Illegal immigrant convicted in mom of 5 Rachel Morin’s rape, murder after jury deliberates for less than an hour
An illegal migrant was found guilty of “viciously” raping and murdering Maryland mother of five Rachel Morin — after the jury deliberated for less than an hour Monday afternoon, according to reports.
Victor Martinez-Hernandez, 24, was convicted of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offense and kidnapping after Morin, 37, was killed along a trail about 30 miles northeast of Baltimore in August 2023.
The guilty verdicts came after less than an hour of deliberations, WBFF reported.
Martinez-Hernandez could spend the rest of his life in prison, according to the station.
Harford County State Attorney Alison Healey said she would seek the maximum sentence for him during a press conference after the verdicts.
“This case shook our Harford County community and robbed a family of their daughter, sister, mother and friend,” she said during the briefing streamed by WBAL.
Healey wasn’t surprised at how rapidly Monday’s guilty verdicts were returned, noting DNA recovered from Morin’s body matched up with Martinez-Hernandez.
“The quickness of the verdict speaks to the strength of the evidence in the case,” she added.
“This was an airtight case.”
Healey said Morin “fought for her life” during the violent struggle.
“She was viciously beaten, raped and ultimately murdered at the hands of the defendant,” the prosecutor added.
Morin’s case gained national headlines at the time of her gruesome slaying because it was yet another example of an illegal migrant carrying out a shocking crime as the Biden administration refused to address the chaos at the border, which led to record illegal crossings under the former president.
“They put every American citizen in harm’s way, every American citizen, and especially the most vulnerable, which are women and children,” Patricia Morin, the victim’s mother, previously told The Post.
Martinez-Hernandez was captured in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June 2024 following a nationwide manhunt, and his trial began earlier this month.
Morin was on the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air when she was dragged into the woods and attacked. Her badly beaten body was later found in a culvert, and her car was still in the parking lot.
The now-convicted killer had been living illegally in the US since February 2023, police said.
He had also been accused of a violent home invasion in Los Angeles — and allegedly committed several heinous crimes in the months before the young mom’s vicious slaying.
Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said “this monster” deserved the death penalty, but state lawmakers have outlawed executions.
“It shouldn’t be political, but the failure here again is the immigration system that allowed this person to enter our country illegally and remain in our country and commit crimes in Los Angeles and here in Harford County,” he said.
Morin’s case is one of several high-profile murders in which illegal migrants were either convicted of the crime or are set to face trial.
Georgia college student Laken Riley was killed by a Venezuelan illegal immigrant who was found guilty of her murder last year, and two migrants are facing charges for allegedly killing 12-year-old Houston girl Jocelyn Nungaray last year.
