After Rachel Morin’s body was discovered on a famous hiking path in Maryland on Sunday, the sheriff in charge of the homicide investigation reported that she had been killed, and he asked for the public’s help in solving the case.
He said she was clearly murdered and hadn’t died of natural causes or committed suicide. “This is the work of an evil actor,” Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler stated.
Morin, 37, set out from her home in Bel Air, Maryland, some 30 miles north of Baltimore, at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday to stroll along the Ma and Pa Heritage Trail. As part of her daily ritual, she walked the path.
Richard Tobin, the boyfriend of the mother of five children, reported her missing at 11:30 p.m. A hiker discovered her corpse the next day at about 1 p.m.
Morin’s corpse was found in the thick woods that flank the former railroad track that serves as a walking trail, but Gahler refused to provide its precise position.
Gahler noted that investigators do not know whether the homicide was premeditated or an accident.
The killing has shaken the residents of the normally quiet village of 10,000.
“We are a county that enjoys very low crime,” said Gahler, whose house is behind the route. “People in our community are understandably worried.”
Morin’s automobile was discovered by police near the Williams Street trailhead access and was towed to the forensics lab for examination.
There is no surveillance footage from the parking lot on the night she disappeared, Gahler said.
The findings of the autopsy are pending.
After internet detectives theorized that Morin’s new boyfriend may have had a hand in her death, he finally spoke out about it on Facebook on Sunday, saying he adored Rachel and would never hurt her. He admitted to having a history of substance abuse but said he is 15 months sober and a different person.
Maryland court records show that 27-year-old Tobin has been arrested before on offenses including intentional property damage, assault, and restraining order violations.
He has not been charged with any crime or listed as a suspect in the death of his girlfriend.
