Suspect in Morin rape and murder also assaulted 9-year-old girl: police

The murder case of Rachel Morin in Maryland has taken a chilling turn with new distressing details emerging. It was revealed in court that Morin, a mother of five, was brutally beaten before being raped and killed by Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez, a 23-year-old illegal El Salvadorian migrant. The court heard that Hernandez strangled, beat, and raped Morin before leaving her partially naked. Randolph Rice, an attorney for the Morin family, shared that the victim had suffered 10-15 head wounds and died as a result of strangulation and blunt force injuries.

The assault on Morin was so brutal that her family described her as looking like “her head had been smashed with a rock.” The incident occurred on August 5, 2023, in Bel Air, Maryland, where Hernandez is accused of raping and murdering Morin. The judge in the case, Kerwin A. Miller, denied bail to Hernandez, citing him as a flight risk and potential danger to society due to his illegal entry into the country multiple times.

Despite the emotional challenge for the Morin family to see Hernandez on the video screen during the hearing, the decision to deny bail was deemed necessary given the gravity of the charges. Martinez Hernandez faces charges of first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree rape, and second-degree assault in the case. DNA evidence played a crucial role in identifying Hernandez as the suspect, linking him to a water bottle and cap found at a previous crime scene in Los Angeles.

Authorities were able to track down Hernandez in Tulsa, Oklahoma, following surveillance video evidence from a burglary in Los Angeles where a 9-year-old girl was assaulted. The hearing further revealed that Martinez Hernandez had fled El Salvador after allegedly killing a woman there in January 2023. He had attempted to cross the U.S. border multiple times, getting caught and deported before finally succeeding in entering the country illegally.

The relatives of Martinez Hernandez cooperated with authorities by providing bags of clothes and shoes left behind by him in Maryland after fleeing the state. The case has shocked the community and highlighted the need for stricter border control measures to prevent such tragic incidents from occurring.