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Spellcaster testifies at murder trial. Legal fireworks in UNC student murder. Plus, cars and crime.

Explore episode Jun 18, 2026
True Crime
Faith Hedgepeth's Roommate Under the Microscope

Spellcaster testifies at murder trial. Legal fireworks in U… · Jun 18, 2026 True Crime

The defense attorney for accused killer Miguel Salguero Olivares filed a motion arguing that Faith Hedgepeth's roommate Karina was still in the apartment when the medical examiner says Faith died at 2:51 AM. Karina said she left after 4 AM. There was also a 2-inch transfer bloodstain in the bathroom where Karina said she had been sitting — and a blood smudge reportedly spotted on her finger by the friend who drove her away.

4 min

Where this was said

Faith Hedgepeth Murder Case: Defense Points to the Roommate

At 13:55 · chapter starts 12:00

Faith Hedgepeth was 19 years old, a biology major at UNC, and a member of the Haliwa-Saponi Native American tribe whose dream was to become a pediatrician in her home community. She was murdered in her off-campus apartment on September 7, 2012, with a cryptic handwritten note on a paper fast-food bag found next to her body: 'I'm not stupid, bitch. Jealous.' Nine years passed before an arrest was made — Miguel Salguero Olivares, a Guatemalan man who lived nearby and had no known connection to Faith, whose DNA allegedly matched evidence at the scene. Now, in a stunning pretrial motion, his defense attorney James Rainsford has filed a motion calling Faith's roommate Karina Rosario a material witness and raising pointed questions about her story. The motion notes that a 2-inch transfer bloodstain — the kind left when someone with blood on their hands touches a surface — was found in the bathroom exactly where Karina said she had been sitting. The friend who picked Karina up that night reportedly told investigators he spotted a small smudge of blood on her right finger, and a potential blood stain was found on the car's interior door handle. Most critically, the medical examiner placed Faith's time of death at around 2:51 AM, while Karina and her friend said she didn't leave until after 4 AM — meaning, the defense argues, she was home when the murder happened. The prosecution has called the motion's contents falsehoods, asked for future pretrial filings to be sealed, and the judge refused but left the door open. Karina has never spoken publicly about the case and has never been charged.

True Crime
The Cryptic Note Left at Faith's Murder Scene

Spellcaster testifies at murder trial. Legal fireworks in U… · Jun 18, 2026 True Crime

Next to Faith Hedgepeth's body, investigators found a handwritten note on a paper fast-food bag that read: 'I'm not stupid, bitch. Jealous.' The aggressive note pointed to a personal motive, yet when an arrest finally came nine years later, the accused killer had no known connection to Faith — deepening the mystery at the heart of the case.

1m 29s
True Crime
Faith Hedgepeth: 19 Years Old, Biology Major, Future Pediatrician

Spellcaster testifies at murder trial. Legal fireworks in U… · Jun 18, 2026 True Crime

Faith Hedgepeth was 19 years old, a biology major at UNC, and a member of the Haliwa-Saponi Native American tribe. Her dream was to return home and become a pediatrician. She was temporarily sharing a one-bedroom apartment with her friend Karina while waiting on financial aid — and that apartment became the scene of her murder.

1m 19s

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