An illegal immigrant was indicted this week for the brutal rape and murder of Rachel Morin in what an attorney for the victim's family called a "crucial step."
A Maryland grand jury voted to formally charge Victor Martinez Hernandez, 23, with two counts of murder, two counts of rape and one count each of sex offense and kidnapping for the savage 2023 attack on the mother of five.
"The indictment marks a crucial step in pursuing justice for Rachel Morin and her family," attorney Randolph Rice said in a statement. "This is a significant step toward achieving justice for Rachel Morin and holding the defendant accountable for this heinous crime."
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Martinez Hernandez was arrested at a bar in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last month after a nationwide manhunt for the El Salvador native, who is being held without bond.
Officials said Martinez Hernandez, who has suspected gang ties, fled his home country in February 2023 after a warrant was issued for the murder of a woman there.
He made three unsuccessful attempts to enter the United States before making it across the border on Feb. 13, 2023 near El Paso, Texas, authorities said.
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According to prosecutors and police, he allegedly assaulted a 9-year-old girl and her mother during a Los Angeles home invasion in March before he targeted Morin on the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail in Bel Air, Maryland, on Aug. 5.
He's accused of dragging her off the path, bludgeoning her so viciously that she was left with more than 10 gashes on her head then strangling her to death.
Her body, which was found in a drainage tunnel, was blanketed in bruises.
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Her mother, Patty Morin, who lives in Harford County, said she agonizes over her daughter's final moments.
"I’m sure she knew she wasn’t going to live," she previously told Fox News Digital. "I’m sure she was thinking of her children and thinking about all the things she’s going to lose, and this is going to be the end of her life. She must have felt so helpless."
Martinez Hernandez is due back in Harford County District Court July 22. His court-appointed attorney, Marcus Jenkins, didn't immediately return a request for comment.
