Maryland prosecutors concluded their case on Friday against Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, an undocumented immigrant accused of raping and murdering Rachel Morin, a 37-year-old mother of five, in August 2023. Morin was jogging along the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air, a quaint community northeast of Baltimore, when she was allegedly ambushed, strangled, and beaten to death by Martinez-Hernandez.
"This has been an emotionally grueling experience for Rachel’s family, but they remain steadfast in their pursuit of justice," said Randolph Rice, the family’s attorney, in a statement. "The State has presented a thorough and powerful case. We now await the Defense’s response and look ahead to closing arguments to bring this trial into its final stage."
During Friday’s proceedings, Harford County Det. Phil Golden testified as prosecutors played a video of his interview with Martinez-Hernandez following Morin’s murder. The interview was conducted with the assistance of a Spanish interpreter. In the video, Martinez-Hernandez denied knowing Morin or being in Bel Air at the time of the murder. When pressed further, he repeated that he was not in the area when the crime occurred, insisting, "I haven’t done anything wrong."
At one point during the interview, Golden showed Martinez-Hernandez a photo of him with his cousin, who resides in Virginia. The cousin had previously testified that Martinez-Hernandez had stayed with her and her husband. Initially, Martinez-Hernandez denied knowledge of the photo but later admitted it was him.
Martinez-Hernandez eventually confessed to being in Bel Air at the time of the murder after initially providing a false identity to authorities. A search of his phone revealed internet queries for "Bel Air, [Md.]" and "Rachel," including a misspelled version of Morin’s name, along with images of her and media coverage related to the investigation.
Golden also questioned Martinez-Hernandez about his DNA, which was allegedly found at the crime scene. "No two people have the same DNA," Golden told the suspect during the interview. Martinez-Hernandez claimed he did not know how his DNA ended up at the scene and suggested that someone could have planted it to frame him.
Autopsy results revealed that Morin had suffered 15 to 20 blows to the head and died from a combination of strangulation and blunt force trauma. Her death was officially ruled a homicide.
In opening statements on April 4, Harford County State’s Attorney Alison Healey explained that concerned community members had searched the trail after seeing missing person posters on Facebook. They discovered a blood trail leading to Morin’s body, which was found in an overgrown area near two tunnels.
"I saw an unclothed human body on her back. At first, I truly thought it might have been a deer or something that had died in there," testified Evan Knapp, who found Morin’s body. "So, I had to move a bit closer to confirm what I had seen, and it was a human. I feel like time froze for a second, and I didn’t know what I was looking at."
The defense is expected to call witnesses on Monday, with closing arguments likely to follow. Morin’s family has attended every day of the trial and plans to remain until its conclusion.
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