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Hedgepeth trial, day nine

True crime · Heat 2.2 / 10 · 3 shows · 17m airtime

The state rested its case-in-chief on October 20, 2026, day nine of the Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares trial in Durham County Superior Court, for the 2012 murder of 19-year-old UNC Chapel Hill student Faith Hedgepeth. The defense moved to strike lead agent Justin Heinrich's opinion testimony; the judge struck the phrase 'we found our person' but may give a curative instruction naming the person responsible. A March 10, 2024 jail call surfaced in which the defendant denied knowing anyone at the apartments, contradicting witnesses who said he did. Agent Heinrich later withdrew his handwriting comparison after learning the photo was an internet meme, and the defense rested without witnesses.

How 3 podcasts covered it

  1. Murder Sheet, 2026-10-20 (1:41 to 5:09)
    Recaps the case as the state rests
    Opens day nine by recapping the 2012 murder, the 2021 arrest and the legal teams, then notes the state has rested its case-in-chief and the defense now takes over.
    New angle: The state rested its case-in-chief on day nine; the defense case begins next.
  2. Murder Sheet, 2026-10-20 (5:09 to 7:34)
    Reflects on the state's rested case
    Reflects on what the state's case-in-chief accomplished now that it has rested, weighing the DNA evidence against the accused and teasing an unspecified misstep on day nine that the hosts promise to detail later.
  3. Murder Sheet, 2026-10-20 (7:51 to 10:25)
    Covers the defense motion to strike testimony
    Covers the defense's motion to strike parts of lead agent Justin Heinrich's testimony on day nine, including his remarks that Karina Rosario's statements were consistent and that the case was a rape. The hosts find the objections unconvincing but note a memorandum of law went into the record.
    New angle: The defense moved to strike lead agent Justin Heinrich's opinion testimony and entered a memorandum of law.
  4. Murder Sheet, 2026-10-20 (10:25 to 14:42)
    Breaks down the judge's ruling on the motion
    Walks through the judge's ruling on the defense motion to strike: the 'we found our person' line comes out, but Heinrich's consistency opinion stays, and a curative instruction may follow. Then argues the rape question from common sense rather than the record.
    New angle: The judge struck 'we found our person' but may give a curative instruction naming the person responsible.
  5. Murder Sheet, 2026-10-20 (14:42 to 16:22)
    Weighs Heinrich's jail call against witnesses
    Picks up Heinrich's testimony on the stand: the difficulty of locating witnesses a year after the murder, and his reading of a March 10, 2024 jail call in which the defendant denied knowing anyone at the apartments, which the hosts set against witnesses who said otherwise.
    New angle: In a March 10, 2024 jail call, the defendant denied knowing anyone at the apartments, contradicting witnesses who said he did.
  6. Crime Weekly, 2026-10-21 (38:59 to 40:22)
    Gives a brief sign-off update on the trial
    A brief sign-off update on the Hedgepeth trial: the state has rested and the defense has moved to dismiss all charges. The hosts say they are following it and will give a full update once the trial ends, then promote the next episode.
  7. Dateline NBC, 2026-10-22 (29:41 to 31:14)
    Updates the Heinrich meme walkback and the rested defense
    Updates the trial's closing stretch: the state's final witness, Agent Justin Heinrich, walked back his handwriting comparison after learning the photo was an internet meme, and the defense rested Wednesday without calling witnesses.
    New angle: Agent Heinrich withdrew his handwriting comparison after learning the photo was an internet meme; the defense rested without witnesses.
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