BEL AIR, MARYLAND – A Salvadoran gang member has been charged with the brutal rape and murder of a mother-of-five, Rachel Morin, on a popular hiking trail in Harford County. The arrest of Victor Martinez Hernandez, 23, who is in the country illegally, came after a lengthy investigation relying heavily on DNA evidence.
Authorities were able to track Hernandez to a bar in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he was found by federal authorities. Hernandez, a career criminal wanted for murder in El Salvador and the assault of a mother and young girl in Los Angeles, was apprehended by Tulsa police.
Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler of Harford County expressed outrage at the incident, highlighting the fact that this is the second woman in the county to be killed by illegal suspects, both with ties to criminal gangs from El Salvador. Gahler emphasized that Hernandez did not come to the US for a better life but to escape a crime he committed in El Salvador.
Morin, a 37-year-old mother, was abducted from the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air last August and her body was later found in a culvert. The investigation into her disappearance involved releasing a suspect sketch, offering a reward for information leading to his arrest, and collaboration between local detectives, state, and federal agencies, as well as Morin’s family.
After weeks of investigation and tracking, authorities were able to piece together crucial evidence, leading to Hernandez’s arrest in Oklahoma. He has been charged with first-degree murder and rape for Morin’s killing. The process of extraditing him to Maryland has already begun, expected to take between 10 days to a month.
ICE has issued a detainer on Hernandez due to his illegal status in the US, ensuring that he will not remain a free man. Gahler expressed hope that Hernandez will never have the opportunity to walk free again, bringing some measure of justice for the heinous crime committed against Rachel Morin.