Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - College student Faith Hedgepeth found naked, bludgeoned. Who killed the NC Chapel Hill co-ed ?

Episode Date: June 9, 2020

It's been eight years since college student Faith Hedgepeth's naked body was found beaten to death in her University of North Carolina apartment. No one has been charged. Joining Nancy Grace to discuss: Wendy Patrick- California prosecutor, author “Red Flags” www.wendypatrickphd.com  Caryn Stark - NYC Psychologist, www.carynstark.com  Cloyd Steiger - 36 years Seattle Police Department, 22 years Homicide detective, Author "Seattles Forgotten Serial Killer-Gary Gene Grant" www.cloydsteiger.com  Joseph Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics Jacksonville State University, Author,"Blood Beneath My Feet" Nicole Partin - Crime Online Investigative Reporter Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. A teen girl found dead at her off-campus apartment at UNC. What happened to Faith? to faith. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Faith Hedgepath. Absolutely stunning. Found dead in the shadow of UNC's campus. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Take a listen to the 911 call. Dara, 911, where is your emergency?

Hi, I just walked into my apartment and my friend just like, just came unconscious. Okay, what's your address, ma'am? I live at Hawthorne at this view. Give me the address. I just moved here. I'm about to get it. Oh, my God. It's 5639 Old Chapel Hill Road in Durham the killer. You can't tell from the 911 call.

In fact, she thinks fate is actually just unconscious. With me, an all-star panel, Wendy Patrick, California prosecutor, author of Red Flags on Amazon, find her at wendypatrickphd.com. Karen Stark, renowned psychologist, joining me out of New York at karenstark.com karen stark renowned psychologist joining me out of new york at karen stark.com cloyd steiger 36 years seattle pd 22 years homicide author of seattle's forgotten serial killer gary gene grant cloyd steiger.com professor forensics jacksonville state university author of blood beneath my feet on amazon jose, Joseph Scott Morgan, death investigator. But right now to CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter, Nicole Parton.

Nicole, I want you to take a listen to one more segment of that 911 call, Nicole. I'm going to tell you how to help her, okay? Okay. Okay. How old is she? She's 19. Okay. I don't know. I don't want to touch her, but...

Listen to me. Is she breathing? I don't know. You need to check and see. Is she breathing? Kate, I don't think so. I don't think so. I don't think so. Okay, listen to me. There's blood everywhere. There's what?

There's blood everywhere. I don't know what happened. Guys, first of all, Nicole Parton, doesn't 911 have caller ID for Pete's sake? I mean, they went on and on with the girl, the roommate, about what's your correct address. Don't they have it? And I was also struck by the fact that the roommate thinks Faith is actually just unconscious. That's correct, Nancy. And I do think that now that is one of the things that has been changed with 911. They know where you're calling from so they can avoid that endless question of what's your address. Because obviously at a time like that, some people can't remember their address. And you can hear her roommate repeatedly say, I don't think she's breathing. There's blood everywhere. There's blood everywhere. She says that numerous times,

an enormous amount of blood. Obviously, she wasn't just unconscious. You know, Nicole Parton, joining me from CrimeOnline.com. Nicole, this was an off-campus apartment that so many college students live in. I lived in off-campus after, I guess, freshman year in an apartment with a bunch of other girls my age that also attended Mercer with me. So I think this apartment complex was full of a lot of college students there at University of North Carolina. That's correct. To this day, there are still a lot of university students who live in this same apartment complex, which plays a key role because we have several people who heard things in the night, who were able to see things in the night, and that will hopefully help a lot.

You're not kidding. Nicole Parton, take a listen now to a little bit more of that 911 call. What can we learn? Okay, is she on her back, or is she laying on her stomach? She's on her back, but, like, I think she fell off the bed, because she's, like, off the bed.

