August 5, 2023

• 6:00 PM – Rachel Morin, 37, went for a jog around 6 p.m. on the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland.
• Kyle Stacy “saw a man standing in the woods” holding a shovel “and acting sneaky.” – Kyle Stacy and his girlfriend, Olivia, were walking their dog along the Ma and Pa Heritage Trail when he heard a tree branch snap. Then he saw a man in the woods holding what was later determined to be a shovel.
• Moments later, Stacy and his girlfriend walked past Rachel Morin. She was wearing Apple Airpods, an Apple Watch and was alone.
• 6:29 PM – Rachel Morin went to WAWA
• 6:42 PM – Rachel left Bel Air Target
• 6:50 PM – Rachel was parking her car near Independent Brewery to get on the trail at the Williams Street entrance.
  
• 7:04:11 PM – Rachel Morin last sent a text to her eldest daughter.
• 7:09 PM – The lead detective said data from Morin’s iPhone, Apple Watch and surveillance video showed the crime took place at 7:09 p.m. on April 5, 2023. That’s less than an hour after the dog walker, Kyle Stacy, said he “saw a man standing in the woods” holding a shovel “and acting sneaky.”
• 7:39 PM – Rachel Morin received a text message from her oldest daughter: It was never read.
• 11:23 PM – After Rachel failed to return home from her walk and doesn’t contact anyone, her boyfriend, Richard Tobin reported her missing.

August 6, 2023

Warning Graphic Details: Morin’s body was found on the Ma & Pa Heritage hiking trail in Bel Air, Maryland in August 2023, after she failed to return from a run. 37 at the time of her death, Morin was a mother of five.

• 1:00 PM Cecilia Occorso, a volunteer, found Rachel’s body in a drainage culvert near the trail. She called 911. 
• Detective Michael Wilsynski was on the scene flying a drone, so he responded to the scene. Rachel Morin was found with gashes on the front and back of the victim’s head, as well as “defensive wounds” on her wrists, which were bruised. Blood spatter was found on the tunnel walls where she was found, as well as her destroyed phone and Apple AirPod headphones.
• Morin’s cracked phone found about 200 ft from her body in the tunnel
• Morin’s apple watch found on the opposite side of the trail from the tunnels, about 25 feet into the woods.
• At the scene, authorities were able to recover genetic material, which was entered into a national database
• Authorities confirmed her death was a homicide, and she was killed around 7:09 PM on August 5, 2019.
• Harford County Sheriff’s Office appealed to the public for their help, asking for information from anyone who may have seen Rachel Morin on or near the trail at Williams Street or at the Ellendale Street parking lot, between the hours of 5:00 PM and 11:00 PM on Saturday, August 5th

August 11, 2023

• Witness came forward, stating he saw that he saw Rachel jogging and later spotted a “suspicious” man in a gray hoodie near the woods.

August 14, 2023

• Harford County Sheriff’s Lt. Brandon Underhill arrived to the area to investigate a cellphone that was continuously pinging in an area off the trail where a searcher had found Morin’s body near a drainage tunnel, while looking around he located a garden shovel.

August 17, 2023

• Harford County Sheriff’s Office released video of a suspect involved in a March 2023 home invasion in Los Angeles. Video 
• DNA evidence collected that can help to identify a suspect in Rachel’s murder. CODIS testing did not lead to the identity of Morin’s killer. 
• On August 17, 2023, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from HSI Baltimore with their investigation.

August 27, 2023

• 1:00pm: Celebration of Life for Rachel Morin held at the Greater Grace Wolrd Outreach Church.

September 2023

• The Harford County Sheriff’s Office collaborated with the FBI to submit forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas, in hopes that advanced DNA testing could help to identify the perpetrator. Othram scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown suspect. After successfully completing the process, the DNA profile was delivered to the FBI Baltimore Division Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) Team. That team performed the necessary genetic genealogy research to generate new investigative leads in the case.
• The Harford County Sheriff’s Office relayed information to HSI Baltimore that a person of interest in Morin’s murder investigation may be a foreign national and had recently been involved in a home invasion in Los Angles, California. Source

October, 2023

• Investigators followed evidence related to the crime to the D.C.-Metro area, where they interviewed an individual who had information relevant to the case. While this person was not a suspect, they could potentially help identify the individual seen in the doorbell camera footage.

