Durham, N.C. – Three jurors and an alternate spoke to ABC11 about their experience in the trial that resulted in a life‑without‑parole sentence for Miguel Salguero Olivares, convicted of murdering UNC‑Chapel Hill student Faith Hedgepeth in her off‑campus apartment in 2012.

Initial doubts and the weight of evidence

Juror Sandra Powell said she entered deliberations questioning whether the state had met its burden of proof. “I was like, I just don’t understand. I need more evidence. I’m not understanding the burglary charge and the murder,” she recalled.

Powell noted that the defense highlighted investigative missteps, such as a missing doorknob swab and misplaced crime‑scene pieces. While those concerns resonated, she and the other jurors ultimately found the forensic and DNA evidence overwhelming.

Deliberation process

Julie Fowler praised the jury foreman for keeping the group focused on the law and the evidence. “Our jury foreman put up on the whiteboard what we can consider and what we can’t,” Fowler said, adding that the visual guide helped jurors stay within the court’s instructions.

Alternate juror Laura McCarthy, who did not participate in deliberations, emphasized the impact of the expert testimony. “Witness experts really explained how DNA worked, how his fingerprints worked and just the alarming amount of evidence that pointed. How could it not be him?” she said.

Surprise at the defense’s strategy

Jurors were taken aback when the defense rested its case without calling any witnesses. “There was supposed to be witnesses. Didn’t present nobody. At the last minute he said, ‘We rest,’” juror Leon Adams recalled. Alternate juror McCarthy added that the lack of character witnesses left the jury confused about the defense’s intentions.

Emotional toll

The graphic crime‑scene photos and videos took an emotional toll on the jurors. Powell described a moment just before the verdict when she and another juror stepped outside to pray. “I was literally shaking… Tears were rolling down my eyes. I’ll never forget that feeling,” she said.

After the verdict, jurors reported hugging one another behind closed doors and later sharing embraces with members of the Hedgepeth family, bringing a sense of closure to a case that had lingered for nearly 14 years.

Original reporting: Brookhaven News – ABC7 New York — read the source article.