There's blood all over the pillows, like, in the cup from there. I just don't know what happened. Okay. All right, listen to me, all right? There's someone coming. Yes, I've got somebody coming. I've got somebody coming. I need for you to help her I need for you to go he's breathing or not okay okay listen to me go up the paramedics are on their way guys you're hearing the 911

call and there's nothing like a 911 call when and if you ever get a jury, because it takes a jury to the moment of the crime or the discovery of the crime. There is a $40,000 reward to help solve the case of Faith Hedgepass Murder. $40,000 riding on this tip line eight six six four three nine two six eight three repeat eight six six four three nine two six eight three you want 40 grand 40 large eight six six four three nine two six eight three and the murder of this teen girl, Faith Hedgepath.

You know, I just learned a lot. And Joseph Scott Morgan, a 911 call is worth its weight in gold because you hear so much of what's happening at the moment. Did you hear her say, I think she fell off the bed? Yeah, actually I did. And I also heard her say that there's blood everywhere. I don't know about every other person's experience about falling out of the bed. I've never experienced like tremendous blood flow when I fall out of a bed.

It's not just at the bed. It's everywhere, Nancy, as it's revealed later. There's blood on the wall. There's blood on the floor. There's blood everywhere. How do you get that? Well, in this particular case, it looks like it was probably blunt force trauma. And that is a huge indicator here of what was going on in this room. What does it tell you that she's all to Cloyd Steiger, 36 years, Seattle PD, 22 years homicide and author, Cloyd, that she's tangled up in the comforter on her bed.

Well, first of all, let me say something about the 911 call and the caller ID. She probably was calling on a cell phone, so they don't have a specific address. They just have the cell phone and that information. But anyway, that would tell me that she was on the bed probably when the assault began and happened. And that's how she got all tangled up in the comfort room. Yeah, we're trying to figure out what happened. But what we know right now, it was a brutal attack, blood involved. This is not an asphyxiation such as smothering or strangulation, be it manual or ligature.

This is either going to be blunt force trauma, shooting or stabbing. That's what we know right now. And Wendy Patrick, California prosecutor, you've tried a lot of cases. You learn so much from practically every single sentence if you take the time to analyze it in a 911 call. And I have seen jurors like myself transfixed when you hear that call. Why, Wendy? That's exactly right, because it takes them back to the time of the crime. It's the closest point that they're going to get

to the time of the crime. So the sound of the voice, what she sees, she kept saying there's blood everywhere. Sounds like an attack that was enraged if you have blood everywhere. And these are the kinds of details that not only stick with the jury, but to start a jury trial that way is so powerful because it really takes them back to where you want them right at the beginning as close as you can to the murder. And that young woman's voice on the telephone also is speaking volumes of evidence besides the words she's saying that will now give us an indication as to how do we start looking for who did it. One thing that is a great trial strategy tactic is to have a preliminary hearing with the judge and get that 911 call ruled into evidence before your closing argument. Some judges don't want to do it, so you can play it in closing. If you can't, it's a great way to kick off a trial. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

We're talking about the brutal murder of a teen girl in her off-campus apartment at UNC, Chapel Hill University, North Carolina. The roommate comes home to find her, Faith, covered in blood, apparently having just fallen off the bed, now on the floor, twisted in a comforter, blood everywhere. This is a college student apartment complex. Who was up? Who heard something? Who saw something? Take a listen to a little bit more of that 911 call. Listen carefully. She's not moving.

Okay. No. Will you touch her arm? Tell me, how does she feel? She's not moving. Okay, ma'am. We need to find out if we can help her or not. You've got to, you know, do as I'm asking so we can help her.

All right? Okay. Okay. Okay. If you can, lay her flat on her back. Remove any pillows. Lay her flat on her back? Flat on her back. Remove any pillow. Lay flat on her back. Flat on her back. Remove any pillow. Okay. Okay. Kneel next to her. Look in her mouth for food or vomit.

