Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Rachel Morin’s Mom Speaks Out as Accused Killer Returns to Maryland

Episode Date: June 20, 2024

Patty Morin feared the person who killed her daughter, Rachel Morin, on a Maryland trail would never be found. But, she received a call last Friday that Harford County Sheriff's Investigators and the FBI had identified the suspect as Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez. Patty Morin described her daughter as loving and kind and someone whose personality lit up a room. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy talked with Patty Morin about her daughter, the investigation and the suspect in this episode of Crime Fix —a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW:If you experienced adverse side effects after taking Ozempic or another weight loss medication, check your eligibility to file a claim by visiting https://www.glp1case.com/crimefix?v=ocf14Host:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5Guest: Patty MorinCRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoAudio Editing - Brad MaybeGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@LawandCrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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. She was just so full of life and so compassionate and loving and kind. And she was such a good mom, loved her children. Rachel Morin's mother, remembering her as the man accused of raping and murdering her daughter, arrives in Maryland. Patty Warren talks about Rachel, the investigation, and finding out a suspect had been captured. I'm Anjanette Levy, and this is Crime Fix. Victor Martinez Hernandez

is back in Harford County, Maryland, to answer to charges that he raped and murdered Rachel Warren. Police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, nabbed Martinez Hernandez last Friday night after a 10-month effort to identify him. Shortly after Rachel was murdered off the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland last August, the Harford County Sheriff said DNA from a home invasion in Los Angeles matched DNA found at the crime scene where Rachel was murdered. Detectives had his DNA and they had him on video, but not his face, just his side profile and his back. They didn't know his name or where he was.

And despite being accused of committing such a violent crime, his DNA was not in CODIS. That's the FBI's DNA database of known felons. But using DNA technology, with the help of the FBI and Othram Labs, the sheriff says they've found the suspect. 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. Hartford County Sheriff Jeff Gaylor says Martinez Hernandez crossed into the United States illegally in February of 2023, the month before he's accused of killing a woman in his native El Salvador.

In March of 2023, police in Los Angeles say Martinez Hernandez attacked a nine-year-old girl and her mother in their home, leaving his DNA at the scene. And then in August of last year, Sheriff Gaylor says Martinez Hernandez laid in weight along the Ma and Pa trail and attacked Rachel Morin as she walked on the trail on a Saturday evening. It was something she had done since she was a young child. 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.glp1case.com slash crime fix to answer fewer than 10 questions and check your eligibility to file a claim. Patty Morin is Rachel Morin's mother, and she is here to talk with me. First of all, Patty, thank you so much for coming on. I'm wondering, how are you feeling right now after the news that they arrested the suspect

in Rachel's murder? I am feeling very sad, but at the same time relieved. For the last 10 months, we didn't know if we would even have some kind of a resolution. So I'm grateful. I'm relieved. I feel safer knowing that this person has been arrested, but I feel sad, you know, the grief all over again, because it's recognizing that, yes, truly my daughter has passed and law enforcement suspect that

this is the person that has committed that crime. And so it's a jumble of emotions. Yeah, most certainly. And that's understandable. I know that law enforcement, it seemed like they were hitting a lot of dead ends there for a while because they had the DNA profile. They were then able to link it to another crime in Los Angeles, the home invasion. They had the guy on video and they just weren't able to put a name with that face and that DNA profile. And I know that they went through the FBI and they did the genetic genealogy and they were finally able to identify him. You said that you were, you know, there were times where you felt like maybe

they weren't going to find the person. So that had to have been a relief, I guess, when the sheriff called you on Friday, I believe is what he said at the press conference. So when he called you, what did he say? He called and asked if I could come down, that they wanted to have a meeting. And it was actually a group of the top men that had been working on Rachel's case. And they showed me a picture of the suspect and that he had been apprehended. And I have to tell you, I didn't believe him because I had gotten to the place where I assumed that we possibly might not find Rachel's suspected murderer. And so I was preparing myself for the long haul, so to speak, and to have them

say, you know, we believe we have arrested the suspect, you know, we have DNA. It was like, it was unbelievable. So I was relieved. I was disbelief. But then I felt so grateful and so thankful that even though I felt hopeless, and I think at times they felt, you know, hopeless that they might not find the leads that connect, that they were very forward moving and they persevered and they worked every little tip. Like literally they had hundreds and thousands of tips and they worked every one. And so I'm so grateful that they did that. So grateful. Sheriff Gaylor said he kind of asked you to keep that under your hat to not say anything about it. Was that difficult? I mean, obviously they wanted you to be the first to know, but they still had to track the suspect and capture him, which they did. And I guess he was sitting in a bar in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and they find him and put the cuffs on him. Yeah, we didn't, we knew that, um, they had, um, identified the person, but at the time they hadn't located him.

And so it wasn't for me personally, it wasn't difficult to keep it to myself. And the reason why was because I really wanted them to find the suspect and capture him. And all along this process, there are things that have been shared that we've kept to ourselves and not shared publicly. And it's because we want to preserve the integrity of the investigation, because this is just the first step in months long hearings and things that are going to go forward. And we don't want to do anything that's going to disrupt the process in any way. You know, it's so unnatural. Parents are not supposed to lose their children and they're not supposed to lose them like this. What do you want people to know about Rachel? Gosh. You know, think about the person in your life, if there's a person in your life that is like a friend that sticks closer than a brother or sister,

or can read you sometimes better than you can read yourself. And we'll just say the right, right word at the right time. Or if you're feeling sorry for yourself, you know, snap out of it. Someone who is just, it's like her whole, her whole being just lights up. And she was just so full of life and so compassionate and loving and kind. And she was such a good mom, loved her children. Her heart was just so filled with love. And I don't want people to take the element of an illegal immigrant and run with that story.

