Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Faith Hedgepeth was a 19-year-old young woman and a junior studying at the University of North Carolina. She was part of the Haliwa-Saponi tribe.
She majored in biology and dreamed of getting to teach elementary school or go on to be a pediatrician since she was so passionate about children.
Faith’s mom raised her nearly alone, with help from Faith’s older sister.
Her mom picked out her name because she knew she would need to find her inner strength and faith to be able to bring up four children as a single parent.
Faith had a heart made of gold, and she enjoyed making friends wherever she went. She wasn’t just a pretty girl, she was beautiful on the inside, too.
Wikipedia; Faith smiles in the photo above
Her family says in her obituary, “Her beautifully infectious smile illuminated a room and touched every soul there within.”
“Her bubbly personality and lighthearted laughter made her a joy to be around.”
“Although her time on earth was short, she had an enormous impact on many.”
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And she had planned on being able to do good in the world and positively shape the lives of kids she hoped to work with.
Unfortunately, her life was tragically taken from her before she had the chance to do that.
Facebook; Faith smiles big, above
September 6th, 2012. The day before Faith was brutally murdered, she went to school. She rushed a sorority.
She went to the Davis Library on campus, so she could get some studying in with Karena Rosario, her roommate, and very best friend.
After the two finished up in the library, they went back to the apartment they shared located on Old Chapel Hill Road.
Faith and Karena changed their clothes and got ready to head out to a club called The Thrill. They got there at around 12:40 in the morning.
Even though they were underage, they were able to get in because The Thrill let people under 21 inside so they could dance.
At 2:06 in the morning, Karena said her stomach was hurting her and she wanted to go home. Club security cameras picked the two girls up as they exited and left.
They got back to their apartment at around 2:30 a.m., and their downstairs neighbor later recalled to the police hearing 3 different thumps coming from their apartment.
By 3:40 a.m. Faith texted a man named Brandon Edwards. He used to date Karena, but they had broken up.
Faith’s text to him said, “Hey b. can you come over here please. Karena needs you more aha. You know. Please let her know you care.”
3 minutes later, Faith texted him “than” to correct herself. She meant to put that instead of “aha” it seems.
That was the last time her phone was used.
While Faith was texting Brandon, Karena was trying to call him, but Brandon never answered. At 4:16 a.m. he finally texted Faith back saying, “Who is this?”
Facebook; in the above photo Faith walks through a parking lot with her arms out
Karena then placed a call to another student named Jordan McCrary, and at 4:27 in the morning he came by to pick Karena up.
Karena left their apartment and went to a sleepover at a friend’s house. She explained to the police that when she left, she figured Faith was asleep in her bedroom.
She also left their front door unlocked behind her.
At 11 a.m., Karena came home and found Faith dead.
Faith was on her back on the floor of Karena’s bedroom, leaning up against her bed. The mattress had been pushed off the frame slightly.
Her black t-shirt was yanked up and she had no other clothing on.
Karena called 911 and on the call, she tells the dispatcher, “Hi. Um, I just walked into my apartment and my friend is just like…semi? Unconscious.”
She explained there was blood all over the place. On her comforter. On her pillows.
On the door to her closet. On the walls. “I think she fell off the bed because she’s like off the bed.”
“There’s blood all over the pillows like in the comforter.”
Facebook; Faith is pictured above
Karena also said, “I don’t know what’s going on…like There’s stuff in my room that like was not here before…It looks like someone came in here.”
Karena’s friend Marisol Rangel was with her that morning according to police reports, but she is never heard saying anything on the 911 call.
Police arrived at the apartment and realized that Faith was sadly no longer alive.
As they began processing the crime scene, they noticed a note her killer had written on a takeout bag.
It said, “I’M NOT STUPID B*TCH JEALOUS.”
Facebook; Faith snaps a selfie, above
Everything in the bedroom was pretty much covered in Faith’s blood, but this bag was white and pristine. The note on the takeout bag had been written with a pen left behind, and it had male DNA on it.
They also recovered male DNA on her, leading them to think Faith was assaulted, and that DNA matched the pen and an empty bottle of peach-flavored Bacardi rum they believed was used to bludgeon Faith to death.
The bottle was covered in Faith’s blood.
An autopsy was performed and Faith’s cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma to her head.
It looked like Faith put up a fight with whoever took her life, as she also had blood under her nails and a lot of bruises and cuts.
Facebook; Faith blows out birthday candles in the above photo
It’s now been 9 years since Faith was murdered, and just yesterday, Chapel Hill Police announced that they have arrested someone in connection with Faith’s murder.
“The Chapel Hill Police Department, in coordination with the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), arrested Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares, 28, of Durham, on Thursday, Sept. 16th in connection with the murder of Faith Danielle Hedgepeth,” Chapel Hill Police wrote in a statement.
“Our agency has been committed to bringing justice to Faith and her family since the day of her murder,” Chapel Hill Police Chief Chris Blue said.
“I am proud of all the people—inside our department and in the many partner agencies that assisted us—whose hard work made this result possible.”
“While today’s arrest will not bring Faith back, we are not yet done getting answers for Faith’s family. Today’s announcement marks the next phase of this investigation and we will, again, commit to preserving the integrity of this case with everything we’ve got.”
Facebook; Faith smiles in the photo above
