Murder Charge Filed In MD Mom Rachel Morin's Death

BEL AIR, MD — A man from El Salvador has been charged with murder in connection with the death of Rachel Morin, a mother of five whose body was found along a Bel Air trail last summer, authorities said.

Victor Martinez-Hernandez, 23, was arrested in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Friday night and booked into the jail Saturday morning, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said at a press conference Saturday. The suspect was charged with first-degree murder and first-degree rape.

Morin's body was found naked and "violently assaulted" in a drainage ditch near the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air last August after her boyfriend, Richard Tobin, reported her missing when she didn't return from her walk on the trail the night before.

Gahler said Martinez-Hernandez was hanging out at a storefront in Tulsa when officers charged him with trespassing and he was identified during the processing as the suspect wanted in Maryland for Morin's death.

• Related: Clue Uncovered On Rachel Morin's Birthday Led To Suspect, Arrest

To date, there is nothing to indicate anyone else was involved in her death, Gahler said Saturday. Investigators believe Martinez-Hernandez spent some time in the Bel Air area and may have seen Morin on her regular walks on the trail.

Investigators from Harford County are en route to Tulsa, where the extradition process has begun to return Martinez-Hernandez to Maryland to stand trial, the sheriff said. Extradition can take 30 to 60 days.

“I want him to die in the Maryland prison system,” Gahler said.

Morin's mother, Patricia, spoke at the news conference to thank the local, state and federal law enforcement agencies for their hard work. She also thanked the news media for keeping the story alive, which generated tips for investigators.

"At one point when things seemed really bleak and hopeless, the lead detective said to me, 'Patience will win in the end.' And that’s what they've been doing, they've been working really hard," Patricia Morin said.

Matt McMahon, the father of Rachel Morin’s oldest child, Faye McMahon, told the Baltimore Banner the family received a call at 1:18 a.m. Saturday that a suspect had been arrested in Rachel's death.

The sheriff’s office believes the suspect was in Bel Air for work last summer, McMahon said.

“I’m feeling relief and gratitude,” he said. “Gratitude to the HCSO for not giving up on Rachel.”

A few weeks after the California attack, police announced that 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 suspected attacker was described as a Latino man between 20 and 30 years old who was about 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighed 160 pounds.

Oklahoma court records obtained by the Banner list Martinez Hernandez as 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 160 pounds.

Related:

• Rachel Morin's Family Releases Video Pleading For Help In Solving Her Homicide
• Hunt Continues For Rachel Morin Murder Suspect, Labeled Serial Killer
• Rachel Morin Case: 'We Haven't Given Up Hope' Sheriff Says Of Manhunt
• Rachel Morin Slaying: Suspect Search Turns To Los Angeles
• Rachel Morin Homicide Suspect Hunt Continues In 2024
• Rachel Morin Headstone Unveiled By Family As Hunt For Suspect Goes On

The Harford County Sheriff's Office said last year the investigation has led them to seven different states with 10 federal, state and local agencies assisting. Thousands of bilingual flyers have been distributed in Maryland and California, where a DNA analysis of Morin's crime scene matched DNA found at a home invasion and assault of a young girl in Los Angeles.

Randolph Rice, managing partner of the Rice, Murtha, Psoras law firm originally hired by some Morin family members, told Patch that the law firm is unaware of any other cases that have been linked to the suspect's DNA other than the assault case in Los Angeles. Doorbell camera video provided by the Los Angeles Police Department captured a brief clip of that man leaving the scene of the reported home invasion and assault in California.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.