An illegal immigrant accused of the brutal rape and murder of Maryland mom Rachel Morin has been indicted, marking what the victim’s family’s attorney calls a “crucial step” in seeking justice.
Grand jury charges martinez-hernandez
A Maryland grand jury has formally charged 23-year-old Victor Martinez-Hernandez with two counts of murder, two counts of rape, and one count each of sex offense and kidnapping. Martinez-Hernandez allegedly ambushed and killed Morin on a Maryland hiking trail in 2023.
“The indictment marks a crucial step in pursuing justice for Rachel Morin and her family,” said attorney Randolph Rice in a statement reported by the New York Post. “This is a significant step toward achieving justice for Rachel Morin and holding the defendant accountable for this heinous crime.”
A mother’s heartbreak
Martinez-Hernandez, a migrant from El Salvador with alleged connections to Salvadoran street gangs, has a violent past and is accused of at least one other murder. He was arrested last month at a bar in Tulsa, Oklahoma, following a nationwide manhunt.
Patty Morin, Rachel’s mother, shared her anguish over her daughter’s final moments. “I’m sure she knew she wasn’t going to live,” Patty told Fox News Digital. “I’m sure she was thinking of her children and thinking about all the things she’s going to lose, and this is going to be the end of her life. She must have felt so helpless.”
Legal proceedings
Martinez-Hernandez is due back in Harford County Circuit Court on July 22. He is believed to have crossed into the US illegally in February 2023 and remained in the country for six months before attacking Morin, who was walking alone on the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail in Bel Air.