NC NC - Faith Hedgepeth, 19, UNC student, Chapel Hill, 7 Sep 2012 #2

[Webthrush]

I continue to be hopeful that this case will be broken by the new “genetic genealogy” service (in the news of late) from Parabon Labs. In their initial news release about a month ago they said:

“The company has been piloting the service and has already screened samples for nearly 100 agencies. Parabon's CEO, Dr. Steven Armentrout, says the results so far have exceeded all expectations. ‘Of the cases we have screened, 20% look to be directly solvable with GG methods alone and another 30% are likely solvable in partnership with law enforcement.’”

The 100 agencies were ones they had already worked with so that could well include Chapel Hill Police Dept. for whom they previously did the DNA phenotype picture. And they’re claiming that they believe 50% of cases they’ve looked at (20% + 30%) are solvable with the aid of this new technology. I’m hoping Faith’s case, long hinging on DNA, may be in that 50%.

 

[J.M. Bee]

"The window is probably wide enough to not be definitive. It's probably something like 3 AM to 7 AM, with a "probable" range somewhat narrower than that."

Agreed.

 

[CADwrest]

Let’s talk some more about time of death. I’ve been doing a little research and reaching out to people knowledgeable on the subject, and there are a few considerations there that I think we should address.

So, first of all, there would have been a Crime Scene Investigator, possibly several of them, at the scene, and they would have attempted to figure the time of death then, based on the condition of the body. They wouldn’t need to try to figure it out from the autopsy like I’m about to. Police almost certainly have a relatively good estimation of it, they just aren’t sharing what it is.

We may be able to guesstimate based on what the autopsy says, but there are a few things we need to account for.

First, the autopsy was done at 9 am the following day, September 8th. Once the body was removed from the crime scene, it would have been taken to the morgue and refrigerated, which would have stopped or very greatly slowed the spread of rigor mortis. So the condition the body is in at the time of the autopsy is going to be pretty much the same as it would have been once it arrived at the morgue.

As to rigor, the autopsy reports “minimal in upper and lower extremities, +2 in jaw.” According to the chart Webthrush provided in post 366, that seems to indicate a time of death right around 7-8 hours: Rigor mortis is firmly established in the face but only beginning to be seen in the rest of the body.

Let’s say that the time of death is 7-8 hours previous based on the autopsy. The question now is “Seven or 8 hours before what time?”

So, next, we have to try to figure that out, and the answer isn’t “11 am.” Faith was found at 11 am, and police arrived on scene about ten minutes later. Once they had secured the scene and determined that a suspicious homicide had occurred, they would have called in experts to process the scene. Here is a website I found that discusses this at length: How long does it take to examine a Crime Scene?

Let me highlight this paragraph: “Most murder scenes will take several days to process properly. Quite apart from the work done by the CSI’s, outside experts will often be called in. A Pathologist, to look at the body in situ before it’s taken for a full post mortem. A Blood Pattern Analysis expert. A Ballistics expert if a gun was involved. If a gun has been left at the scene, that requires special treatment from a Firearms Officer. And so on.”

We don’t know anything at all about the processing of the crime scene. In all the information that’s been released, I can’t recall anything being said on that subject. But given the above, I’d say, conservatively, that Faith’s body probably did not leave the scene and arrive at the morgue for at least 2 hours. At that point, it would have been placed in the refrigerated morgue, but for those 2 hours, it’s still in a room temperature apartment and the death processes are continuing.

So, I think the time we’re counting back from is going to be between 1 and 1:30 pm. Using the 7 to 8 hour range, that gives us a time of death between 5 am and 6:30 am. That window makes sense to me, since it’d be enough time for the perp to ascertain that KR wasn’t coming back and still allow for some time before sunrise.

 

[Webthrush]

Let’s talk some more about time of death. I’ve been doing a little research and reaching out to people knowledgeable on the subject, and there are a few considerations there that I think we should address.

So, first of all, there would have been a Crime Scene Investigator, possibly several of them, at the scene, and they would have attempted to figure the time of death then, based on the condition of the body. They wouldn’t need to try to figure it out from the autopsy like I’m about to. Police almost certainly have a relatively good estimation of it, they just aren’t sharing what it is.

We may be able to guesstimate based on what the autopsy says, but there are a few things we need to account for.

