BALTIMORE – A suspect in the murder of Bel Air mother Rachel Morin is in custody in Tulsa, Oklahoma, awaiting extradition to Harford County, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said at a news conference Saturday.
“Rachel’s killer is no longer a free man and hopefully he will never have the opportunity to walk free again,” Gahler said.
Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, 23, of El Salvador, was taken into custody by Tulsa County police Friday evening for alleged trespassing, police said. He is being held without bond as a fugitive from justice, along with a Maryland arrest for the murder of Morin and a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement commission banker.
In connection with Morin’s death, Martinez-Hernandez is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree rape.
Gahler said Saturday that investigators believe Martinez-Hernandez entered the United States illegally last February.
Working with international FBI personnel in El Salvador, investigators discovered that Martinez-Hernandez had allegedly murdered a young woman in El Salvador in January – a month before she entered the United States.
The alleged killing in El Salvador, and what investigators said showed Martinez-Hernandez had ties to Salvadoran street gangs, led to an Interpol red alert — an international request for law enforcement agencies to locate and detain a person —.
“Victor Hernandez did not come here to build a better life for himself or his family. He came here to escape crimes committed in El Salvador,” Gahler said. “He came here and killed Rachel and God didn’t want anyone else. But that should never have happened.”
Police said they were able to identify Martinez-Hernandez based on DNA evidence recovered from the site on the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail in Bel Air where Morin’s body was discovered last August.
The 37-year-old mother of five was reported missing by her boyfriend when she failed to return home from a walk on August 5. After Morin’s body was found the next day, the Harford County Sheriff’s Department launched a murder investigation.
Morin’s death quickly attracted national attention as investigators tried to identify a possible suspect and motive. Sheriff Gahler urged residents to “exercise caution” following Morin’s death.
Recruitment activities, information leaflets and events were held to support Morin’s family. A reward fund set up by the law firm representing Morin’s family – Rice, Murtha & Psoras – reached $35,000 in February.
Less than a month after Morin’s death, police matched DNA recovered from Morin to DNA found at a crime scene in Los Angeles, where a 9-year-old girl and her mother were attacked during a home invasion.
The DNA and security footage gave investigators a picture of the person they were looking for, but the suspect’s identity remained unknown.
Los Angeles police wanted Martinez-Hernandez for home invasion and assault.
Gahler said that on May 20 – Morin’s birthday – investigators discovered a clue that identified Martinez-Hernandez as Morin’s suspected killer.
Martinez-Hernandez worked odd jobs and lived a “cheap life” that allowed him to travel from El Salvador to Los Angeles, to Bel Air, to Prince George’s County and Tulsa, Gahler said.
Martinez-Hernandez is believed to have ties to street gangs and connections in the Washington, D.C., area, Gahler said.
Morin’s mother, Patricia Morin, showed visible emotion during the press conference. She stated that at some points in the investigation she became hopeless, but was encouraged to remain patient because “patience wins in the end.”
When community members gathered for a campaign in December, Patricia Morin said the number of people who showed up to give support gave her hope.
“At some points during this time I didn’t think we would ever get an answer and that it would be a cold case,” Patricia said. “It gave me hope that people really cared about our family and my daughter.”
An attorney representing Morin’s family, Randolph Rice, said the entire team, including the family and attorneys, as well as the Harford County community are “incredibly relieved” that an arrest has been made in the case and that the suspect is no longer walks around freely. He called it a “good day for the good guys.”
“A lot of mixed emotions,” Rice said. “They still lost Rachel, and she’s still not coming back.”
Having an arrest in the case is the end of the search, but only the beginning of a whole new legal process, he said.
“This is going to be a long, long road of hearings, appearances and motions,” Rice said.
The extradition process from Tulsa to Harford County has begun, according to Harford County State’s Attorney Allison Healy, who said she will lead the prosecution.
“I never want him to leave Maryland again,” Gahler said. “I want him to die in the Maryland prison system.”
