1-time Crime or a Pattern?

I’ll repost here something I already put on the Websleuths website; just a loose idea in case anyone has the time/ability to pursue it:

Police have painted this case as a personal crime against Faith Hedgepeth, BUT what if instead (as I think possible) it is the work of a repeat criminal (rapist or murderer) who happened to cross paths with Faith or Karena that night or week and learned of their location? 

For me it's at least a bit difficult to imagine that whoever perpetrated such a horrendous act did it as a one-time-only crime; it is easier to imagine that they have attacked young females at other times before or since Faith’s murder. Which makes one wonder if what we know of Faith’s murder represents an M.O. for this individual: i.e., they attack young women (perhaps coeds, perhaps in college towns?) in early daybreak hours (say perhaps between 5 and 7 am.) in their own apartments. Do they have anger issues and beat their victims with whatever is handy (rather than bringing a weapon). Is Friday morning of any particular significance? Do they scrawl out notes at the crime scene? And are we specifically looking for a Hispanic individual?

So... I doubt that most of us have the savvy or access to do the sort of search needed. But might someone out there be able to search a crime database or even the internet to look specifically for other attempted rapes and/or murders in the last 5 years that fit the above description?… perhaps starting in N.C. and neighboring states and working outward from there. Unless you have access to a very user-efficient, suitable database it would likely be a daunting, time-consuming task, but perhaps someone wants to take a crack at it… Perhaps there's a "trail" out there just waiting to be discovered.

Finally, even if one accepts the notion that the attacker knew and specifically-targeted Faith, are we to believe that in the 5+ years since he has never exhibited highly-violent, angry behavior toward any other female? Some female out there has experienced his rage, perhaps in early morning hours in an apartment bedroom... some female out there knows something, or has a hunch... Call Chapel Hill Police: 919-614-6363

or CrimeStoppers: 919-942-7515 (can call anonymously) ...yield to your conscience.

In Defense of Karena...

Probably ~70% of the emails I get from people with a strong opinion about this case point to Karena Rosario as a prime suspect, heavily involved in the crime, whether or not she was present at the murder scene. I’ve never been very inclined toward that viewpoint and now a reader (who goes elsewhere as “CADwrest”) has sent me a lengthy piece in defense of Karena against the aspersions aimed her way. You can read it HERE (in addition to being a defense of K.R., it is also worth reading as a decent summary of several major aspects of the crime).

...I'll also note that Tom Gasparoli has a new post up HERE but it's mostly same ol' same ol' stuff partly in podcast form. He promises to post a second half to the podcast on Dec. 15, so check back (to his site) then as well.

Bits & Pieces (& addendum)

Many may well already be aware of it, but I only recently discovered that Wikipedia has a page devoted to the Hedgepeth case here (good starting summary for anyone coming late to the case):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_Hedgepeth_homicide

Also, a YouTuber has posted another video (21-min.) summary of the crime here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8ArUntqmJY

Meanwhile I’ve learned that the “Trace Evidence” podcast is working on an episode devoted to the case.
==> ADDENDUM:  this podcast from Steven Pacheco is now available here (and it is very good! I don't quite agree with all his points, but very much worth listening to the whole thing):

https://soundcloud.com/user-94400891/023-the-murder-of-faith-hedgepeth

And over at the WebSleuths’ thread for this case someone has brought up an oddity I’ve not seen discussed before. The below Red Robin (restaurant) receipt (from an ‘admirer’ just days before the murder) posted on Faith’s Instagram account is written partially in French — doesn’t necessarily mean anything, just seems a small peculiarity the very week of Faith’s assault. I presume law enforcement have looked into this to their satisfaction, but of course I don’t know for sure.

https://www.instagram.com/p/PFdKmlGcWc/?taken-by=ole_faithful

Finally, one last side-note: as most locals know there was another murder in Chapel Hill about a week ago, actually a double murder of an elderly mother and her 58-year-old live-in son, in a well-to-do neighborhood. Police have been completely tight-lipped about the case since, other than to say that they believe there is no danger to the public — precisely what they said following Faith’s brutal, unsolved murder. 

