The trial of a man accused of killing a North Carolina college student 14 years ago began Wednesday with the prosecution alleging she was killed in a fit of rage by a stranger who left his DNA all over the crime scene. The defense said the evidence doesn’t add up.
Miguel Salguero Olivares is charged with first-degree murder, rape and burglary in the death of Faith Hedgepeth. She was a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when she was found beaten to death in her off-campus apartment in September 2012.
In her opening statement, Assistant District Attorney Angela Garcia-Lamarca said the defendant left his DNA on the murder weapon – a bottle of rum found covered in blood – inside Hedgepeth’s body and on a note written on a fast-food bag found at the scene.
“The evidence in this case is louder than the noise around it,” she said.
She described Hedgepeth as a caring friend who was beloved by everyone who knew her and was on track to become the first person in her family to graduate from college.
“You will see from the evidence in this case that the defendant committed these acts against Faith in a fit of rage, not because he knew her,” she said. “He didn’t do this to her because of who she was, he did it because of who he is.”
Garcia-Lamarca said Hedgepeth and her roommate had been at a popular club that night, and that Hedgepeth, the designated driver, drove them home around 2 a.m. The roommate was drunk and sick, she said, but later called a friend to come pick her up around 4 a.m. She returned hours later and found Hedgepeth dead.
“This case is not complicated. It’s devastating, it’s horrifying, it’s a family’s worst nightmare. ... but it’s also simple,” the prosecutor said. “The evidence is loud and clear.”
In his opening statement, defense attorney James Rainsford said prosecutors left out key details and urged jurors to ask themselves, “Where’s the rest of the evidence?”
The friend who picked up Hedgepeth’s roommate told police he saw what looked like blood on her hands. A downstairs neighbor reported hearing loud thumps between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. And police later lost evidence related to what appeared to be blood in the apartment’s bathroom.
“Is this just noise or are you starting to hear things that don’t add up?” he said. “Maybe that’s noise to some people; that sounds like forensic evidence to others.”
Salguero Olivares was arrested in 2021, more than nine years after the killing. His arrest came after a DNA sample submitted to the state crime lab by the State Bureau of Investigation and the Chapel Hill Police Department matched a profile found at the original crime scene, authorities said.
“Finding something doesn’t mean a crime occurred. You have to connect them,” Rainsford said of the DNA evidence. “It doesn’t mean what you think.”
The prosecutor said the message on the fast-food bag -- “I’m Not Stupid (expletive) Jealous” -- called to mind an old adage.
“Men, some men, are terrified women will laugh at them," she said. "Women are terrified of being killed or raped.”
Ramer reported from Concord, N.H.
In this frame grab from video, Miguel Salguero Olivares, who is on trial for the murder and rape of University of North Carolina student Faith Hedgepeth, listens to the prosecution's opening argument at a courthouse in Durham, N.C., on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. (Network Pool/via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are pulling back from their record on Wednesday.
The S&P 500 fell 0.2%, a day after topping its prior all-time high set in August. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 284 points, or 0.6%, as of 12:13 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% lower.
Stocks felt pressure as yields climbed in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 5.28% from 5.27% late Tuesday. They were as high as 5.36% earlier in the day and eased further following a $39 billion auction of those notes during the afternoon on Wednesday. Higher yields put downward pressure on prices for stocks and other investments. They can also slow the economy by making it more expensive for everyone to borrow money, and the 10-year yield is near its highest level since 2002.
Oil prices continued swinging amid uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow the industry to return to normal. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 0.6% to $99.93 after rising above $100 per barrel through the morning. That’s well above its $72 price from before the war began, though it’s not as high as the nearly $110 it was scraping last month.
Also pushing up on bond yields are worries about how much debt the U.S. government and others worldwide have racked up, and how much more they add to it by the day.
The head of the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday that record levels of debt for governments is one of the three major crosscurrents driving where the global economy goes, along with artificial-intelligence technology and high energy prices.
“Some very tough political choices stare us in the face,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a speech in Singapore ahead of autumn IMF-World Bank meetings to be held in Bangkok next week.
She pointed in particular to France and Italy, among other European countries with high debt.
France's CAC 40 stock index dropped 1.2% for one of the world's biggest losses as yields on French bonds got back to jumping amid worries about the government’s debt and strained budget. Protests across France have raised pressure on the government to increase spending, which could add further to its debt.
On Wall Street, Worthington Steel fell 8.8% after the metals processing and manufacturing company reported weaker results for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
The pressure is on companies to continue to deliver big growth in profits. Such strength would help to support stock prices when the other big lever that affects stock prices, interest rates, is pushing downward.
Analysts have high expectations for this upcoming earnings reporting season. They’re forecasting growth in earnings per share of nearly 30%, according to FactSet. If companies fall short of that bar, stock prices could easily fall further from their record heights.
Constellation Brands added 2% after the seller of Modelo beer and Robert Mondavi wine reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. But its gain was restrained after it also gave a forecasted range for profit over its full fiscal year whose midpoint was below what analysts expected.
In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across much of Europe and Asia.
South Korea’s Kospi sank 2% for one of the world's largest losses following a sharp drop for SK Hynix, one of its two dominant stocks.
AP Business Writers Michelle Chapman and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.
FILE - A general view shows the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)
FILE - Options trader Anthony Spina, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE - Commuters emerge from a Wall Street subway station in New York's Financial District on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
A currency trader passes by screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
