El Salvador native accused of Rachel Morin's murder asks for trial to be moved from Harford County
BALTIMORE -- Victor Martinez-Hernandez, an El Salvador native charged with murdering Rachel Morin, wants his trial moved out of Harford County, according to our media partner The Baltimore Banner.
Martinez-Hernandez's attorneys allege he can't receive a fair trial in the county because an impartial jury can't be seated.
The Banner cites in a motion filed on Monday that his attorneys claim the case has been the subject of "numerous inflammatory and prejudicial reports in both legacy and social media."
"Public reaction to these reports has been uniformly derogatory against the Defendant, the numerous comments which accompany media reports, indicate that the Defendant has been the subject of nationwide public hatred and vilification, notwithstanding that no trial has yet occurred," Assistant Public Defenders Marcus Jenkins, Sawyer Hicks and Tara LeCompte said.
Martinez-Hernandez faces several charges, including first and second-degree murder in the killing of the 37-year-old Morin, a mother of five, in August 2023.
Law enforcement believes Martinez-Hernandez hid in a drainage culvert and attacked and raped Morin on the popular Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air.
A motion hearing is scheduled for January 31 in Harford County Circuit Court.
Nationwide manhunt
Rachel Morin's body was found off the Ma & Pa Trail on August 6, 2023, a day after she was reported missing after going out for a run.
The murder investigation prompted a nearly year-long manhunt that culminated with the arrest of Victor Martinez-Hernandez, from El Salvador, in June 2024.
The Harford County Sheriff's Office revealed that a lead involving genetic genealogy led law enforcement to Tulsa, Oklahoma where Martinez-Hernandez was located at a bar and was taken into custody.
Officers said when they approached Martinez-Hernandez at the bar, he lied about who he was and his alleged crimes.
"(I feel a) continued sense of relief that this monster poses no threat to our Harford County community or any community in the world," Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said.
Who is Victor Martinez-Hernandez?
Officials said Martinez-Hernandez was an illegal migrant who escaped into the United States after an arrest warrant was issued for the murder of a woman in his native country El Salvador.
Investigators said he also assaulted a 9-year-old girl and her mother at a home in Los Angeles. DNA from Los Angeles matched evidence at the crime scene in Maryland, according to law enforcement.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Martinez Hernandez was apprehended by the border patrol for unlawfully entering the United States on Jan. 19, 2023, near Santa Teresa, New Mexico; Jan. 31, 2023, in El Paso, Texas; and Feb. 6, 2023, in Santa Teresa, New Mexico.
ICE said Martinez-Hernandez unlawfully entered the U.S. on February 13, 2023, near El Paso, Texas, without being inspected, admitted, or paroled by a U.S. immigration officer.
Garnering national attention
Morin's murder made national headlines.
The hosts of a true crime podcast brought attention to the case and added to the reward. The hosts of the Mile Higher podcast added an extra $5,000 to the reward leading to the arrest of Morin's killer, bringing the reward to $35,000.
Morin's mother speaks with WJZ
Patty Morin, relieved that her daughter's accused killer was captured, sat down with WJZ for an exclusive one-on-one interview.
"I was just so very grateful that they didn't give up," Patty Morin said. "That she wasn't the folder on the desk that I was afraid might happen."
Patty Morin said the 10-month-long nightmare ended for her family, but was followed by new grief.
"It takes and shatters," Patty Morin said. "All the things that you had put up to, kind of buffer yourself from the pain, and now you have to face the reality that she really is gone. We've lost her, and so like I said, it was just it was a mix of emotions, and I'm still working through."
