She never came home from an evening jog on a trail she visited almost daily. It would take investigators nearly a year, and a DNA match to an unrelated attack across the country, to identify who was responsible.
The Murder
On August 5, 2023, Rachel Morin, 37, a mother of five from Bel Air, Maryland, went for a run on the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail and never returned. She was reported missing that evening, and her body was found the following day in a drainage culvert roughly 150 feet off the trail. She had been raped and killed.
A DNA Match Across the Country
Investigators later announced that DNA recovered from the crime scene matched genetic evidence from an unrelated home invasion and assault of a child in Los Angeles months earlier. Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler released surveillance footage of a suspect and warned publicly that the person responsible could strike again, generating hundreds of tips without an identification.
An Arrest, Ten Months Later
In June 2024, investigators identified and arrested Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Martinez-Hernandez had entered the United States illegally from El Salvador in February 2023, having been previously expelled from the country on three separate occasions, and was suspected of an earlier murder in El Salvador before Morin's death.
Trial and Conviction
Martinez-Hernandez's trial began in April 2025. On April 14, 2025, a jury found him guilty of first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree rape, third-degree sexual offense, and kidnapping.
Sentencing
On August 11, 2025, Martinez-Hernandez was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for murder, an additional life sentence for rape, and 40 more years for the remaining charges, all to run consecutively. Morin's five children each gave written or recorded victim impact statements at the sentencing hearing.
FAQ
Who killed Rachel Morin?
Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, convicted in April 2025 and sentenced to life without parole in August 2025.
How was he identified as a suspect?
DNA from the crime scene matched evidence from an unrelated assault in Los Angeles, and he was later arrested in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June 2024.
What sentence did he receive?
Life without parole for murder, plus an additional life sentence and 40 years for related charges, served consecutively.