Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Man Arrested For Rape, Murder of Maryland Mom of 5: 'I Want Him to Die'

Starting point is 00:00:00 Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this law and crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Rachel's murder is no longer a free man. More than 10 months after a mother of five, Rachel Morin, was found dead after an attack on a popular trail in Maryland. The sheriff says the killer is behind bars. They've been doing, they've been diligently working very hard and they've been patiently working through all the leads. And it's because of that, that we have an arrest today. So I'm very thankful and just very grateful to these men.

Starting point is 00:00:42 I have the details on the man, the sheriff and the FBI tracked across the country. Thanks for joining me for Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. For months, investigators in Maryland say they've had the DNA of the man who murdered Rachel Morin. The sheriff of Harford County, Maryland, says he even knew what the murderer looked like, but they didn't know his name. But now, after more than 10 months of investigation, Sheriff Jeff Gaylor says the man who murdered and raped Rachel Morin is behind bars. Police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, assisted by our federal partners, located and arrested Rachel's murderer, Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez.

Starting point is 00:01:22 This is another Law and Crime legal alert. Have you experienced severe gastroparesis or other side effects after taking Ozempic or another GLP-1 weight loss medication? The Ozempic lawsuits allege that the drug can lead to severe intestinal blockage and persistent vomiting, and that manufacturers allegedly failed to provide adequate warning about these risks. True Law, one of our legal sponsors, is helping those injured file a claim through an experienced attorney who helps ensure your claim is thoroughly presented. Visit www.glpcase.com slash crime fix to answer less than 10 questions and check your eligibility to file a claim. Rachel Morin went out for a run on the Maunpah Trail in Harford County last August 10th. When she didn't come

Starting point is 00:02:11 home, her boyfriend reported her missing. Sadly, Rachel's body was found off of the trail the next day. Sheriff's officials didn't say it at the time, but they've said it now with the charges that have been filed. Rachel Morin, a mother of five children, had been attacked, raped, and murdered. There were few clues. No one wanted to hurt Rachel Morin. She had a family who loved her. People were shocked and angered by her murder in the quiet community. But there was hope early on in the investigation after detectives working with the FBI found a link between DNA left at Rachel's crime scene and a home invasion in Los Angeles. He brutally attacked a nine-year-old girl and

Starting point is 00:02:51 her mother during a home invasion in March of 2023 in Los Angeles. After we had the video, we knew what he looked like. We knew what he looked like, but we didn't know who he was. With the new DNA evidence, now we know who he is, but we still didn't know where he was. Still months passed and it appeared no one was calling in to identify the man seen leaving the house in the video from that home invasion in LA. Earlier this year, Sheriff Gaylor released sketches of the suspect. One showed him wearing an Air Jordan hat. Gaylor said at the time that the man from the L.A. home invasion left that hat at the scene of the crime with his DNA on it. The same DNA left at the scene of Rachel's murder. But still, there was no word about any leads in the case, at least publicly.

Starting point is 00:03:42 It appeared the investigation was hitting a dead end. But something happened last month month according to the sheriff just over three weeks ago on may 20th on what should have been rachel's 38th birthday and then a poetic coincidence or perhaps in rachel's own divine assistance our investigators uncovered a lead that led us to this day. So what was the lead? The lead we received was related to DNA evidence and allowed investigators to finally put a name to the image of the suspect in the video from Los Angeles, which we released two weeks after Rachel's death. DNA is what led to this case being solved, according to the sheriff, and the FBI was involved. Our investigative genetic genealogy team in Baltimore worked countless hours to identify

Starting point is 00:04:32 the suspect by using crime scene DNA and tracing that DNA to potential family members. Investigators even traveled to El Salvador as part of their efforts to identify this killer. Investigators had suspected that the murderer might not be a US citizen since Rachel Morin's murder was such a violent crime and a name was not associated with the DNA profile in CODIS. That's the FBI's database of known felons. In fact, the sheriff says Rachel Morin was not the first woman that this person murdered. We all suspected that perhaps Rachel was not his first victim. And it's my understanding that this suspect, this monster, fled to the United States illegally after committing the brutal murder of a young woman in El Salvador a month early in January of 2023. It's really terrifying and

