Karena Rosario Had Protective Order Against Ex-Boyfriend Eriq Takoy Jones

Who Killed the Co-Ed? An ID Murder Mystery airs on Thursday, May 28 at 9/8c on Investigation Discovery. The episode investigates the death of Faith Hedgepeth, whose murderer remains at large years after she was killed in September 2012.

Investigation Discovery‘s official synopsis for the episode teases “When 19-year-old college student Faith Hedgepeth is found brutally murdered in her off-campus apartment, the evidence leads police to believe that she knew her killer. Six years later Faith’s murderer is still at large. Who Killed Faith?”

Hedgepeth’s roommate at the time, Karena Rosario, was out with her the night she died and according to NBC News, found her dead in her bed at their shared apartment.

Although Hedgepeth’s murderer remains at large, an interesting person within the story of her death is Rosario’s ex-boyfriend Eriq Takoy Jones, whom she had a protective order against. According to Fox News, however, Jones’s DNA sample did not match the DNA found at the scene of the crime and he was never charged with any wrongdoing.

Hedgepeth Encouraged Rosario to Get a Restraining Order Against Jones

According to The Daily Tar Heel, UNC’s digital news outlet, Karena Rosario obtained a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend Eriq Takoy Jones on July 11, 2012. Hedgepeth drove her friend to the Durham County courthouse to get the order.

Multiple violent encounters were cited to justify Rosario’s reason for having the protective order, including a break-in on July during which Jones threatened Rosario and pushed her to the ground, as well as another break-in on July 10 after Rosario had the locks to the apartment changed.

The Daily Tar Heel also reports that, prior to Rosario’s restraining order against Jones, Jones lived with Hedgepeth and Rosario in their off-campus apartment.

Fox News reports that documents obtained from the protective order claimed that Jones threatened Faith Hedgepeth’s life if Karena refused to get back together with him.

Eriq Takoy Jones Asked for Forgiveness for ‘Sing I May Commit Today’ the Day Before Hedgepeth’s Murder

A day before Hedgepeth’s murder, Eriq Takoy Jones wrote on Facebook “Dear Lord. Forgive me for all of my sins and the sins I may commit today. Protect me from the girls who dont deserve me and the ones who wish me dead today.”

According to The Daily Tar Heel, Rosario and Hedgepeth allegedly met up with two men while they were out the night of Hedgepeth’s death – including Eriq Takoy Jones’s cousin.

NBC News reported that the murder weapon was believed to be an empty Bacardi rum bottle; a handwritten note on a fast-food bottle, found near Hedgepeth’s body, read “IM NOT STUPID. BITCH.” DNA was collected at the scene that investigators believed to belong to the killer, but years later, a match still has not been made and the murderer remains at-large.

The Cinemaholic reports that in 2016, Jones declined an interview for Crime Watch Daily, saying “Honestly, I don’t want nothing to do with that, and I don’t need that kind of attention while I’m in grad school. My lawyer doesn’t think it’s a good idea, and wants your contact information.”

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