Maryland crime scene examined during trial for Rachel Morin's accused killer

The moment Maryland mother Rachel Morin's body was found in 2023, off a Harford County trail, was revisited during the second day of testimony in the trial of accused killer Victor Martinez-Hernandez.

Martinez-Hernandez is facing first-degree murder and rape charges after Morin, a mother of five, was found brutally murdered in August 6, 2023, a day after she went for a jog on the Ma & Pa Trail.

Detective describes Rachel Morin's crime scene

On Monday, jurors heard from a community member who called 911 to alert law enforcement that her friend had found Morin's body, along with officers who responded to the crime scene.

Det. Michael Wilsynski testified that he initially went to the scene on August 6, 2023, to fly his drone in hopes of locating Morin. His actions shifted once her body was found by two community members.

Wilsynski testified that when he got to the tunnel where Morin's body was located, it was "obvious this was not a slip and fall injury" and "this was a serious attack."

Wilsynski explained that a vast amount of evidence found inside the tunnel near Morin's body included an Apple AirPod, a cellphone, and a lot of blood.

Photos of Morin's battered body shocked the courtroom, even leaving members of the jury wide-eyed.

Defendant Martinez-Hernandez remained stone-faced as Det. Wilsynski explained the bruises, bloody face, drag marks, and fly eggs already found on Morin's body.

Wilsynski said he and his team spent nearly five hours processing the scene and swabbing DNA while the field operator with the Medical Examiner's Office was present.

Evidence collection continued well past August 6, 2023, according to Wilsynski, with additional swabs collected by the Medical Examiner's office and fingerprint analysis.

Wilsynski also testified that he has had more than 80 hours of latent print analysis training and was accepted by the courtroom as an expert in that field.

The defense is expected to cross-examine the witness on Tuesday. The Chief Medical Examiner is also expected to testify, as soon as tomorrow.

Martinez-Hernandez's arrest

Martinez-Hernandez, who law enforcement said entered the United States unlawfully in 2023, was tied to the assault of a child and her mother in Los Angeles, and the murder of a woman in his native country of El Salvador.

He was arrested in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June 2024 and was extradited to Maryland to face charges in the murder of Rachel Morin after a 10-month nationwide manhunt.

Boyfriend, daughter previously testified

On Friday, April 4, Morin's boyfriend Richard Tobin and her oldest child, Faye McMahon, testified.

Tobin testified that he noticed Morin stopped responding to text messages just after 7 p.m. on August 5, 2023. He said that when his messages stopped delivering, he called Morin. The first calls went to voicemail, and then he started getting a beeping tone.  

He thought she might be cheating on him, so he checked neighboring bars with no luck. That's when he says he went back to Morin's house and found Custer panicking for the same reason, so they called 911.

McMahon testified to texting with her mother at around 7 p.m. on August 5, 2023, but Morin abruptly stopped responding.