Witness testimony for the prosecution in the trial of Miguel Salguero-Olivares for the 2012 murder of UNC student Faith Hedgepeth continued Thursday. Here are highlights from the day’s testimony:
State Crime Lab Forensic Biologist Erin Ermish Shares DNA Testing Results
The bulk of the day was spent on testimony from forensic scientist and DNA expert Erin Ermish of the North Carolina State Crime Lab. She detailed her methods of collecting and testing DNA from items found by the Chapel Hill Police Department at the crime scene and shared her results both from tests conducted in 2012, 2021 and 2025. It was her second day of testimony following initial questioning from the state during Wednesday’s proceedings.
Ermish explained the difference between testing for the presence of specific types of body fluids and testing for the presence of DNA in general. She explained how she tested the blue riesling bottle, the white takeout bag and the green and white pen found at the scene for semen using both an acid phosphatase test and microscopic examination, and that none of the items indicated the presence of semen or sperm. She then returned the items to the Chapel Hill Police Department. She also explained how her tests cannot return 100% conclusive results, as that would require every person on Earth to be tested. Rather, her work is aimed at producing statistical likelihoods of certain conclusions.
She also explained how DNA tests and standards changed in the years between Sep. 7, 2012 and 2017, when new technology became the industry standard. For instance, in 2012 analysis focused on 16 specific areas of DNA, whereas new technology made it possible to examine 27 different areas, including the original 16. Ermish tested crime scene items for DNA in 2012 and retested them in 2021 following the arrest of Salguero-Olivares. In some instances, she collected new DNA samples to form new profiles to use with new tech, while in other instances she used the original profiles generated from her initial testing for comparison.
Ermish explained that new technology allows those testing DNA to generate a likelihood ratio between two potential hypotheses of the sample’s origin. This means she is able to provide a statistical likelihood that DNA is from one profile as compared to the likelihood that it came from any other human. She said that according to her testing, there were two DNA profiles found present in a rectal swab from Hedgepeth’s body. The first hypothesis is that the two profiles belong to Hedgepeth herself, who is assumed to be responsible for one of the two since the sample was collected from her body, and to Salguero-Olivares. The second hypothesis is that the two profiles belong to Hedgepeth and an unknown male individual. She said that according to her results, the first hypothesis is 170 septillion times more likely to be the case than the second. To illustrate the scale of that figure, it is 170 followed by 24 zeroes. The test on the vaginal swab from Hedgepeth returned similar results.
An image of the Bacardi rum bottle used to kill Faith Hedgepeth (Image via pool).
When testing the top of the Bacardi rum bottle, the presumptive muder weapon, Ermish reported finding two interpretable DNA profiles. Both Hedgepeth and Salguero-Olivares were possible matches, while roommate Karena Rosario was excluded as a potential match. Ermish testified that it is 48.6 tredecillion times more likely the DNA belongs to Hedgepeth and Salguero-Olivares than anyone else. That’s 48.6 followed by 42 zeroes.
Using the older profiles instead returns a statistic demonstrating the likelihood that the DNA could be an exact match to anyone else in the population rather than a comparison between two possibilities. This was the method used on the blue riesling bottle, as Ermish determined the original DNA profile generated in 2012 was sufficient. She said the profile generated from the bottle is a match to Salguero-Olivares, and that the likelihood of finding another hispanic male with an exact match is 1 in 3.72 trillion – a figure significantly higher than the total human population on Earth. The same method was used on DNA found on the white takeout bag, which the forensic scientist found was a match with Salguero-Olivares.
“The probability of randomly selecting an unrelated individual with a DNA profile that matches the predominant profile is approximately 1 in 61.6 quadrillion in the Hispanic population,” she said.
In some instances the DNA results could only confirm one interpretable profile, but still listed another profile as being present. This was the case with a swab from the waistband of boxer shorts assumed to have been worn by Hedgepeth not long before her death. While Rosario and Salguero-Olivares were excluded from being the interpretable profile, neither could be ruled out as being the second, unknown profile present in the swab. Ermish said there were two hypotheses, the first being that the DNA was a mixture of Hedgepeth and an unknown individual, and the second being that the DNA was from two unknown individuals, since it cannot be confirmed for certain that she was wearing the boxers at the time of her murder. In this instance, hypothesis one was found to be 1.46 nonillion times more likely than hypothesis two.
Defense Cross Examines Erin Ermish
Many of the questions levied at Ermish by defense attorney James Rainsford centered on the ways methodology changed in the years between initial testing in 2012 and subsequent testing in 2021 following Salguero-Olivares’ arrest.
One example was a swab from the outside of the boxer shorts believed to be worn to bed by Hedgepeth. Ermish initially marked this sample down as having a mixture of DNA profiles in 2012, and upon testing it again in 2021 said there was not enough DNA present to perform additional analysis. Rainsford questioned her on this discrepancy, which she said was likely the result of a newer, stricter quantitation threshold which did not apply in 2012. She also said that due to the nine-year gap between the first and second tests, degradation could have played a role in there being less DNA, as well as the possibility that the 2012 testing removed DNA and brought the amount in the sample below the quantitation threshold. Another potential factor was the storage methods used by law enforcement agencies, which Ermish testified she does not hold any influence over outside of providing stickers with storage instructions on tubes with samples.
Defense attorney James Rainsford cross examines Erin Ermish (Image via pool).
While Salguero-Olivares’ DNA was found on the Bacardi bottle by Ermish, the defense later requested that additional areas of the bottle be tested, including the neck, shoulder and body. Ermish said that law enforcement didn’t make specific requests as to what parts of the bottle were tested in 2012, and that it was her judgement call to test the lid and the bottom of the bottle. On the neck of the bottle she found three contributors, one of which was male. Salguero-Olivares was excluded as one of the potential contributors on the neck, as well as on the shoulder, which is the area where the neck widens out into the bottle’s main body. On the body there was a single source profile, which Salguero-Olivares was also excluded from.
Other points raised by the defense included methods for testing swabs, the databases used by the state crime lab to determine the race of a DNA sample, touch DNA taken from the white and green pen, and the lack of touch DNA taken from a piece of paper found inside of Hedgepeth’s phone case. Rainsford also asked Ermish about hairs that could have been tested, as well as blood samples taken from Rosario’s jean shorts.
Defense Objects to Question from State on Redirect
On redirect, prosecutors clarified points raised during cross examination with Ermish, including DNA degradation, evidence storage, and the kinds of information she is given about items she tests. Assistant District Attorney Angela Garcia-Lamarca eventually asked about her and her manager’s decision to stop accepting additional items to test from the Chapel Hill Police Department until an arrest was made, prompting an objection from the defense.
Assistant District Attorney Angela Garcia-Lamarca asks Erin Ermish clarifying questions on redirect (Image via pool).
Rainsford expressed concern that this could constitute hearsay, as the decision to stop accepting items was made by Ermish and her manager, who is not testifying in the case. Judge Keith Gregory removed the jury and allowed both sides to ask Ermish clarifying questions to ensure the question about her decision to stop accepting items was okay. Ermish confirmed it was ultimately her manager’s decision, but it was made in consultation with the forensic scientist. Ermish said it was her belief that because she had confirmed the same unknown DNA profile matched across multiple items, additional tests would be a waste of resources until an arrest in the case was made to compare the unknown profile to. She did still receive new DNA standards to compare against the unknown profile prior to Salguero-Olivares’ arrest.
The state didn’t complete their redirect before the end of Thursday’s proceedings, meaning Ermish will once again testify to start off the day off Friday at 9:30 a.m.
Featured image via courthouse livestream press pool.
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