Okay. Kneel next to her. Look in her mouth for food or vomit. Tell me something. Listen to me. Listen to me. What is your name? It's okay, honey. It's okay, honey. Listen to me. Okay. All right. All right. All right. Guys, let me go to Karen Stark on this. Psychologist joining me from New York. You can find Karen at karenstark.com. Karen, what is it about humans? Many people, not myself, but many people recoil at the sight of a dead body. They don't want to touch it. And you hear the roommate saying over and over, I don't want to touch her. What is that? Instinctive? What is that? I feel like it is instinctive, Nancy. I mean, we have some basic inherent instincts and one of them is to not go near, especially in our society, death is so shielded. You listen to this call. It's so

distressing because you can tell that this girl is horrified and really doesn't want to approach the body. And it's so surprising to me that the person from the 911 call keeps pushing her to do something when she's telling this woman there's blood all over and it sounds like she's dead. And moving the body is the one thing that you're told not to do. So I'm shocked at this response. You know, I would be shocked, but I've seen it so many times, Joe Scott Morgan. I guess because I've seen and dealt with so many dead bodies, I no longer recoil. But I don't know that I ever did. But Joe Scott Morgan, death investigator, have you have you witnessed that people are afraid of dead bodies? They're

afraid of them. Yeah, it's a primal response that people have. And keep in mind, this this young woman that has made this 911 call, she's emotionally invested in this woman. Okay. She's had, you know, meals with her. She's studied with her. They probably discussed intimate details of their life. So they're, you know, that's why she would recoil at this. This is not like this is just some stranger on the street. Yeah, you're right. The friendship between the two.

Cloyd Steiger, you're a 36- years Seattle PD, 22 of those on homicide. Did you ever get to a point where you no longer recoil or a tiny bit repulsed when you see a dead body? Some people are actually afraid and cops too, not just civilians, cops too. They're actually afraid of a dead body like it's going to rise up and grab them by the throat. It's true, Cloyd. Have you seen that? Yeah, well, sure. That's certainly not like Joe said. We have seen so many thousands that I don't even remember ever being recoiled by one.

But but people who the people who who come across this, especially young girls, 19 year old girls. I mean, this is kind of what you'd expect for her reaction to be. It doesn't surprise me at all. I'm looking at a photo right now of Faith Hedgepath sitting. It's almost in his lap, but she's on the arm. It looks like of a lazy boy of a chair holding on to her dad. Roland Hedgepath, the biggest smile. She's clearly a daddy's girl, loving her dad, got her arms around him.

Shortly after this photo, this young girl, this co-ed, found brutally murdered. This is one of the first things I would do, aside from going straight to the scene and straight to the morgue, is listen over and over and over to that 911 call. Listen. Listen to me. When you touch her, how does she feel? Does she feel warm? No, she feels cold. She feels cold? Okay. Yes. Okay. All right. Don't touch anything else. Okay?

Don't touch anything else. I'm so worried. I need to hurry. Okay. They're on their way. I've got police on the way to you, and I've got a medic on the way. I can't believe this. Okay. I can't believe this. Okay. What room is she in? She's in my bedroom. Okay. I want you to go back into the living room, okay?

I don't know what's going on. Okay, listen to me. There's someone in my room that, like, was not here before. Okay, listen to me. It was, like, someone that came in here. Okay, okay. It really does. I'm listening to the roommate, and I'm feeling empathy with her right now.

Karen's talking about a natural instinct to be recoiled or repulsed by a dead body. But growing up as a little girl, you know my mom, Elizabeth, played cello in the symphony. She's a classical pianist, and she was our church organist, our little Methodist church for years. I went to every funeral and wedding that was ever at a little Methodist church. So I'd been to funerals, you know, didn't really think too much of it, but I do remember when I, I don't remember ever seeing a dead body, such as in a casket. The first time I remember really seeing a dead body was when my fiancé, Keith, was murdered. And got to the funeral home.

And at a distance, I saw only a portion of his face. Just a tiny bit above the casket, and passed out. I passed out. And to this day, I remember coming to, all I could smell were carnations. To this day, that smell just makes me sick. We are talking about the reaction of Faith Hedgepath, a young co-ed roommate, when she discovers Faith's body. So Karen Stark, I get it. I do get it. I said I was never shocked by a dead body, but I do remember the first time when I saw Keith's body, even a sliver of it, I actually passed out. Never again. But that time I did. I understand what she's going through. I think we all can empathize, Nancy, and I do know the story about Keith. And it's something, that's the kind of trauma that

never leaves you. It can get better, but it stays because it's so shocking and it doesn't fit anything that you've experienced before and I think about this young girl and I think about you because you were really young having to confront her roommate somebody that she loved and was so close to and being traumatized by the scene and the death and knowing that it's not the way it's supposed to look. So I get it. Yeah, I noticed what she said, even in her state of trauma, and she's alone in their apartment with a brutalized body. She says the apartment is not the way we left it.

