Miguel Olivares' defense team seeks new trial after guilty verdict in Faith Hedgepeth's murder
DURHAM, N.C. -- Attorneys for Miguel Salguero-Olivares, the man convicted in the 2012 killing of UNC Chapel Hill student Faith Hedgepeth, are asking a judge to grant him a new trial, arguing he was denied a fair and impartial trial.
The request comes less than two weeks after a Durham County jury found Miguel Salguero Olivaresguilty of first-degree murder, rape, burglary and a sexual offense in Hedgepeth's death.
In a 220-page motion, defense attorneys outline four arguments they say justify a new trial.
The first centers on evidence they claim prosecutors failed to disclose before the verdict. Defense attorneys say the state possessed a crime lab report that cleared Olivares of unrelated felony drug charges but did not provide it before the jury reached its verdict. They argue the report affected Olivares' decision not to testify in his own defense.
The second argument challenges testimony from SBI Special Agent in Charge Justin Heinrich. Defense attorneys contend Heinrich improperly told jurors the crime scene showed evidence of a violent sexual assault and that DNA evidence identified the person responsible for Hedgepeth's death.
The motion also argues Heinrich improperly testified that former roommate Karena Rosario's accounts of events had remained consistent since 2012.
Third, defense attorneys claim prosecutors left jurors with the false impression that witnesses who could identify a man seen at a cookout outside Hedgepeth's apartment had returned to Guatemala and could not be located.
The final argument involves evidence related to Hedgepeth's time of death. Defense attorneys say the judge's decision to exclude a blood alcohol concentration calculation prevented them from challenging the state's timeline of when Hedgepeth died.
Attorneys argue the four issues collectively denied Olivares "a meaningful opportunity to present a complete defense."
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North Carolina Central University School of Law professor Scott Holmes said overturning a murder conviction remains a difficult task, despite the issues raised in the filing.
"I think the defense always thinks they have a chance," Holmes said. "They've done a really good job raising important issues in a very full manner right after the trial. But overturning a guilty verdict in a murder case is really difficult."
Holmes said the newly discovered crime lab report clearing Olivares of unrelated drug charges may have prompted defense attorneys to revisit additional legal issues raised during the trial.
"They saw that this was a new legal issue that the judge would want to hear about," Holmes said. "Then they thought probably, while we're at it, we have other issues we raised at the trial that either weren't fully litigated or we want to give the judge another pass at, so we'll throw those in there too and get another trial."
The motion now returns the case to the court for consideration.
ABC11 reached out to defense attorneys for comment but had not received a response as of Tuesday.
The Durham County District Attorney's Office said filing the motion is the defendant's right.
