Justice for Faith

Episode of 20/20 · October 31, 2026 · 1 h 28 min

ABC's 20/20 traces the 2012 murder of UNC student Faith Hedgepeth from years of dead ends through genetic genealogy to Miguel Salguero Olivares's 2026 conviction.

Summary

The episode recounted the September 2012 killing of Faith Hedgepeth, a 19-year-old University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill sophomore and enrolled member of the Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe, who was found beaten to death in her off-campus apartment after a night out with her roommate, Karina Rosario. Correspondent Ryan Smith revisited reporting he began in 2016. Investigators recovered male DNA from Faith's body, a Bacardi bottle believed to be the murder weapon, and a note reading "I'm not stupid bitch jealous". They pursued more than 1,800 people, but none matched, including Jordan McCrary, Brandon Edwards and Rosario's ex-boyfriend Eric DeCoy Jones.

Suspicion fell for years on Rosario. Faith's father, Roland Hedgepeth, said he believed she knew more, and a neighbor described her calm demeanor. McCrary also reported a smudge of blood on her finger. Police said they found no evidence linking her to the crime. A Parabon NanoLabs Snapshot composite released in 2016 suggested a suspect of Latino ancestry. Later, CeCe Moore and genealogist Carol used investigative genetic genealogy to trace the DNA to Guatemalan family lines and then to North Carolina. A social media photo led police to Miguel Salguero Olivares, and his surreptitiously collected DNA matched. He was arrested in September 2021.

At the September 2026 trial in Durham, Judge Keith Gregory barred the defense from presenting Rosario as an alternative suspect. The defense instead questioned the DNA's timing and the handwriting comparison, then rested without presenting evidence. Prosecutors argued that the DNA, a palm print and a cookout near the apartment complex tied Olivares to the scene. The jury convicted him of first-degree murder, rape and burglary, and he was sentenced to life without parole. His defense said it planned to appeal. Faith's family spoke of grief and forgiveness.

Chapters

0:36
Introducing Faith Hedgepeth
Family, friends and tribal members describe Faith, her Haliwa-Saponi roots and her path to UNC Chapel Hill.
5:19
The night of the murder
Faith and Karina Rosario go to The Thrill nightclub, Karina leaves with Jordan McCrary, and Faith is found dead the next morning.
16:51
DNA and early dead ends
Investigators recover male DNA and prints, then test hundreds of people, including McCrary, Brandon Edwards and Eric DeCoy Jones, without a match.
24:35
The note and scrutiny of Karina
The released murder file reveals the 'jealous' note, and Karina's demeanor and a reported blood smudge draw suspicion.
39:41
Composite sketch and private investigator
Hunter Glass reexamines the case, and Parabon's Snapshot DNA phenotyping produces a composite of a likely Latino suspect.
48:03
Indigenous community and genetic genealogy
The case is tied to the missing and murdered Indigenous women movement, and CeCe Moore and Carol trace the DNA through Guatemalan family trees.
54:28
Arrest of Miguel Salguero Olivares
A social media photo and covertly collected DNA lead to Olivares's arrest in 2021.
58:48
How did they cross paths?
Investigators theorize Olivares was at a cookout at the complex, while an acquaintance's mother says he showed no malice.
1:02:28
Pretrial ruling on third-party guilt
The defense seeks to point to Karina Rosario, but Judge Keith Gregory bars the argument.
1:09:45
The trial
Prosecutors present DNA, palm print, cookout and handwriting evidence, while the defense attacks the DNA and questions Rosario before resting without evidence.
1:23:53
Verdict and sentencing
The jury convicts Olivares, he is sentenced to life without parole, and Faith's family and hometown reflect on her memory.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Linked moment · 28:41Skip to 28:41 using a listen link in the info box.
Roland Hedgepeth
Roland Hedgepeth said he believed Karina Rosario knew more than she was saying about his daughter's death.
“I think that Karina knows a lot more than she's saying. I think that Karina knows what happened to Faith”
Listen from 28:41 · Murder of Faith Hedgepeth
Joy Barker
Joy Barker said she heard three thumps from the upstairs apartment in the early morning before Karina left.
“Between 3.30 and quarter to 4, I heard three thumps. They were basically together, thumps, and that's the right word to describe them”
Listen from 30:55 · Murder of Faith Hedgepeth
Jordan McCrary
Jordan McCrary recalled that Karina Rosario mentioned blood on her hand during the car ride after he picked her up.
“In the car ride, Karina was looking at her hand and I looked over and that's when I remember she mentioned that there was blood on her hand”
Listen from 36:29 · Murder of Faith Hedgepeth
Hunter Glass
Glass said police often withhold information from victims' families to prevent them from jumping to conclusions or engaging in vigilantism.
“A lot of times when families are involved, you don't want to give them too much information. You don't want them jumping to conclusions”
Listen from 41:36 · Cold case investigations
Hunter Glass
Hunter Glass theorized that the killer was someone jealous of Faith, citing the note left at the scene.
“Jealousy. I believe they may have just had an angry person who was very jealous of Faith”
Listen from 42:37 · Murder of Faith Hedgepeth
Yuna Chavis
Chavis said Faith's case brought attention to the Red Handprint movement for missing and murdered Indigenous women and people.
“The Red Handprint Movement is also another name for missing and murdered indigenous women and people. And I think Faith's case brought attention to the movement”
Listen from 49:09 · Missing and murdered Indigenous women
CeCe Moore
CeCe Moore said the suspect's family trees quickly led outside the United States to Guatemala.
“these family trees, once we started building them, almost immediately left the United States. It became clear very quickly that this person had roots in Guatemala”
Listen from 51:34 · Investigative genetic genealogy
CeCe Moore
Moore said social media provided a lead to the suspect that genealogy alone could not find.
“In this case, social media ended up providing a lead that we hadn't been able to find any other way”
Listen from 54:59 · Investigative genetic genealogy
Yuna Chavis
Yuna Chavis said she was certain Faith had not been dating the man arrested.
“My immediate thought when this person was arrested for killing Faith was, well, she definitely was not dating him”
Listen from 59:28 · Murder of Faith Hedgepeth
Keith Gregory
Judge Keith Gregory rejected the defense's inference that Rosario wrote the note, calling 'I'm not stupid' an ordinary phrase.
“I wouldn't consider that a phrase that is so out of the ordinary that anybody can't just use that phrase”
Listen from 1:07:08 · Third-party guilt defense
Karina Rosario
Karina Rosario said she did not believe the mark on her finger was blood and attributed it to her vomit.
“There's nothing that would have caused me to come into contact with blood. So I deduced it to my vomit”
Listen from 1:20:40 · Murder of Faith Hedgepeth
Connie Hedgepeth
Connie Hedgepeth said she forgives, calling the killing senseless and cruel and expressing faith that she will see her daughter again.
“It just seemed like it was such a senseless and cruel act. We just have to trust God and she's in a better place”
Listen from 1:28:13 · Murder of Faith Hedgepeth

