Crime & Safety
Digital Ad Campaign In English, Spanish Launched To Help Find Killer Of Mom Rachel Morin
The Morin family is working with a law firm and launched a new digital ad campaign to help generate new leads in her death investigation.
![The Harford County Sheriff encouraged people to continue sharing the video of the suspect and continue sending legitimate tips to rmtips@harfordsheriff.org. Metro Crime Stoppers has offered a $2,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/23352305/20230914/030659/styles/patch_image/public/rachel-morin___14150606099.jpg)
HARFORD COUNTY, MD — More than a month has passed without a suspect in custody for the slaying of Bel Air mother of five Rachel Morin.
Her family has vowed to not let the case grow cold and along with working with a criminal profiler pro bono, they have a legal representation that’s getting creative to help generate new leads.
According to investigators, the suspect is a Hispanic male in his early to mid-20s and estimated to be 5’9 and weighing around 160 pounds.
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“A number of people within the Hispanic community have no idea that this crime actually happened,” Randolph Rice, managing partner of Rice, Murtha and Psoras, told WBFF.
So a digital ad campaign has been launched. Rice said ads with the suspect’s photo and information in Spanish will run in 30 online news publications.
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“[The Morin family doesn’t] want this story to lose steam because the more people that see the video the better chance we have of somebody recognizing this individual,” Rice said.
A canvas was conducted within the Bel Air community that revealed many Hispanic individuals who live within a half mile of the Ma and Pa Trail had no idea that Morin’s body had been found near there, naked and brutally assaulted, according to the sheriff's office.
Morin's boyfriend, Richard Tobin, reported her missing when she didn't return from her walk on the trail. DNA evidence pulled from the Morin crime scene matched DNA found at the scene of a March 2023 home invasion and sexual assault of a girl in Los Angeles, the Harford County Sheriff's Office said on Aug. 16.
“I think everybody, myself included, in the family had hoped that somebody would be apprehended by now,” the father of Morin's oldest child, Matthew McMahon, previously told local TV station WBFF.
Doorbell camera video provided by the L.A. Police Department captured a brief clip of that man leaving the scene of the alleged home invasion and assault in California.
“Initially the family was very hopeful,” Rice said. “Unfortunately, the trail has gone a bit cold because they have not been able to put a name to that DNA or to the video itself.”
The Harford County Sheriff’s Office has been working with the local Hispanic community to try and identify Morin’s suspected killer. A video update from the sheriff's office, which was shared on social media last week, had both English and Spanish subtitles.
"We haven't given up hope that we'll find the killer, and neither should you. Look at the video. Share the video. Someone out there knows who this suspect is. We need this photo in front of that person. Keep sending in your tips," Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said at a previously held news conference.
The criminal profiler, Pat Brown has compiled a list of the perpetrator's presumed characteristics, describing him as a psychopath who likely has ties to the area.
“Bel Air is 40 miles north of Baltimore,” Brown told WBFF. “You don't just roll in there on a bus for no reason. He has to know somebody that he came to stay with in Bel Air.”
Gahler said hundreds of tips have come in from the area and other countries, and investigators have followed leads to other states. But so far, no arrests have been made. Her killer remains at large and likely will strike again, authorities note.
Gahler has publicly stated that he believes the suspect could be a serial killer.
"My concern is that this killer is escalating. My investigators and I both firmly believe that if we do not apprehend this individual, he will again, if he has not done so already. And, if given the chance, he certainly could become a serial killer," Gahler said.
Gahler also said the threat could stretch beyond national borders.
"Until he is in custody, this suspect poses a threat to every community in our country and maybe outside," he said.
The sheriff encouraged people to continue sharing the video of the suspect and continue sending legitimate tips to [email protected]. Metro Crime Stoppers has offered a $2,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. The Harford County Sheriff's Office has added $8,000, bumping the reward up to $10,000.
Related:
- Profiler Helping With Rachel Morin Case, No Suspect Arrested Yet
- Rachel Morin's Family Mourns Loss Of 'Bright, Beautiful Spark'
- Rachel Morin Killer Might Strike Again, $10K Reward Offered: Sheriff
- Crime Scene DNA In Morin Homicide Matches L.A. Child Attacker: Sheriff
- 5 Potential Witnesses Contacted In Mom Rachel Morin's Death: Sheriff
- Photos, Videos Sought From Site Where Rachel Morin's Body Was Found
- No Suspect, Motive Known In Rachel Morin Homicide: Harford Sheriff
- Memorial Walk For Slain Mom Rachel Morin Sends Message To Suspect
- Rachel Morin's Boyfriend Interviewed, Sheriff's Office Has 100+ Tips
- Rachel Morin Death: Sheriff Refutes Searcher's Claim On Finding Body
- Hunt Continues For Rachel Morin Murder Suspect, Labeled Serial Killer
- Rachel Morin Case: 'We Haven't Given Up Hope' Sheriff Says Of Manhunt
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