The big news from the ABC 20/20 take on the Hedgepeth case was release of a “DNA phenotype” reconstruction of the suspected killer of Faith:
https://twitter.com/ABC2020/status/779559747385036800
https://twitter.com/ABC2020/status/779559747385036800
This “photo” might suddenly move the case forward in a way that hasn’t happened for 4 years, though it is no slam dunk. I’ll come back to it later, but first want to mention all the other details that were either new or interesting to me from the episode (in no particular order):
1) one big question still unanswered is, why did roommate Karena Rosario leave the apt. door UNlocked when she left ~4:30am in morning knowing Faith was still in the apt. MANY are casting aspersions at KR because of this (among many other things), so it would be good to know what explanation she gave to law enforcement for this, though it may be as simple as college students, in nice complexes, often leaving their door unlocked. Relatedly, it's always been odd that the autopsy report never gave an 'estimated time of death' for Faith? ...pretty important information (one assumes police have it and it conforms to their timeline).
2) confirmation that Takoy Jones was NOT at The Thrill on the night of the murder; also he DID have his DNA tested (no match). He remains a person-of-interest for what further information he may know. Not clear to me if there remains anyone at this point who has refused to give a DNA sample when requested by investigators, but it sounds as if all Faith's known acquaintances have cooperated?
3) The evidentiary fast food bag left at the murder scene came from “Time Out” restaurant (a popular local food joint), and NOT from Wendy’s (nearby to the murder scene).
4) Police continue to believe that the “butt dial” call made from Faith’s phone came from The Thrill night club and not from the murder scene. Many people still place a lot of weight on that garbled call; I do not.
5) Police say the roommate Karena was very cooperative in her multiple interviews with them (just what she had to say is still largely unreleased).
6) Suspicion was cast at a former (ex-con) roommate of Brandon Edwards (friend of both Karena and Faith), another key figure in the case. But not clear to me that those suspicions are going anywhere.
7) Downstairs neighbor heard “thumps” and commotion from a “trio” in upstairs apt. around 3am. that morning! — this is well before Karena departed ~4:30am., and thus VERY interesting, tantalizing testimony (for those who believe Faith was killed while KR was still there), though once again inconclusive (and off timeline).
8) DNA on fast food bag, pen, bottle, and Faith all match (unknown male), presumably from the killer, but hasn’t matched any of 100s tested. Also, worth noting that despite widespread blood spatter at scene, there was NO BLOOD on the food bag (was it brought into room and written on after the crime?)
9) Several key figures in this case refused to take part in the ABC investigation — I DO NOT find this odd or suspicious. These folks have repeatedly given testimony to law enforcement and sometimes others. Dredging up these memories/thoughts yet again, 4 years later, for TV cameras, is probably not something they see as productive or useful. From their perspective nothing good could come of it except putting themselves, perhaps unnecessarily, into the spotlight — and if any of them are engaged with lawyers, I’m sure lawyers advised against it. I only say all this to stress that reluctance to engage with a television crew is not a sign of guilt or innocence, especially after this much passage of time. Whatever these people think they have to say about the case, they have said by now to proper authorities.
In 1000s of comments around the Web following the ABC program I continue to see a great deal of accusations pointed at both Karena Rosario and Eric Takoy Jones. I’ve never been in that camp, and it remains my impression that law enforcement has largely ruled both out as the killer, though either might still know more than what they have told. My own (admittedly subjective, intuitive) view continues to be that the killer(s) came from individuals who had engaged Faith at The Thrill night club that horribly fateful morning, though the specific persons of most interest may change due to the ABC investigation.
Now, returning to that DNA phenotype….
This is a relatively new form of forensic evidence; using DNA to reconstruct an actual photo-like composite picture of a person. As far as I can tell only a couple of companies are actively touting it in the U.S. and it is not clear to me that there is much track-record of its success (or failure). Thus, I have to start from a skeptical position, especially given how easily genetic information is mis-used or mis-applied. It would be great if the released composite DOES bring new leads and an end to this case; but I wouldn’t be surprised if the culprit once captured looks nothing (or little) like that picture.
The really interesting part though is the assertion, with better than 50% probability that the killer is “Latino.” I’m not sure if ANY of the previous, high-profile suspects were Latino? Does this throw the case in a whole new direction???
