Cold cases and forensic evidence

Cases

• ▶Video · WRAL

  Criminal trialSentenced

  State of North Carolina v. Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares

  Durham Cnty. Super. Ct. · No. Pending

  A Durham County jury found Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares guilty on Oct. 23, 2026, of first-degree murder, rape, sexual offense and burglary in the 2012 killing of UNC-Chapel Hill student Faith Hedgepeth, 19. He was sentenced to life without parole. He has filed notice of appeal, and on Nov. 3 his lawyers asked for a new trial.

  Updated November 14, 2026 · 3 min read

• ▶Video · WDIV Local 4

  AppealDecided

  People of the State of Michigan v. Marshawn James Curtis

  Mich. Ct. App. · No. Mich. Ct. App. No. 369945

  A rape kit from a 2012 Lansing assault sat untested after prosecutors declined to charge. Sent to a lab in 2016 as part of a statewide initiative, the kit's DNA was later matched to Marshawn James Curtis, whom an Ingham County jury convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in 2023. The Michigan Court of Appeals upheld the conviction on March 19, 2026, and court records show no further appeal.

  Updated November 14, 2026 · 2 min read

Laws on the move

• ▶Video · WDIV Local 4

  Michigan · StatuteIn effect

  Michigan's longer deadline to charge sex crimes

  2024 PA 268 (HB 4485)

  Since April 2, 2025, Michigan prosecutors have 15 years, or until the survivor's 42nd birthday, whichever is later, to charge second- and third-degree criminal sexual conduct. First-degree has no limit. The change doesn't apply to older cases.

  Status as of April 2, 2025

• ▶Video · WDIV Local 4

  Michigan · StatuteIn effect

  Michigan's rape kit laws

  2014 PA 227, 318 and 319

  Passed in 2014 after more than 11,000 untested kits were found in Detroit, these laws set deadlines for testing rape kits, created a statewide tracking system and give survivors the right to ask about their kit and their case. The money for the teams that work old kits is decided year to year.

  Status as of March 31, 2015

Trackers

• Issue tracker

  Michigan's untested rape kits, by the numbers

  Bench Watch logs the official numbers on Michigan's previously untested rape kits, including how many were found, tested and prosecuted, by date and by who reported them. The sources don't always agree, so we show each figure with its date and source, not as a trend.

  10 figures · Updated November 14, 2026

Stories