7th Anniversary

Tomorrow will be the seventh anniversary of Faith Hedgepeth’s brutal murder with no indication of a suspect in sight. The UNC daily newspaper ran a summary article today on the crime (which many or most current students likely don’t even recall):

https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2019/09/faith-hedgepeth-anniversary-0906

Surprisingly, the Chapel Hill police have not come out with their usual yearly statement asking (pretty futilely) for help from the public (if they come out with some statement tomorrow or this coming week, I’ll add an Addendum below to cover it).

After a long absence from the case, Tom Gasparoli is finally out with a 10-part podcast covering the crime (and it’s not overly kind to the Chapel Hill police effort):

https://www.pursuitpodcast.com

Anyone interested in the case should definitely give it a listen (each episode ~25 - 30+ mins.).  While most of it is old facts/information/speculations that we’ve seen before, there are, here-and-there, new bits not previously reported. Also, a good place for anyone newly-exploring the case to start. Different folks will find different things of interest. I’m intrigued by mention of a suspicious champagne Lexus SUV mentioned toward the end of episode 5 (seems like that should've been fairly easy to track down, though no indication if it ever was?), but there are other parts listeners may be drawn to as well. We keep meandering in circles on this case, with people largely locked into their own pet theories by now, and Tom’s effort probably won’t sway people’s opinions, but still interesting stuff to hear (even if there are several things I don’t concur with).

Wish I had more/better news to report at the 7-year mark — never dreamed this case would go unsolved for this long (even possible the murderer(s) is dead by now, though I doubt it; SOMEbody knows SOMEthing!). And still so many unanswered questions....

Keep the Faith....

Questions Into the Ether...

Incredibly, we are just a month away from the 7th anniversary of this horrific crime; another year of speculation, podcasts, frustration, and seemingly no progress. Will CHPD come out with any sort of statement or news, beyond ‘we’re working on it,’?… seems doubtful. Either lawyer-types don’t want them to talk (and 'compromise' the case) or their own P.R. folks don’t want them to talk (and possibly confirm that the case was bungled early on). 

Does anyone who knows anything directly about the crime (i.e. the perps) still reside in the area, in the state, in the country; are they even still alive? Is Parabon working on the case? In what sense is it NOT a cold case? Most students returning to the University of N. Carolina for fall semester right now probably have little or no memory of the crime. And so many new unsolved American crimes vie for attention each and every year how long will Faith's murder get the focus it needs? How many of Faith's loved ones and acquaintances will live long enough to see a solution or justice? How many more violent crimes has the perp(s) committed since that fateful morning 7 years ago (and how many more victims)? And when there finally is a solution to the case will the multi-year effort and difficulty make any more sense then it does now? Just asking....

Genetic Genealogy Update...

Feel like I should do some sort of update on genetic genealogy, in general… so much has been happening.

I’ll skip all the (many and fascinating) cold cases that appear to have been solved by the new technique, though they have yet to go to trial, and the legal/ethical/privacy issues remain, and just note two things:

1)  Again, the majority of cases being worked on (though not entirely) seem to be very old 30-45-year-old unsolved crimes finally being brought to resolution. So I don’t know how much, if any work, has been done on Faith’s 7-year-old murder. :(

2)  But worse or more pertinent, is that because of privacy concerns, GEDmatch (one of the main databases used in this work) has recently altered their policy so that a participant must now OPT IN to allowing crime fighters to access their data — previously, police could by default, use their data, but now the default mode is inaccessibility by law enforcement. Even though all indications are that people WANT their data used to help solve violent crimes, the simple fact is that individuals tend, in general, not to bother with manually changing default settings, which now they must do to permit investigators access.

So far ~50,000 users have opted IN for the use of their data, but that is out of over 1.2 million in the database, causing CeCe Moore, one of the most prominent genetic genealogists out there, to comment, “It’s basically useless now. Our work on any new cases is significantly stalled.” This is sad to hear, even if it turns out to be a temporary setback.

I suspect over time, and perhaps some court cases, such databases will again be widely useable for such crime-solving, but the immediate near-term is murky.

