Maryland authorities have tracked down a suspect connected to the 2023 murder of a mother of five with the help of DNA evidence obtained from a home break-in in Los Angeles.
According to the Harford County Sheriff’s OfficeRachel Morin, 37, was found dead a day after she went missing on a hiking trail last year on Aug. 6. Authorities said Morin was attacked and dragged off the trail before she was killed.
The case remained unsolved for several months as the suspect fled the scene. Only sketches showing his face were released,
However, that all changed on Friday, when a man was arrested in Tulsa, Oklahoma on suspicion of murder and rape in connection to Morin’s death.
Authorities said the turning point in the case was DNA evidence recovered from a March 2023 home invasion in Los Angeles. The alleged killer, Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, 23, is also suspected of attacking a 9-year-old girl and her mother in the Los Angeles case.
Authorities say Martinez-Hernandez entered the United States illegally from El Salvador in February 2023. He was identified through DNA evidence in May, though it took longer to trace his location before he was found in Tulsa.
There is no information on when he will be extradited to Maryland for possible criminal prosecution. Authorities said no motive is known at this time.
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