Rachel Morin's Killer Has Been Convicted — He Now Awaits Sentencing
Maryland native Rachel Morin was the victim of a brutal murder. As details are revealed, we uncover the harrowing truth.
Updated June 19 2024, 12:15 p.m. ET
Content warning: This article contains details about a violent murder.
A 37-year-old mother of five was brutally murdered in August 2023. Rachel Morin’s remains were discovered a day after she was reported missing. Cases like these are often left cold for decades, but thanks to modern technology, investigators are more efficient than ever before.
On June 17, 2024, it was revealed that an arrest had been made in Morin’s murder. Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, was taken into custody in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 14 and was extradited to Harford County, Maryland, to face the consequences of his actions.
What happened to Rachel Morin, and where is Martinez-Hernandez now?
Details on what happened to Rachel Morin.
On Aug. 5, 2023, Rachel Morin went out for her regular walk on the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail in Bel Air, Md., at around 6 p.m. By 11 p.m., Rachel's boyfriend, Richard Tobin, reported her missing. Less than 24 hours later, Rachel's remains were discovered in a drain tunnel near the trail by local Native American tracker Michael Gabriszeski and his stepdaughter, Cecilia, as part of a search party.
Gabriszeski spoke with The Daily Mail about what happened when they discovered Rachel's body and what state she was in. “Cecilia was the first person to see the body,” he said. “She was hyperventilating really, really bad. And then the police told her to sit down. When she sat down, she realized she was sitting in a big pool of blood.”
He added, “She was laying on her back, fully naked, and she had brutal head trauma...it looked like her head had been smashed in with a rock. There was a 15 to 20-foot blood trail. So, it looked like she had been beaten and dragged into that position. It looked like [the killer] was trying to erase her identity. The right side of her face was gone.”
Authorities ruled Rachel's death a “violent homicide” without releasing further autopsy details. Thanks to DNA evidence, police connected Martinez-Hernandez with her sexual assault and murder.
Where is Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez now?
Shortly after discovering Rachel's body, police found DNA evidence connected to a man responsible for the assault and home invasion of a 9-year-old girl and her mother in Southern Calif. on March 26, 2023.
However, authorities did not know whose DNA it was. They were able to pull photos from the prior crime, along with witness statements, to come up with a close-to-accurate description of Martinez-Hernandez.
On what would have been Rachel's 38th birthday, FBI investigators worked with El Salvador’s investigative department to match the DNA with Martinez-Hernandez through genealogy testing.
The FBI put a “red notice” out on Martinez-Hernandez — essentially a global wanted list — and Tulsa, Okla. authorities tracked him down.
"Officers found the suspect casually sitting at the bar and placed him under arrest,” the Tulsa police department said on Facebook. “Initially the suspect lied about his true identity and denied any knowledge of the crimes he is wanted for." It's worth noting that Martinez-Hernandez was fleeing from El Salvador because he had first committed a murder there.
He was not an asylum seeker according to the U.S.’s current asylum policies.
On April 15, 2025, Martinez-Hernandez was found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree rape, third-degree sex offense and kidnapping, per CBS News. Harford County State's Attorney Alison Healey said she will be seeking the maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
"At the end of the day, that's the judge's decision," said Healey. "I hope that she [Judge Yolanda Curtin] considers that, ultimately."