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From CBS News: Victor Martinez-Hernandez, who was on trial for the murder of Maryland mother Rachel Morin in 2023, was found guilty by the jury on Monday.
The jury found Martinez-Hernandez guilty of first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree rape, third-degree sex offense and kidnapping.
Closing arguments ended Monday afternoon before the judge read the jury instructions for deliberations. The jury deliberated for about an hour before returning a guilty verdict.
Morin, a 37-year-old mother of five, was found dead near the Ma & Pa Trail in Harford County on August 6, 2023, a day after she left for a jog.
Martinez-Hernandez was arrested almost 10 months later in Oklahoma. According to law enforcement, Martinez-Hernandez entered the U.S. illegally from El Salvador in 2023 and has known ties to gangs.
Autopsy results revealed that Morin had endured 15 to 20 blows to the head and had died from a combination of strangulation and blunt force trauma, Fox News reported.
Morin leaves behind her five children, Faye, Violet, Octavia, Deklan, and Lilah, ages 19-8.
Sentencing for Morin will be scheduled for a later date. He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole, as Maryland does not have the option for the death penalty.
Martinez-Hernandez illegally entered the U.S. on Jan. 19, 2023, near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, and was released into the U.S. by the Biden administration. Seven months later, he attacked and killed Morin.
According to WBAL.com, Martinez-Hernandez already had a criminal record: Martinez-Hernandez came to the United States illegally from El Salvador, one month after police said he killed a woman there. He is also accused of attacking a 9-year-old girl and her mother in 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
The jury has convicted Victor Martinez-Hernandez of murder, rape & kidnapping Rachel Morin in August 2023.
CONVICTION: https://t.co/xibNgqXrKY pic.twitter.com/nfQqvQCELS
— FOX Baltimore (@FOXBaltimore) April 14, 2025
🚨 JUST IN: A jury has found illegal alien Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez GUILTY of the m*rder and r*pe of Maryland and American citizen Rachel Morin.
The incident occurred in August 2023.
First-degree premeditated m*rder, first-degree r*pe, third-degree s*xual assault and… pic.twitter.com/1cgxdxh0XK
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 14, 2025
President Trump reacted to the jury’s verdict, releasing the following statement on Truth Social:
Moments ago, the Illegal Criminal, who was allowed into our Country by Crooked Joe Biden, was convicted of the heinous murder of Rachel Morin. Rachel was a beautiful mother of five from Maryland, and her life was taken at the hands of a monster who should have NEVER been here in the first place.
The Fake News should be focusing on the beautiful life and tragic death of this Maryland Mother, rather than the so-called “Maryland Father,” who is actually an MS-13 Gang Member and Foreign Terrorist from El Salvador. We will never forget Rachel Morin, and are committed to protecting women like her across our Country. We will deport Illegal Murderers, Rapists, and Criminals. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
Griff Jenkins gives the details about the murder conviction of illegal immigrant Victor Martinez-Hernandez.
“The jury deliberated in less than an hour and a half, finding Victor Martinez-Hernandez guilty on all counts in Rachel Morin’s murder, including first-degree premeditated… pic.twitter.com/4wgFQXdbod
— DeVory Darkins (@devorydarkins) April 14, 2025
Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez was found guilty Monday of raping and murdering Rachel Morin on the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail in 2023, with the jury taking just over an hour to convict him. Prosecutors tied him to the brutal attack through DNA evidence and digital data. Read more:… pic.twitter.com/gfspIWgurM
— The Baltimore Sun (@baltimoresun) April 14, 2025
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