Rachel Morin’s family has replaced the wanted flyers for her killer with flowers at the trail where her body was discovered, as an arrest was made in her murder. The father of her daughter, Matt McMahon, expressed relief and gratitude upon learning that the suspected killer, Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, was in custody. McMahon felt that the trail where Morin was murdered now belongs to her again, symbolized by replacing the flyers with flowers.
McMahon described the mix of emotions he felt upon receiving the phone call about Martinez-Hernandez’s arrest. He shared that his daughter with Morin is expecting a child, which is both a happy and sad moment as Rachel should have been there to share the news. Martinez-Hernandez, an El Salvadoran gang member, had been living illegally in the US and was involved in a series of heinous crimes before being captured for Morin’s murder on the Ma and Pa Heritage Trail in Bel Air, Maryland.
Authorities revealed that Martinez-Hernandez had been living illegally in the US since 2023 after fleeing from El Salvador for the murder of a young woman. He managed to evade border detection and commit multiple crimes, including a home invasion in Los Angeles where he attacked a 9-year-old girl and her mother. Less than two weeks after killing Morin, Martinez-Hernandez’s DNA was matched to the crime scene in LA through evidence left behind during the home invasion.
The arrest of Martinez-Hernandez followed a lengthy investigation involving collaboration between various law enforcement agencies. Investigators traveled to El Salvador in an effort to identify the killer, and technical assistance helped pinpoint his location in Oklahoma, where he was ultimately apprehended by Tulsa police and FBI agents. Martinez-Hernandez was taken into custody while sitting at a bar in Tulsa, though his reasons for being in Oklahoma were unclear.
Authorities emphasize that Martinez-Hernandez did not come to America to build a better life, but rather to commit heinous crimes such as the murder of Rachel Morin. He is now facing first-degree murder and rape charges for Morin’s death, with the extradition process already underway to bring him to Maryland to face trial. The community has expressed a sense of closure with his arrest, allowing Morin’s loved ones to reclaim the trail where she was tragically taken from them.