People

In the conversation

Ryan SmithQualtrics co-founder and owner of the Utah Jazz and Utah Mammoth
Celisa LehewChapel Hill Police Department investigator on the case, later the department's chief of police
Connie HedgepethMother of Faith Hedgepeth
Roland HedgepethFather of Faith Hedgepeth
Yuna ChavisFaith Hedgepeth's best friend from UNC
CeCe MooreChief Genetic Genealogist at Parabon NanoLabs
CarolGenetic genealogist specializing in Latin American records who built the suspect's family trees
Jordan McCraryUNC soccer player who picked up Karina Rosario on the night of the murder
Hunter GlassPrivate investigator hired by the Hedgepeth family
Joy BarkerDownstairs neighbor of Faith Hedgepeth and Karina Rosario
Marisol RangelUNC student and friend who was present when Faith's body was found
Laura Kissel-EllenMother of Katie, a former coworker and friend of Miguel Salguero Olivares
Karina Rosario
Keith Gregory

Discussed

Faith HedgepethUNC Chapel Hill sophomore and Haliwa-Saponi tribal citizen murdered in September 2012
Miguel Salguero OlivaresMan convicted in 2026 of Faith Hedgepeth's murder, rape and burglary
Eric DeCoy JonesKarina Rosario's ex-boyfriend, investigated and cleared by DNA
Brandon EdwardsUNC student and friend of Faith and Karina, cleared by DNA

Topics

Home Alone
20/20 · Oct 3, 2026 · 1 h 26 min
John Quiñones reports on the 2015 murder of Allison Feldman in Scottsdale, solved through Arizona's first use of familial DNA and contested in court.
The Salem Strangler
20/20 · Sep 26, 2026 · 1 h 27 min
20/20 recounts the 1986 strangling of Salem State student Claire Gravel and how a similar 2007 attack and DNA led to John Carey's conviction.
True Crime Vault: The Accused
20/20 · Sep 22, 2026 · 1 h 24 min
David Muir revisits the 2004 murder of three-year-old Riley Fox, her father's coerced false confession, his DNA exoneration, and the FBI's identification of killer Scott Eby.
MURDERED: Joyce LePage Part 2
Crime Junkie · Jul 27, 2026 · 47 min
Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat examine the remaining suspects in the 1971 murder of WSU student Joyce LePage, including her roommate Bruce Bierbaum.
First Comes Love, Then Comes Murder (Rebroadcast)
20/20 · Jul 25, 2026 · 1 h 23 min
20/20 recounts the 2001 murder of Leslie Prier in Chevy Chase, Maryland, solved 23 years later when genetic genealogy and an airport DNA sting identified her daughter's ex-boyfriend.
EXCLUSIVE: Nancy Guthrie
Crime Junkie · Jul 22, 2026 · 54 min
Crime Junkie reporter Briana Whitney and Ashley Flowers revisit the Nancy Guthrie abduction six months on: ransom notes, investigative missteps, and a 'wrench attack' theory.

From the publisher

A college student is murdered in her off-campus apartment. Thousands of potential suspects, hundreds of DNA samples and painstaking work over a decade finally lead to a verdict. To get ad-free episodes, early access to new true crime podcasts, and exclusive bonus episodes, subscribe to 20/20 True Crime+ on Apple Podcasts. ⁠Click here⁠ to start your free trial today. Terms apply. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on November 2, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: True Crime