World Courant
He was proper beneath their noses.
The unlawful immigrant charged with the brutal 2023 slaying of Rachel Morin on a Maryland mountain climbing path was hiding out with family members within the state throughout a nationwide manhunt that ended together with his arrest for homicide, courtroom papers revealed.
Victor Martinez Hernandez, 23, was taken into custody at a bar in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and extradited to Maryland on Thursday to face rape and homicide prices.
His family members in Maryland advised police that he stayed with them between December 2023 and Could 2024 earlier than abruptly vanishing, in line with courtroom paperwork.
RACHEL MORIN MURDER: ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT FROM EL SALVADOR CHARGED WITH RAPE, KILLING OF MARYLAND MOM OF 5
Victor Hernandez Martinez is accused of the rape and homicide of Rachel Morin on Aug. 5, 2023, in Bel Air, Maryland. (Hartford County Sheriff’s Workplace/Tulsa Police Division)
They didn’t specify the place they lived within the state or how shut the placement was to the place Morin was discovered Aug. 5, 2023.
Morin’s mom, Patty Morin, was shocked to study that Martinez Herandez didn’t flee.
“That is actually brazen to remain within the state the place he dedicated the crime,” she advised Fox Information Digital. “It amazes me. It additionally amazes me that his household did not see the fliers we posted.”
The police hunt for Martinez Hernandez stretched to Los Angeles and El Salvador.
Morin’s boyfriend reported the 37-year-old lacking after she left to go for a stroll on the Ma and Pa Path in Bel Air, Maryland, and by no means returned.
RACHEL MORIN MURDER: FORMER FBI AGENT REVEALS HOW CAPTURE OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SUSPECT IN KILLING WENT DOWN
Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez, 23, arrives in Maryland. He’s charged with first-degree homicide and first-degree rape in Rachel Morin’s demise on the Ma & Pa Heritage Path in Bel Air, Maryland. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Solar/Getty Pictures)
Police later discovered the mom of 5’s automotive parked close to the path and her brutally crushed physique in a culvert close by.
Martinez Hernandez left luggage of garments behind after leaving his family members’ dwelling final month, and police have been in a position to gather DNA from the objects that matched samples from the crime scene.
Officers stated Martinez Hernandez, who has suspected gang ties, fled his native El Salvador in February 2023 after a warrant was issued for the homicide of a lady there.
He made three unsuccessful makes an attempt to enter america earlier than making it throughout the border on Feb. 13, 2023 close to El Paso, Texas, authorities stated.
RACHEL MORIN MURDER: MARYLAND POLICE TIE CRIME SCENE DNA TO LOS ANGELES ASSAULT, HOME INVASION
Rachel Morin, a mom of 5, was discovered useless Aug. 5, 2023 on the facet of a mountain climbing path. She was reported lacking by her new boyfriend, Richard Tobin. (Fb)
Police stated he assaulted a 9-year-old woman throughout a Los Angeles dwelling invasion in March, and a DNA profile from that assault matched a pattern discovered on Morin.
“Victor Hernandez didn’t come to this nation to make a greater life for him or his household, he got here right here to flee the crimes he dedicated in El Salvador. He got here right here to homicide Rachel and God prepared, nobody else,” Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler stated this previous weekend.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Morin’s family members stated they worry Martinez Hernandez might have assaulted different victims throughout his violent keep in america.
He’s scheduled to look earlier than a Maryland decide on Friday.
Rebecca Rosenberg is a veteran journalist and ebook creator with a give attention to crime and felony justice. E mail tricks to rebecca.rosenberg@fox.com and @ReRosenberg.
Rachel Morin’s accused killer was hiding in plain website: prosecutors
World Information,Subsequent Large Factor in Public Knowledg