Somebody has been in here. I'm going to skip over the rest of the 911 call, go to ABC News 2020 reporter Ed Lopez. Listen. When police arrive, they see an empty bottle of rum. It was covered in blood, blood smudges. It was a brutal, brutal death. Did it seem like there was forced entry going into the apartment? No, there is no sign of forced entry.

Semen is also discovered on Faith's body. Investigators use it to generate a DNA profile. They're convinced that DNA belongs to the killer and that he may also have perpetrated a sexual assault. Is it more likely than not that she was raped? Yes. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. When police arrive, they see an empty bottle of rum.

It was covered in blood, blood smudges. It was a brutal, brutal death. Did it seem like there was forced entry going into the apartment? No, there is no sign of forced entry. Semen is also discovered on Faith's body. Investigators use it to generate a DNA profile. They're convinced that DNA belongs to the killer and that he may also have perpetrated a sexual assault. Is it more likely than not that she was raped? Yes.

In the search for Faith's killer, that DNA profile will become sort of a glass slipper. But who will fit it? So there you go. Somehow comparing semen on a dead body to Cinderella's glass slipper. But that aside, the point is well taken. Whoever left semen and raped this young co-ed clearly is going to be the killer. I mean, Wendy, Patrick, California prosecutor and author of Red Flags, it could be argued by a defense lawyer at trial, well, okay, my client raped her. Of course, they'd say she had consensual sex, which is not true. But what's the lie? But he didn't kill her.

I mean, how many times have you heard that? So he rapes her and then some other person comes on the scene and murders her. Highly unlikely, Wendy. Yeah, very unlikely. A jury's not going to buy that. But what's interesting about just from a clinical perspective, looking at the forensics, rape plus murder. So you're looking for somebody that it almost seems like was in a rage about something. So you start looking back. The roommate's reaction is going to also be telling there

because they probably knew each other's friends. They knew each other's ex-boyfriends. They knew who might have been jealous about who was dating who. So it becomes a little more relevant what the roommate did or didn't know. But the scene and found at the scene, Nancy, that is an enormous clue because now you're talking about narrowing down the potential pool of suspects based on somebody that had some kind of a relationship with her, perhaps. Perhaps. To Nicole Parton, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter,

there was no sign of forced entry. That does not mean someone didn't come in an open door or window, Nicole. That's correct. And it is believed that someone did in fact come in the front door that was unlocked. Ah, so that means it doesn't have to be someone that the girls knew, like a boyfriend or an ex. Of course, that's where you look first. But the fact that we believe she kept her door unlocked, it could have been anybody jiggling doors going up and down the halls of the apartment trying to get in what about that idea cloyd steiger yeah you know when i read that when the roommate left to go with somebody she left the front door unlocked i kind of raised a

little red flag for me i mean it's three o'clock in the morning there's a girl sleeping alone in there you're going to leave the door unlocked why wouldn't you lock it behind you not to say that that route had anything to do with it but that's really odd unless someone else was expected to be there unlock door i mean you know i was just right you know i've been working on a book don't be a victim finding back against america's crime waves about to come out but i researched so many cases and i recall the red rapist that I prosecuted in Atlanta will get in through open windows. People would not lock their windows and it was hot outside in Atlanta. Get right in. The number of open window, open door home intrusions is insane in this day and age. People still are

not locking their windows and doors. Take a listen to what else is found in the apartment on the murder scene. This is 2020's Ed Lopez. What was some of the most important evidence that you collected from the bedroom? There was a biscuit bag that was from Time Out restaurant. Time Out is very popular in Chapel Hill and it's immediately identifiable. Faith had gone out the night before, stopped at timeout, and brought food back to the apartment. But now, that same bag contains five angry words. On the bag was some writing that said, I'm not stupid, bitch, jealous.