First, the autopsy was done at 9 am the following day, September 8th. Once the body was removed from the crime scene, it would have been taken to the morgue and refrigerated, which would have stopped or very greatly slowed the spread of rigor mortis. So the condition the body is in at the time of the autopsy is going to be pretty much the same as it would have been once it arrived at the morgue.

As to rigor, the autopsy reports “minimal in upper and lower extremities, +2 in jaw.” According to the chart Webthrush provided in post 366, that seems to indicate a time of death right around 7-8 hours: Rigor mortis is firmly established in the face but only beginning to be seen in the rest of the body.

Let’s say that the time of death is 7-8 hours previous based on the autopsy. The question now is “Seven or 8 hours before what time?”

So, next, we have to try to figure that out, and the answer isn’t “11 am.” Faith was found at 11 am, and police arrived on scene about ten minutes later. Once they had secured the scene and determined that a suspicious homicide had occurred, they would have called in experts to process the scene. Here is a website I found that discusses this at length: How long does it take to examine a Crime Scene?

Let me highlight this paragraph: “Most murder scenes will take several days to process properly. Quite apart from the work done by the CSI’s, outside experts will often be called in. A Pathologist, to look at the body in situ before it’s taken for a full post mortem. A Blood Pattern Analysis expert. A Ballistics expert if a gun was involved. If a gun has been left at the scene, that requires special treatment from a Firearms Officer. And so on.”

We don’t know anything at all about the processing of the crime scene. In all the information that’s been released, I can’t recall anything being said on that subject. But given the above, I’d say, conservatively, that Faith’s body probably did not leave the scene and arrive at the morgue for at least 2 hours. At that point, it would have been placed in the refrigerated morgue, but for those 2 hours, it’s still in a room temperature apartment and the death processes are continuing.

So, I think the time we’re counting back from is going to be between 1 and 1:30 pm. Using the 7 to 8 hour range, that gives us a time of death between 5 am and 6:30 am. That window makes sense to me, since it’d be enough time for the perp to ascertain that KR wasn’t coming back and still allow for some time before sunrise.

Agree with most all of this… especially the 5 - 6:30am window of opportunity, after KR left, but before daylight and residential activity. I don’t think there’s any evidence the perp(s) went there to murder (and just happened to find a rum bottle to do the job). I think they went there for sex, robbery, drugs, or other illicit activity, and sudden rage/impulse led to murder. Though the police have called this a “personal” crime from the outset (based I presume mainly on the bag note) I’m still not 100% convinced that Faith was the intended victim, or that the perp even knew the women, though it does seem most likely.
p.s... one bit of information, out of curiosity, I've never seen reported (and probably too late to find statistics on now) is what sort of crime rate that particular apt. complex had relative to others in area, in terms of assaults/rapes, robberies, break-ins, peeping toms, stalkers, general ne'er-do-well activity.

 

[youlostone]

Agree with most all of this… especially the 5 - 6:30am window of opportunity, after KR left, but before daylight and residential activity. I don’t think there’s any evidence the perp(s) went there to murder (and just happened to find a rum bottle to do the job). I think they went there for sex, robbery, drugs, or other illicit activity, and sudden rage/impulse led to murder. Though the police have called this a “personal” crime from the outset (based I presume mainly on the bag note) I’m still not 100% convinced that Faith was the intended victim, or that the perp even knew the women, though it does seem most likely.
p.s... one bit of information, out of curiosity, I've never seen reported (and probably too late to find statistics on now) is what sort of crime rate that particular apt. complex had relative to others in area, in terms of assaults/rapes, robberies, break-ins, peeping toms, stalkers, general ne'er-do-well activity.

Somebody posted that info with statistics recently but idk how far back it was though. Hawthorne at the View was on the higher end from what I remember.

Found the link: http://www.townofchapelhill.org/home/showdocument?id=17324

 

[Webthrush]

Somebody posted that info with statistics recently but idk how far back it was though. Hawthorne at the View was on the higher end from what I remember.

Found the link: http://www.townofchapelhill.org/home/showdocument?id=17324

Thanks for that… not clear what year the statistics are from, but will assume they are representative of how different apt. complexes compare — and I’m familiar with almost all those complexes, so I do find it interesting that Hawthorne is at the higher end for larcenies, or larcenies and burglaries combined (somewhat in line with complexes that I knew had problems, like Pinegate). May not mean a thing, but kinda interesting.

