Police are questioning everyone when it comes to the killing of Rachel Morin –including the boyfriend who first reported her missing.
The 37-year-old mom of five went out for a walk on the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail in Bel Air, Maryland at around 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 5 — and never returned home! Becoming concerned when Rachel never came back to her place, her boyfriend, Richard Tobin, reported her missing. A search for Rachel immediately began, with the Harford County Sheriff’s Office asking the public for help to find the woman. Shortly afterward, her vehicle was spotted near the entrance to the hiking trail.
But there sadly is no happy ending to this story. Because on August 6, authorities announced that “a female was located deceased off of the Ma and Pa Trail.” They later confirmed the remains belonged to Rachel. Additionally, this case was now considered a homicide since there were “indicators” of murder. No other information has been revealed about these signs yet.
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What we do know is, investigators are leaving no stone unturned in their search for Rachel’s killer. Harford County Sheriff Jeffery Gahler told WBAL-TV detectives didn’t have “a solid suspect” yet:
“Part of the investigation is going to be tracing back her steps from the last time she was seen to when she arrived at the trailhead, that’s where her car was discovered. We do not have a solid suspect. Not knowing whether this was a targeted event specific to Rachel, we are going to say, yes, be aware, be thinking there could be somebody out here and this is a random event.”
A scary thought for residents, of course. If someone was out there interested in killing not a specific person but just “random” people…
But not everyone believes this was a “random” slaying. Since news broke, many people have speculated whether Rachel’s new boyfriend had something to do with her death. People have even flooded the comments section of the couple’s recent relationship announcement post on Facebook to voice their suspicions about him. It’s a natural response given how frequently a woman’s violent death is at the hands of her boyfriend or spouse. Wow, that is an upsetting casual fact to throw out…
Richard has now limited the comments and spoken out. He insists he “would never do anything to her,” writing:
“I love Rachel, I would never do anything to her, let the family and I grieve. Yes I have a past but I also have 15 months clean and have changed as a person. Please.”
Although Richard may swear he’s innocent, authorities are doing their due diligence in this investigation — and that means throughly questioning him! Sheriff Gahler shared in an update about the case that they’ve received a ton of questions “centered around whether we have interviewed the boyfriend in this case.” And his answer? Gahler revealed they have – but noted they also questioned “many other people who are close to Rachel.” He added:
“That is the way an investigation is conducted. We start with people who are in her close inner circle and others who may have known her and work outward.”
Makes sense. Furthermore, Gahler noted that a team of forensic investigators, crime analysts, and detectives “have been scouring every detail of the days, hours, minutes and seconds before Rachel died in order to put together the pieces of a comprehensive timeline.” And they’ve received a ton of helpful tips from the public, too! The sheriff said more than 100 tips have come in, with some of them being “promising and tremendous in advancing the investigation and bringing us closer to getting the answers that we need, the answers that Rachel’s family needs and the answers the community needs.”
Hopefully, one of those tips has some key info that can help law enforcement figure out what happened. As for those “concerned there might be someone in our midst praying on women” in the community? Gahler shared that there will be more police on the hiking trails and a “heavy presence of deputies” in the area in general, either patrolling on foot, bike, or ATV. He continued:
“I understand many of you want answers and we do too. What I can tell you for sure is this was an intentional taking of a person’s life. Please know we are holding details close to help ensure a suspect is brought to justice. There will be a time when I can share more and when we can I promise to answer as many questions as I can. It’s a delicate balance to help the public stay informed, but it cannot be at the expense of a quality investigation.”
The sheriff went on to promise to figure out the identity of the “heinous coward” who murdered Rachel:
“Please be safe and take care of each other, watch out for each other. Together we will solve this crime and find the heinous coward who took Rachel Morin from her family and friends.”
You can hear Gahler’s entire statement (below):
What a terrible situation. Hopefully, the police will find out who murdered Rachel soon, so her loved ones can get some justice. Reactions to the case? Let us know in the comments.
[Image via Harford County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook, Richard Tobin/Facebook]