Starting point is 00:05:30 raises questions about how Martinez Hernandez was able to enter the country. The arrest at least has brought some relief and peace to Rachel Morin's mother, Patty. I could see all the people, all the people that were involved. And that's not even all the external agencies that were involved. And it just gave me such hope that they really did care about our family and my daughter, that they were going to work diligently to find the person that murdered her. At one point, when things seemed like really bleak and hopeless, the lead detective said to me, he said,

Starting point is 00:06:13 patience will win in the end. And that's what they've been doing. They've been diligently working very hard and they've been patiently working through all the leads. And it's because of that that we have an arrest today. So I'm very thankful and just very grateful to these men. Sheriff Jeff Gaylor is the sheriff of Harford County, and he announced that arrest on Saturday, as you saw. So Sheriff Gaylor, thanks for coming back on. You know, we've been following this case for a long time. It seems like this really all came together over the last month or so with a tip you said that you got on Rachel Morin's birthday and then finally the arrest on Friday night. Sure. Well, and, you know, good things take time and a lot of police investigations.

Starting point is 00:07:03 Ten months really doesn't strike me as being that long for such a complicated and detailed investigation as necessary in this case. It wasn't actually a tip, but it was a lead that finally paid off related to the DNA that allowed us to put a name with that video from March 2023 out in Los Angeles. Of course, that was tied to Rachel's murder through a DNA hit through the National CODIS system. But the lead we got on what should have been Rachel's 38th birthday actually allowed us to put the name with the image with the composite that we had released. And once we had the name, some good field work, and within a couple of weeks, we were able to obtain an arrest warrant and then go to the next steps of trying to find him, which we did

Starting point is 00:07:53 pretty quickly out in Tulsa, Oklahoma. What was that lead? Was the lead the genetic genealogy that the FBI was working on? Because I know that they often refer to that as a lead. They build the trees, they take the DNA and they work backwards from there. Was that the tip, the lead? Yeah, yeah. And again, tips are all, because we've been asked who's going to get the $35,000 reward. The tip didn't come from the public. It actually came as a lead. And yes, it was tied to the DNA. And I have to say, I'm in my 40th year in this profession. Things that they did in this investigation, they do in other investigations related to DNA evidence and to the technology, to tracking phones and computer use and all that stuff.

Starting point is 00:08:38 It's passed me by. But I have to say, you know, the Baltimore special agent in charge attended our press conference. I thought he did such a wonderful job explaining how that lead came about and how that whole genealogy stuff works. But I could not be more thankful for the assistance of the FBI, particularly the Baltimore field office and our partners at the Maryland State Police here in our state with their lab, just of an immense assistance. And again, I've said many times, this is so much a true example of what law enforcement should be doing, state, local, and federal partners working together, communicating, and getting a very dangerous and violent criminal off the street. I wanted to ask you about other ways you

Starting point is 00:09:21 tracked him down. I mean, it didn't sound like you had anybody calling in and saying, hey, you're going to find him in Tulsa at this bar. I mean, you were able to determine somehow that he had ties to gangs in El Salvador, also had some ties to gangs from what you said on Saturday to people in Prince George's County in the Washington, D.C. area. So how were you able to track him? Was this through electronic stuff, through digital footprints, cell phones, things like that? How did you ultimately hone in on him in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in a bar where he's just sitting there hanging out? That certainly is back to the technology that allowed investigators to track him there. And again, working with our federal partners and our partners out in Tulsa, Oklahoma. But there were other things that allowed us, once we had the name, to follow up,

Starting point is 00:10:12 to conduct some interviews with people who were familiar with him, who had interactions with him. It allowed investigators to do that and paint a better picture of who we were dealing with. And of course, that also uncovered the Red Notice, which is basically an Interpol warrant for outside the country jurisdiction because our suspect, as we found out, is wanted for the homicide of a young lady in El Salvador, and it appears why he fled his country to come here to the United States and ultimately Los Angeles and ultimately here to Harford County to take Rachel's life. Which is horribly sad and terrible. You know, is there any indication?

Starting point is 00:10:52 You're saying he commits a crime in January. In January 2023, you're saying he murdered a woman in El Salvador. He comes to the United States the following month, and then there's the home invasion in L.A. He makes his way across the country to Maryland in August, according to what you're saying, and murders Rachel Morin and sadly rapes her and commits this awful crime. That's a lot of space in between. And these are very violent, disturbing crimes. Is there any indication or fear that there's more? That's been a fear that we've talked about since the day of Rachel's homicide, since she was found, that I feared that he was going to do it again.

