Man convicted of killing Rachel Morin given life without parole

A black-and-white picture of Rachel Morin placed on a tree with flowers on top of it

A memorial for Rachel Morin is displayed on a tree on the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland. (Dillon Mullan/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

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Editor’s Note: This story contains discussions of rape or sexual assault that may be disturbing. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can find help and discreet resources on the National Sexual Assault Hotline website or by calling 1-800-656-4673.

(NewsNation) — The man convicted of killing Maryland mother Rachel Morin was sentenced to life without parole, life and 40 years to be served consecutively.

Victor Martinez-Hernandez was found guilty in April of raping and murdering Morin, a 37-year-old single mother of five who was attacked while jogging on a path in suburban Baltimore.

On Monday, he was sentenced to life without parole for the charge of murder, life for the charge of rape in the first degree, ten years for the charge of third-degree sex offense and 30 years for the charge of kidnapping. The judge ordered the charges to be served consecutively.

Martinez-Hernandez is originally from El Salvador and was in the United States illegally. He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole, since Maryland does not have the death penalty.

  • A black-and-white picture of Rachel Morin placed on a tree with flowers on top of it
  • composite of two images showing a man smiling at the camera
  • Rachel Morin smiles for photo

Rachel Morin’s killer had criminal history in US, El Salvador

Martinez-Hernandez is accused of killing a woman in El Salvador in 2022. In early 2023, he crossed the U.S. southern border three times and was expelled each time by the Border Patrol.

Martinez-Hernandez succeeded on his fourth attempt and later surfaced in Los Angeles, where he was linked to the assault of a woman and a 9-year-old girl. He then traveled to Maryland, where Morin was found dead Aug. 6, 2023.

In June 2024, Martinez-Hernandez was arrested in Tulsa, Oklahoma. While the search took nearly a year, a decision on his guilt came in less than an hour. A jury found him guilty on all counts in just 46 minutes in April.

‘All cried out’: Rachel Morin’s daughter, mother to deliver statements

Morin’s mother, Patty Morin, told NewsNation that writing her victim-impact statement was draining but bittersweet.

“You also are reliving all the memories that you’ve shared with Rachel — like when I found out I became pregnant, when I was carrying her, the dreams and hopes I had for her … what she was like as a child,” she said. “All those things come rushing into your mind.”

Her goal, she said, was to “convey it so the judge sees how precious and valuable Rachel was.”

In addition to her own statement, she said some of Morin’s children, including the teenage daughter who was the last person to speak with her, will make statements at Monday’s hearing.

NewsNation’s Michael Ramsey and Anna Kutz contributed to this report.

Crime

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