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More pretrial hearings draw murder trial closer in killing of UNC student Faith Hedgepeth

Faith Hedgepeth, a 19-year-old college student at UNC in Chapel Hill, was murdered in her off-campus apartment in 2012.
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Raleigh
Faith Hedgepeth, 19, was a UNC- Chapel Hill sophomore who grew up in Hollister, N.C., and was a member of the Haliwa-Saponi tribal community.

Another round of hearings has ended ahead of a murder trial in the killing of UNC-Chapel Hill student Faith Hedgepeth.

The 19-year-old sophomore grew up in Hollister, N.C., and was a member of the Haliwa-Saponi tribal community.

Hedgepeth was found dead in her off-campus apartment in 2012, but police did not initially name any suspects, and kept details of her death sealed under court orders for years.

They finally made an arrest in 2021 when authorities said they matched DNA from the crime scene to a sample taken from a man facing a DWI charge.

Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares is now facing charges of first-degree murder, burglary, and rape in Hedgepeth's death.

This week's hearings were to determine what evidence a jury would be able to consider in the decade-long investigation. Salguero-Olivares' attorneys also entered his plea this week of not guilty. His trial is scheduled for Sept. 28.

Will Michaels is WUNC's AM Reporter