Today marked the beginning of the trial for Miguel Salguero-Olivares, the man accused of murdering Faith Hedgepeth.
Hedgepeth, a junior at UNC at the time, was found dead in her apartment on Old Chapel Hill Road in Durham on Sept. 7, 2012. As the investigation stretched on without answers, the case attracted local and national attention.
Nine years later, police arrested Salguero-Olivares for driving while impaired in Wake County in 2021, and investigators connected him to Hedgepeth’s killing using DNA evidence collected at the scene. In addition to murder, he faces charges for burglary, sexual assault and rape.
Before proceedings even began this morning, the defense filed a motion seeking more information from prosecutors about the opinions of the expert witnesses they plan to call. Attorneys for both sides agreed to resolve any differences outside of the courtroom, and the judge said the court would intervene if necessary, without the jury present.
Selecting a jury
The approach to selecting the necessary 12 jurors for this case is not the typical process. Potential jurors were brought in one by one. Assistant District Attorney Angela Garcia-Lamarca acknowledged it is atypical to speak with each person individually, but they are doing so because of the extensive media coverage Hedgepeth’s murder received. At this phase, the questions are focused solely on what the potential jurors may have seen in the news regarding the case. The attorneys will be able to ask additional questions later.
Each potential juror took a seat, looking at times nervous or bewildered. Garcia-Lamarca began by asking how familiar each person was with the case. She stressed that the prosecution is just trying “to find a group of jurors who are in the best position to be as fair and impartial as possible.”
If potential jurors indicated any familiarity with the case, Garcia-Lamarca asked them whether they knew the names of the victim or the defendant, as well as if they recalled any additional details. She presented some candidates with a picture of Hedgepeth commonly shown in news reports.
Both Garcia-Lamarca and defense attorney James Rainsford asked if potential jurors believed everything presented by the media and if they were invested in the case’s outcome based on what they may have seen or read.
Once the questioning concluded for the day, Judge Keith Gregory reminded the group that they cannot speak to anyone about the case, nor can they do any research on it. No jurors have been selected at this point. Jury selection will resume tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. and is expected to take several days.
Sophie Endrud
