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

[scadagirl28]

NCSBI - Divisions Hope this is it ?! If not I am handing over to the God of mischief lol

 

[CADwrest]

NCSBI - Divisions Hope this is it ?! If not I am handing over to the God of mischief lol

LOL- the case number from the SBI and CHPD (which is what that CHPD OCA # is, I’ve been able the determine) is different than the court case filed in Durham. Thanks, though- I appreciate you looking, scadagirl! I’ll find it, it’s just a matter of time.

 

[Webthrush]

NCSBI - Divisions Hope this is it ?! If not I am handing over to the God of mischief lol

Probably doesn't mean much, but interesting that the document you link to lists the time of crime as "2:40 a.m. to 11 a.m." apparently allowing for possibility of Faith already being dead when KR left apt. at 4:30 am.
Also, find it slightly interesting that the document from Jan. 2015 (over 3 yrs. ago) is listed under "cold cases," while CHPD continuously objects to calling it a cold case.

 

[Doghairrules]

As to why they haven't released TOD, I believe it is a combination of things.

1) The window is probably wide enough to not be definitive. It's probably something like 3 AM to 7 AM, with a "probable" range somewhat narrower than that.
2) At this point, I believe that's a piece of information LE have decided they just are not going to release. There are always bits of information that LE controls in every case, and I think that's one of them here.

The impression I've always gotten here is that LE believes the public could be of assistance in a few, limited ways. Someone recognizing the Paragon image, someone who lived nearby remembering something somebody said about it, somebody remembering a friend who started acting weird right afterwards, etc. To that end, I think they are encouraging of coverage the case gets, to get the word out about it, and to reach people who may know something but hadn't heard about it before.

But I don't think they believe that the public will come up with some new investigatory idea that will help them solve the case, which is why they are so tight-lipped about giving out any additional details about it. For the same reason, I also don't think they care when these shows start exploring theories that they know are wrong-headed; I just don't think they're all that interested in our theorizing. They just want the right person to hear about the case and remember something helpful.

I think you’re probably right, but I would say to CHPD: your brilliant selves have gotten nowhere with this case. Let it all out and see what happens!

 

[CADwrest]

Probably doesn't mean much, but interesting that the document you link to lists the time of crime as "2:40 a.m. to 11 a.m." apparently allowing for possibility of Faith already being dead when KR left apt. at 4:30 am.

I think that’s the entire range of time between when she was last seen by someone other than KR and when she was found dead.

 

[Doghairrules]

Let’s talk some more about time of death. I’ve been doing a little research and reaching out to people knowledgeable on the subject, and there are a few considerations there that I think we should address.

So, first of all, there would have been a Crime Scene Investigator, possibly several of them, at the scene, and they would have attempted to figure the time of death then, based on the condition of the body. They wouldn’t need to try to figure it out from the autopsy like I’m about to. Police almost certainly have a relatively good estimation of it, they just aren’t sharing what it is.

We may be able to guesstimate based on what the autopsy says, but there are a few things we need to account for.

First, the autopsy was done at 9 am the following day, September 8th. Once the body was removed from the crime scene, it would have been taken to the morgue and refrigerated, which would have stopped or very greatly slowed the spread of rigor mortis. So the condition the body is in at the time of the autopsy is going to be pretty much the same as it would have been once it arrived at the morgue.

As to rigor, the autopsy reports “minimal in upper and lower extremities, +2 in jaw.” According to the chart Webthrush provided in post 366, that seems to indicate a time of death right around 7-8 hours: Rigor mortis is firmly established in the face but only beginning to be seen in the rest of the body.

Let’s say that the time of death is 7-8 hours previous based on the autopsy. The question now is “Seven or 8 hours before what time?”

So, next, we have to try to figure that out, and the answer isn’t “11 am.” Faith was found at 11 am, and police arrived on scene about ten minutes later. Once they had secured the scene and determined that a suspicious homicide had occurred, they would have called in experts to process the scene. Here is a website I found that discusses this at length: How long does it take to examine a Crime Scene?

