Victor Martinez Hernandez

Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez (born September 19, 2000) is a Salvadoran murderer. After an arrest warrant was issued against him for suspected murder in El Salvador, he illegally immigrated to the United States in February 2023 and raped and murdered Rachel Hannah Morin (May 20, 1986 – August 5, 2023) along the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland. His trial began on April 1, 2025, and he was found guilty 14 days later; he was sentenced to two back-to-back life sentences plus 40 years on August 11.

Biography Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez was born on September 19, 2000. He has one daughter.

El Salvador An arrest warrant was issued for Martinez Hernandez in January 2023, after he was accused of murdering a young woman. was born on May 20, 1986. She owned a house cleaning business and had five children. She announced a relationship with Richard Tobin through Facebook on August 1, roughly five days before the murder. Morin's 5-month-old niece died of sudden infant death syndrome the week before her murder.

Murder According to the Harford County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) and Tobin, Morin went to the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland, around 6:58 p.m. on August 5, 2023. Per Morin's phone and smartwatch, she was murdered between 7:04 and 7:10. Tobin reported her missing around 11:20 p.m., when she failed to return home. The HCSO confirmed that the body was Morin's on August 8. Tobin, who had a criminal record, denied responsibility for the murder, attributing the record to a previous drug addiction and stating he had not used drugs in 15 months.

On August 8, Harford County councilwoman Jessica Boyle-Tsottles organized the Women's Walk Along, a community walk along the Ma and Pa Trail to commemorate Morin. Morin's family did not wish to be affiliated with the walk; while Boyle-Tsottles acknowledged their wishes, stating that she "had absolutely no intentions of upsetting the family or anyone that's involved in this terrible tragedy," the walk was still held and attended by dozens. Morin's family later announced their intention to hold a celebration of her life and a 5K run to commemorate her.

Morin's family held a walk of the Ma and Pa Trail, known as the "Trail of Life," on August 19, with flowers and candles placed around the trail. A nearby cupcake shop held a fundraiser on the same day, where 20% of their sales for the day were donated to Rebekah's GoFundMe. The walk began at 11:30 a.m. and was attended by hundreds. During the walk, walkers performed Save a Place for Me, a song by Matthew West.

According to Gahler, investigators found a lead for Martinez Hernandez through genetic genealogy on May 20, 2024, which would have been Morin's 38th birthday. Gahler described the discovery as "a poetic coincidence or perhaps Rachel's own divine assistance." Martinez Hernandez was arrested at a Tulsa, Oklahoma, bar on June 14. Martinez Hernandez lied to arresting officers about his identity and activities.

Patty Morin hired Randolph Rice as her attorney. Rice was accused of undermining jury selection by repeatedly speaking to the press about the trial on March 31; judge Yolanda Curtin, the defense, and the prosecution all asked Rice to stop speaking publicly about the case, which he ignored. Martinez Hernandez was represented by three public defenders: Sawyer Hicks, Marcus Jenkins, and Tara LeCompte.

Before the trial, the Bel Air Police Department increased security around the courthouse and closed Courtland and Office streets, which surrounded the entrances to the courthouse, to vehicles. During a pre-trial hearing on March 31, Martinez Hernandez's defenders voiced concerns that jurors knowing of his other suspected crimes and illegal immigration would cause bias against him and requested that Curtin provide a detailed description of the case to potential jurors. Curtin denied their request, believing that a simple description would be sufficient. Curtin also denied requests from the defense to sequester the jury, believing it would be excessive and hard to enforce, and to require extra questions for the jurors, most of which she described as redundant, while some were "fishing expeditions." She was undecided whether jurors should be asked if they watched the 2024 Republican National Convention.

Jury selection Jury selection started in the morning of April 1, and was set to last until April 4. Curtin planned to call 120 to 130 jurors per day due to the high profile of the case The first day of selection adjourned around 7:45 p.m., which saw 59 of 124 potential jurors eliminated. and the press access to the first day of selection, citing a maximum capacity of 124 in the courthouse; 125 were inside the building. A live stream was not available. Per the Maryland Court of Appeals ruling in Watters v. State, blocking the public from watching jury selection violates the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Baltimore Banner reporter Dylan Segelbaum criticized the Maryland judiciary office for failing to accommodate spectators, despite the trial's date being set months before. Reporters were later allowed to sit on the courtroom steps to listen to selection.

On the second day, 60 potential jurors were questioned. Curtin ordered that space be made for reporters, and audio of the selection was transmitted to an overflow room. Reporters were not allowed to report on the case while inside the courthouse. By the end of the questioning, there were 79 candidates, which Curtin declared sufficient to select a jury. The jury was seated by 3 p.m., and proceedings were set to begin on April 4. The jury had 14 men and four women, of which five were of color. (The main jury had 10 men and two women, of which two were of color; the alternatives were four men and two women, of which three were of color.)

Both sides gave opening statements on April 4. The defense warned the jury to be impartial and denied Martinez Hernandez's involvement in the murder. They said that Morin had "attracted male attention" and questioned Tobin, who they claimed had sex with Morin on the day of the murder. On August 11, Hernandez Martinez received two back-to-back life sentences for murder and rape and a further 40 years for sexual assault and kidnapping. As Maryland judges lack authority to imprison criminals outside of the state, he will serve his sentence in Maryland and not be returned to El Salvador.