NC NC - Faith Hedgepeth, 19, UNC student, Chapel Hill, 7 Sep 2012 #3

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For awhile now the Hedgepeth case has made me wonder about the competency of the Durham DA office (I think DA Satana Deberry is up for re-election this year), and now comes another disturbing recent story in the news (nothing to do with Faith’s case)... I don't know a lot of details, but just leaves me shaking my head a bit:
Durham District Attorney employee still on job after crash, sources say
 
For awhile now the Hedgepeth case has made me wonder about the competency of the Durham DA office (I think DA Satana Deberry is up for re-election this year), and now comes another disturbing recent story in the news (nothing to do with Faith’s case)... I don't know a lot of details, but just leaves me shaking my head a bit:
Durham District Attorney employee still on job after crash, sources say
Yeah, that situation with the crash is craziness. And the guy is still working!!! But I blame the Chapel Hill PD for refusing to be more open about their investigation, etc. I just firmly believe that if your case is going cold, throw everything and the kitchen sink out to the public to see what other tips you may get.
 
just heard on the news someone complaining about the way the Idaho Kohberger case is dragging along because it's been 14 MONTHS with still no trial date being established! (AND it's a death penalty case)... Can you imagine what they would think of the years passing, and lame excuses, in the Hedgepeth case (where the death penalty was already taken off the table by Durham DA DeBerry, who's office seems to be working more on re-election campaigning than solving criminal cases). Meanwhile, Faith's friends, loved ones, associates, witnesses, police officers, investigators, and other pertinent people will continue to die off or move away from the area and be unavailable by the time of any trial. Disgusting...
 
just heard on the news someone complaining about the way the Idaho Kohberger case is dragging along because it's been 14 MONTHS with still no trial date being established! (AND it's a death penalty case)... Can you imagine what they would think of the years passing, and lame excuses, in the Hedgepeth case (where the death penalty was already taken off the table by Durham DA DeBerry, who's office seems to be working more on re-election campaigning than solving criminal cases). Meanwhile, Faith's friends, loved ones, associates, witnesses, police officers, investigators, and other pertinent people will continue to die off or move away from the area and be unavailable by the time of any trial. Disgusting...
thanks for this. Our thread has gone cold much in the way FH's case has gone. Wondering if there are other similar cases like this that took 2+ years from apprehension to trial. Can you imagine if MESO was wrongfully accused and imprisoned all this time? That's the type of lawsuit that can torpedo a county much like the Steven Avery case could have. Hoping for some news on this soon
 
thanks for this. Our thread has gone cold much in the way FH's case has gone. Wondering if there are other similar cases like this that took 2+ years from apprehension to trial. Can you imagine if MESO was wrongfully accused and imprisoned all this time? That's the type of lawsuit that can torpedo a county much like the Steven Avery case could have. Hoping for some news on this soon
I hate that this thread has gone cold! I've never experienced such a complete lack of progress or information for such a long stretch...

I feel the same as I did in my comment from August 24th, how are both the prosecution AND defense fine with this? 2.5 years and no movement
 
I hate that this thread has gone cold! I've never experienced such a complete lack of progress or information for such a long stretch...

I feel the same as I did in my comment from August 24th, how are both the prosecution AND defense fine with this? 2.5 years and no movement
also, how are the press fine with this!? why are no investigative journalists all over this travesty; have they abandoned Faith, our community, their profession??? or just under gag orders? sidenote: previously I mentioned Durham DA DeBerry running for what I thought was re-election as DA, but come to find out she's actually running to be State Attorney General! OMG... (then again, maybe the State would suffer, but Faith's case might get a new person who could actually make some progress).
 
also, how are the press fine with this!? why are no investigative journalists all over this travesty; have they abandoned Faith, our community, their profession??? or just under gag orders? sidenote: previously I mentioned Durham DA DeBerry running for what I thought was re-election as DA, but come to find out she's actually running to be State Attorney General! OMG... (then again, maybe the State would suffer, but Faith's case might get a new person who could actually make some progress).
The problem is that there really just are not that many local journalists anymore and they are spread very thin. We are barely seeing coverage of current events, like the fact that DPS is in the hole for $10 million dollars and members of the board of ed hid it from the public for a month before school officials tried to mislead everyone into thinking that there had been an "overpayment" of school workers, so...
 
