9 years and 9 days after the original crime, Chapel Hill police today announced the arrest of a suspect who’s name has been reported slightly differently by different sources, but I’ll give as 28-year-old “Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares;” somewhat incredibly, arrested right in Durham, living with his mother, though there was indication that police are still researching his whereabouts/movements for the last 9 years. He would’ve been 19 at the time of the crime, the same age as Faith.
LE held a “press conference,” which, not to take away from the joy and success of the moment, was more self-congratulatory back-slapping than actual informative news of the case, but from all indications the suspect only came on police radar very recently and was arrested almost entirely based, as many of us had long predicted, on DNA evidence that matched the crime scene. It’s as if 8+ years of wild goose chases finally ended when the needed DNA was finally stumbled upon; but again I don’t want to detract from the relief and joy of the moment, with so many of us feeling as if a weight has been lifted off our shoulders (I just don’t feel this 9+ year saga qualifies as a “success” story, unfortunately -- and once enough details are released we will need to try to comprehend why it took this long).
LE, understandably, continues to be tight-lipped about further specifics of the case, though hopefully they will be able to build more evidence than solely the DNA match. Personally, I suspect there will be a 2nd arrest at some point, as I’ve long believed that there were 2 perps (likely either familially-related or work colleagues) who Faith encountered at the Thrill that night (whom she didn’t know or knew only tangentially) — but sheer repeated speculation on my part. Police are to have a news release at some point which I will then link to, as well as any news coverage I think particularly informative. A couple of comments today from LE:
“This story will take time to completely unfold.”
“This investigation is not complete. Our work is not done.”
With all this said, and much hope generated, one must add that suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. When under great pressure to resolve a crime there are countless historical examples of police mistakes in their pursuit of a suspect. But DNA, properly analyzed, doesn’t lie. With that said, I can still imagine a lengthy and complicated trial going forward, depending what other evidence LE has to bring to the table, or what the defendant has to say. But at least for now this case has at long-last entered a new phase. Stay tuned.
Here's some of the initial news coverage:
https://abc11.com/faith-hedgepeth-update-chapel-hill-police-death/11025184/
[I'll add further noteworthy press links below as they become available]
Addendum:
One additional bit worth noting that I didn’t mention above is that suspect Oliveras (sp?) was not part of any of the released documents nor speculation for this case, even after 9 years. Suddenly his name just appears out-of-nowhere. Of the few cases I’ve ever worked on that go unsolved for well over a year the eventual arrestee has always been someone no one has heard of or had on their radar. People need to be aware of how little and limited info they are usually getting from police and press reports. The speed with which so many in this case cast aspersions at Karena (based on very thin, specious arguments), because she was a convenient target, was yet another example of how easy it is to jump to conclusions.
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9/17/21:
I’ll add short addendums here as needed until I deem some piece of news worthy of a new, separate post.
The suspect made his first court appearance today and was charged with first degree (felony) murder, with no bail set.
No real new information has come forth… I haven’t even seen what, if any, news release the police ever gave to the press.
I do wonder if, after the ‘hoopla’ surrounding yesterday’s announcement, the suspect can even get a “fair” trial anywhere in Durham or Orange counties, or will have to seek a new venue?
We seem to have moved from one long period of LE silence to a new phase of LE silence with the single change being that someone is now accused. The investigation continues and police have not ruled out further arrests... and many, many questions remain. No idea when a trial would begin, but if not plea-bargained, it will almost surely be a long one.
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9-18-21
A new press article today with more info about the arrested suspect:
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/crime/article254298848.html
In an odd ‘coincidence’ some have noted that Olivares is originally from Guatemala and the perp (yet another 19-yr-old) in another rape in Carrboro (near Chapel Hill) earlier th very same day was also of Guatemalan origin (police have always maintained the two crimes were not connected… but definitely a head-scratcher, violent rapes beings somewhat rare for the area):
https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2012/09/man-charged-in-connection-to-carrboro-rape
For now I'm still awaiting more details, that may not be forthcoming :( before feeling comfortable with the latest turn of events or the work CHPD has done. To get a first-degree murder conviction they will need more than a DNA match. Do they have it?
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9/19/21:
Unfortunately, still not seeing any real significant news or disclosures that add much to what was released on the first day announcement. One small mystery from that day does continue: in thanking individuals for their hard work on the case LE cited an officer working in Montgomery County, Maryland for his assistance with the DNA research.... I would've thought the principal DNA work would've been done by the NC SBI or similar State agency; not sure why Montgomery County, Md. would be brought in. It may mean absolutely nothing, just a sharing of available resources, or at some point maybe analysis done in Maryland will take on further significance...?
...OK, with some further investigation it turns out that for the last several years the Maryland officer in question has specialized in forensic genealogy of the sort Parabon is known for (examining ancestral/familial DNA linkages, so quite like he was able to provide LE with the suspect's name from genealogy study, and LE then went out by one means or another and collected a DNA sample from the individual which then matched the crime scene. [I've said for a long time that DNA genealogy would/could solve this crime, and am now guessing it got us to this point.]
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9/20/21: will start a new post tomorrow just to begin moving things along
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