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Faith Hedgepeth case to get new SBI help

	Faith Hedgepeth

Faith Hedgepeth

After a yearlong investigation with no suspects named, Chapel Hill police have reached out to the State Bureau of Investigation for more help investigating last year’s homicide of Faith Hedgepeth.

Hedgepeth was a UNC junior when she was found dead in her off-campus apartment on Sept. 7, 2012.

Sgt. Bryan Walker, a spokesman for the Chapel Hill Police Department, said the department asked the SBI to take a greater role in the investigation last week.

“So far, as to what kind of assistance they’re going to be offering, we don’t know,” Walker said.

Chapel Hill Police Chief Chris Blue said the department asked for additional assistance from the SBI as a natural next step in its investigation.

“We’ve gone where the investigation has taken us along the way, and we’re using whatever resource is appropriate,” Blue said.

Law enforcement analyzed DNA evidence left at the scene by a man in the months following Hedgepeth’s homicide.

In January, Chapel Hill police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Behavioral Analysis Unit released a profile of the suspect.

The statement said the person might have been familiar with Hedgepeth and lived near her in the past. The suspect would have been unaccounted for in the early hours of Sept. 7.

Investigators haven’t released any new information about a suspect in Hedgepeth’s case since January.

Blue said he could not release any new information about the department’s ongoing investigation.

Jennifer Canada, a spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Justice, confirmed the department received an additional request from Chapel Hill police last week.

“The SBI assisted Chapel Hill police in a limited role during the early stages of the investigation,” Canada said in an email.

Blue said it is not unusual for local agencies to reach out to the SBI for additional help in cases.

“We’re working the case hard, and we’ve used all the possible resources,” Blue said.

city@dailytarheel.com

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