9:40 a.m. — It’s Wednesday, Oct. 14 — the 13th day of trial for the man accused of killing UNC student Faith Hedgepeth in 2012. Miguel Salguero-Olivares is charged with murder, burglary and rape.
The jury was brought into the courtroom at 9:38 a.m.
Summer Maffett, with the state’s crime lab, is now continuing her testimony about fingerprint evidence in the case. She testified yesterday that prints on several items at the crime scene were non-identifiable, but a palm print on a wine bottle was identified as belonging to Salguero-Olivares.
–Sarah Krueger, Managing Editor
10:03 a.m. – State crime lab manager says defendant’s thumbprint found on wine bottle at scene
The prosecution began by showing the jury photos of palm prints that were examined by Summer Maffett. She said that, upon comparing fingerprints from a wine bottle found at the scene to fingerprints provided by Salguero-Olivares, she determined they came from the same source: his left thumb.
“This concludes that the latent and known prints were made by the same source,” Maffett said.
“And who might that source be?” Assistant District Attorney Brooks Stone asked.
“Miguel Salguero-Olivares,” Maffett replied.
– QUINN WHERLEY
10:50 a.m. – Prosecution shows jury wine bottle from crime scene
The state’s crime lab manager, Summer Maffett, was called down from the witness stand to display a blue Riesling bottle.
Wearing gloves, Maffett methodically held and examined the bottle over the course of two minutes, in silence. She looked for brackets she had previously made on the bottle. A palm print was identified on the neck of the bottle and finger prints were found on the writing of the bottle, she said.
Following Maffett’s examination of the bottle, the defense began its cross-examination, questioning the significance of print matchings. Defense attorney Jason Murphy pointed out another fingerprint on the Riesling bottle remains unidentified. He also noted that “there is no way to know how old a certain print would be,” which Maffett confirmed.
Upon the conclusion of questioning, Maffett was released from the courtroom at 10:41 a.m.
– QUINN WHERLEY
11:15 a.m. – Prosecution calls state crime lab’s Erin Ermish to the stand
Erin Ermish, a court-proclaimed expert in forensic biology and DNA examination, was brought to the witness stand. She said she has testified about body fluid identification approximately 145 times in court.
Ermish’s primary duties in the state crime lab are to analyze bodily fluids including semen, saliva, and blood.
“The primary reason we do DNA analysis is to analyze evidence from crimes and to hopefully include or exclude somebody from those pieces of evidence,” Ermish said.
“DNA is the substance that’s found within our bodies… The DNA in your blood would be the same as the DNA within your hair and skin. No two individuals, apart from identical twins, will have the same DNA,” Ermish explained to the jury.
Ermish has been involved with this case since September 2012 and is the only person who conducted the DNA and serology evidence analysis, she said.
The court was called to break at 11:12 a.m.
– QUINN WHERLEY
5:00 p.m. – State crime lab analyst provides expert witness testimony on DNA samples and comparisons
Erin Ermish from the state crime lab continued her testimony throughout the afternoon.
Ermish detailed the many items from the crime scene that she tested for DNA evidence, including a pen, Hedgepeth’s clothing items, and a blue wine bottle. Her testing specifically focused on semen, blood and other DNA fluids.
From her forensic analysis, Ermish stated several individuals who provided DNA to Chapel Hill Police were excluded as contributors. She also stated that other individuals cannot be conclusively excluded as contributors.
Ermish testified that the unknown male DNA profile identified on the blue Riesling bottle that was shown to the court earlier today was the same unknown DNA profile found in the sperm on the rectal swab taken from Hedgepeth’s body. In the initial lab report, the unknown DNA profile on the rectal swab wasn’t listed. However, based on a DNA profile obtained from swabbing the top of the Riesling bottle, it revealed the source came from a male.
At this point, there is nothing definitive that has been presented regarding defendant Miguel Salguero-Olivares’ DNA.
Ermish will continue her testimony tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m.
– JAMES NGUYEN
9th Street Journal Staff