ADDENDUM:  there are multiple companies doing genetic genealogy but Parabon is certainly the most widely-known and publicized, and they recently mentioned that they were limiting themselves to "cold cases" since there is SO MUCH work out there to do and they must set up criteria... SO, that too is worrisome since Chapel Hill Police continue to deny that Faith's murder is a cold case, perhaps therefore removing it from Parabon's interest.

I suspect we can assume at this point there will be no news come the 7th anniversary in September. Ughhhh!

Here, by the way, is one interview with CeCe explaining a lot about the technique:

April Update

Nothing new, but feel like entering a quick update:

1)  There have been several new podcasts focused on Faith's death in the last few months. I haven't been linking to them since they are basically recapitulations that don't add anything new to the several other podcasts I already link to on this blog. I do make mention of them now though just to show that this case, rather than fading, seems to be gaining greater interest in the public eye. I've honestly been surprised at how many different people have now covered it, though part of that is simply the proliferation of unsolved-crime podcasts. There is a wide audience for this genre of podcast, and even if I don't link to them all I'm always happy to see Faith's case kept in front of more eyes and ears!

2)  I've said that I hope genetic genealogy will solve this case, and even stated somewhere way back that I thought it would be solved by March of this year. Obviously, that time has come and gone. At the time I made the prediction I believe Parabon NanoLabs may have been working on ~200 or more cases. One factor I failed to take into consideration, is that with every success (and they've had MANY), and increased publicity, more police departments would seek them out to assist on more cases, including very old unsolved cases. I have no idea how many cases have been handed to Parabon by now but it could be closer to 1000, and it takes awhile to sufficiently train additional researchers to conduct this relatively new form of investigation. The bulk of their solutions (though not all) continue to be quite old 10 - 40 year-old crimes, so it's hard to know where a case like Faith's may fall in their priorities -- I still hope it is solved before the 7th anniversary date in September, but just a hope. When these cases do break, they tend to break abruptly, with no public forewarning of the news to come, just suddenly an arrest.

Halfway Through March

Had really hoped that Parabon NanoLabs might have a solution to this crime before the end of March, but seeming less likely now. On the bright side, Parabon continues along a pace of solving about one crime per week, so could easily have another 40+ crimes solved before end-of-year… but, that’s out of 100s they are now investigating… and they still seem to be working heavily (though not exclusively), on crimes that are 10 - 30+ years old (Faith’s murder has a 7th anniversary next Sept.). Also, I suspect those crimes that result in the fewest hits from DNA (and thus require less genealogical ‘footwork’ to complete), take precedence over crimes that may result in many genetic links that then require much longer time to sort through. So patience still required… at least I don’t see how any further police work will solve this case… other than the DNA.

On a separate note, this old listing from the NC State Bureau of Investigation lists the crime as occurring between 2:40am. and 11 am. 

https://www.ncsbi.gov/Divisions/Legal/Cold-Cases/Faith-Hedgepeth.aspx

Seems a bit odd… the women arrived home ~2:40 and the body was found ~11:00… could law enforcement not put at least a slightly narrower range on the crime’s commission than THAT!? I’ve complained before about the baffling lack of an estimated time-of-death for Faith, and this wide range seems equally baffling. Is this law enforcement's way of saying that they don’t necessarily believe Karena’s assertion that Faith was alive at 4:30am., when she (KR) left the apartment? Or, was estimated time-of-death, rather than being withheld from the public, so badly botched by attendees that law enforcement simply has no &%$#*!! idea themselves? So much about this case just doesn't add up other than by assuming a lot of negligence in its investigation. Indeed, some think the unprecedented initial two years of refusal to release vital information on this crime was not about protecting the integrity of the case, but rather about covering up for police ineptitude. I don't know what to believe any longer.  Perhaps when this case is finally solved there will emerge some understanding of why it took this long... or, perhaps, it will simply seem all the more ludicrous that it took so long.

The Clock Is Ticking....

For those as interested as I am, just a couple more recent articles on genetic genealogy and the work of Parabon Nanolabs (with a second independent lab now also entering this burgeoning forensic field):

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/genetic-genealogy-dna-business-parabon-bode

http://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/timeline-in-sophie-sergie-murder-investigation/article_28de1e86-3192-11e9-a58a-93f70e767401.html

(this one is about the newly-solved story of a 26-year-old Alaska murder -- Parabon seems to be solving about a case per week now)

Tick tock... tick tock... tick tock... the clock is ticking on the solution to Faith's murder...