What did you make of that? Obviously, big evidentiary value. The note is found on the bed. It is written in pen. Police say both the note and the pen have the killer's DNA on it. So police believe he wrote it. But here's a puzzle. While the room is covered

in blood, the note is not. Police say the cleanliness of the note suggests the killer's hands, once bloodied after using the bottle as a murder weapon, didn't flee immediately. Instead, he may have taken his time to wash his hands and write that five-word screed. Adding to the

mystery, police can't say for sure who the note was left for. As to the intended target, per se, about the note, there were two residents there, and it would make sense the note was left for one of them. Okay, that changes everything. Because when a random killer leaves a scene, they're just trying to get out there. But now the comforter wrapped around her is taking on more significance. Was it used to try to cover up her body? Because the perp writes a note, but it's not bloody. What does that mean to you, Joseph Scott Morgan, professor of forensics,

death investigator? Jump in. Hey, listen, Nancy, either the note could have been written after he washed his hands or maybe if he was taking his time while she's sleeping, he writes a note down and then goes and attacks her. There's, there's a couple of different scenarios that you can look at here, but I think that wrapping her in the comforter for me is a very big clue because if her face, which I don't think that it necessarily was, but if her body is covered in any way, this can kind of symbolize a connection that the killer may have had with her, that he may have known her, which I think that this individual did before he beat her

to death with this bottle. There's a bottle that's found there, a rather robust rum bottle. It's kind of thick glass. She's got multiple blunt force trauma. And can you imagine she's attacked in the middle of the night while she's sleeping? She's taken completely unawares. And to me, it gives us an indication that she was attacked right there. She was attacked and kind of twisted up in the comforter. She's laying there. She never had a shot at trying to get away from this guy that perpetrated this crime. And the fact that they did find this semen there at the scene is very significant because this is a specific tieback to a specific individual. This is not like you just find his blood at the scene.

This is in, you know, he's involved in a sexual connection with this individual. Now, I don't know how intimate it was as far as a pre-existing relationship, but we know at that moment in time that he used rape as a weapon of terror against her as he's beating her to death. That's very significant. What this note says, and it's written on the back of a fast food bag, like a McDonald's bag, it says, quote, I'm not stupid, bitch. Jealous. Guys, the tip line in the murder of this co-ed, 1-866-439-2683.

Repeat, 866-439-2683. There's a $40,000 reward. Take a listen to our friend at 20-20, Ed Lopez. You're listening to a voicemail that came from Faith's phone on the night of the murder to her friend, Una Chavis. It was probably unintentional, the result of an accident we've all made. She's notorious for doing a butt dial phone call, where she accidentally calls somebody with the phone in her pocket,

so I just assumed that was what it was. If it sounds undecipherable to you, you're not alone. But when we brought Roland into WTVD to tell us what he hears, he was unequivocal. I hear screaming in the background. His face, voice. We're screaming.

Please. Get off me. Roland's assessment is simple. His daughter is in grave danger. It's just my baby girl's voice, and I know her voice. Oh, my stars. The dad, Roland Hedgepath, listening to a pocket dial from her phone, obviously accidentally made,

but I want you to listen to our friends at Crime Watch Daily. Listen. Do you believe what you're listening to here is Faith being murdered? Yeah, I do. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Do you believe what you're listening to here? Is Faith being murdered? Yeah, I do.

There's a critical moment of this recording here where... And it's so difficult for me to read out even the transcript to you, but there's the words, I think she's dying and do it anyhow. I feel like Faith's being restrained at that point based on what I'm hearing now, OK? Listening to that, do you recognise Faith's voice? When she says, ow, I know it's Faith. And I have no doubt what's where. Faith's family cringing with every graphic, brutal detail.

There's the phrase, I can't believe you did it, Rosie. What are your thoughts on that statement? My impression from that statement is that the female herself has done something at that point too, Faith. Either has hit her in the head or whatever. To me, it sounds like three against one. Wow. Our friends at Crime Watch Daily.. Okay that's certainly a turn of events. Nicole Parton CrimeOnline.com what are they saying? It's hard to tell there have been a couple of different ideas of what's being said in this. One is I can't believe you did it Rosie which some would imply was a direction to the roommate whose last name is Rosario.