The rumor I hear is that the son had mental health issues and it may be a case of a murder-suicide, which would make sense given the police-behavior. Still, I find it completely egregious that stigmas (unnecessarily) attached to mental health and suicide might prevent the public from information it ought have for it’s own well-being. It’s just hard to know when law enforcement is motivated to maintain a pristine image for a college town (which, like most major college towns, suffers a lot of crimes) and when they really have residents’ interest uppermost.
10/26: In an official update, police have confirmed that the son murdered his mother, but are awaiting autopsy reports before stating the cause of death of the son (though it seems clear/likely it was self-inflicted).

Questions Without Answers

Many folks in the Chapel Hill area have largely lost touch with this case; indeed most of the students now at the Univ. of N. Carolina probably don’t remember it or have any great familiarity. Many key figures and others formerly interested in the case have long since moved out of the area.

What Chapel Hill Police should do to regain some of their own credibility, as well as maintain interest in this fading case, is solicit questions about the crime from that segment of the public that IS still engaged. Many questions will be redundant, inappropriate, or trivial, but they can sift and sort through them ahead of time and then hold a press conference answering what they are able… instead of, once-a-year emerging to embarrassingly ask the public to produce new info on a case they feel largely in the dark on.

Here are some of the questions I have (several of which I’m sure they won’t answer)… other folks will no doubt have many additional questions:

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1.  What was Faith's estimated time-of-death?

2.  There’s been a lot of talk about DNA, but no mention of fingerprints (as I recall?) — were any key fingerprints (i.e. of the murderer) found at the crime scene and if no fingerprints were found how do you explain that (wiped clean, gloves used…)?

3.  How many individual apts. adjacent to Faith's were occupied at the time of the assault, and was anything heard by anyone beyond the single early morning “thump” that has been reported? Again, if nothing was heard, how do you explain that?

4. How many men that were at the Thrill nightclub on the fateful night were interviewed (…and can you estimate how many may have passed through the club that evening who were NOT interviewed)?

5. How confident are you that the murderer is of Latino or Native American background (as indicated by DNA), or at least NOT Black nor Caucasian? Most all the men mentioned in the released documents were Black or Caucasian (…were the 2+ years of inquiry based on those released documents largely ‘wild goose chases’?)

6. Law enforcement constantly implies that the case is close to being solved and just needs a little more help from the public. Does that mean you have a very small number, or even just one, significant suspects at this point, or does it merely mean you have a LOT of evidence built up at this point but with no one to tie it to?

7. How often do you have to travel out of town to seek evidence or interviews? And are there any individuals you’re still interested in but have lost contact with (lost addresses for) over the course of 5 years?

8. How frequently is the DNA run through the national database?

9. When was the last time you spoke with Eric Takoy Jones, and the last time you spoke with Karena Rosario? 

10. Since the 20/20 case episode of last year has there been a single piece of actual, new evidence uncovered (not speculation, theory, or “leads”, but new solid or physical/forensic evidence)?

11.  My understanding is that it is believed the NON-blood-stained Time-Out bag was written on by one person, the killer, AFTER the crime… is that correct, or is the timing of the message far less certain than that?

12. Is it fair to say that this case can NOT be resolved without a DNA match? And to move the case along has any thought been given to seeking a familial-related DNA match?

13. Is the SBI or FBI currently assisting in any aspects of the case?

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…not holding my breath, though, for any answers.

Anniversary #5

Two news entries to the case, as expected, this week marking the 5th anniversary of Faith's death):

1)  Tom Gasparoli’s latest post on the case here:

http://www.gaspowrites.com/2017/09/new-info-from-law-enforcement-clip-of.html

Disappointingly, LOTS of words but nothing much new or substantive (I don’t say that to criticize Tom, but just to indicate how embarrassingly, tight-lipped law enforcement continues to be).  Still, there’s stuff folks can continue to chew on, speculate about, imagine scenarios for. There are a couple of additional pics (I'd not seen before) of the Time-Out food bag, and the possibility that there was only one apt. key between the two girls is raised as one possible explanation for Karena not locking the door behind her (as I’ve never found leaving the door unlocked terribly surprising, it’s not a detail I even care about much, but others may). I wish Tom had pressed his 'informer' more on certain issues, though perhaps he did and simply got no answers.