MESO is only charged with one count of criminal activity: murder. Nothing related to a rape.
This means there was no sexual assault, which would have been confirmed in the autopsy report.
But they say the reason he was arrested is because of the DNA on Faith.
What the police and DA are saying is that he had consensual sex with her, and then afterwards brutally beat her to death? And then walked around for a decade without doing anything like it again, or anything like it previously? This doesn't make sense.
Probably the DA has a weak case, which is why they are making excuses for why things are taking so long. They had the evidence for 10 years before MESO was arrested. And now they have had it for 12 years total.
One more thing. MESO was stopped for a DUI and gave his DNA. The crime lab supposedly looked at his DNA and then figured out he was their match. And arrested him days later. If he was the murderer, he would know it. In the days and years after Faith's death, he would be paying attention to the media and police since he knows they would be looking for him. He would have seen it all over the news for years, and the fact that they had a suspect DNA and were actively searching for that DNA profile. So wouldn't he have fled the state and USA and gone back to wherever he is from, especially after they took his DNA? Why would he stick around the same neighborhood? He has no wife or kids to keep him grounded. It's not like he couldn't find a pizza job or construction job somewhere else.
 
MESO is only charged with one count of criminal activity: murder. Nothing related to a rape.
This means there was no sexual assault, which would have been confirmed in the autopsy report.
But they say the reason he was arrested is because of the DNA on Faith.
I think they might have other DNA than sperm or related: touch DNA from her body (shoulder, arm, anything), she might have been held down when hit with the bottle. Actually, there might even have been attempted strangulation and DNA from there (or do we know that it did not happen?).
It might have been an attempt at a sexual assault that never really got that far to leave assault-specific evidence.
It might have involved more than one person and anything like that might be connected to the other culprit (but I suppose it is unlikely, or they would have released both profiles back in the day).
Further charges might also be added later, if need be. Not unusual to try one thing first and the other later, afaik.

As for why did the culprit stay, I think he was just too stupid to leave + back in the day was too young to really manage leaving like that.
 
I think they might have other DNA than sperm or related: touch DNA from her body (shoulder, arm, anything), she might have been held down when hit with the bottle. Actually, there might even have been attempted strangulation and DNA from there (or do we know that it did not happen?).
It might have been an attempt at a sexual assault that never really got that far to leave assault-specific evidence.
It might have involved more than one person and anything like that might be connected to the other culprit (but I suppose it is unlikely, or they would have released both profiles back in the day).
Further charges might also be added later, if need be. Not unusual to try one thing first and the other later, afaik.

As for why did the culprit stay, I think he was just too stupid to leave + back in the day was too young to really manage leaving like that.
Maybe and might are weak qualifiers. If there was a strangulation, that would have been noted in the autopsy. If it was touch DNA, it would make their case even weaker.
<modsnip - insinuations against a person not named POI by LE>
Two years have passed since MESO's arrest. If they wanted to put additional charges, it would have been done by now. Typically, they overcharge and throw as many charges as possible at the start. Then they might drop some as negotiating tactics.
Your last comment of too young to manage leaving is ???? He was 28 years old when they got his DNA. Immigrants from other countries with no money travel across the entire continent alone as young teenagers. If he is from Central America, he had already done that kind of travel many years earlier.
 
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Maybe and might are weak qualifiers. If there was a strangulation, that would have been noted in the autopsy. If it was touch DNA, it would make their case even weaker.
<modsnip - insinuations against a person not named POI by LE>
Two years have passed since MESO's arrest. If they wanted to put additional charges, it would have been done by now. Typically, they overcharge and throw as many charges as possible at the start. Then they might drop some as negotiating tactics.
Your last comment of too young to manage leaving is ???? He was 28 years old when they got his DNA. Immigrants from other countries with no money travel across the entire continent alone as young teenagers. If he is from Central America, he had already done that kind of travel many years earlier.
Oh no, not this again
 
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Oh no, not this again
What is "this" you refer to?
In trying to decipher a crime, there are a few factors which must be weighed.
The first is known facts. Video, phone call times, text messages. Things such as these are not in doubt.
The second is implied facts. It's sunny and you are on the highway. A car drives by in the opposite direction and is wet. Then another car and it's also wet. The sky in that direction is gray. The implied fact is it's raining in that direction. It's possible both cars went through a car wash or past a sprinkler, but the solid implication is it's raining over there.