There's some who's saying they can hear a clear owl, but then there's some people who say they hear music in the background. So they're wondering if that phone call took place while the girls were out earlier in the evening at a nightclub. This is what we know. We know that Faith worked as a waitress living off campus, had gone back to college that summer, changing her major, and was now studying to become an elementary school teacher. She shared an apartment with Karina Rosario from New Jersey. We also know Rosario had a boyfriend, a 21-year-old, Takoi Jones.

That relationship had fallen apart. And before the murder, the two had to change the locks at the apartment because Jones had reportedly kicked their doors in. Rosario had also taken out a restraining order against her former boyfriend. Hmm. I want you to take a listen one more time to Crime Watch D.L.E. speaking to the Hedgepads. What do you think, Connie? What's going through my mind is she was being hurt

and out of being raped and abused, and nobody was there to help her. What are your thoughts to this point, Chad? I just can't help but think about the Chapel Hill Police Department right now and wonder what they've been doing for the past three years. If it is what we're hearing, I mean, she's a very brave girl, right? I know she fought.

She fought. And of course, she saw the bruises all over her head. And of course, her hands was, for me, the only thing that was recognisable. Despite three and a half long years, Faith's family still holds out hope that this case will be solved soon. And while we can't independently verify Arlo's analysis of the recording, they are hoping the voicemail will lead to the killer or at least bring a witness forward to at last achieve justice for Faith.

We need that to be able to move on. As recently as the last weeks, Faith's family begging, begging for a resolution in their daughter's murder, a brutal murder. Who murdered Faith Hedgepath? There's a $40,000 reward. The tip line is 866-439-2683. You can go to crimeonline.com and see a photo and read more about Faith Hedgepath, 866-439-2683. The family of the slain UNC student desperate for answers in her murder. She would have been the very first person in their family to graduate from college. Faith was an honor student. She excelled in studies, even earned

the Gates Millennium Scholarship to attend University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. She had considered becoming a pediatrician and while studying at Chapel Hill decided to be an elementary school teacher. Her dream of becoming a teacher or pediatrician came to an end when she was brutally raped and murdered in her own apartment. And even now, police seem to be stymied. To Nicole Parton, CrimeOnline.com, what's the latest in the murder investigation? The very latest is that the police there say that they have interviewed over 1,200 leads. They have ran DNA tests on over 100 men that had direct relation to these girls, whether it be text messages, people they had met online. They have ran down every path possible, still dead in, but the search continues.

You know, to Joseph Scott Morgan, not only was she an honor student in all A's, she was a cheerleader. She went in all sorts of extracurricular clubs and organizations. And the reason I say that is not because her life is more valuable than somebody else's life. But it tells me if she's that dedicated, she's not drugging and boozing and clubbing all night. She was at home in bed when this happened to her. That narrows my pool of killers. Yeah, yeah, you're absolutely right.

You know, UNC is a diverse environment to be in academically. And so you have to be committed there as a student. And she obviously was. So yeah, she's not out in the periphery engaging with people. But you have to go back and look at the people she may have had contact with. Obviously, we have the roommate and any kind of associated people that they bring into her orbit. And also this waitressing job that she had. Who could she have come in contact with there?

Exactly. I was just going to ask Steiger about that. Cloyd Steiger, she was a waitress at the very popular Red Robin restaurant. That opens up another pool of suspects. Yeah, it could be somebody that became obsessed with her that she didn't necessarily really know, but maybe she's seen a regular customer, and for whatever reason, maybe he asked her out and she spurned him or said no, and he's built this up. You just never know, and that's a very vulnerable thing.

A lot of young people go to Red Robin, people around her age. That would be something you'd look at. About that voicemail, though, I wanted to mention, they should have a date time stamp on that voicemail that tells them what time it was received. So if it was at the club, they should know that. I don't understand how there's a question. Yeah, another issue is she had just come back that evening from

a shift waitressing at Red Robin. Did someone follow her home? The family desperate for answers. Tip line 866-439-2683. There's a $40,000 reward. We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.