From ABC7 Los Angeles · · 1m 40s
Faith Hedgepeth trial jury deliberates
Jurors weigh DNA evidence as Miguel Olivares faces murder verdict after 14-year wait.
In brief
Jurors weigh DNA evidence as Miguel Olivares faces murder verdict after 14-year wait. Miguel Salguero Olivares awaits jury verdict in Faith Hedgepeth murder trial after prosecutors presented DNA evidence and defense questioned investigation. Originally reported by ABC7 Los Angeles.
Faith Hedgepeth murder trial begins
Jurors started deliberating Thursday after closing arguments in Miguel Salguero Olivares' murder trial.
12 jurors weigh DNA evidence
Prosecutors say Olivares left his DNA like confetti at crime scene on blue Riesling and Bacardi bottles.
Olivares charged with four crimes
Olivares faces first-degree murder, burglary, forcible rape and sexual offense charges.
Prosecutors argue DNA evidence
Prosecutors claim forensic evidence overwhelmingly points to Olivares as killer.
Prosecutor Garcia-LaMarca's question
Do you believe the forensic evidence? Prosecutors say one question decides guilt or acquittal.
“There's really just one question that y'all need to answer, and that is, do you believe the forensic evidence in this case?”
Prosecutor Coltrain challenges relationship
Coltrain says no evidence shows Hedgepeth and Olivares knew each other before death.
“Faith didn't speak Spanish. We know he was taking English classes, which is real helpful when you need to write a note”
Coltrain on digital evidence
Coltrain says no digital overlap between Hedgepeth and Olivares' social circles.
“There is absolutely no digital overlap”
Coltrain on investigation errors
Coltrain says mistakes don't erase DNA evidence despite investigation flaws.
“No matter what kind of mistakes were made or things that were missed, it doesn't erase the palm print”
Prosecutors appeal to emotions
Prosecutors say losing a child without answers is unbearable for families.
“For parents to lose a child and not know what happened or who did it is unbearable”
Defense questions investigation
Defense argues evidence was missed or mishandled during yearslong case.
Defense challenges crime scene
Defense questions crime scene reconstruction expert's credibility.
“You had someone say they were a crime scene reconstruction expert”
Defense on DNA evidence
Defense says male DNA can remain in women's bodies for days.
“The turn of phrase we use to indicate when someone's guilty: blood on their hands”
Jury composition
Jury has nine women and three men, including five Black women.
Jury requests evidence
Jurors asked to review latent fingerprint and DNA report summaries.
In short
Miguel Salguero Olivares awaits jury verdict in Faith Hedgepeth murder trial after prosecutors presented DNA evidence and defense questioned investigation.