I want them to know who she was as a person because, you know, without breath, none of us are anything. Our life is very important and she was very important to so many people. And I want people to remember her. You know, politics come and go, but people, people's lives and the impact that they have on us personally, we carry with us the rest of our life. And she has made an impact on so, so many people. I mean, when we did the walk, when we first heard about, you know, her passing, there was over 2,000 people from the town that we lived in that came out. It was such a community thing because she impacted so many people. And it would be, you know, I'd have people come up to me and say, I didn't know it personally, but I saw her buy coffee at the local store and she would always smile and say hi to me. You know, so it's even those little things that we think are normal or just unimportant things in our life, they still have an impact on somebody else. And that's the kind of person she was. She had an impact on so many people in so many ways, even in the little details.

And so I just want people to remember her for that, that she had a life that was well lived because she lived with brothers. She had five kids. I mean, how are the children doing? Because I can't imagine being in your position, but then the kids, you know, all dealing with losing their mother. They're having, they have a lot of support, but they're having a difficult time because, you know, the different ages process truth or reality in different ways. Like when you're younger, you might not understand abstract thinking. It's more concrete.

And so I think as they get older, it's going to be an ongoing thing for the next few years that they're going to be processing things in new ways as they grow and mature but for now it's very hard for them because they were close to their mum and she was like she was like like sunshine to them like her her son you know she would take him to his football practice, you know, and she would encourage him and she'd call him her little man, you know what I mean? So those things are, they're missed. They'll be sweet memories in the future. But right now, I think it's, it's like, it's a process, you know, of grieving and working through the sorrow. I know that that is typically a very safe community where you live. And a lot of people walk on that trail. You know, it's just so heartbreaking to me

that that the way that this happened, and you mentioned the, you know, this political aspect or what has become politicized about her case. But the fact that this suspect was here, they say that he killed another young woman in El Salvador and then came here. He's suspected of attacking a woman and her daughter in LA. And then of course he's accused of taking Rachel's life. Um, do you have any feelings about that that you'd like to share? Because that, I mean, there is, you know, there is a problem, obviously. Um, you know, you, you mentioned earlier that this is the second person in your county who's died in a similar way like this. So do you have any feelings about that that you would like to share? I think that you would be a fool to deny that there is a problem at the southern border. I mean, there's evidence all around the country.

It's not just in Maryland, and it's not just my daughter and this woman that lost her life, you know, a little over a year ago, but it's, you know, in Georgia. And there are countless other women across the United States, some that have been reported, some that don't hit the news. But Maryland is almost 2000 miles away from the southern border.

And they've made their way up to our community. And when my kids were little, we walked that trail every day. We've lived near the trail for like the last 20 years. It's a very safe community. And so to have this happen was extremely unheard of. It shook all of us. And I think that a lot of the communities across the United States are like ours and they are feeling similar feelings of restlessness and not feeling safe. So I think that this is more than just a political party. I think it's an American issue

because it encompasses the whole of the United States. I mean, we have bust, I think I looked online, dear old Google. I think there's 10 million, over 10 million have, are illegally in our country in the last four years. And that's not even the ones that have slipped through that are not accounted for. And so to have that amount of, not that all of them are criminals, but to have that amount of people in our country, and we don't know who they are, where they're from, I think is a safety issue. I mean, common sense would tell you, you know, protect your citizens. So I'm trying not to... It would be a safety issue no matter what country you were in. Yeah. And it's just common sense. If you have your home, you, you know, you close

your doors, you lock your windows, you protect the people in your home. It should be the same way in our cities, our towns, our country. Doesn't that make sense? It most certainly does. On Thursday, Patty Morin's attorney announced that former President Trump had called Patty to offer his condolences. In a statement, Patty Morin said she was touched by his kindness and that his words brought her comfort. You're at the beginning of what will likely be a very long process. The sheriff has made his thoughts known on what he would like to happen to the suspect in this case. What would you like to see happen? I mean, with the charges he is

facing, if he's convicted eventually, he will likely never get out of prison. Yes. I am, I'm actually glad that we do not have the death penalty in Maryland, but for this reason only. This person, if convicted, will probably have life in prison, but he will still be alive. And he will have time to potentially change. I mean, he's a young man, he's 23 years old. There's always hope. Until your last breath, there's hope. And my hope is that maybe he will see, we don't know why he is the way that he is, maybe it's cultural, maybe it's the way he was raised, like, I don't know. But I'm glad that there isn't going to be two deaths out of this because life is very precious and valuable.

We've already lost my daughter. I don't want another person to lose their life when they have a chance to maybe turn around, even if it is in prison the rest of their life. Does that make sense? Yes. And it's very gracious and magnanimous of you, given what he's accused of doing to your daughter and what you've been through and the rest of your family. Is there anything else you'd like to add? Well, I just, I want to thank you for this time. I appreciate it. I'm still processing the news. So at the moment, I'm just feeling really sad. I'm sure as time passes, I'll probably get really angry and just work through some of the other things. But I just want people to take notice of the people

that are in your life and to just value them and spend time with them because you never know when it's going to be the last time. One of the things, this will be my last thought, one of the things that we practice in our family was every time someone would come into the house, we would hug and kiss each other and say, I love you. I'm glad to see you. And when we left the house, no matter, even if it was just the grocery store and back, we would hug, kiss each other and say, I love you and goodbye because we didn't want it to be the last time and we didn't say those words and that's been a practice in our family for 40 years so and I think people just need to value life

and appreciate those that they have in their life because life is very short. It really is. And I think that's, those are some words of wisdom from you, Patty. Thank you so much for talking with me. I appreciate it. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. I appreciate it too. 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.