Starting point is 00:11:36 And so far, knock on wood, we have not found that he did it again. There's not a doubt in my mind that the longer he remained on the street, he would have. I fear, and our investigators fear, that we're still likely to find some other victim that just hasn't been linked back through science or technology to this suspect. But we know what he did in Los Angeles, a violent attack against a nine-year-old girl and her mother. And only because there was an intervention there do I believe that that ended on a better, if you want to say a better note, that that didn't end up costing somebody their life. And, of course, he, yes, is accused of having done it beforehand. So that Rachel, where we feared he might kill someone after Rachel, it appears he's responsible for someone's death before Rachel.

Starting point is 00:12:22 What was the intervention in Los Angeles? Oh, there was other people in the household where he committed this home invasion, and the act of the assault was interrupted before everyone, the video that made national and international rounds, before he walks out the door there calmly, there was actually someone who stopped that assault from happening. And again, this is, I feel like I'm tiptoeing into someone else's case, and I need to be careful with that, because that is an active investigation for the Los Angeles Police Department. And now that our detectives have been in communication with their detectives, and I imagine that will result in charges in California for his arrest. Again, I've said, I hope he never leaves Maryland. We don't have a death penalty,

Starting point is 00:13:10 but I hope he's tried, convicted, and serves the rest of his days here in a Maryland Department of Corrections facility. Your detectives are in Oklahoma now. So have they spoken with him at all? I'm not going to go into what the, we put detectives in the air right away after his arrest. They got out there. They have done some investigative follow-up. At this point, I don't feel comfortable. They're on their flights back right now. So our business in Tulsa is concluded for the present, but there's still more to be done. And I don't want to go into that part of the investigation at this point in time. I did find out right before sitting down for this interview that the suspect has waived extradition. So that will expedite the process of getting him

Starting point is 00:13:57 back here in Maryland to answer for these charges much sooner than could have been delayed a couple of months. So he'll be back in Maryland probably very soon within the week, if not within a few days. Within, it was 10 days or so. So, you know, if nothing else changes, we would expect him back here within the next 10 days. But a relief, I'm sure, Sheriff, to have an arrest in this case. Oh, for sure. This case and, you know, every, our detectives take every case, particularly when it's a homicide case. So, you know, they handle it professionally. They handle an aggressive investigation. It touches, there's always a story. There's a touching story. And in this case, you know, you have a young mother, 37 years old, out exercising, the mother of five.

Starting point is 00:14:47 And just such a horrific, uncommon thing for the area where it occurred. So many people can identify with that. They walk on the trail. So this case garnered, again, national, international attention. And I am, as the sheriff of this county, elected to protect the public. I am very pleased, and I hate to use a favorable adjective on anything related to this horrific case, but I am pleased that we were able to bring this case to a successful conclusion. We now want a successful prosecution. But for Rachel's family, if you saw the press conference, you saw Patty, her mother, speak. You can't be heartbroken to hear that story, the loss of Rachel, how that has impacted the family.

Starting point is 00:15:29 But also our Hartford County community can rest a little better knowing that they can go out there and this monster isn't laying and waiting for them. Randolph Rice represents family members of Rachel Morin, including her mother, Patty. Randolph, your thoughts and your reaction when you found out that they had indeed arrested a suspect in Rachel's murder. Just incredible relief. I got a phone call from Patty and it was just, there was joy in her voice.

Starting point is 00:15:56 You could hear that she was relieved of the news, that they'd caught the suspect, that they had him in custody, that he wasn't gonna hurt anybody else, that the police had him in handcuffs. And so that really is the way the family felt, the way I felt. I know that they had some moments of joy, but obviously it's tempered in light of the fact that this has been a horrible 10 months since Rachel's death. Sheriff Gaylor said they got this tip about the suspect back on Rachel's birthday in May. So it's been a little more than a month now. And so they got the tip. They were also working the investigative genetic genealogy angle of this. Did the family have any inkling or feeling

Starting point is 00:16:39 that the sheriff's office and the FBI were getting close? I don't think they felt that they were getting close. I do know that they felt that they were getting close. I do know that they felt that they were being consistent with their investigation, but there really wasn't anything until they called him in a few hours before they were going to make the arrest to let him know that they knew where the guy was and to sort of let him know, hey, look, we're going to hopefully arrest this guy in a few hours. We'll call you. But there was no indication before that that they that they were hot on the trail so to speak how's patty doing

