Convicted killer of Maryland mother Rachel Morin faces sentencing
The man found guilty of killing Maryland mother Rachel Morin will be sentenced on Monday, August 11, in Harford County Circuit Court in Bel Air.
Victor Martinez-Hernandez was found guilty in April of raping and murdering Morin, 37. Her body was discovered off the Ma and Pa Trail in August 2023. He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Rachel Morin's murder
Morin had gone for a run on the trail and never returned home. Her body was found the next day after she was reported missing.
Investigators said Morin was found brutally attacked and murdered in a drainage culvert about 150 feet off the trail.
"Our first and only goal in this whole case was to get justice for Rachel and her family," Harford County State's Attorney Alison Healey said. "For her children, her siblings, for her mom, for everybody who loved and cared about her. So at this point, we just want to make sure we get the justice she deserves for this horrific crime."
Martinez-Hernandez, an undocumented migrant from El Salvador, fled Maryland after the killing. He was arrested in Oklahoma 10 months later, ending a nationwide manhunt.
Healy said she hoped Martinez-Hernandez's guilty verdict would bring comfort.
"It is my sincere hope that today's verdict brings some peace and closure to the entire Morin family," Healey said after the decision in April.
Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said the guilty verdict ensures Martinez-Hernandez will no longer pose a threat.
"He will be removed from society and never be able to harm anyone else again," Gahler said. "So that's what we have to take away as a success."
Martinez-Hernandez is expected to be sentenced on Monday, Aug. 11, at 9:30 a.m.
The case drew national attention and prompted safety upgrades on the Ma and Pa Trail. Months after Morin's death, more than 100 AI-enabled security cameras were installed. The cameras detect movement and capture multiple angles of the 2-mile stretch in an effort to deter violent crimes.
Martinez-Hernandez entered the U.S. illegally
Investigators said Martinez-Hernandez illegally crossed into the United States in 2023. He left his native country of El Salvador following an arrest warrant issued there for a woman's murder.
According to law enforcement, Martinez-Hernandez was apprehended by Border Patrol agents for unlawfully entering the U.S. on three occasions in 2023: Jan. 19 near Santa Teresa, New Mexico; Jan. 31 in El Paso, Texas; and Feb. 6 in Santa Teresa.
He was later allegedly linked to an assault on a mother and child in March 2023 in Los Angeles, before coming to Maryland. DNA evidence from Morin's death was connected to that crime.
