Faith Hedgepeth Verdict: Guilty, Life Without Parole: What We Know

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UPDATE (Oct. 24, 2026): A Durham County jury found Miguel Salguero-Olivares guilty on Oct. 23, 2026 of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offense and first-degree burglary in the 2012 death of UNC student Faith Hedgepeth. Judge Keith Gregory sentenced him that day to life in prison without parole, plus consecutive prison terms on the other counts. He is appealing. We name him because he has been convicted.

Faith Hedgepeth, a 19-year-old UNC-Chapel Hill student from Hollister, N.C., was found killed in her off-campus apartment on Sept. 7, 2012. An arrest was announced in 2021.

What's confirmed

1. Sept. 7, 2012, Chapel HillFaith Hedgepeth, 19, was found dead in her off-campus apartment. (Town of Chapel Hill; WRAL; NBC News; WUNC)
2. Sept. 16, 2021Chapel Hill police announced an arrest. The N.C. attorney general said a DNA sample submitted to the State Crime Lab matched DNA collected at the scene in 2012. (Town of Chapel Hill release; WUNC; NBC News)
3. Oct. 7, 2026, the state's openingprosecutors told jurors his DNA was found on several items in the apartment and that the two were strangers, which they said is why it took years to find him. (WRAL; The Associated Press)
4. Oct. 23, 2026the jury returned guilty verdicts on all four counts. (WRAL; ABC11; People)
5. Oct. 23, 2026Judge Keith Gregory sentenced him to life without parole, plus consecutive terms on the other counts. (WRAL; ABC11; People)
6. Her mother, Connie Hedgepeth: "I am just glad we have the closure we need, we have peace." (WRAL)
7. Prosecutor Lisa Coltrain said he "left his DNA like confetti all over that room." (WRAL)
8. He is appealing his convictions and sentences. (WRAL; People)

What we don't know

• When his appeal will be heard. No date has been reported.

Please note

No one else has been charged in Faith Hedgepeth's death. We do not name witnesses or anyone who has not been charged. The name on the Town's 2021 release stays covered as first published.

Chapters

1. 0:00The verdict
2. 0:10The case
3. 0:52Who she was
4. 1:12Nine years
5. 1:50The evidence
6. 2:06The family
7. 2:25Where it stands

Sources

1. WRAL (Oct. 23, 2026) Reportingwral.com/news/local/faith-hedgepeth-trial-murder-guilty-verdict-october-2026/
2. ABC11 (Oct. 23-24, 2026) Reportingabc11.com/live-updates/faith-hedgepeth-murder-miguel-olivares-trial-enters-closing-arguments-jury-deliberations-verdict-phase-unc-students-death/19968490/
3. People (via Yahoo, Oct. 2026) Reportingyahoo.com/news/us/articles/killer-unc-chapel-hill-student-163526270.html
4. WRAL (Oct. 7, 2026, openings) Reportingwral.com/news/local/opening-statements-in-unc-student-murder-trial-october-2026/

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Part of What We Know: open cases, confirmed facts only · YouTube playlist