crime scene.

I watched the program about the case then checked web sleuths to see if there was a thread...If a thread is this long I will only read a few pages...

I saw the 2 PIs door knocking and they thought the potential suspect's handwriting matched the ex-boyfriend's roommate (The "C" made into an "E")....They used the lease agreement & compared it to the note...

Didn't they turn over their findings to LE...They did indicate the need for more writing samples....Did LE ever get it...LE is pretty clever at obtaining DNA samples including dumpster diving... Have they compared his DNA...

I personally completed Ancestry DNA and utilized other genealogical tools...It predicted my eye color...It was correct but maybe it's a fluke...

Parabon is stating the DNA left at the scene originated from a Latino man...The roommate with the hand-writing sample is African American... The victim's friends did not recognize the Latino composite..I guess Faith could've had consensual relations
with someone else that's unrelated to the murder...The autopsy would provide a time frame...

Something seems a little off about the victim's roommate but I can't put my finger on it...Unfortunately a lot of people that merely find a deceased person or were the last person with them become prime suspects, and they are vigorously scrutinized...They may have nothing to do with it...

The argument/fight at the club could have been a disagreement...Apparently one person wanted to leave and the other didn't...Because of their intoxication perhaps they were willing to hookup with an ex-boyfriend...If the roommate was so drunk would she be in the condition to conspire and kill Faith...What's her motive...

These are just my opinions and observations...

 

[Ibiz]

Seems that you have done some research rockie Investigator. There's nothing wrong with "reaching for the stars" sorta speak, but keep in mind that the most logical is usually the most probable.

As for the hand writing, the perpetrator probably used thier non dominant hand for writing the note. So there would be no point in a hand writing analysis.

As far as the DNA, it could have been left by an ambulance driver, or one of the cops that arrived on the crime scene.

You have made some very good points, and I think this thread could use all the help it can get.

So please keep posting.

 

[RookieInvestigator]

I didn't perform any research....I actually watched the show yesterday...I posted on this thread immediately after...

The reporter or media person that said he was forcing the police to give details...I glanced at his blog yesterday but didn't see anything new....

I'm new to WS but I've researched and reviewed cases for many years...

It's possible the EMT left evidence but I thought they normally wore gloves...
They are usually concentrated where the victim is...They may not have been there long if she was already expired...

The hand writing expert gave different possibilities like writing on the wall...

I've read about all kinds of cases around the world and watched plenty of forensic shows...I learned to expect the unexpected...

Thanks for welcoming me to the thread!

 

[RookieInvestigator]

I didn't perform any research....I actually watched the show yesterday...I posted on this thread immediately after...

The reporter or media person that said he was forcing the police to give details...I glanced at his blog yesterday but didn't see anything new....

I'm new to WS but I've researched and reviewed cases for many years...

It's possible the EMT left evidence but I thought they normally wore gloves...
They are usually concentrated where the victim is...They may not have been there long if she was already expired...

The hand writing expert gave different possibilities like writing on the wall...

I've read about all kinds of cases around the world and watched plenty of forensic shows...I learned to expect the unexpected...

Thanks for welcoming me to the thread!

 

[Ibiz]

Well, it certainly seems that you have a knack for analyzing cases like this, rockie Investigator.

It has also been discussed on this thread that the DNA might have been planted by Faith's killer, but at this point, we just don't know.

 

[CADwrest]

I saw the 48 Hours program on this case...It's sad that you aren't safe at your own home...I read some of the thread...Hopefully I'm not repeating something that was already said...

There are some cases with very little evidence, but they have plenty of potential suspects and evidence...

I didn't recall them mentioning investigating customers or co-workers at her two jobs...They mentioned that Grace worked at Red Robins...Does anyone know where else she worked? I think it's kind of weird that someone put a heart around her name on their receipt...A customer could've had a crush, but the feelings weren't mutual...

The co-worker angle could fit with the note found in the apartment...It's possible she told them where she lived...Was a co-worker stalking her...It seems like people knew she liked to party...It's not a stretch that she may tell her co-workers where she hangs out on weekends...

LE should consider talking to her professors or classmates...The note mentioned something about "dumb"...Did she unknowingly offend someone and they sought revenge....

Parabon mentioned a possible Latino suspect...Hopefully all Latino men who worked and lived in the complex were investigated....I would question maintenance, the office staff and landscaping....

Hi, RookieInvestigator, welcome to the thread!

In regards to some of your questions, there really isn't much out there as far as how in depth the police investigated her coworkers, fellow students, or professors. Most of the information we have focuses on different men she knew socially in one way or another. However, we do know that detectives have spoken to between 800 - 1000 individuals in connection to this case, so I think it's pretty safe to assume that they explored those angles too, they just haven't released anything about it publicly.

There was a "resource" post on the old thread that had links to various sources on this case, but I don't know how well it's fared since the forum changed over. Last I checked a lot of the images were gone. The links should still work, though.

You mentioned you'd watched the 48 Hours program; I'd also recommend the Crime Watch Daily series on the case, which had a lot of good information in it, too. Also, Tom Gasparoli was a journalist that maintained a blog about the case for a long time; though he seems to have abandoned it this year, it was worth reading because he did seem to have access that the other media organizations didn't enjoy.

Again, welcome to the thread!

 

[RookieInvestigator]

I

Hi, RookieInvestigator, welcome to the thread!

In regards to some of your questions, there really isn't much out there as far as how in depth the police investigated her coworkers, fellow students, or professors. Most of the information we have focuses on different men she knew socially in one way or another. However, we do know that detectives have spoken to between 800 - 1000 individuals in connection to this case, so I think it's pretty safe to assume that they explored those angles too, they just haven't released anything about it publicly.