What are the known facts in this case?
Faith and her roommate came home around 3am after a night of partying at a busy club. The roommate says nobody else was there when they came home. The neighbor downstairs heard repeated sounds like a heavy bag being dropped around that same time. What did she NOT hear? Any screaming, loud thumps, violence after 4:30am, which is when the roommate left.
If Faith was raped and beaten to death after the roommate left, then why didn't the neighbor hear any sounds during that time?
Here's a key to understanding what happened. The lack of screaming. Whatever DNA was left on Faith, for whatever reason, happened after she was dead, or way beforehand. She would have been fighting and screaming for her life if she had been violated. This is why there are no charges relating to rape. The DA knows she was not sexually assaulted. This means the DNA either wound up on her prior to her coming home, or after she was dead. If it was prior to her coming home, then the DNA is not connected to any crime. As noted in a prior post, there would be lots of touch DNA on Faith since she had just come from a club. Many people would have left their touch DNA on her.
The loud thumps heard by the neighbor, consistent with multiple blows to the head, leads to the conclusion that these were the blows which left Faith dead shortly after 3am. Which is why the roommate says that she left the door unlocked. Because if she had locked it, the only logical way an intruder could enter is by breaking down the door or if Faith had made an invitation. But because the door was unlocked, an intruder would be able to walk in, commit a sexual assault, kill her, and escape undetected.
Look at the roommate's 911 call: "It looks like someone came in here. It really does. I just can’t believe this. Someone had to have been in there.”
IT REALLY DOES! She is not sure that the 911 comms person agrees, so she has to emphasize that it REALLY does look like someone came in there. This is because she REALLY wasn't there! Really!
Faith's family has/had doubts about the roommate's story.
Murdered UNC Student's Family Thinks Her Roommate Knows More Than She Is Telling
 
I think they might have other DNA than sperm or related: touch DNA from her body (shoulder, arm, anything), she might have been held down when hit with the bottle. Actually, there might even have been attempted strangulation and DNA from there (or do we know that it did not happen?).
It might have been an attempt at a sexual assault that never really got that far to leave assault-specific evidence.
It might have involved more than one person and anything like that might be connected to the other culprit (but I suppose it is unlikely, or they would have released both profiles back in the day).
Further charges might also be added later, if need be. Not unusual to try one thing first and the other later, afaik.

As for why did the culprit stay, I think he was just too stupid to leave + back in the day was too young to really manage leaving like that.
IIRC, they had two other sources of matching DNA. On the rum bottle which was long assumed to be the murder weapon although I'm not sure if that is still the case, and on the pen/paper used for the note that was left behind.
 
Let's assume that it really is MESO's DNA on Faith. Think about the options, considering that he hasn't been charged with rape.

OPTION 1
If the DNA found on Faith got there prior to her death and prior to the roommate leaving, then it happened many hours prior to the roommate leaving at 4:30am since the roommate was with her from before midnight until she left. The roommate says nobody else was in the apartment when they came home. So, unless she is lying about that - and there is no reason to think that about this particular point - there is a concrete timeline of the roommate or someone else being with Faith for at least 5 hours prior. The only other option is a ridiculous idea of a quickie in the bathroom at the club or something similar. Yet the evidence shows that MESO was not at the club. So, assuming the DNA on Faith prior to death at the apartment, MESO had consensual relations with Faith many hours prior to the crime. This seems possible.

OPTION 2
If the DNA found on Faith got there after the roommate left, but before her death, then that means that Faith was OK with MESO coming in to the apartment. One way or another, he had consensual sex with Faith (meaning he was invited), and then for some reason decided to kill her. Why? No reason. No motive. This makes zero sense in so many ways. This is not a realistic option at this time. There is no evidence they knew each other. If there was, the police would have said so. In September of 2021, Police Chief said “Patience will be asked of you. This story will take time to completely unfold."
There has been no unfolding. Why? My guess is because they cannot find what they are looking for.