November 2023

• The Morin family distributes flyers to the Los Angeles region, partnering with the United States Postal Service’s Targeted Mailing Program. The flyers are being delivered to about 10,000 homes in the vicinity of the L.A. crime scene, printed in both English and Spanish

November 24, 2023

• Fundraisder Held for Rachel’s Children

November 29, 2023

• Harford County has initiated the installation of AI video cameras along the Ma & Pa Hiking Trail following the tragic death of Rachel Morin. The system will consist of 26 cameras covering nearly 2 miles and will have the capability to detect if someone is being attacked, as well as identify the presence of a gun within the frame. The project is expected to be completed by February 2024, and residents have already expressed relief at the enhanced security these cameras will provide.

February 12, 2024

• Investigators released a composite sketch of the suspect. Link
• Investigators revealed that at the crime scene, they recovered genetic material, which was subsequently entered into a national database. This led to a significant breakthrough, linking the murder of Morin to an earlier unsolved crime in Los Angeles. This earlier case involved Ring camera footage that captured a shirtless man leaving a residence in darkness while carrying his clothes. It appears that someone was still inside the house, as they closed the door after the man left. According to Lane, the man in the video left behind a hat at the location, which contained DNA matching the genetic material found at the Morin crime scene. The crime that occurred there was also a violent attack,” he said, “there were multiple people within that home who got injured, and there were minor children who were injured as well in that attack.”
• The reward for information leading to his arrest was increased to $35,000.

May 20, 2024

• A potential suspect was identified through genealogy as 23-year-old Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador. While his identity was confirmed, Martinez-Hernandez’s whereabouts were not immediately known.
• He was linked to Rachel’s murder and the earlier LA assault through DNA. Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez was wanted for a crime spree that started in El Salvador and then multiple cities across the United States. Hernandez is wanted in El Salvador for murder, according to reports he fled to the U.S. Hernandez then popped up in Los Angeles where he violently assaulted a 9-year-old girl and her mother during a home invasion. Hernandez then made his way to Harford County Maryland and killed a mother of 5, Rachel Morin, while she was walking down a trail. Authorities believe that Hernandez was hiding adjacent to a trail and where Rachel was walking and attacked and killed Morin before fleeing Maryland. Source

June 13, 2024

• Detectives interviewed family members of Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez. They reported that Victor had been staying with them in Maryland from December 2023 until May 2024. The family mentioned that he left around the beginning of May 2024 and never returned. When asked if he had left any belongings behind, the family provided detectives with two bags containing clothing and shoes. DNA swabs were collected from some of these items and processed at the Maryland State Police Forensics Lab.

June 14, 2024

• The Maryland State Police Crime Lab notified the Harford County Sheriff’s Office June 14 that it had positively matched DNA recovered from Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez clothing to DNA recovered at the scene of Morin’s murder. Martinez-Hernandez, an undocumented migrant from El Salvador allegedly linked to another murder there.
• A warrant for his arrest was then obtained by Detectives with the Harford County Sheriff’s Office. Their Investigators quickly tracked Martinez-Hernandez to Tulsa, Oklahoma.
• 11:28 PM – The FBI and Tulsa Police Department Detectives and Patrol Officers converged on a bar located at 21st and Garnett in Tulsa, Oklahoma where officers found Martinez-Hernandez sitting at the bar. When approached by officers, Martinez-Hernandez initially lied about his identity and denied any knowledge of the alleged crimes. He was arrested and booked into the Tulsa County Jail. He faces rape and murder charges  Source