Starting point is 00:17:10 today i know this i mean it's been horrible five grandchildren rachel had five children she went out for a walk and that is something everybody should be able to do everybody should be able to go out for a walk on a trail whether they're alone or not, even if they have their headphones. They should be able to do this. And that is what the Ma and Pa Trail was in Maryland. That was a place where people could go and feel safe. It's even closer to the Moran family was the fact that the Ma and Pa Trail was where they went as little kids, where Rachel went with her mother. Oftentimes after dinner, they lived close enough that they would go and walk the trail after dinner, spend time as a

Starting point is 00:17:51 family together. And you're right to go somewhere that is secluded and safe and a normal routine that we all take for granted every day that we do things. That's our sort of safe space, our quiet space. And to be attacked. And now that we know that, you know, the sheriff has confirmed that she was raped and ultimately murdered in a place where she felt safe, where she found that peace. Rachel was a huge sports enthusiast.

Starting point is 00:18:18 She liked to work out. And that was what she was doing that evening. She went out for her jog and unfortunately never came back that August night. Has there been any indication that this was anything more than random? I'm assuming that this may have been a crime of opportunity for the suspect and that he didn't have any, he hadn't laid eyes on her previously. I don't know that. I mean, we're not privy to those details in the investigation. But the sheriff made it sound like they thought he was hiding in some type of, you know,

Starting point is 00:18:53 culvert area and kind of, it's almost like the boogeyman like springs out and abducts her essentially and commits this crime. Yeah, there's no indication from the sheriff's department or from any other sources that he was tracking her. And that sort of ties into one of the reasons why we want this story to continue going on, because we think that there is other evidence, other witnesses who may not realize that they were witnesses at the time, but now that they see a photograph of this man, they can maybe come forward and provide more information to law enforcement that maybe tie a few strings together, maybe put that timeline as to when he came from California, when did he leave California, when did he come to Maryland,

Starting point is 00:19:34 when did he make it to Bel Air, how long was he in Bel Air for, did he work in Bel Air? So a lot of these things that are unanswered questions for the public maybe get answered by the public now providing more information to the detectives. It's really terrifying. And I feel like as a woman, it's every woman's, one of every woman's worst nightmares, this type of thing happening, being attacked like this. You want witnesses to come forward, of course. Is there anything else that the family would like to see happen as now we're going to start the court process? The suspect will have to be extradited to Maryland.

Starting point is 00:20:10 He'll have to make an initial appearance and then things will move forward from there. That's right. Yeah. So the family does want any potential other cases out there. Again, their hopes are that these types of broadcasts, somebody sees it, somebody sees the image and says, you know, I was a victim. Maybe they were scared to come forward previously because they worried about this man, the suspect, but now he's locked up. Maybe they have the courage, they come forward, they speak out. So that's one thing the family's concerned about. They also were, they're ready to see him come back. We've gone over the

Starting point is 00:20:46 process from the very beginning. We went over the process of what happens when he gets arrested. And you're right. There's going to, he's got to be extradited. Does he fight extradition in Oklahoma? When he gets back, he's going to have to have a bail review. We're sure that he, almost certain that he's not going to get released, obviously. He's got an ICE detainer, so he's not going to get released either because of that. And then it becomes a long process of motions and hearings and what decision he makes. Does he choose to enter a plea? Does he decide to go to trial? And those are the unknowns right now. Well, it's incredibly sad and we will continue to track it as the case moves forward. And let's not forget that Los Angeles case as well.

Starting point is 00:21:31 That's how they ended up connecting these two, the home invasion that happened sadly before Rachel was raped and murdered. So Randolph Rice, thank you so much for coming on. We appreciate it. Thank you so much. And by the way, we want to thank law enforcement. The family has just been so grateful for law enforcement's efforts, the hard work that Hartford County Sheriff's Department and the FBI and everybody else. It's just amazing how hard they work. They kept with it. And I think that's what solved this. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Ann Jeanette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.

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Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Man Arrested For Rape, Murder of Maryland Mom of 5: 'I Want Him to Die'

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Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Man Arrested For Rape, Murder of Maryland Mom of 5: 'I Want Him to Die'

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