OPTION 3
If the DNA found on Faith got there AFTER she was dead, then this means that MESO came to the apartment, lay in wait for 2 hours until the roommate left (got lucky she left), snuck in (he got lucky that the roommate left the door unlocked) immediately killed her, removed her tampon because that's icky, and then had gentle sex with her. I do not wish to make this more unpleasant than it is, but is someone who just brutally killed a young woman, splashing the poor girl's blood all over the room, really concerned about removing a tampon because it would be nasty? There are several facts yelling at us. The removed tampon is one of them.
This is also ridiculous, but appears to be the DA's theory. Someone who does such a crime like that is a true predator, equivalent to a serial killer..... but a gentle rapist who removes a tampon? That kind of evil isn't turned off. It's always there. But MESO appears nowhere else before or after - 10 years - in any kind of violent act. Any profiler will tell you that someone capable of that type of brutal crime can not be self-restrained for 10 years. Yet there is nothing and nobody with any remotely similar experience. Don't forget he stays around after giving the police his DNA.

Right now, the most realistic option is the first one.
There is one more option of how his DNA got on her, if it's his. But it's also very implausible because only a lying, deceitful, manipulator who would go out with multiple partners at the same time could pull it off.
Completely unrelated, the roommate called/texted her boyfriend to get him to come over and take her away. When he didn't respond, she almost immediately called another guy and spent the night with him.
 
If the DNA found on Faith got there AFTER she was dead, then this means that MESO came to the apartment, lay in wait for 2 hours until the roommate left (got lucky she left), snuck in (he got lucky that the roommate left the door unlocked) immediately killed her, removed her tampon because that's icky, and then had gentle sex with her.
Maybe he just planned to rape her after (semi-)killing her but simply did not do it because of the tampon and period? In many cultures,a period is seen as something "unclean" etc. Hell, even many western culture white guys refuse to have sex during a period, it's pretty common. Nothing to do with being "nice" and all to do with finding a normal bodily function disgusting. It is unlikely he would have known she was on her period prior to attacking her, so he might have just been surprised and taken aback at that. Could have either lost that part of the plan completely or just ermh dealt with himself without physically involving the victim any more.
Or just will get extra charges added later. Just because he's not charged with it now does not mean that he will not be later on.
 
Maybe he just planned to rape her after (semi-)killing her but simply did not do it because of the tampon and period? In many cultures,a period is seen as something "unclean" etc. Hell, even many western culture white guys refuse to have sex during a period, it's pretty common. Nothing to do with being "nice" and all to do with finding a normal bodily function disgusting. It is unlikely he would have known she was on her period prior to attacking her, so he might have just been surprised and taken aback at that. Could have either lost that part of the plan completely or just ermh dealt with himself without physically involving the victim any more.
Or just will get extra charges added later. Just because he's not charged with it now does not mean that he will not be later on.
A man who brutally assaults and kills a young woman is "taken aback" by a little blood in another area? That's the point. A normal person is "taken aback" by the horrific blood spattered all over the bedroom. A little blood in another area is not going to gross him out if he has just beaten her to death. That's the most personal of all murders. The closer the killer is to the victim in order to perpetrate the murder, the less conscience that person has. That's why snipers can take out people from 200 yards and not feel anything. It's impersonal. A beating death is as personal/close as it gets.
Can you provide one example where a murder charge had extra charges added more than two years after the arrest? And 10 years after the actual crime?
 
In my opinion, the type of person who would beat a woman to death in the process of some kind of attempted assault is also exactly the type of person who would find a period so disgusting and unclean that he would not want to sexually assault them.

It's also possible that he fully intended to sexually assault her but got spooked by some nearby noise, like neighbors returning to their apartment and fled.

I personally believe that the entire assault was not well-planned and MESO freaked out and beat her once they encountered each other before he could move on to whatever else he was planning to do. She may have only screamed briefly before being hit over the head. College apartments are loud AF and it's also possible anyone who would've been close enough to hear any screaming was either out for the night with friends or in a deep sleep because they had been drinking earlier in the evening.
 
In my opinion, the type of person who would beat a woman to death in the process of some kind of attempted assault is also exactly the type of person who would find a period so disgusting and unclean that he would not want to sexually assault them.

It's also possible that he fully intended to sexually assault her but got spooked by some nearby noise, like neighbors returning to their apartment and fled.

I personally believe that the entire assault was not well-planned and MESO freaked out and beat her once they encountered each other before he could move on to whatever else he was planning to do. She may have only screamed briefly before being hit over the head. College apartments are loud AF and it's also possible anyone who would've been close enough to hear any screaming was either out for the night with friends or in a deep sleep because they had been drinking earlier in the evenin
 

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