Miguel Olivares, North Carolina man convicted of rape, murder in death of UNC student Faith Hedgepeth

A man accused of killing a North Carolina college student 14 years ago was convicted Friday of first-degree murder, rape and other charges after prosecutors told jurors the forensic evidence “screamed his name.”

Faith Hedgepeth was a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when she was beaten to death in her off-campus apartment in September 2012.

Miguel Salguero Olivares was arrested nine years later after being arrested for drunk driving and providing a DNA sample that prosecutors said matched evidence found at the crime scene.

Salguero Olivares, 33, did not testify during the trial and his lawyers finished their closing argument without calling any witnesses.

Jurors deliberated for six hours over two days before finding him guilty of murder, rape, sex offense and burglary.

He was later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder, plus 45 to 65 years for the other charges.

Hedgepeth’s mother, Connie Hedgepeth, told the judge she forgave her daughter’s killer a long time ago.

“It was only three weeks after he died. Regardless of who did it, I knew I had to forgive, and I forgive, but my heart aches for his family,” she said. “It was such a senseless and cruel act, but we have to move on, and we just have to trust God and move on with our lives.”

Roland Hedgepeth, Faith’s father, said losing his daughter was like having your heart ripped out.

He called it a beacon of hope, born at a low point in his life, and admitted it had been easier over the past 5,158 days to say he had forgiven someone he didn’t know.

“Today it became very real,” he said. “Nevertheless, I say it without reservation, I forgive Miguel for what he did.”

Calling the statements “powerful and kind,” defense attorney James Rainsford said he could also speak about his client and his family, but decided not to. “For me, trying to mix the two things, I don’t think that’s what everyone needs at this point.”

The defense argued that the client had been falsely accused

In closing arguments Thursday, defense attorneys accused investigators of having “tunnel vision” in assuming their client was a monster and not a “19-year-old boy” who had consensual sex with the victim days before his death.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, urged jurors to rely on DNA evidence rather than be distracted by the defense team.

“We know who did it. The forensic evidence screams his name,” said prosecutor Angela Garcia-Lamarca, who described the “incurable agony” Hedgepeth’s family endured.

“When the accused dropped the bottle on her head and she started bleeding, that was the start of bleeding that still hasn’t stopped,” she said. “He sentenced her to death. He gave everyone who loved her a life sentence. There was no one to protect her. There was no one to stop her – until now. You are all here. You are here now and you can stop her.”

Prosecutors suggest victim rejected defendant’s advances

Nearly two dozen witnesses testified for the prosecution, including crime scene technicians, state and local law enforcement, a DNA expert and friends of Hedgepeth.

Hedgepeth’s roommate, Karena Rosario, testified that she was drunk and sick when Hedgepeth drove them home from a club around 2 a.m. on September 7.

She said she then called a friend to come pick her up, leaving Hedgepeth alone in the apartment.

She returned a few hours later to find her roommate’s body.

Although no witnesses corroborated this theory, prosecutors suggested that Salguero Olivares may have attended a barbecue hosted by Hedgepeth’s neighbor that evening, unsuccessfully hit the young women in the parking lot, then returned, embarrassed and angry, after Rosario left.

Forensic evidence was the focus

Experts said the defendant’s fingerprints and palm prints were found on a wine bottle at the scene and his DNA was found in Hedgepeth’s body, on a note written on a fast food bag found at the scene and on a blood-covered rum bottle that investigators identified as the murder weapon.

Defense attorneys questioned Rosario’s account of that night, the processing of the crime scene and the reliability of some DNA evidence.

They pointed out that police failed to search certain areas of the apartment and subsequently lost traces of blood and pointed out that DNA from a sexual encounter could remain for several days afterwards.

“Maybe he was living the same life as the other 19- and 20-year-olds we’ve heard about in this case,” defense attorney Jason Murphy said. “Maybe he drank too much, maybe he forgot a meeting.”

But special prosecutor Lisa Coltrane called it “noise.”

“No matter what kind of mistakes were made or what things were missed, it doesn’t erase the palm print; it doesn’t somehow remove Faith’s DNA,” she said. “They didn’t talk to everyone in Chapel Hill, and it doesn’t matter. They still arrested this guy because he left his DNA like confetti all over this room.”