death of Faith Hedgepeth<\/a>. She was a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when she was found beaten to death in her off-campus apartment in September 2012.<\/p>\nIn her opening statement, Assistant District Attorney Angela Garcia-Lamarca said the defendant left his DNA on the murder weapon \u2013 a bottle of rum found covered in blood \u2013 inside Hedgepeth\u2019s body and on a note written on a fast-food bag found at the scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe evidence in this case is louder than the noise around it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She described Hedgepeth as a caring friend who was beloved by everyone who knew her and was on track to become the first person in her family to graduate from college.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou will see from the evidence in this case that the defendant committed these acts against Faith in a fit of rage, not because he knew her,\u201d she said. \u201cHe didn\u2019t do this to her because of who she was, he did it because of who he is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Garcia-Lamarca said Hedgepeth and her roommate had been at a popular club that night, and that Hedgepeth, the designated driver, drove them home around 2 a.m. The roommate was drunk and sick, she said, but later called a friend to come pick her up around 4 a.m. She returned hours later and found Hedgepeth dead.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis case is not complicated. It\u2019s devastating, it\u2019s horrifying, it\u2019s a family\u2019s worst nightmare. … but it\u2019s also simple,\u201d the prosecutor said. \u201cThe evidence is loud and clear.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his opening statement, defense attorney James Rainsford said prosecutors left out key details and urged jurors to ask themselves, \u201cWhere\u2019s the rest of the evidence?\u201d<\/p>\n
The friend who picked up Hedgepeth\u2019s roommate told police he saw what looked like blood on her hands. A downstairs neighbor reported hearing loud thumps between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. And police later lost evidence related to what appeared to be blood in the apartment\u2019s bathroom.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs this just noise or are you starting to hear things that don\u2019t add up?\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe that\u2019s noise to some people; that sounds like forensic evidence to others.\u201d<\/p>\n
Salguero Olivares was arrested in 2021, more than nine years after the killing. His arrest came after a DNA sample submitted to the state crime lab by the State Bureau of Investigation and the Chapel Hill Police Department matched a profile found at the original crime scene, authorities said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinding something doesn\u2019t mean a crime occurred. You have to connect them,\u201d Rainsford said of the DNA evidence. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean what you think.\u201d<\/p>\n
The prosecutor said the message on the fast-food bag — \u201cI\u2019m Not Stupid (expletive) Jealous\u201d — called to mind an old adage. <\/p>\n
\u201cMen, some men, are terrified women will laugh at them,” she said. “Women are terrified of being killed or raped.\u201d<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Ramer reported from Concord, N.H.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
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