The man accused of killing Rachel Morin in Maryland last August reportedly remained in the state for months after the slaying.
Victor Martinez-Hernandez’s family allegedly told authorities that he stayed with them in Maryland from December 2023 until May 2024. Martinez-Hernandez left two bags of clothes and a pair of shoes when he left Maryland in May, according to WJZ.
DNA was taken from the items Martinez-Hernandez, 23, allegedly left in Maryland. DNA from those items reportedly matched the DNA recovered from the crime scene.
Morin, 37, was found dead in a drainage ditch along Bel Air’s Ma and Pa hiking trail on August 6, a day after her boyfriend reported her missing, as CrimeOnline previously reported. Shortly afterward, DNA evidence linked Morin’s murder to a March 2023 home invasion and assault in California.
Police believe that months before Morin’s murder in August, Martinez-Hernandez assaulted a 9-year-old girl during a home invasion in California.
Martinez-Hernandez allegedly entered the country illegally in February 2023 after killing a woman in El Salvador. Officials said he tried to enter the country three times before successfully crossing the border near El Paso, Texas, on his fourth attempt.
On Saturday, Martinez-Hernandez was arrested at a sports bar in Tulsa, Oklahoma, following an FBI tip. On Thursday, he was extradited to Maryland, where he is charged with Morin’s rape and murder.
Martinez-Hernandez is due in court on Friday for a bail hearing.
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