
A 37-year-old woman from Maryland, Rachel Morin, was slain on a much-traveled hiking route last year. Over the weekend, a suspect in connection to her death was arrested in Oklahoma, potentially ending the worldwide manhunt.
During a press conference in Maryland on Saturday, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said that 23-year-old Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez had been charged with first-degree murder and first-degree rape in relation to the death of Morin.
The discovery of Morin’s body on August 6, next to the well-known Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland, sparked a national concern.
According to Gahler, Martinez-Hernandez was apprehended by Tulsa police shortly before midnight on Friday on charges of trespassing. The sheriff said that Tulsa police arrested Martinez-Hernandez for trespassing, murder, and rape of Morin on Friday afternoon. The warrant had been signed in Maryland, and Tulsa police were aware of this.
According to the police, Morin’s partner reported her missing at 11:20 p.m. on August 5 when she did not return from her hike. According to the sheriff’s office, Morin’s car was located close to the trailhead. She was last seen at about 6 p.m. in the evening.
The sheriff’s office presented a video of a guy in California during a news conference on August 9, 2023, who they suspected to be the killer. A man leaving a house in Southern California was captured on video by a security camera outside the residence.
Authorities in Southern California stated on August 17, 2023, that a DNA link had been established between the guy suspected of killing Morin and the man who had invaded the home on March 26, assaulting a 9-year-old girl and her mother.
Following her disappearance, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office viewed video footage from in and around the trail where she disappeared in an effort to gather more evidence and witnesses, according to a video update broadcast on September 7, 2023. In addition, Gahler mentioned that the sheriff’s office intended to place cameras along the walk to monitor the trail more closely, especially during the winter months when it is less frequently used.
Although the Harford County Sheriff’s Office did not officially announce the suspect’s identity, they did release a finished drawing of him on February 12, 2024.
The capture of the alleged killer of jogger Rachel Morin has shifted the public’s reaction from relief to fury. The mother of five from Maryland was raped and tortured mercilessly. Victor Hernandez, the suspect, is an illegal from El Salvador.
Maryland Sheriff Jeff Gaylor is now blaming lax border controls for Morin’s murder.