Background: News footage of Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez being escorted by police (WJZ). Inset: Rachel Morin (Harford County Sheriff’s Office).
The man accused of viciously murdering a Maryland mom of five was found guilty by a jury after a fast deliberation.
24-year-old Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez was found guilty on Monday after a jury’s brief deliberation at the end of a nine-day trial. He, an immigrant from El Salvador, was convicted for the abduction, sexual assault, and killing of Rachel Morin, 37. Morin’s body was discovered close to the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail in Bel Air, Maryland, subsequent to her boyfriend’s report of her disappearance on August 5, 2023. Charging documents revealed that Morin had been sexually assaulted and fatally beaten.
Martinez-Hernandez’s DNA was consistent with samples left on several parts of her body.
Prior coverage from Law&Crime highlighted Morin’s disappearance after her boyfriend raised the alarm when she did not return home from a walk on the Bel Air trail that August evening. The day following her disappearance, Morin’s vehicle was located in the parking lot, while her body was discovered in a nearby wooded region.
Records from law enforcement indicated that Morin was discovered in a “partially naked” state with her garments removed. As reported by WBJ, a local CBS station, Morin had suffered 10 to 15 blows to the head apart from being strangled, as noted by Harford County State’s Attorney Alison Healey.
DNA swabs were taken from several parts of her body, and they all belonged to one contributor, later identified as Martinez-Hernandez. The DNA samples were matched to samples found on clothing provided by the defendant’s own family.
It wasn’t the first crime linked to Martinez-Hernandez; it wasn’t even the first one to use his own genetic material against him. Law&Crime previously reported that Martinez-Hernandez attacked a 9-year-old girl and her mother in Los Angeles and allegedly killed a woman in his home country of El Salvador.
After the verdict, Healey spoke to the press and called the case “horrific,” but “airtight” when it came to the evidence and the investigation.
Martinez-Hernandez was found guilty of all counts against him: first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree rape, third-degree sexual offense and kidnapping. He is due to be sentenced in 60 to 90 days.
The prosecution signaled that it will ask that sentences for each count be served consecutively, ensuring that the killer has no chance of going free.
The defense lawyers said they were “disappointed” in the verdict, but would now “focus on sentencing and ensuring that Mr. Martinez-Hernandez has a fair process that balances all of the relevant factors.”
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