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Police hope new composite could break Faith Hedgepeth case

Photo Courtesy of Parabon NanoLabs.

Photo Courtesy of Parabon NanoLabs.

Now, police have released a new 3-D composite photo in hopes of finding her killer.

The composite was introduced on Friday night’s episode of 20/20 titled, “Love, Hope and Faith,” which attempted to provide new clues to bring Hedgepeth’s attacker to justice once and for all.

The episode begins at 2014’s spring commencement in Kenan Stadium, where Hedgepeth was supposed to be, dressed in a Carolina blue cap and gown and accepting her degree.

Throughout the 40-minute episode, 20/20’s Ryan Smith retraced Hedgepeth’s fateful night, painting a picture of what happened, where things become unclear and naming people of interest in the investigation.

From there, police officers held interviews with family members, friends, police officers and private investigators to attempt to fill in the blanks.

It wasn’t until the end of the epsiode when the new composite of Hedgepeth’s alleged attacker was introduced.

The composite, produced by Virginia-based Parabon NanoLabs, used semen from the crime scene to produce a facial replica of what the assailant might look like.

The program, called Parabon Snapshot, produces a detailed report which includes eye color, skin color, hair color, face morphology and detailed biogeographic ancestry.

The Snapshot produced in the Hedgepeth case reports that the assailant is most likely a Latino male, stating with 85.7 percent certainty that his skin color is dark to light olive, he has brown or hazel eyes, black hair and has zero to very few freckles.

If you have any information regarding the case or the newly released snapshot, you are advised to contact Chapel Hill Police Crimestoppers at (919) 614-6363.

@ryansalch

city@dailytarheel.com

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