 

[CADwrest]

I don’t think there’s any evidence the perp(s) went there to murder (and just happened to find a rum bottle to do the job). I think they went there for sex, robbery, drugs, or other illicit activity, and sudden rage/impulse led to murder.

I agree with that at this point. One big indicator of lack of premeditation is the use of an object found at the scene of the crime, especially when the perp is someone who doesn't live there.

Another thing we've talked about is how we don't know exactly how things played out in the bedroom (whether Faith was attacked as she slept or woke up and was attacked or was attacked elsewhere in the room and just ended up where she was after the attack). LE probably has a much better idea of how that went down because of blood spatter analysis. Since she was struck multiple times, the spatter would indicate where she was and where the killer was in relation to her.

 

[youlostone]

Thanks for that… not clear what year the statistics are from, but will assume they are representative of how different apt. complexes compare — and I’m familiar with almost all those complexes, so I do find it interesting that Hawthorne is at the higher end for larcenies, or larcenies and burglaries combined (somewhat in line with complexes that I knew had problems, like Pinegate). May not mean a thing, but kinda interesting.

It's from 2012. They just didn't write it on the diagram. Here's the link where that PDF comes from. Apartment Crime Statistics | Town of Chapel Hill, NC Presumably Faith is the 1 person listed under crime against persons.

Also it's kind of annoying that an apartment complex with so much property crime doesn't have security cameras. It's one of those chicken or the egg things, I suppose.

 

[raiders444]

A little off the current topic but it's been on my mind. Is anyone else annoyed or perplexed by the LOW reward amount? Last I checked it was only $40,000. Not to mention I just found out reward money is taxable, so that makes it more like $25k. Is there anyone out there who is really going to rat out a cousin or brother of BFF for $25,000? That would be spent in a month. If the amount was say $250,000...I think the gears in people's brains start turning, thinking how they might be able to make some serious beneficial life changes with that kind of money. I also think if some foundation or rich person publicly announced a large reward amount it would inject some new life in to this case

 

[Simplestarz86]

Feds: UNC-CH mishandled campus sex assault cases
Feds: UNC-CH mishandled campus sex assault cases :: WRAL.com

I know Faith’s assault and death did not take place on campus but I still find this to be interesting.

 

[tarheelslim]

I know it's been posted here before but it was in the news again last week - there are over 15,000 untested rape kits in NC, one of the highest rates of any state.

It's possible that this perp has had his DNA collected in other cases.

 

[youlostone]

Feds: UNC-CH mishandled campus sex assault cases
Feds: UNC-CH mishandled campus sex assault cases :: WRAL.com

I know Faith’s assault and death did not take place on campus but I still find this to be interesting.

This article is more related to how poorly they treated students who wanted to report sexual assault cases committed on campus. It was a big deal in the news in the 1-2 years after Faith's murder and UNC was one of the main schools being implicated in the news for Title IX violations. You never know, though... The perpetrator could be someone UNC affiliated but at this point that seems somewhat unlikely (to me at least).

However, I do find the backlog of processing for DNA kits to be very troubling. It just seems so unlikely that someone just wakes up one day and murders a young woman without having ever done such violent acts before.

 

[CADwrest]

Hey everyone,

I've been looking into the issue of the released documents over the last couple of days (IE. why we only have 118 instead of 299, which is what was reported released as a result of the media lawsuit). It occurred to me that we have access to the 118 because that was what WRAL released online on the "document cloud." I made a couple of calls to WRAL inquiring about the discrepancy in the number of documents, and was able to discuss it with one of the employees there.

He had not worked on the story before, but he told me they no longer had all 299 documents, because they don't keep stuff like that lying around that long. He did say that much of the difference was probably just the same document being repeated multiple times, which is apparently quite typical. After our conversation, in a follow-up email, he did mention that he'd checked with the reporter who had originally uploaded the documents, and that person had no recollection of why the full complement of documents had not been uploaded.

We talked a bit about the redactions, and at first he said it looked like they had done them, but then later said that he thought the CHPD had done them. For what that's worth.

Finally, and this is something I will definitely follow up on (unless someone else wants to first), this is the final thing he told me:

"Depending on your level of interest and ability, all of the documents should be available at the courthouse. Our lawsuit got the file unsealed- it wasn't only released to us (and the other media outlets)."

Anyone feel like going to court?