June 15, 2024

• Officials announced that Martinez-Hernandez was arrested in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after a nationwide manhunt. Source
• A search of his place in Tulsa, police found the business card of an FBI agent who visited and spoke to his roommate previously. 
• Martinez-Hernandez is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree rape for the rape and murder of Rachel Morin. Efforts are underway to extradite Martinez-Hernandez to Maryland from Oklahoma, which could take 30 to 60 days. Harford County State’s Attorney Alison Healy will prosecute the case.
• Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez crossed into the United States in February 2023 after a warrant for his arrest was issued in January 2023 for the murder of a young woman in El Salvador. Hernandez has ties to the Washington, D.C. area, including Virginia and Prince George’s County, Maryland, as well as to known gangs.
• Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez entered a not-guilty plea.
• He waived extradition and was transported to Maryland to face charges: Detectives from the Harford County Sheriff’s Office and agents from HSI Baltimore, HSI Tulsa and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations’ Jacksonville Air Branch extradited Martinez back to a regional airport in Baltimore where he was subsequently transported to the Harford County Detention Center to face charges for Morin’s murder.
• Later, Investigators discovered photos of Rachel Morin and other items related on his phone.

March 31, 2025

• Jury selection began for his trial in Harford County, Maryland.

April 4, 2025

• Opening statements were delivered.
• Prosecutors described the brutal murder; the defense challenged the evidence.
• Defense: Suggests a “crime of passion” and questions the DNA evidence.
• Morin’s boyfriend Richard Tobin testified. Tobin testified that he noticed Morin stopped responding to text messages just after 7 p.m. on August 5, 2023. He said that when his messages stopped delivering, he called Morin. The first calls went to voicemail, and then he started getting a beeping tone. He thought she might be cheating on him, so he checked neighboring bars with no luck. That’s when he says he went back to Morin’s house and found Custer panicking for the same reason, so they called 911.
• Rachel Morin’s Daughter testified, to texting with her mother at around 7 p.m. on August 5, 2023, but Morin abruptly stopped responding.
  

April 7, 2025

Witnesses testified, including a medical examiner who detailed Rachel’s injuries. Evidence introduced — Morin was found beaten & assaulted in the left drainage culvert near the Ma and Pa trail.

• Witness: Cecilia Occorso, friend of Evan Knapp, who called 911 after Knapp discovered Morin’s body. 911 Call was played in court.
• Witness: Deputy Danmyer who was the first responder to Occorso and Knapp’s discovery 
• Witness: Deputy Chris McGann of the Special Operations Unit who found Morin’s smashed apple watch during a line search in the nearby woods. The watch is discovered on the opposite side of the trail from the tunnels where Morin’s body was found. 
• Witness: Cpl. Det. Brad Gahner with the forensic services unit who was on the scene on Aug. 6 from around 2:30 to 6:45 pm. His team works to find and preserve evidence, Morin’s body being priority #1. Due to the hot & humid conditions of August, he notes that Morin’s body had already begun to decompose. Therefore his team decides to take swab samples at the scene and get her body into an ambulance with the AC on high to preserve as much evidence as they can. Ghaner’s team also tracks the blood trail found in the leaves with evidence markers & bags Morin’s cracked phone (in the water it was found in– protocol when evidence is in water) to be sent to digital forensics.
  
• Witness: Kyle Stacy testified that he saw Rachel jogging and later spotted a “suspicious” man in a gray hoodie near the woods.
• Witness: Michael Wilsynski with the forensics services unit of the Harford Co. Sheriff’s Office. He’s taken video of the crime scene, DNA swabs. Morin was found lying face up with her feet pointed at the opening of the tunnel. She was missing her left shoe and was partially unclothed. “This was a massive attack,” Wilsynski said. Morin’s feet are approx. 24 feet into the tunnel. A single airpod is found 52 feet from the entrance and her cracked iphone 225 feet into the tunnel in shallow water. DNA swabs were taken of Morin’s left wrist (which had significant bruising) her breasts, her left ankle as well as inside her neck and genitals.
  

April 8, 2025

• Crime scene investigators testify: Described a 150-foot blood trail leading to Morin’s body.