2)  Chapel Hill Police Dept. with their annual inept-ish-sounding announcement at the crime anniversary: 

http://www.townofchapelhill.org/Home/Components/News/News/11464/22

It’s almost insulting to the public, not to mention Faith’s family, that after claiming they had 100’s of new leads last year, they appear to have nothing new to add to public knowledge this year, nor even summarize what if anything those prior leads produced. But five years out they’re still begging for additional info from the public. 

I’ve said before that I believe Faith put up quite a struggle, probably leaving visible marks on her attacker(s)… five years ago police could’ve requested that family members, workers, students, others, be on the lookout for individuals who were oddly wearing long-sleeve shirts on those hot September days perhaps to cover arm marks/bruises… but, they did not. They could’ve disclosed the odd bag message to see if that handwriting or letter formation was recognized by ANYone out there… but, they did not (until 2 years later). What else have they chosen not to disclose that might have wrapped this case up 250 weeks ago?

How many key figures, or friends and family of Faith, will be dead by the time this case is solved, IF it ever is? And when “solved” will the correct perp be apprehended, or just someone to make the case go away?

Yeah, like others, I'm feeling pretty frustrated and skeptical by now.

I’ll throw out one additional, completely speculative (maybe even off-the-wall) thought I’ve had:

I’m in a camp that believes there may well have been two (or more) perps involved and present at Faith’s murder. It’s difficult and rare for even one individual to commit such a heinous act and manage to remain silent about it for 5 years… for two people to have been present and maintained silence among all their contacts for this long is remarkable (though it’s always possible they have threatened violence against anyone who they have told of their acts). I can only imagine such a silent pact possibly arising between very close blood relatives… like two brothers. Raising the possibility in my mind of two close-knit brothers (or similarly tight-knit relatives) at the Thrill on the fateful night, possibly being rebuffed by the girls, and venturing later to their apartment. But nothing more than further idle speculation of which we already have plenty.

So many of us are so weary of this case… and in utter disbelief that it remains unsolved. But we carry on and press forward, because our hearts won’t allow us to do otherwise, until resolution is reached.

[...There may be further news reports this week, and I believe Gaspo plans another column as well (maybe even today), so it's possible I'll tack on an Addendum to this post at some point, if worthwhile.]
.........................

ADDENDUM:  For any who hadn't already heard it, Tom has now posted Karena Rosario's entire 911 audio call here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2syhKETyJEzVUFNS3d6VWNpdkE/view

This is the call that many (including Tom) find suspicious, but again, I've never had a problem with it, given an individual in shock. I don't believe it adds much information at all to the case, but others analyze it differently, so you can make up your own mind.

Heading Toward the 5-Year Anniversary

Yet another recent interpretation of Faith’s “buttdial” call has come to my attention over at Reddit [worth noting that this interpreter assumes the message originated at the Thrill nightclub, as the police believe, and NOT at the murder scene as some assume]:

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/6ne4pr/unresolved_murder_i_tried_my_hand_at_deciphering/

Once again, I don’t find the call interpretable, but post the link so others can form their own opinion of the writer’s translation and the comments that follow it.

It’s interesting to me that when I started this blog probably MOST emails/comments I received pointed the finger at Karena’s ex- boyfriend Eric, but these days most comments coming in point directly to Karena herself, which still makes little sense to me. If she was involved she clearly had to have help (she didn’t leave the semen or other crucial male DNA), and I find most of the scenarios described a huge stretch, but it's not worth arguing over people's various ideas, since there is still so much none of us know. For now I continue to lean toward this being a simple case of males encountered at the Thrill that fateful night being the perp(s) — but I have no more monopoly on the truth than anyone else.

