Jury selected for high-profile trial of murdered Maryland mother Rachel Morin
A 12-member jury, along with six alternates, has been selected for the high-profile trial of the man accused of murdering Rachel Morin, a Maryland mother of five.
Opening statements will begin on Friday, April 4, The trial is expected to continue through April 16.
Morin was found raped and murdered near the Ma & Pa Trail in Harford County on August 6, 2023, a day after she went for a jog.
Victor Martinez-Hernandez was arrested in June 2024 at a bar in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after a 10-month nationwide manhunt. Law enforcement said he entered the country illegally from El Salvador.
Martinez-Hernandez is facing first-degree murder and rape charges.
Jurors selected in Rachel Morin trial
The 12 jurors are comprised of 10 men and two women. The alternates are made up of four men and two women.
Sixty of the 184 potential jurors over the two days were questioned on Wednesday.
They were asked several questions, including their familiarity with the case, whether they have strong feelings about the allegations of rape and murder, and if they would have trouble delivering a verdict based on personal feelings about cultural identity and immigration status.
After questioning, 80 potential jurors from both days were brought back and asked more follow-up questions.
The prosecution and the defense then had the chance to accept or reject each potential juror until they agreed on the final 18.
Jury selection started Tuesday
Jury selection started on Tuesday, and more than 120 potential jurors were questioned in a packed Harford County courtroom.
During the public portion of court proceedings, nearly 63% of the potential jurors responded yes when asked if they had strong feelings about allegations of sexual assault, rape and murder.
They were also asked if they are comfortable viewing graphic images of the crime scene and evidence, and if they have any bias toward someone taking the stand who needs a language interpreter.
What happened to Rachel Morin?
Morin was a mother of five who left her home in 2023 for a run on the Ma & Pa Trail in Harford County. She was reported missing on August 5, 2023, and her body was found near the trail the following day.
Law enforcement officials believe Martinez-Hernandez hid in a drainage hole and attacked Morin as she was walking.
Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler said Martinez-Hernandez crossed the border into the U.S. in February 2023 as he was being sought for the murder of a woman in El Salvador.
He was taken into custody by border patrol agents for illegally entering the U.S. three separate times in 2023.
According to investigators, Martinez-Hernandez was also accused of assaulting a child and her mother at a home in California in March 2023.
Sheriff Gahler said he had connections to the Washington, D.C. area and has ties to known gangs.
Questions raised about publicity
Due to the high-profile nature of the case, several questions were raised about how to handle the trial during the pre-trial conference on Monday, March 31.
Martinez-Hernandez was brought to the Harford County court in shackles and a striped detention center jumpsuit.
"This is probably the most high-profile case in this country's history," his attorney said.
The defense team said the case was mentioned in an executive order issued by President Donald Trump.
The executive order, issued in mid-March, aimed to address "rampant fraud and meritless claims" in the U.S. immigration system.
"...this fraud in turn undermines the integrity of our immigration laws and the legal profession more broadly – to say nothing of the undeniable, tragic consequences of the resulting mass illegal immigration, whether in terms of heinous crimes against innocent victims like Laken Riley, Jocelyn Nungaray, or Rachel Morin…" part of the executive order reads.
Since taking office, Mr. Trump has cracked down on illegal immigration in the U.S., rolling back several Biden-era policies and ordering increases in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests and deportations.
During the pre-trial hearing, the defense team said they are concerned about potential jurors hearing about other crimes Martinez-Hernandez is accused of and his immigration status. They further requested that a lengthy description of the crime be included in the jury selection process.
The judge disagreed, saying a basic description would be enough.
The judge also rejected the defense's motion to sequester the jury during the trial and denied a motion that would have required each juror to fill out a questionnaire.
During the pre-trial hearing, the judge said she would wait until later to decide if the jurors should be asked if they watched the RNC convention.
In January, Martinez-Hernandez's attorneys requested that his trial be moved out of Harford County, arguing that he would not be able to receive a fair trial because an impartial jury could not be seated
Trial open to the press, public
The murder trial is open to the press and the public, but on the opening day of jury selection, court officials said some of the proceedings were closed because of capacity in the courtroom.
Judge Yolanda Curtin allowed deputies to open the doors to the courtroom so people could listen in from the hall for portions of the jury selection on Tuesday.
But, following a lunch break, jurors were individually questioned, which happened behind closed doors.
In previous cases, the public was allowed to observe individual juror questioning with accommodations made to conceal sensitive information.
In a 1992 Maryland ruling in the case of Watters v State, a similar situation was called into question, and it was ruled that the defendant's right to a public trial was violated.
WJZ asked Maryland defense attorney Eric Bacaj if this process in the jury selection has been constitutional.
"The general questioning of the pool under Maryland law should be open to the public and the then Court of Appeals Supreme, now the Supreme Court of Maryland. Held in the Watters case that the denial of the public's right to be present during the generalized questioning and in that case, throughout the entirety of voir dire, was a reason to grant a new trial," Bacaj said. "Closing the courtroom for the second portion, which is that individualized questioning, which is often done with that white noise in the background so no one can hear anyway, I don't think closing the courtroom for that purpose would have any problems."
A statement from the head of government affairs for the Maryland Judiciary said that the courtroom was not closed to the media or public, but mostly due to safety concerns and overcapacity.
"The courtroom was, however, filled to capacity, and individuals were not allowed access to the courtroom due to safety and fire code concerns," the Maryland Judiciary said. "The Maryland Judiciary is currently working with the Circuit Court for Harford County to designate a space to accommodate media outlets. Challenges of space and resources, however, arise when working with smaller courthouses."
