| Charges / Convictions | Charged with first-degree murder on Sept 16, 2021. An amended indictment (an updated formal charge) added first-degree burglary, first-degree rape and first-degree sexual offense. Convictions: none. No verdict as of 10:52 AM PT, Oct 21, 2026. |
|---|---|
| Plea | “Not guilty of all charges,” entered by his lawyers in open court at a pretrial hearing on Mon, Aug 3, 2026. He is presumed innocent. |
| Custody | He has been held in the Durham County jail since his arrest in Sept 2021. On Sept 17, 2021, a judge ordered him held without bond. That means he cannot pay money to be released before trial. |
| Court and judge | Durham County Superior Court, Durham, NC. Superior Court Judge Keith O. Gregory presides. He is a Wake County judge appointed to this case. |
| Docket | Case number: not verified. The official court page for Durham County is nccourts.gov/locations/durham-county. The case docket was not checked for this kit. |
| Stage today | Both sides have rested. The state rested Mon, Oct 19, after nine days and 23 witnesses. The defense rested Wed, Oct 21, with no witnesses or evidence; he told the judge he would not testify. Jurors were sent home until closings on Thu, Oct 22. |
| Motion to dismiss | On Oct 19, the defense asked the judge to dismiss all charges (throw them out before the jury decides). Judge Gregory denied it. That ruling lets the case go to the jury. It is not a finding of guilt. ABC11/WTVD also reports a second request on Oct 21, also denied. |
| Death penalty | Not a death-penalty case. On Sept 28, 2021, the Durham District Attorney’s office said it will not seek death. N.C. law then requires a “noncapital proceeding.” |
| Sentence if convicted | The state is not seeking death. If he is found guilty of first-degree murder, the law requires life in prison without parole. Possible sentences for the other three charges were not checked. |
Single-source detail: only ABC11/WTVD reports a second motion to dismiss on Oct 21, and says the judge denied it. WRAL’s Oct 21 story does not mention it. That is not a conflict, but the detail rests on one outlet.
| 2012-09-07 | Faith Hedgepeth, 19, was found unresponsive in an off-campus apartment on the Chapel Hill / Durham County line. A 911 call came about 11 a.m. Medical examiners found blunt-force trauma to the head. |
| 2012-09 | From 2012 to 2016, Chapel Hill police interviewed hundreds of people. The SBI (State Bureau of Investigation), the FBI and the State Crime Lab worked with them. No match was found. |
| 2014-09-05 | The SBI and Chapel Hill Police offered a reward of up to $40,000. It was for information leading to an arrest and conviction. |
| 2016-09-23 | Chapel Hill police released a DNA-based computer image of a possible suspect on ABC’s “20/20.” Parabon NanoLabs made it. |
| 2021-09-16 | Police arrested Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares, 28, of Durham. He was charged with first-degree murder. Officials said a DNA match led to the arrest. Chapel Hill police and the SBI announced it at a press conference. |
| 2021-09-17 | First appearance, by video, before Chief District Court Judge Pat D. Evans. Held without bond. |
| 2021-09-28 | Durham DA Satana Deberry’s office said it will not seek the death penalty. The case is non-capital. |
| 2024-10 | An updated indictment (formal charge) added three charges: first-degree burglary, first-degree rape and first-degree sexual offense. The N&O’s Oct 7, 2026 timeline says this was in October 2024. ABC11 reported the new charges on Nov 14, 2024. The exact indictment date is not verified. |
| 2025-11-06 | At a hearing, Judge Keith O. Gregory set trial for Sept 28, 2026; the defense had asked for May 2026. “This matter needs to be tried,” he said. |
| 2026-08-03 | At a pretrial hearing, his lawyers entered pleas of not guilty to all charges. The hearing also set rulings on expert testimony and evidence. |
| 2026-09-21 | Judge Gregory granted the state’s request to limit claims that a specific third person killed Faith Hedgepeth. The defense must first raise any such evidence with the judge while the jury is out of the room. |
| 2026-09-28 | Jury selection began in Durham. |
| 2026-10-07 | Opening statements. Prosecutor Angela Garcia-Lamarca said the evidence is “louder than the noise around it.” She told jurors DNA links the defendant to the scene. Defense lawyer James Rainsford said: “Finding something doesn’t mean a crime occurred. You have to connect them.” That morning, the lawyers agreed on the last of four alternate (backup) jurors. |
| 2026-10-13 | Oct 13-15: State Crime Lab latent-print (hidden fingerprint) analyst Summer Maffett and State Crime Lab DNA analyst Erin Ermish testified. |
| 2026-10-16 | SBI Special Agent Justin Heinrich, the state’s last witness, testified on Fri, Oct 16, and Mon, Oct 19. |
| 2026-10-19 | Heinrich corrected what he had said earlier about a handwriting sample. The defense asked the judge to strike (remove) parts of his testimony. The judge agreed on the agent’s comments about the DNA and told jurors to ignore them: “that is stricken from the testimony.” |
| 2026-10-19 | Just before 1 p.m., the state rested after nine days and 23 witnesses. The defense asked the judge to dismiss all charges; Judge Gregory denied it. |
| 2026-10-20 | No court for jurors. The judge gave them the day off. |
| 2026-10-21 | Morning: Judge Gregory asked the defendant about his right to testify; he said he would not testify. The defense presented no evidence and rested. Jurors were sent home. Closings were set for Thu, Oct 22, at 9:30 a.m. |
Not in dispute, or found by a court.
What prosecutors say. Not proven.
Real questions raised in coverage.
Rulings on the process. None of them is a finding of guilt.
| Faith Hedgepeth | Victim. A 19-year-old UNC-Chapel Hill sophomore. |
|---|---|
| Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares | Defendant. Charged. Pleaded not guilty. Presumed innocent. Age 28 at his 2021 arrest; 33 in Oct 2026 coverage. |
| Keith O. Gregory | Superior Court judge presiding over the trial. |
| Angela Garcia-Lamarca | Durham Assistant District Attorney (prosecution). |
| Lisa Coltrane | Special prosecutor. Herald-Sun live blog, Oct 19, 2026 · WRAL, Oct 21, 2026 · Correction, Oct 21, 2026, 6:53 PM PT: we fixed the spelling of Ms. Coltrane's name. |
| Brooks Stone | Durham Assistant District Attorney. |
| Satana Deberry | Durham County District Attorney. Her office said in 2021 it will not seek death. |
| James Rainsford | Lead defense lawyer. |
| Christopher Barnes; Jason Murphy | Defense lawyers. |
| Dr. Lauren Scott | Associate chief medical examiner, N.C. Medical Examiner’s Office. Testified about the autopsy. |
| Summer Maffett; Erin Ermish | State Crime Lab analysts (latent prints; DNA). Testified Oct 13-15. |
| Justin Heinrich | SBI Special Agent. The state’s final witness. |
| Johnnie Britt | Captain, Chapel Hill Police. Testified about the investigation. |
| Tamika Price; Sheleathea Quick | Chapel Hill Police evidence technician and retired specialist. Testified about processing the apartment. |
| Pat D. Evans | Chief District Court Judge. Held the Sept 17, 2021, first appearance. |