We’re less than 2 months away from the September 7 anniversary date of this horrific crime, when the Chapel Hill Police routinely come out and almost embarrassingly ask for any further possible assistance or memories from the public. I almost dread hearing them do it yet again, unless they actually have something new to report. At the very least I hope they will say something about the '100s of leads' they supposedly received after last year’s 20/20 broadcast on the crime, and if any of those leads are still being followed.

FYI... DNA Familial Analysis

Over at the Websleuths site someone had asked about the possibility of DNA familial searches being employed to help solve Faith’s murder — the basic idea is that you look for matches to DNA from a crime scene, NOT just from criminal databases, but also from less direct familial matching in the many private databases that now collect DNA for genetic or ancestry study (i.e., you find someone who may be a blood relative to the actual perpetrator of an unsolved crime, thus narrowing your search).

Constitutional and privacy rights make this a highly controversial method in the U.S., though Britain has used it more extensively. Nine states (last I read) in the U.S. currently use the procedure on occasion. North Carolina is not one of them. But, as I understand it, only one state outright bans it, so more may well be employing it in the future, with techniques constantly improving, and population databases becoming evermore widespread.

I understand there are some very difficult issues/concerns involved in its use, but Faith's case certainly seems of the sort where it might be considered.

Anyway, here are a few sites you can read more about the subject:

http://www.dnaforensics.com/familialsearches.aspx

http://www.promegaconnections.com/familial-dna-searching-for-criminal-forensics-qa/

http://www.denverda.org/DNA_Documents/Familial_DNA/families-and-communities-familial-dna.pdf

...And there's much more if you search Google under "DNA familial forensics".

Theorizing Out Loud…

One thing hard to escape, no matter where you read about this case, is all the suspicion that continues to hover around Faith’s roommate (Karena) and her ex-boyfriend (Eriq Takoy Jones). Reading all of people’s pet theories, and the evidence as we know it, I’ve tried to tie it together a bit in one scenario, especially given all that suspicion, even while nothing seems to directly tie these two to the murder scene (yet repeatedly we hear they might know more than they’ve told):

Suppose there was some sort of ongoing tension, jealousy, or love triangle happening between Karena & Faith… that reached a critical point… might KR, already aware of ETJ’s declared desire to do harm to Faith, give him a sort of tacit go-ahead to have her messed with or roughed up a bit to ‘teach her a lesson’ as-it-were. And suppose ETJ knowing he’d be easily recognized/suspected of any such 'assault,' preferred to employ 1 or 2 acquaintances (perhaps at The Thrill that night) to do the deed, and KR then agreed to depart the apt. early and leave the door unlocked… someone, or possibly 2 individuals come over, honestly planning to mess with Faith to ‘deliver a message,’ but when things get out-of-hand smash her head with a bottle that kills her. Possible? KR and ETJ, while not guilty of the actual crime, would be frozen into silence, because of their involvement/knowledge; unable to tell what they knew about something they were essentially accessory to, even if not intended??? 

Perhaps the cryptic bag note was written by KR (many ascribe it to female handwriting & wordage) before she departed, and left for a sleeping Faith as a message/warning to Faith upon awakening??? 

Two individuals that were known to be in contact with Faith and KR at the Club that night were a rapper who’s name I’m not certain of and Jones’ cousin (Jones himself was not there), BOTH of whom apparently lived in the same apt. complex as ETJ, KR, and Faith. Were they involved? (I assume they were interrogated by police?) Or, if not them, one or two others from Jones’ circle of contacts? All we can do is speculate, but perhaps this scenario would explain why 4+ years after the fact no evidence puts KR or ETJ directly at the crime scene, and yet so much suspicion clings to them.

OR, maybe everything in all the released police reports, and prior speculations, are just red herrings. Maybe KR and ETJ are themselves just victims of circumstances and appearances. Perhaps, in accordance with the 20/20 report, we need be looking for a Latino who hasn't been on anyone's radar, and is possibly long gone from the area by now. So many what-ifs, so many 'maybe's, and so much time passed... AND, so frustrating.