An illegal immigrant from El Salvador was charged with assaulting a young mother who was hiking on a Maryland trail, according to a report from the New York Post.
Victor Martinez-Hernandez is a 23-year-old illegal immigrant who allegedly raped and killed a mother of five named Rachel Morin. Morin, 37, was reported missing in August by her boyfriend who said she never returned from a run.
Martinez-Hernandez was in the US for six months before he allegedly attacked Morin. She was reportedly alone at the time of the attack on the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail in Bel Air. Her body was reportedly found naked and suffered severe trauma. Family members claim Morin’s “head had been smashed in with a rock.”
“At some point during this, I didn’t think that we were ever going to have an answer and that it would be a cold case,” Morin’s mother said as she held back tears at a press conference.
According to police, the illegal immigrant has ties to a Salvadoran street gang and reportedly has a violent history. Martinez-Hernandez illegally entered the United States in February of 2023 and had previous run-ins with law enforcement.
Martinez-Hernandez’s DNA was recovered at the scene of a home invasion in Los Angeles where a young girl was assaulted. Although law enforcement had DNA evidence, they were unable to identify Martinez-Hernandez until May of 2024.
Authorities tracked the alleged attacker to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where officials executed an arrest warrant for Martinez-Hernandez. The illegal immigrant was taken into custody and booked on first-degree murder charges and first-degree rape charges.
The revelation that Morin was likely murdered by an illegal immigrant comes on the heels of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley’s death. Riley was found dead with visible injuries in a forest near the University of Georgia campus. Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, was arrested and charged with Riley’s murder.
