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

[imstilla.grandma]

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- There are new details about documents that ABC 11 obtained last month in the killing of 19-year-old University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student Faith Hedgepeth.

In that motion filed by the defense team for Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares, the defense raised questions about the potential involvement of Hedgepeth's roommate in her murder. The defense is now asking for all swabs and other samples collected from blood stains to be released and independently tested for DNA to determine whether anyone else was at the apartment at the time.

Though the defense doesn't deny the evidence that Salguero-Olivares' DNA was at the scene, it has tried to draw attention to the roommate, Karena Rosario, and why she allegedly had unexplained blood on her fingers.

Defense wants independent DNA testing of blood samples in Faith Hedgepeth murder case

The defense for Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares is asking for all swabs and other samples collected from blood stains to be released and independently tested for DNA.

abc11.com

 

[Webthrush]

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- There are new details about documents that ABC 11 obtained last month in the killing of 19-year-old University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student Faith Hedgepeth.

In that motion filed by the defense team for Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares, the defense raised questions about the potential involvement of Hedgepeth's roommate in her murder. The defense is now asking for all swabs and other samples collected from blood stains to be released and independently tested for DNA to determine whether anyone else was at the apartment at the time.

Though the defense doesn't deny the evidence that Salguero-Olivares' DNA was at the scene, it has tried to draw attention to the roommate, Karena Rosario, and why she allegedly had unexplained blood on her fingers.

Defense wants independent DNA testing of blood samples in Faith Hedgepeth murder case

The defense for Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares is asking for all swabs and other samples collected from blood stains to be released and independently tested for DNA.

abc11.com

feels like the defense is just slinging stuff at the walls to see if anything might stick.... and after all this time I don't fully get the point of all the DNA re-testing (other than a delay tactic?).... the only alternative person the defense is pointing a finger at is Karena, and she lived there so of course her DNA will be all over the place (...I s'pose the blood on her finger, IF validated, could be used to seed some juror doubt). And defense doesn't deny that MESO's DNA was at scene, so will they now argue it was somehow planted, or he was present but not the killer??? Pitiful how long this is all dragging out!

 

[CADwrest]

feels like the defense is just slinging stuff at the walls to see if anything might stick.... and after all this time I don't fully get the point of all the DNA re-testing (other than a delay tactic?).... the only alternative person the defense is pointing a finger at is Karena, and she lived there so of course her DNA will be all over the place (...I s'pose the blood on her finger, IF validated, could be used to seed some juror doubt). And defense doesn't deny that MESO's DNA was at scene, so will they now argue it was somehow planted, or he was present but not the killer??? Pitiful how long this is all dragging out!

Yeah, it seems like the defense is missing a piece here.

Either a) MESO cops to the murder but tries to argue KR was the mastermind behind it, or b) he says he was in a secret relationship with Faith to explain his DNA being there.

Both of those seem a heavy lift, since he said right off the bat he didn’t know Faith, and there’s never been a connection established between him and either of them.

But without one of them, I don’t see how this helps him at all.

 

[Webthrush]

Wow, I just suddenly realized we missed the 13th anniversary of Faith's murder a week ago, with no acknowledgement.... how sad is THAT! No mention here, and no mention I heard of on campus (though perhaps there was something?). Just UNreal, and still no trial underway, and please spare me any explanations of why it's taking this long.....

 

[raiders444]

it is bordering on ludicrous how long everything is taking with no updates on any of it. do we need to elect new officials or something? what is going on!

 

[RobertCatesby]

it is bordering on ludicrous how long everything is taking with no updates on any of it. do we need to elect new officials or something? what is going on!

I feel like this happens a lot with solved cold cases, they seem to just think "Alright, we did enough figuring out who did it, time to just sit back for the next like 5 years and then set legal proceedings and whatnot into action". Not a cold case but it reminds me of the Colts Neck, NJ arson case, which happened almost 7 FULL YEARS ago now and the trial hasn't started. Just beyond ridiculous.

 

[girlhasnoname]

Wow, I just suddenly realized we missed the 13th anniversary of Faith's murder a week ago, with no acknowledgement.... how sad is THAT! No mention here, and no mention I heard of on campus (though perhaps there was something?). Just UNreal, and still no trial underway, and please spare me any explanations of why it's taking this long.....

Agreed, it's beyond sad. I think we all know the reasons why some cases get all the media attention and others seem to never get noticed at all. If they do, they fall by wayside fairly quickly.

 

[faithx]

According to an order published today, Wake County Superior Court Judge Keith O. Gregory has been assigned to the case after the previous judge removed himself.

Register of Actions

portal-nc.tylertech.cloud

 

[Webthrush]

According to an order published today, Wake County Superior Court Judge Keith O. Gregory has been assigned to the case after the previous judge removed himself.

Register of Actions

portal-nc.tylertech.cloud

Thanks for this update... do we have any understanding of why the prior judge removed themselves from the case? ...and does this further delay proceedings or make no significant difference? (...by now I have very little faith in the Durham D.A. office!)
Also, I notice 2 prior "Administrative Hearings" were also "cancelled" -- I s'pose we don't know anything about that either? What a nonsensical (even fishy-seeming) mess! How many key people on this case are by now either dead, moved away, or unreachable?

 

[faithx]

According to the portal, there is an Administrative Hearing scheduled for tomorrow (10/16/2025) at 10:00 AM.

 

[CADwrest]

According to the portal, there is an Administrative Hearing scheduled for tomorrow (10/16/2025) at 10:00 AM.

Yes, indeed. There have been a number of hearings that have been cancelled, but I'm hoping the activity lately indicates things are moving forward.
Knock on wood... maybe tomorrow they will get the trial on the calendar???

 

[CADwrest]

Just to circle back to something, earlier this year there was some discussion about the change in his legal representation. If you read the motion for withdrawal of public defender, it says that MESO retained outside representation and therefore was not eligible to be represented by the public defender any longer.

I'm pretty sure that means that it was something he actively did, as opposed to the public defender contracting the work out. It would be weird to phrase it as him being ineligible if the firm was working on behalf of the public defender, but then again, IANAL.

Edit: Just to make it easy on everyone, I attached the motion.

 

[Tricia]

LK...We’re 38 Guardians Away — Can You Help Us Reach Our Goal?

To become a Websleuths Guardian and support the site, it’s just $3 a month — that’s less than a cup of coffee!

We have a goal for October: 50 new Guardian members.
So far, we’ve welcomed 12 amazing people — which means (after consulting my math book, calculator, and trusty pencil with eraser ) we still need 38 more Guardians to reach our goal!

Thanks to our incredible partnership with Othram, we’ve been able to eliminate those soul-sucking ads and keep our servers strong and stable. Without Othram’s help, Websleuths simply wouldn’t be here today.

Now, we need you.
By becoming a Websleuths Guardian for only $3 a month (10 cents a day!), you’ll help keep Websleuths ad-free, thriving, and focused on what matters — digging into cases (without drama, rumors, and mayhem) and supporting victims.

As a Guardian, you’ll also enjoy exclusive perks like:

• Monthly Zoom calls with mods and fellow Guardians
• Extra post-editing time
• Fun new emojis
• And even more community rewards coming soon!

[CLICK HERE] to become a Guardian today and help protect our unique true crime community.

Thank you so much for your support,
Tricia Griffith
Manager, Websleuths.com