an illegal migrant Police have announced that a suspect from El Salvador is responsible for the murder of Rachel Morin, a Maryland mother of five.
In a press conference On Saturday, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gehler said Victor Martinez-Hernandez was arrested late Friday night and booked Saturday morning.
“Five hours after (Morin) met with his family, and just before midnight our time, police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with assistance from our federal partners, located and arrested Rachel’s killer, Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez,” Gahler said.
He was charged with first degree murder and first degree rape.
Maryland sheriff’s ‘gut’ says suspect ‘stalked’ him before Rachel Morin’s murder
Maryland authorities on February 12 released a sketch of the suspect in the August 2023 murder of Rachel Morin in Bel Air, Maryland. (Facebook/Harford County Sheriff)
Police announced that the 23-year-old migrant entered the United States illegally in February 2023.
“We all suspected that Rachel was not his first victim,” Gehler said. “My understanding is this suspect, this monster, fled the United States illegally after brutally murdering a young woman In El Salvador One month earlier, in January of 2023.”
Rachel Morin murder: Maryland police link crime scene DNA to Los Angeles attack and home invasion
Gahler said their first DNA match for Martinez-Hernandez was from the Los Angeles attack in March 2023.
“After coming to our country, and possibly motivated by his reputation, he broke into a home in Los Angeles in March 2023 and brutally attacked a nine-year-old girl and her mother,” Gahler said. “And as I think everyone knows, this was our first DNA match that connected Rachel’s case to the case in Los Angeles.”
Rachel Morin, a mother of five, was found dead on a hiking trail on Sunday after she was reported missing by her new boyfriend, Richard Tobin. (Facebook)
The sheriff turned his attention to the crisis at the southern border and offered his remarks as follows the White House and to “both Congress members.”
“We’re 1,800 miles from the southern border,” Gahler said. “And American citizens are not safe because of their failed immigration policies.”
“This is the second time in two years that an innocent woman from Hartford County has lost her life at the hands of a criminal who is in our country illegally,” he said, repeating his statement. “In both cases, the suspects are from El Salvador with ties to criminal gangs. This shouldn’t happen.”
He said, “Victor Hernandez did not come to this country to make a better life for himself or his family, he came here to escape the crimes he committed in El Salvador. He came here to kill Rachel and, God willing, no one else.”
“But this should never have been allowed to happen,” Gahler said.
A police officer holds pamphlets seeking information about the murder of Rachel Morin on the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. The trail is where Rachel Morin, 37, was found dead on Sunday. (MEGA for Fox News Digital)
Rachel Morin murder
Maureen, 37, was reported missing in August by her boyfriend, who said she went for a run on the Ma and Pa Trail, a pedestrian trail in Bel Air, a quiet and generally safe city about 28 miles from downtown Bel Air, and never returned. northeast of BaltimoreAugust 5, 2023.
His body was found on a road the next day.
The Hartford County Sheriff’s Office in Maryland released two new sketches of a suspect in connection with the murder of Rachel Morin, 37, whose body was found in a wooded area near a trail on August 6, 2023. (Hartford County Sheriff’s Office)
In February, police released new sketches of Martinez-Hernandez, who has now been identified.
Sketches have emerged linking Martinez-Hernandez to the scene based on DNA evidence. Los Angeles, California home invasion.
Police used the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), which gave them a DNA match to an unknown Hispanic male.
Rachel Morin murder: Maryland Sheriff’s Office releases new sketch of suspect
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) collected hats left at the scene after a home invasion in March 2023 that turned violent, leaving several people, including minor children, injured.
The suspect allegedly broke into the home in the middle of the night, attacked the family and was then let out. Surveillance video footage shows the man walking out the front door without a shirt on.
Rachel Morin has been missing since Saturday evening, when she said she went for a walk on a Maryland trail. (Harford County Sheriff’s Office/FB)
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“I’m going to keep this short because I’m very emotional,” Rachel’s mother, Patricia Morin, said. “I just want to thank everyone who is with me at this time. Law enforcement for their hard work.”
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“They cared deeply about our family and our daughter,” he said. “They will work diligently and find the person who killed her.”