CHPD has long claimed that they were very near to catching the perp in this case, they just needed a little bit more evidence from the public to lock it down. Yet the ONLY real significant evidence they seem to have is the DNA. Essentially, they have evidence to rule people out, but seem to have little other than the DNA to point to people who haven’t already been looked at. Have they been going on wild goose chases for 4 years, and now must turn in a different direction? THAT is an impression the episode leaves.
Faith’s Facebook, Twitter, or other pages may have pictures of her killer. Could it be as easy as matching them up to a computer generated DNA phenotype? Is the killer facing us on a computer screen? Time will tell.
Lastly, one interesting suggestion I read in a comment somewhere on the Web would be to send the suspect DNA to a large DNA genealogical-testing company, like “23 and Me” (costs $100), and have them test to find relatives of the killer. Not sure how practical this is, and it may well not even be legal (except by some sort of court order). If it were that simple I suspect these companies could open whole new forensic divisions at significant profit.
I’m still investigating some things so might have addendums here later, but have already seen so much commentary online about the ABC broadcast that I felt the need to offer some first impressions for now. The key, immediate take-away question from the broadcast is whether or not the released DNA phenotype composite is a valid, credible rendition of the individual we are looking for, or simply another misleading distraction to this case (or somewhere in-between)?
ADDENDUM: in looking over old notes one person-of-interest not much seen in 20/20 report is Jacob (Jake) Beatley, who has long since left N.C., but who’s whereabouts (possibly near the murder scene) on the morning of the murder were of some interest — also, last I knew he did refuse to give a DNA sample [ADDED: actually in re-watching the broadcast it is indicated that he DID give DNA and was not a match]. Don’t know if by now he has been cleared of any significant connection to the crime, or where things stand with him, (though I don’t think he was ever a serious suspect, just someone with possible information)?
In lieu of the 20/20 episode it would be interesting to know the whereabouts of various men (I’ll just use initials, J.J., K.R., H.C., J.R., E.W., R.C.) on the night/morning of murder, though again none may be connected to the crime.
sidenote: one of the oddest mysteries of this case is the meaning of the message scrawled on the fast food bag that is hard to make sense of. Supposedly it reads, “ I’m not stupid bitch jealous” — it is open to several interpretations and many folks have speculated that “jealous” is a word more often used by females than males. Long ago I saw someone suggest that the word in question may not be “jealous” but in fact “Jeazous” — with what looks like an “L” actually being a mis-shapen, scrawled “z” on a wrinkled bag. At the time I didn’t think much of the unlikely idea, but am now more willing to give it consideration. “Jeazous” is apparently used in some quarters as an alternative to “Jesus” and could be employed either as a signature or simply an exclamatory word. It may be used by gamers or perhaps in the Latino community. Not sure, but maybe worth considering — the note may make more sense, with that word as a sign-off? Even simple evidence in this frustrating case is hard to make sense of.
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ADDENDUM II: Around the Web (and in email to me), what I keep seeing most is the theory that roommate Karena is directly involved in the crime (many are quite adamant about it), if not the killer, than being present when the crime transpired, or at least knowing what happened. People seem to arrive at that same conclusion from various paths (often just ‘women’s intuition’) — I remain doubtful of it (for too many reasons to mention), but think it important to acknowledge that of those who’ve followed the case, in the court of public opinion, it’s a very common line of belief, so don’t want to entirely discount it.
The second biggest theory I see/hear of course points the finger at Karena’s ex-boyfriend Eric Takoy Jones, again for too many reasons to go back over. And yet again the police seem to have covered Jones quite thoroughly, and so far as I can tell cleared him, despite the heavy initial evidence pointing his way.
At the same time police have hinted for a long while that they have substantial circumstantial evidence against an individual and just need something a little more definitive — it’s difficult to see who, outside of KR and ETJ could have so much circumstantial evidence amassed against them.
But with the 20/20 report emphasizing a Latino perp that certainly re-focuses the case elsewhere, from those named in released documents. Many folks say the produced composite looks a lot like a ‘male Karena’ (asking that her relatives be looked at) — once again though I don’t really see it. The composite is just generic enough to look like a lot of young Hispanic males. Among Faith’s circle of digital acquaintances I found two I believe look quite similar to the DNA phenotype and probably another 4-5 that bore some interesting resemblance. There may be no shortage of ‘look-alikes’ for the image that has been generated, and Orange County, where the crime happened, has a large Hispanic population. All of which is just to caution that while I truly hope this new forensic tool sends the case in a fresh, productive (and final) direction, it might not.
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