DNA evidence spawns nationwide manhunt for Rachel Morin's killer
HARFORD COUNTY -- Police were visible along the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail in Harford County on Friday. They said they will be there until they catch Rachel Morin's killer.
Morin's body was found along the trail almost two weeks ago. There was a major break came in the case on Thursday evening. That's when the Harford County Sheriff's Office released a video of a possible suspect.
Investigators said DNA tied Morin's suspected killer to a home invasion and assault on a young girl on March 26 in Los Angeles, California.
"It was very shocking," Nicole Gribben said. "Part of me thinks that because there's a video out and because this person knows he's been identified, hopefully, he fled the area. I think that is what made it easier to come on the trail today."
Nicole lives near the trail. She told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren that this is the first time she has walked on the trail since authorities found Morin's body on August 5.
She said she took precautions.
"As soon as I hit the trail, I turn my headphones off so that I am aware of my surroundings," Gribben said. "My daughter is 18, and in the evenings, she would walk this trail. We would tell her not to, but she would come out here in the evenings. The first thing I thought of is that it could have been her. It's just horribly sad. It's sad for our community too."
Police said they took DNA from the crime scene on the trail, put it into a national database and they got a hit: DNA recovered from the March home invasion in Los Angeles. The video shows the suspect leaving that home after the crime.
"They'll catch him. It'll always be hanging over you thinking about it. Could it be somebody else next?" asked Mike Wentworth, who has lived in Harford County for more than 50 years. "They can eliminate a lot of people, I would imagine, and focus on that one person."
Los Angeles police posted on social media, "LAPD detectives have been in contact with Harford County investigators to provide any and all information needed to bring the person responsible for such a brutal and senseless murder to justice."
The FBI is also assisting in the nationwide manhunt.
"We know nothing more about him than he was in Los Angeles and committed that crime in March, and was here in August and we believe to be the murderer of Rachel Morin," Col. William Davis of the Harford County Sheriff's Office said Thursday.
Joe Murtha, an attorney representing Morin's family, told Hellgren the attack was random and the family hopes the video will lead to an arrest.
"Someone, somewhere knows this person, and they can play a vital role in the prosecution of a person who did this incredible crime resulting in Rachel's death," Murtha said.
The Morin family has invited the community to a walk at the Williams Street entrance to the trail in honor of her life. They have asked people to gather at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
"We live in a broken world and what happened was evil and our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to the family and everyone impacted by this," said Tod Hall as he walked the trail Friday afternoon. "It's about justice for the family and this young lady."