Someone out there is probably experiencing difficulty sleeping these days, especially pondering how they will look sleeping in stripes....

Questions With Answers... that we aren't privy to

If the police really want the public to contribute to this case (as they persistently claim) they need to open up about what is known about this case -- there is so much confusion and uncertainty at this point. A lot of time is squandered in forums/podcasts/videos and the like debating or speculating over matters which the police almost assuredly already have answers to. Here are some of the key things they know that we aren’t privy to, and are thus left babbling in the dark:

1)  What was Karena’s explanation for leaving the apartment door unlocked when she departed early that morning?

2)  What were Eric Jones’ explanations for his incriminating statements on social media prior to Faith’s murder?

3)  What is the estimated time of death of the victim and why has it never been reported?

4)  At times police have talked of being down to no more than 10 persons of interest — how many, if any, of those would be regarded as “suspects”? How many of them are names the public has never heard of in disclosed documents?

5)  Were any pertinent unidentifiable fingerprints collected at the crime scene?

6)  Of the 100s of “new” leads police claimed following ABC’s 20/20 show, are any still being looked at?

7)  Have police lost contact with any of the ‘persons-of-interest’ over the 6+ year interim?

8)  How often is the case’s DNA re-submitted to the appropriate agencies, and what were the results of the fingernail scrapings taken from Faith at autopsy?

9)  Roughly how many men may have overlapped with Faith & KR at the Thrill on the night in question who have never been ID'd or interviewed? (a few, dozens, over 100?)

10)  My understanding is that LE has determined by multiple means that the infamous “butt-dial” occurred while the women were at the Thrill, but does there remain any conceivable way the time-stamp is wrong and it took place much later?

11)  Re: the bag note left at the scene….  Based on their investigation, do police have definite ideas whether the note was written before or after the crime, by one or more than one individual, and by a male or female? (or are they shooting in the dark as much as the rest of us)

So many things the police have answers to and we don’t… if we did, it could sure narrow down our focus.

When LE is so stingy with information and allows 6 long years to pass by, it’s no surprise the public has little to offer back, as the case drags on and on and on, and memories fade.

As I keep repeating, it seems all up to a few lab techs now, the police appear stymied.

    * crickets *....

Keeping Watch On Parabon…

The latest crime case solved by Parabon NanoLabs was reported in the news recently, a 12+ year-old West Coast cold case:

https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sword-killing-cold-case-20190125-story.html

And back in Sept. 2018, Parabon reported that it had solved 10 cases in the first 100 days of employing its “genetic genealogy” (ave. = 1 case every 10 days):

https://parabon-nanolabs.com/news-events/2018/09/snapshot-genetic-genealogy-10-solves-in-first-100-days.html

Although most cases are 10-20+ years-old, a few have been more recent (under 5 yrs. old).

By the end of 2018, Parabon had helped identify suspects in over 30 cases. Speed and efficiency of their techniques are ramping up, as would be expected, and the company writes at one point that they have “come to expect a successful identification nearly every week.” Seems likely we can expect 50 or more suspects (perhaps over 100) to be pinpointed in 2019, from the 100s of unsolved cases they are working on. 

The difficult part of “genetic genealogy” is not the laboratory part of finding relatives to a perpetrator, but the more painstaking, manual detective/search work of deducing, from all possible relatives, which may actually track back to an individual who is a good fit for the known facts of the crime.

Chapel Hill Police have long said they have an abundance of evidence in Faith’s case, they just need a DNA match to tie it all to. It’s increasingly hard to imagine that by the end of this year they won’t have that match… and a lot of rampant speculation can be brought to an end.

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ADDENDUM: another 20-yr-old unsolved case, right up the road from Chapel Hill in Mebane, NC., was recently closed using genetic genealogy when a 10-yr.-old victim was finally identified:
https://abc11.com/family-had-no-idea-10-year-old-boy-mom-had-been-dead-since-1998/5121007/