Let me highlight this paragraph: “Most murder scenes will take several days to process properly. Quite apart from the work done by the CSI’s, outside experts will often be called in. A Pathologist, to look at the body in situ before it’s taken for a full post mortem. A Blood Pattern Analysis expert. A Ballistics expert if a gun was involved. If a gun has been left at the scene, that requires special treatment from a Firearms Officer. And so on.”

We don’t know anything at all about the processing of the crime scene. In all the information that’s been released, I can’t recall anything being said on that subject. But given the above, I’d say, conservatively, that Faith’s body probably did not leave the scene and arrive at the morgue for at least 2 hours. At that point, it would have been placed in the refrigerated morgue, but for those 2 hours, it’s still in a room temperature apartment and the death processes are continuing.

So, I think the time we’re counting back from is going to be between 1 and 1:30 pm. Using the 7 to 8 hour range, that gives us a time of death between 5 am and 6:30 am. That window makes sense to me, since it’d be enough time for the perp to ascertain that KR wasn’t coming back and still allow for some time before sunrise.

I like the way you think and research.

I will add a personal anecdote, though, just to muddy the waters. Lol

I live in the area and 15 years ago in Raleigh, my former boss committed suicide. It’s a long story, but I ended up at the scene with a relative and I had to stay as a representative of the family until the body was removed (the relative went to tell my boss’ parents in person). This was clearly a suicide - there was a lengthy note, written by hand and he had been depressed and alcoholic for years. But it took them at least 4 or 5 hours from when they arrived on the scene and found the body for it to be removed.

 

[CADwrest]

I like the way you think and research.

I will add a personal anecdote, though, just to muddy the waters. Lol

I live in the area and 15 years ago in Raleigh, my former boss committed suicide. It’s a long story, but I ended up at the scene with a relative and I had to stay as a representative of the family until the body was removed (the relative went to tell my boss’ parents in person). This was clearly a suicide - there was a lengthy note, written by hand and he had been depressed and alcoholic for years. But it took them at least 4 or 5 hours from when they arrived on the scene and found the body for it to be removed.

Oh, don't worry- the waters are plenty muddy as it is.

That doesn't surprise me, and I thought two hours was probably too short of a time. Although maybe they would be faster about preserving the body if it was clearly a murder and not a suicide? I don't know.

Just to be clear, much of my post was guesswork, so take it with a grain of salt. But if we take the time out to 5 hours before the body was removed, we'd be looking at a time of death of between 8 and 9 AM. There's not really any reason it couldn't have been that late, though a lot of posters (myself included) strongly believe it happened earlier.

A mid morning (7-9 am) murder changes the calculus quite a bit. Even the most resolute partiers have gone to bed by that point, so it wouldn't make a lot of sense (to me) for someone from earlier in the night following up with her then. Same with a random prowler: They are either going to be working under the cover of darkness or in the mid afternoon when most everyone is gone at work. They're not going to be out trying doors when everyone is leaving for work and there's an excellent chance someone will see and report them.

Anyone else have a mid-morning murder idea?

 

[Amich]

I'm so confused on the DNA not matching anyone. They tested hundreds of people I don't get it.<modsnip - sleuthing non-POI>

 

[raiders444]

Most of us are at this point. Combination of an elusive perp + LE not releasing enough information for us to connect all the dots

I do think some answers might be found in the 15,000 unopened rape kits. I think someone here posted that a lot of them were not opened because the case was resolved. That might be true for that case but what if one of those unopened kits contains a match for the DNA on faith? sad to think an answer could be hiding in plain site

 

[CADwrest]

It's easy to feel like we're never going to get any answers here. But how many episodes of Forensic Files (for those who watch it) have some variation of the following:

"The case went cold a long time. But then, from one tiny clue, investigators got the break they were waiting for."

They don't always make it totally clear, but some of those cases went through periods of many years without anything really happening. I know we're kind of in a frustrating dry spell on this right now, but I really think one day there will be a break, and then things will start happening quickly.

 

[raiders444]

A good point I agree. I just hope it's not many years until that break comes, like the EAR/ONS case. Satisfying to catch the perp- but most satisfying is putting him/them behind bars in the prime of their lives, seeing as how they took away Faith's life in the prime of hers

 

[Webthrush]

<modsnip - quoted post and response to it removed> What is true, is that "chimeras" exist (though rare) who carry 2 or more separate cell lines within their body -- such that DNA from say semen or sweat, may differ from DNA of saliva or blood. (And chimeras have been used in some crime drama plots.)

