Police announced that an illegal immigrant from El Salvador murdered Rachel Morin, a Maryland mother of five.
During a news conference Saturday, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Galler said Victor Martinez-Hernandez was arrested late Friday night and booked Saturday morning .
“Five hours after meeting with [Morin’s] Just before midnight, police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with the assistance of federal partners, located and arrested Rachel’s killer: Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez,” Galle said.
He was charged with first-degree murder and first-degree rape.
Maryland Sheriff’s ‘gut feeling’ says Rachel Morin was ‘stalked’ by suspect before murder
Victor Martinez Hernandez, 23, arrested for murder of Rachel Morin (Harford County Sheriff’s Office)
Maryland authorities on February 12 released a sketch of a suspect in the August 2023 murder of Rachel Morin in Bellaire, Maryland. (Facebook/Harford County Sheriff)
Police announced that the 23-year-old immigrant illegally crossed into the United States in February 2023.
“We all suspected Rachel was not his first victim,” Galle said. “It is my understanding that this suspect, this monster, brutally murdered a young woman in El Salvador a month ago in January 2023 and then illegally fled to the United States.”
Rachel Morin murder: Maryland police link crime scene DNA to LA attack, burglary
Galle said their first DNA match for Martinez-Hernandez came from a March 2023 attack in Los Angeles.
“Once in our country, he was emboldened, possibly by his anonymity, to commit a burglary in Los Angeles in March 2023, brutally attacking a 9-year-old girl and her mother,” Galle said. “I believe everyone As you all know, this is the first DNA match we’ve had connecting Rachel’s case to the case in Los Angeles.”
Rachel Morin, a mother of five, was found dead on a hiking trail on Sunday. She was reported missing by her new boyfriend (far right) Richard Tobin. (Facebook)
The sheriff turned his attention to the crisis at the southern border and directed his speech at the White House and “two members of Congress.”
“We are 1,800 miles from the southern border,” Galle said. “American citizens are not safe because of failed immigration policies.”
“This is the second time in two years that an innocent Harford County woman has lost her life at the hands of illegal criminals in our country,” he repeated his statement. “In both cases, they were suspects from El Salvador with links to criminal gangs. This should not happen.”
“Victor Hernandez did not come to this country to make a better life for him or his family, he came here to escape the crimes he committed in El Salvador. He came here to commit murder. Rachel and God willing, no one else,” he said.
“But this should never happen,” Galle said.
A police officer holds a flyer on the Mom and Dad Trail in Bel Air, Maryland, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, requesting information about the murder of Rachel Morin. It was on this trail that Rachel Morin was found dead. (Fox News digital version of the major program)
Rachel Morin Murder
Maureen, 37, was reported missing in August by her boyfriend, who said she never came back after running on the Ma & Pa Trail.Quiet and safe town, approximately 28 miles long Northeast BaltimoreAugust 5, 2023.
Her body was found on a trail the next day.
The Harford County, Maryland, Sheriff’s Office has released two new sketches of a suspect in connection with the murder of 37-year-old Rachel Morin, whose body was found in the woods near a trail on August 6, 2023. be found. (Harford County Sheriff’s Office)
In February, police released a new sketch of Martinez-Hernandez, who has now been identified.
The sketches were drawn after DNA evidence linked Martinez-Hernandez to the scene of a burglary in Los Angeles, California.
Police used the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) to obtain a single DNA match for an unidentified Hispanic male.
Rachel Morin murder: Maryland Sheriff’s Office releases new sketch of suspect
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) collected a hat left at the scene of a March 2023 burglary that turned violent and resulted in injuries to multiple people, including minor children.
The suspect allegedly broke into the home in the middle of the night and attacked the family inside before being kicked out. Surveillance footage captured the shirtless man leaving the front door.
Rachel Morin has been missing since Saturday night after she said she was walking on a trail in Maryland. (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 take this opportunity to thank all law enforcement officers for their hard work.”
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“They really care about our family and our daughter,” she said. “They are going to work hard and find the person who murdered her.”