Show graphic photos of the blood-soaked crime scene:

• Recovery of Rachel’s smashed phone and Apple Watch detailed. Morin’s apple watch found on the opposite side of the trail from the tunnels, about 25 feet into the woods.
• The shovel discovered nearby in the woods a week later, that matches the description of what an eyewitness saw with a “strange man in the woods“
• A crushed up, bloody water bottle found near the scene. Later manually inflated during the investigation.
• A large, bloody rock found with hair on it near the Ma & Pa trail.
• Morin’s final heartbeats, showing a spike to 115 at 7:07:24 PM and a decline to 69 at 7:09:07 PM. Prosecution says the attack lasted from 7:04 PM to 7:10 PM

April 9, 2025

• Medical Examiner Dr. Zabiullah Ali testifies: Morin suffered 15–20 blows to the head and signs of strangulation.
• Cause of death: blunt force trauma and asphyxia.
• A juror is dismissed for undisclosed reasons, briefly delaying proceedings.
• Witnesses describe seeing a man holding a shovel, acting suspiciously near the trail.
• A shovel is recovered, possibly used to conceal the body.

April 10, 2025

• Witness: the defendant’s cousin Jose Ivan Hernandez takes the stand. Martinez-Hernandez lived with his cousins & aunt at an apartment in Temple Hills MD after telling them via Facebook messenger that he had no place to live in Dec 2023. He had a different name on Facebook “Fernando Ismael.” FBI visited the apt at one point but the defendant stayed outside the entire time. Not clear what exactly the reason was based on this testimony. Martinez-Hernandez left the apt in May 2024 with a bag of clothes, but he left some behind. Early June, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office came to Interview Jose Ivan and They ask to take shoes, clothes & a clock that belong to Martinez- Hernandez. Last time he spoke to the defendant was when he asked him to purchase him a ticket to Texas but under his name. He told him no.
• Witness: Former coworkers, Ana Trejo testified that the defendant worked with her at Popeye’s Testimony revealed that Martinez-Hernandez worked at Popeyes and Barrett’s On The Pike in Bel Air. From both restaurants, the trail is about 1 mile away. The former general manager of the Popeyes, Ana Trejo, said Martinez-Hernandez applied using the name Roberto Campos.
• Witness: Angel Escalante testified that the defendant worked with her at Barrett’s On the Pike in Bel Air.
• Witness: Former roommate, Marcos Campos-Guevara also testifies. The two lived together in a “house by the park” from about March 2023- around August 2023 but Martinez-Hernandez ends up leaving, only leaving behind a note. Police Interviewed Guevara on June, 2024. Guevara testified that he knows Martinez-Hernandez from El Salvador. When he saw him in the states, he said he looked dirty, had long hair and a beard. 
• Witness: Josue Perrera-Guevara – Marcos’ cousin who let Martinez-Hernandez live with him for a week at an address on Old English Court, less than a mile from the Williams St. entrance of the Ma and Pa trail. Marcos, told him Victor needed a place to stay, they let him stay, providing him food, clothing, etc. He confirmed that Martinez-Hernandez had long hair, was dirty, little to no belongings.
• Witness: Det. Wilsynski with the forensic services unit back to the stand. Wilsynski took possession of the defendant’s items obtained from his family’s house in Temple Hills in June 2024. FILA shoes and a bag of dirty clothes and he swabbed for DNA:
• Inside of the shoes
• 5 dirty black socks
• Folded up paperwork with handwritten notes/drawings
• Swabbed a black/blue cellphone.
• Black watch
• Pink toothbrush w/ green bristles.
• Witness: Patrol Officer Kylie Delmont from Tulsa, PD. Getting into Martinez-Hernandez’ arrest. He testified that they located Martinez-Hernandez per the description of his arrest warrant, at the Los dos amigos bar in OK. He was taken outside, patted down and asked to smile to show his “unique” teeth. He gave PD a different a different name “Juan Carlos”
• Witness: Tulsa officer– Steven Sanders with the special investigations division FBI task force. He testified Martinez-Hernandez finally admitted his real name. They got his phone from a security officer after the defendant had handed it to him.
• Witness: Heather Marsh, digital forensics supervisor with the Harford County Sheriff’s Office took a stand. She testified on how she received the defendant’s phone after her colleague, Megan Waltimyer, made 6 unsuccessful attempts unlock his phone. Marsh downloaded the data off of the phone, in Spanish. She converted the phone to an English and re downloaded data.

