Victor Martinez-Hernandez Guilty of Rachel Morin’s Brutal Murder

On Monday, a jury found Victor Martinez-Hernandez guilty of first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree rape, third-degree sexual assault and kidnapping. The verdict comes after Martinez-Hernandez pleaded not guilty and refused to testify in his own defense this morning, with prosecutors resting their case on Friday.

Morin’s body was found on the Ma & Pa Heritage hiking trail in Bel Air, Maryland in August 2023, after she failed to return from a run. 37 at the time of her death, Morin was a mother of five.

Victor Martinez-Hernandez, an undocumented migrant from El Salvador allegedly linked to another murder there, was arrested for Morin’s slaying on June 14, 2024 at a bar in Tulsa, Oklahoma … thanks to tips and DNA tracking.

Martinez-Hernandez’s defense team only called one witness, a digital forensic examiner who reportedly spoke about Morin’s search history before her death.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, called a number of witnesses after the trial began Friday, April 4. Throughout the last week, Morin’s daughters and boyfriend testified about her behavior before her murder and their search for her after she went missing. A number of detectives, locals who found Morin’s body, as well as the suspect’s family members, also took the stand, detailing the case against Martinez-Hernandez, the crime scene and his whereabouts after the murder.

During the trial, Harford County State’s Attorney Alison Healey said Morin stopped responding to family members on August 5, 2023 after going out for a run. Her boyfriend, Richard Tobin, went to the trail to look for her and, when he couldn’t find her, called police. Those looking for her reportedly found a 150-foot trail of blood leading to her body — with Healey saying Morin was “left to die in a puddle of water” in a culvert, her blood on its walls, according to the Baltimore Banner.

FOX News reports Healey said Morin’s right shoe and socks were left on, while her bra had been pulled over her breasts. Per the prosecutor, she had 15-20 head wounds, some of which were “deep,” while she showed signs of strangulation. Blood-covered rocks and sticks were collected as evidence, as were her smashed cell phone and smartwatch.

According to Healey, DNA at the scene helped investigators build a profile, leading them to a home where Martinez-Hernandez lived with family around December 2023. Family members provided authorities with a phone number and Facebook account, before police used the phone to track Martinez-Hernandez to Tulsa, where he was eventually apprehended.

On his phone, investigators allegedly found searches for “Bel Air,” “Rachel” and an incorrect spelling of Morin’s last name, per Healey. He also allegedly denied ever being in Maryland.

Two of Morin’s daughters were the first to testify, one of them reportedly crying as she detailed the day their mother went missing and Tobin calling the police.

Tobin also took the stand, reportedly saying he had asked Morin to officially be his girlfriend just five days before her murder, after talking for about 5 months. He reportedly admitted his first thought was that Morin was cheating on him when she failed to respond to his texts and calls. He also said he gave his cell phone and DNA samples to police.

Detective Michael Wilsynski gave insight into what he saw when he responded to the scene.

He testified, via the Baltimore Sun, to seeing gashes on the front and back of the victim’s head, as well as “defensive wounds” on her wrists, which were bruised. He said it was “obvious this was not a slip and fall injury,” according to CBS News, but instead “a serious attack.” Per CBS, photos of her body “shocked the courtroom, even leaving members of the jury wide-eyed,” as Wilsynski claimed she had a broken fingernail and disfigured finger, and that fly eggs were found on her body.

Pictures of the scene also showed blood spatter on the tunnel walls where she was found, as well as her destroyed phone and Apple AirPod headphones.

Another witness described seeing “a man in the woods, just out there” on the day Morin was killed. “I think he felt like he got caught, so to speak,” said Kyle Stacy — adding that he and his girlfriend walked past Morin, who was alone, thirty seconds later.

Family members of Martinez-Hernandez testified he was in Maryland in 2023, leaving behind clothes, a toothbrush and blanket which they later turned over to authorities. He then allegedly moved to Bel Air, where he worked at a Popeye’s shortly before Morin’s murder — and, per a roommate who testified, suddenly moved out that summer.

The suspect’s DNA was was allegedly found on Morin’s wrist, neck and Apple watch. After he was arrested, interrogation video shown during the trial reportedly showed him denying ever being in Maryland or knowing the name Rachel Morin — this after a digital forensics supervisor said he had searches on his phone related to “Rachel” and “Moring,” as well as the Spanish term for murderer.

Harford County detective Phil Golden testified that Martinez-Hernandez told him he didn’t know how his DNA got to the scene — recalling the suspect saying, “if someone wanted to do him harm, they could have taken his DNA and put it somewhere.”