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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.
Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, 24, was convicted Monday after a jury deliberated for less than an hour following a nine day trial. The El Salvadoran immigrant was found to be responsible for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of Rachel Morin, 37, who was found dead near the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail in Bel Air, Maryland, after her boyfriend reported her missing on Aug. 5, 2023. According to charging documents at the time, Morin was sexually assaulted and beaten to death.
Martinez-Hernandez’s DNA was consistent with samples left on several parts of her body.
As Law&Crime has previously reported, Morin’s boyfriend reported her missing after she went for a walk on the Bel Air trail on that August evening and never came home. The next day, her car was found in the parking lot, and her body was in a wooded area nearby.
According to the charging documents, Morin was found “partially naked” with her clothes pulled off. WBJ, a local CBS affiliate, reported at the time that Morin had 10 to 15 head wounds in addition to being strangled, according to 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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