There was a "resource" post on the old thread that had links to various sources on this case, but I don't know how well it's fared since the forum changed over. Last I checked a lot of the images were gone. The links should still work, though.

You mentioned you'd watched the 48 Hours program; I'd also recommend the Crime Watch Daily series on the case, which had a lot of good information in it, too. Also, Tom Gasparoli was a journalist that maintained a blog about the case for a long time; though he seems to have abandoned it this year, it was worth reading because he did seem to have access that the other media organizations didn't enjoy.

Again, welcome to the thread!

Thank you!!

I glanced at the blog briefly the other day....There were several red flags in this case...I'm surprised no suspect has been arrested...I just read her Wikipedia page...I'll take a look at the Crime Watch Daily episode on this case...

I haven't read any additional threads but there are some other things I was curious about...Just throwing some stuff out there...

It mentions she was attempting to join a sorority....I wonder if they had a corresponding Native American faternity...The suspect could be related or has a connection with one of her future Soros...

Did anyone from her hometown/high school attend or visit UNC...

Did anyone abruptly leave town after her death...

If the ME took her body temp shortly after her body was found, they would be able to determine her time-of-death....They could try to figure out if the texts were sent after her death...

The roommate's ex-boyfriend's DNA would be in the apartment but who was he with in the early morning hours...If he was with someone did they go to the apartment looking for his ex, but he found out she left and things escalated...I would take a look at his social media friends...

I believe they changed the locks on the ex before, how did he get a key...Was he buddy's with the maintenance man...

We may never know all the answers to our many questions...

 

[CADwrest]

Thank you!!

It mentions she was attempting to join a sorority....I wonder if they had a corresponding Native American faternity...The suspect could be related or has a connection with one of her future Soros...

She attended a rush event earlier in the day on the 6th. I brought up a possible connection to that some time ago, but was informed that men usually aren't at these events. I was thinking maybe she'd left information there and afterwards, someone's male friend was looking through the attendees information and saw her's, but there's really no evidence supporting that idea.

Did anyone from her hometown/high school attend or visit UNC...

She had an on again/off again hometown boyfriend (there's not much out there about him, we just know his first name, Alex); presumably he came to visit her occasionally. LE gave him a pretty hard look early on, though, and he's been cleared via DNA swab.

Did anyone abruptly leave town after her death...

Not that we've ever heard. I believe her roommate, KR, did go back to her family for the rest of that semester, but that was after she'd talked extensively with police, and she ended up coming back and finishing her degree.

If the ME took her body temp shortly after her body was found, they would be able to determine her time-of-death....They could try to figure out if the texts were sent after her death...

TOD is one piece of information that has not been released. I believe exactly one program (I can't remember which one right now, but I think either CWD or 20/20) said that they'd been told police believed Faith had been killed after 4:30 AM, but I haven't seen that repeated anywhere else.

The roommate's ex-boyfriend's DNA would be in the apartment but who was he with in the early morning hours...If he was with someone did they go to the apartment looking for his ex, but he found out she left and things escalated...I would take a look at his social media friends...

That argument has been made before, that ETJ (the roommate's ex) previously lived in the apartment so his DNA would be found there. That only carries you so far, though: If his DNA was on items that arrived in the apartment after he'd left, he'd have no excuse for that. The same DNA was found on the Time Out bag, the pen, and the Bicardi bottle. Maybe he'd have an excuse if his DNA was on the pen and the bottle (they could have been there before he left), but there's no way it should be on the bag, which was bought either the night of the murder or the night before (sources vary on that). I'm going to assume that his DNA was NOT found on those items, otherwise I think they'd have been able to arrest him.

I believe they changed the locks on the ex before, how did he get a key...Was he buddy's with the maintenance man...

The door was left unlocked. It's a subject that's been debated endlessly on this thread.

We may never know all the answers to our many questions...

Unfortunately, that's probably true.

 

[RookieInvestigator]

I watched the Crime Watch Daily episode....It was a good episode...It's unbelievable the family had to obtain info from a 3rd party...You would think LE would inform the family before the general public knew...

Thanks for addressing my questions and observations!!

If LE got tunnel vision on the ex and he wasn't involved, they may have missed some opportunities...

The voicemail left seemed like really good evidence...You would think LE would send it to the FBI for analysis (they may have)...I wonder if they tried to resolve the time discrepancy....They could have called & left a message on the friend's voicemail and checked to see if the time was accurate...However, based on the night clubs video they were at the club...

 

[Ibiz]

Crime Watch Daily paid a guy name Arlo West about $800.00 to analyze the voicemail, but he seemed to be somewhat of a nut in the sense that he was unable to show any evidence of how he came to his conclusions.

I would say at the very least, the butt dial message shows that Faith and her roommate, may of had some kind of confrontation at the club that night.

 

[CADwrest]

The voicemail left seemed like really good evidence...You would think LE would send it to the FBI for analysis (they may have)...I wonder if they tried to resolve the time discrepancy....They could have called & left a message on the friend's voicemail and checked to see if the time was accurate...However, based on the night clubs video they were at the club...

There are different opinions about the voicemail; mine is that it means absolutely nothing. LE has had it from the beginning and doesn’t seem to think much of it either, but they’ve verified the time multiple ways, and it was definitely placed while Faith was at the club.

I also wanted to link to this, which is the official LE release from two years after the murder. This talks specifically about semen being found, so I think that question can be put to bed.