 

[Webthrush]

A 6th cold case (30 yrs. old) has been solved using genetic genealogy techniques (child murder in Indiana):
Arrest made in 1988 child murder after genealogy research matches DNA

Type of DNA genealogy research used in April Marie Tinsley case described as possible ‘game-changer’ in cold cases | News, Sports, Jobs - News-Sentinel

At least 140 more cases are being looked into and ~half of those have “hits” that are being followed up on (I DON’T know if Faith’s case is involved, but I have to believe her number will come up at some point).

 

[J.M. Bee]

Another cold case has been solved using Parabon's genetic matching database. This was the 1992 rape and murder of Christy Mirack in Pennsylvania. See below.

"New DNA technology may have just solved a teacher's murder"
DNA evidence leads to Raymond Rowe's arrest in the 1992 murder of Christy Mirack - CNN

 

[Webthrush]

Another 1-hr. podcast on the crime posted to YouTube today:

Re-hash of the entire case; nothing completely new and probably a bit more subjective (and less-polished) than some of the other podcasts, but still of interest; the host believes there were multiple perps and that the well-known “butt dial” recording DOES capture the crime happening (and also believes, like some others, that Marisol made the 911 call). (...In short, I don't agree with several of the conclusions, but still interested in all takes.)

 

[Doghairrules]

This just out on our local news:

NC Wanted: Family 'always hopeful' Faith Hedgepeth murder will be solved
NC Wanted: Family 'always hopeful' Faith Hedgepeth murder will be solved :: WRAL.com

 

[abricru]

Please forgive me for bringing up such a, well, personal topic, but at some point in this thread. I read that a used tampon was found in the bedroom. Could that have any significance as to whether she was raped or sexually assaulted or ??? It was just an odd thing I noticed and haven't seen it mentioned elsewhere. Sorry if this is in bad taste, but all evidence must be considered, right?

 

[raiders444]

Interesting story on the woman who helped crack the GSK case-
Exclusive: The woman behind the scenes who helped capture the Golden State Killer – East Bay Times

Hopefully Faith's killer will meet a similar fate due to the growing amount of geneology sites

 

[Simplestarz86]

Medical examiners facing scrutiny

“Dr. Deborah Radisch, the state's chief medical examiner, acknowledged shortcomings in death investigations and blamed them on a lack of money.

"We're trying to do the best we can with what we have," she said.

Last year, the state's failings — and sloppy paperwork — proved deadly.”

“The Observer's investigation, entailing the most comprehensive analysis of state death rulings ever conducted, found that examiners regularly close cases without following recommended practices. Among the findings:

• Medical examiners fail to examine bodies in one of every nine cases, despite state rules that require them to view every corpse.

• Nine times out of 10, medical examiners don't visit death scenes, a step that national experts say is key to investigations.”

This article was written in 2014...Dr.Deborah Radisch was present during Faith’s autopsy (there were a number of errors on Faith’s autopsy I found)...with so many questions regarding what the report lacks...this article futhers my thoughts that this investigation is botched. This was only one article written about IMO, crappy OCME work. There are a lot more. JMO, we wonder why killers walk around free. JMO, this makes a defense attorneys job pretty easy. #J4F
ETA: wording

 

[raiders444]

Medical examiners facing scrutiny

This article was written in 2014...Dr.Deborah Radisch was present during Faith’s autopsy (there were a number of errors on Faith’s autopsy I found)...with so many questions regarding what the report lacks...this article futhers my thoughts that this investigation is botched. This was only one article written about IMO, crappy OCME work. There are a lot more. JMO, we wonder why killers walk around free. JMO, this makes a defense attorneys job pretty easy. #J4F
ETA: wording

Thank you for this. I have often wondered if the CHPD has narrowed their list down to one definite perp, but lack the evidence that would stand up in court. But then I think- if they knew who did this couldn't they get a DNA sample if not willingly than from a soda can or coffee cup like they did the GSK...so makes me think they still do not know who did it