In a heartbreaking courtroom scene, the mother of Rachel Morin, the Maryland woman allegedly raped and murdered by an illegal migrant from El Salvador, struggled to hold back tears as prosecutors detailed the gruesome 150-foot blood trail that led to her daughter’s lifeless body.
During the trial, prosecutor Alison Healey described Rachel Morin’s murder as every mother’s worst nightmare. Patricia Morin, visibly emotional, sat in the courtroom gallery as the horrific details unfolded, reported the Baltimore Sun.
Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, 24, is accused of assaulting the 37-year-old mother of five while she was jogging on the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland on August 5, 2023. Healey recounted how volunteers discovered Morin’s body the following day after following the bloody trail left by her attacker.
Martinez-Hernandez allegedly raped, strangled, and bludgeoned Rachel Morin before leaving her to die in a drainage culvert, according to the prosecutor. Authorities were able to track down the suspect nearly a year later through DNA evidence collected at the crime scene.
Throughout the trial, the prosecution emphasized Martinez-Hernandez’s online searches related to the victim, as well as his actions following the heinous crime. Healey urged the jury to find the defendant guilty on all counts. Defense attorney Sawyer Hicks highlighted potential gaps in the prosecution’s case.
The lawyer expressed uncertainty about his client’s involvement in the crime. He proposed that someone who knew the victim, Morin, might be responsible for her brutal murder. The lawyer suggested that the smashed phone indicated a crime of passion and questioned the absence of the boyfriend’s DNA at the scene, hinting at possible involvement. “Rachel Morin was tragically murdered, but Mr. Martinez-Hernandez is not the perpetrator of this crime,” stated Hicks.
Patricia has been critical of former President Joe Biden for his immigration policies, which she believes contributed to her daughter’s death. Morin’s 14-year-old daughter, Violet Custer, was the first witness to testify, recounting her concern when her mother did not respond to messages on the night of the incident. Morin’s boyfriend, Richard Tobin, called for help when they couldn’t reach her and later joined Custer in searching for Morin.
Morin, a mother of five, was killed while jogging on a local trail in Bel Air, Maryland. Tobin, who had been in a relationship with Morin for five months prior to her death, recounted the discovery of her car on the trail and the subsequent search efforts. Tobin cooperated with investigators, providing his cellphone and a DNA sample.
The trial heard from Morin’s 19-year-old daughter, Faye McMahon, who shared her last communication with her mother before the tragic event. Patricia blamed Biden’s border policies for enabling Martinez-Hernandez to enter the country illegally and commit the alleged crimes. The suspect has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and rape, following his illegal entry into the US in February 2023 and a violent home invasion in Los Angeles in March 2023.