 

[Webthrush]

Hey everyone,

I've been looking into the issue of the released documents over the last couple of days (IE. why we only have 118 instead of 299, which is what was reported released as a result of the media lawsuit). It occurred to me that we have access to the 118 because that was what WRAL released online on the "document cloud." I made a couple of calls to WRAL inquiring about the discrepancy in the number of documents, and was able to discuss it with one of the employees there.

He had not worked on the story before, but he told me they no longer had all 299 documents, because they don't keep stuff like that lying around that long. He did say that much of the difference was probably just the same document being repeated multiple times, which is apparently quite typical. After our conversation, in a follow-up email, he did mention that he'd checked with the reporter who had originally uploaded the documents, and that person had no recollection of why the full complement of documents had not been uploaded.

We talked a bit about the redactions, and at first he said it looked like they had done them, but then later said that he thought the CHPD had done them. For what that's worth.

Finally, and this is something I will definitely follow up on (unless someone else wants to first), this is the final thing he told me:

"Depending on your level of interest and ability, all of the documents should be available at the courthouse. Our lawsuit got the file unsealed- it wasn't only released to us (and the other media outlets)."

Anyone feel like going to court?

Is it the courthouse in Hillsborough (or Durham, or elsewhere)? And anyone know what the process is -- do you just show up and ask about what you're interested in, or call ahead first, or some formal procedure?

In other matters, not meaning to harp on this too much, but Parabon's Genetic Genealogy techniques have now been used to find suspects in at least 4-5 more cold cases, since the initial 'Golden State killer' was nabbed:
Police are using ancestry sites to track down more cold case suspects

These are mostly very old cases (much older than Faith's) and I don't know if those are taking priority or that's just a random outcome, but still hoping the testing will eventually be employed to move Faith's case forward at some point.

 

[Suglo]

Is it the courthouse in Hillsborough (or Durham, or elsewhere)? And anyone know what the process is -- do you just show up and ask about what you're interested in, or call ahead first, or some formal procedure?

In other matters, not meaning to harp on this too much, but Parabon's Genetic Genealogy techniques have now been used to find suspects in at least 4-5 more cold cases, since the initial 'Golden State killer' was nabbed:
Police are using ancestry sites to track down more cold case suspects

These are mostly very old cases (much older than Faith's) and I don't know if those are taking priority or that's just a random outcome, but still hoping the testing will eventually be employed to move Faith's case forward at some point.

You should call the clerk of the court to ask what the procedure is for looking at and copying portions of cases. Each court has different guidelines and many need a week or two notice to pull the actual file so that you can see it.

As to the Parabon testing, I have a feeling they are using the same DNA from those cases that already had the Snapshots done. They said they had tested about 100 and received positive results on about 20 of them so far.

Parabon Announces Snapshot Genetic Genealogy Service for Law Enforcement

 

[CADwrest]

Is it the courthouse in Hillsborough (or Durham, or elsewhere)? And anyone know what the process is -- do you just show up and ask about what you're interested in, or call ahead first, or some formal procedure?

It’s the courthouse of whatever county the case was filed in (in this case, Durham). I found the initial motion filed by the media corporations, and from what I’ve been told, once you have a case number, it’s just a matter of going to the clerk of court and requesting the documents. If you want copies, you should bring cash, because I think that’s the only form of payment they take.
I’m planning on going at some point next week, I just have to make the time.

 

[CADwrest]

I just tried calling the clerk of courts office. It was a series of thoroughly unhelpful conversations with people who really, really didn't want to talk to me and transferred me at the first opportunity.

Part of the problem is that I don't even know what the case number involved here is. The only document I've been able to find online is the motion to unseal (filed 3/5/2014), which has a number but apparently not the right one. I haven't even been able to find the order to unseal (issued 9/5/2014), which presumably would have the case number. None of the news articles about the document release that I've read mention it either. Does anyone possibly have that?

 

[scadagirl28]

Would it be the CHPD OCA :12-20848 ? This is the only consistent number in the doc dump. Thank you for doing this !!

 

[CADwrest]

Would it be the CHPD OCA :12-20848 ? This is the only consistent number in the doc dump. Thank you for doing this !!

The attorney friends I've asked have said that number isn't in a case number format. It should be (YEAR) (CVS) (12345). So something like 14 CVS 12345.

ETA: One of the afore-mentioned friends was, unbeknownst to me, previously interested in the case and is eagerly trying to track down the number for me.

 

[scadagirl28]

Gotcha I will keep looking.