Police Called it a “Butt Dial.” Her Father Heard a Murder

September 7th, 2012. Chapel Hill, NC. A 911 call leads police to Apartment 501, where UNC junior Faith Hedgepeth is found dead. For 9 years, most of the details of this case was hidden from the public—until DNA led to an arrest. But does the official story actually hold up?

In this episode of Beach House 34, we learn about the 1:23 AM voicemail that was the "butt dial" and contains three voices. We also learn about a 19-month delay in collecting video evidence and how neighbors of Faith were never questioned after the crime. All. of this may have allowed a killer to remain free for nearly a decade.

What we cover:

The Timeline: The 42-minute window between Faith’s last text and her roommate's departure.

The Evidence: The cryptic note on a Time-Out restaurant bag and the palm print on the murder weapon.

The Contradictions: Why independent audio analysis challenges the Chapel Hill PD’s official timeline.

The 2024 Update: What the new rape and sexual offense charges tell us about the current state of the prosecution against Miguel Salguero-Olivares.

00:00 What We'll Learn

16:47 The Handwritten Note

29:26 What Might the Suspect Look Like?

33:33 The Suspect

SOURCES

The Daily Tar Heel — Coverage of the investigation, timeline, and legal challenges to sealed records

https://www.dailytarheel.com

Still no answers in Hedgepeth killing (Dec. 5, 2012)

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/crime/article10355967.html

Hedgepeth search warrants resealed by judge (May 22, 2013)

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/crime/article10356047.html

Faith Hedgepeth records to stay sealed (Mar. 19, 2014)

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/crime/article10356407.html

Court documents unsealed in search for Faith Hedgepeth’s killer (Sept. 5, 2014)

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/crime/article10356752.html

Chelsea Dulaney, The Atavist — In the Shadow of the Sealings

https://magazine.atavist.com/in-the-shadow-of-the-sealings-faith-hedgepeth-chapel-hill-murder/

he Daily Tar Heel — 9-1-1 transcript release

https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2014/07/faith-hedgepeth-911-transcript

The News & Observer — Reporting on released 9-1-1 records

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/crime/article10356790.html

Inside Edition / Crime Watch Daily — Chilling voicemail coverage

https://www.insideedition.com/chilling-voicemail-in-faith-hedgepeth-murder-case-made-public-21019

Indian Country Media Network — Voicemail reporting

https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/chilling-voicemail-in-hedgepeth-murder-case-made-public

The News & Observer — Expert, police dispute voicemail interpretation (Feb. 20, 2016)

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/crime/article61283547.html

ABC News / 20/20 — DNA-based suspect image released (Sept. 23, 2016)

https://abcnews.go.com/US/new-image-released-faith-hedgepeth-murder-case/story?id=42322240

Parabon NanoLabs — Snapshot DNA phenotyping

https://parabon-nanolabs.com/snapshot/

Arrest announcement (Sept. 16, 2021)

https://abc11.com/faith-hedgepeth-miguel-salguero-olivares-chapel-hill-murder-arrest/11027349/

DNA match explained in court documents (Jan. 24, 2022)

https://abc11.com/faith-hedgepeth-murder-miguel-salguero-olivares-dna/11487954/

Additional charges filed (Nov. 14, 2024)

https://abc11.com/faith-hedgepeth-case-additional-charges-miguel-salguero-olivares/15520077/

WRAL — Newly released documents detail police case

https://www.wral.com/newly-released-documents-detail-police-case-in-faith-hedgepeth-murder/20840561/

Haliwa-Saponi Tribe (official site)

https://www.haliwa-saponi.org

Alpha Pi Omega Sorority

https://www.alphapiomega.org

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