April 11, 2025 – Rachel Morin Murder Trial: Day Summary:

9:00 AM – Court Convenes

• Judge calls the court to order.
• Jury seated for the day’s proceedings.

9:15 AM – Forensic Testimony by Tiffany Keener

• Tiffany Keener, forensic scientist with the Maryland State Police, testifies.
• She walks jurors through the DNA collection process used in the Morin case.
• She explains that six separate DNA reports were produced due to the amount of evidence.
• DNA from the crime scene matched Victor Martinez-Hernandez, corroborating earlier state claims.
• Keener confirms proper chain of custody was followed in handling evidence.

10:30 AM – Cross-Examination of Tiffany Keener

Defense attempts to question:

• Whether DNA collection could have been contaminated.
• Any inconsistencies in the testing timeline.
• Keener affirms testing protocols were followed and contamination was highly unlikely.

11:15 AM – Testimony of Investigator Golden

• Investigator Golden testifies about interviewing Victor Martinez-Hernandez in 2023.
• Notes the defendant was initially calm but became visibly nervous when:
• Confronted with DNA evidence.
• Shown surveillance footage and asked about his location.
• He displayed swaying, arm crossing, and refusal to make eye contact.

12:00 PM – Presentation of Physical Evidence

• Prosecutors display:
• Photographs of Rachel Morin’s smashed iPhone found submerged near the Ma & Pa Trail.
• Photos of the trail of blood leading to where her body was found.
• Discussed the strategic placement of evidence suggesting the killer attempted to conceal the crime.

1:30 PM – Digital Forensics Testimony

• A digital analyst (name not publicly confirmed yet) testifies.
• Analysis of Martinez-Hernandez’s phone data revealed:
• Searches in Spanish for terms like “Maryland,” “murder,” and “Rachel Morin” (misspelled).
• Google Maps activity placing him near the trail system around the time of the murder.
• Apple Watch data from Rachel Morin helped pinpoint her time of death.

2:45 PM – Defense Challenges Timeline

• The defense raises concerns about:
• Timeline of digital evidence syncing.
• Whether other devices near the scene were checked.
• Prosecution maintains the integrity of the evidence was intact and that Martinez-Hernandez’s data placed him at the crime scene.

3:30 PM – Brief Recess

3:45 PM – Redirect by Prosecutors

• Reinforced testimony of forensic and digital experts.
• Emphasized consistency in witness timelines, physical evidence, and digital trails.

4:30 PM – Adjournment

• Judge ends the session for the day.
• Trial scheduled to resume Monday, April 14, 2025, with additional witnesses.

Key Developments:

• DNA Evidence: Forensic scientist Tiffany Keener testified that Martinez-Hernandez’s DNA was the only male profile found on Morin’s neck, left wrist, breasts, and Apple Watch. The statistical likelihood of the DNA belonging to someone else was estimated to be as low as 1 in 400 nonillion.
• Defendant’s Interrogation: Jurors viewed a recorded interview where Martinez-Hernandez denied ever being in Maryland or knowing Rachel Morin. When confronted with DNA evidence, he suggested that someone named “Fiona,” whom he described as a jealous stalker, might have planted his DNA at the crime scene.
• Prosecution Rests: After presenting testimony from 32 witnesses over six days, the prosecution concluded its case. The defense is expected to begin presenting its case on Monday, April 14, with closing arguments anticipated to follow shortly thereafter.

April 14, 2025

A Maryland jury has found Victor Martinez-Hernandez guilty on all four counts in the murder and rape of Rachel Morin

GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS

• 1st-degree premeditated murder
• 1st-degree rape
• 3rd-degree sex offenses
• Kidnapping