Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez of El Salvador was charged with first-degree murder and first-degree rape for the August 2023 murder of Rachel Morin, whose body was found on a hiking trail after she never returned from a run.
10 months after Maryland mother Rachel Morin was murdered, a suspect has finally been arrested for the brutal killing of the mom of five.
In a press conference on Saturday, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office announced that Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez was arrested in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Friday night.
The 23-year-old — who is a citizen of El Salvador — was charged with first-degree murder and first-degree rape.
Harford County’s Sheriff’s Office
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The investigation into Morin’s murder began in August 2023, after her boyfriend said she never returned from a run on the Ma & Pa trail in Bel Air. After he reported her missing, her body was discovered the following day along a hiking trail. Later that month, authorities released footage of a male they believed was connected to the brutal homicide of Morin; the video was from Los Angeles.
On the six-month anniversary of the mother of five’s murder, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office released two sketches of the suspect, and new details about the case.
During Saturday’s press release, Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said authorities were able to locate Martinez-Hernandez through DNA evidence. He added that Martinez-Hernandez was not a legal citizen, and illegally crossed the border in February 2023. According to Tulsa County jail records, Martinez-Hernandez was also on an ICE hold.
Gahler said Martinez-Hernandez “fled” El Salvador to the US after he allegedly murdered a woman in January 2023.
Two months later, he “brutally attacked” a 9-year-old girl and her mother in Los Angeles in a home invasion, according to Gahler, noting this was the crime scene where the recovered genetic material was linked to Morin’s case.
In the wake of his arrest, the sheriff’s department said Martinez-Hernandez will be extradited to Harford County, but it can take “30 to 60 days.” He is being held without bond.
While the investigation is still ongoing, Gahler said he’s confident Martinez-Hernandez will spend “the rest of his days behind bars,” later adding that he hopes he will “die in a Maryland jail.”
Gahler also shared that investigators do not yet know if Morin’s murder was “random or targeted,” and are unclear regarding motive. However, he said authorities believe Martinez-Hernandez “spent some time” in the Bel-Air area prior to Mortin’s homicide.
Harford County Sheriff’s Office
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Meanwhile, also during the press conference, Morin’s mother, Patricia, got emotional as she expressed her gratitude to law enforcement and the public for their determination to find her daughter’s killer.
“At one point, when things seemed really bleak and hopeless, the lead detective said to me … ‘Patience will win in the end,'” she said. “And that’s what they’ve been doing. They’ve been diligently working very hard and they’ve been patiently working through all of the leads, and it’s because of that that we have an arrest today.”
“I’m very thankful, and very grateful to these men,” she added. “And I’m also very grateful to the press because you kept her story alive.”
Matt McMahon, who is the father of Morin’s oldest child, Faye, also reacted to Martinez-Hernandez’s arrest.
“I’m feeling relief and gratitude,” he told The Baltimore Banner. “Gratitude to the HCSO for not giving up on Rachel.”
Getty / NewsNationNow
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