Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - GUILTY! RACHEL MORIN'S KILLER AWAITS SENTENCING

Episode Date: May 24, 2025

Emotions ran high for Rachel Morin’s loved ones after police arrested Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez in connection with her murder. Authorities found the suspect casually sitting in a Tulsa, Oklahoma bar. During the arrest, Hernandez initially lied about his identity and denied involvement in the attack on a 9-year-old girl in Los Angeles and the murder of Morin. Police discovered Rachel Morin’s body nearly five months after she went missing. Another 10 months passed before Hernandez’s arrest. More than a year of his time in the United States remains unaccounted for. While the arrest brought some closure, Morin’s sister, Rebekah, said it also felt like “day one all over again.” Matt McMahon, the father of Morin’s eldest daughter, said the Ma and Pa Trail now feels like it “belongs to Rachel again.” Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez is scheduled for sentencing in August. Joining Nancy Grace today: Patty Morin - Rachel Morin’s Mother Randolph Rice - Morin Family Attorney - Rice, Murtha & Psoras, LLCPH Website: https://RiceLawMd.com  Dr. Bethany Marshall – Psychoanalyst (Beverly Hills); X: @DrBethanyLive/ Instagram & TikTok: drbethanymarshall; Appearing in “Paris in Love” on Peacock; BOOK: “Deal Breaker: When to work on a relationship and when to walk away” Chris McDonough – Director At the Cold Case Foundation, Former Homicide Detective; Host of YouTube channel: “The Interview Room” Vincent Hill – Anchor/Reporter for FOX 45 in Baltimore, Former Police Officer and Private Investigator; Author: “Playbook to A Dave Mack -  CrimeOnline Investigative Reporter See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Bombshell verdict in the case of an illegal immigrant accused of the rape and murder of a beautiful young mother of five, Rachel Morin. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. An illegal migrant found guilty of, quote, viciously raping and murdering a Maryland mom of five, Rachel Moran, after the jury deliberated less than an hour. Victor Martinez Hernandez, 24, convicted, guilty of first degreedegree murder, first-degree

rape, first-degree sex offense, and kidnapping. This after Rachel, 37, was murdered along a hiking trail about 30 miles northeast of Baltimore. Again, the guilty verdict is handed down in less than an hour of deliberation. Martinez Hernandez set to spend the rest of his life behind bars. What were the facts that convinced this jury? Trail mom Rachel Morin's killer caught in a Tulsa bar. The suspect, Victor Hernandez, on the run from his native El Salvador for yet another murder.

Today, Rachel Morin's mom speaks out. You know, everywhere I look, I see him. I see him everywhere I look. Why do I have to keep seeing him? I want to see Rachel Morin. Beautiful on the inside, beautiful on the outside, no question about that. But in my mind more important than her striking beauty, she is the mother of five, the mother of five children. And before that she was a daughter to a wonderful mom, Patty Morin.

Ms. Morin, thank you for being with us. Thank you for having me. Ms. Morin, how did you learn that Rachel's killer had been caught? Because this was a manhunt like no other, crossing borders all the way to El Salvador. Actually, the sheriff department reached out to our family and had set up a meeting in their office to let us know that they had identified the suspect and that they were in the process of trying to locate him. So at the time, we weren't allowed to say anything. They showed us a picture of him

and then we were expecting that it would still take some time but miraculously within hours after they informed us they were able to locate him and apprehend him. Looking at this guy, he looks like somebody you might pass on the way to the subway or at the grocery store. Little did everyone know this guy with the big smile laid in wait to catch Rachel, mother of five, as she walked around the bend of the Ma and Pa trail there near Bel Air, Maryland. As you can see, the bend in the trail gives him perfect cover. He's like a hyena

waiting at the water pool, waiting for the beautiful gazelle to come by and then pounce, just waiting. Rachel had no idea what would befall her that day. Tracking this guy, this guy, Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez, was no easy thing. Listen. If he's come under the radar through HIDA, that means they may have already had pre-incident contact with this guy on other types of crimes, i.e. narcotics investigations or something to that effect.

The fact that the sheriff mentioned them the other day as a partner who assisted in this case, that threw me a red flag that, okay, this guy had been in this country and now that big question is is what was he doing? Was he running dope? You know, was he working for somebody? And maybe this is what gave him the availability to travel around the

United States and how he ended up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Joining me in addition to Rachel's mother, Patty is renowned psycho analyst, Dr. Bethany Marshall, joining us from LA. Dr. Bethany, I've tried so many cases where the victim was involved in wrongdoing. I've tried a lot of drug cases that turned into homicide cases. But there are those singular cases, there are those cases that strike me where it's such a dichotomy of good versus evil. You have Rachel Moran, young, beautiful, happy, a

fantastic mother, and you know how I feel Bethany, there is no greater compliment to me than someone saying, you know what, you're really a good mom. She devoted herself to five children. You got her and you got this guy just trucking along, Martinez Hernandez, already killed one person in El Salvador, sneaks over here. Somewhere in the timeline, he sex assaults a nine-year-old little girl.

And I'm telling you, Bethany, Dr. Bethany, there are more victims, be they in Virginia, in California, in Tulsa where he was apprehended. I'm not sure, but I do know know this these are not his only victims the Dichotomy I'm talking about you've got Rachel Moran Just beautiful Just beloved by her family her mother who is with us today and you got this guy And it makes me wonder this age-old question Why did our very best people fall victim to

people like Hernandez? Yes, good and evil. It's right there. And what I really am struck by in this case is that this perpetrator is what I would call poly perverse. And so this makes this guy very, very dangerous. And the other thing, Nancy, that strikes me is the enormous amount of energy that goes into these crimes. This guy is not just, you know, in one town or one village and, you know, just sneaking out

at night and killing or raping somebody. This guy is traveling all over the world. So if he hadn't been caught, we could have had a total killing spree. Well, I don't know what you mean by could have had a total killing spree. I've got a victim in El Salvador dead, Rachel Moran is dead, a nine-year-old girl has been raped. And I guarantee you there are more dead bodies in his wake.

And the reason this guy has been caught been raped. And I guarantee you there are more dead bodies in his wake. I agree. The reason this guy has been caught before he could kill again is because of Rachel Moran and the publicity and the intent, the iron will her mother had to see this thing through. I don't know how many more victims there would be. So I do know who and what Rachel Moran is. She is the lady that moms want their girls to grow up and be. That's who Rachel Moran is. Who is this guy?

Listen. Five hours after meeting with the family and just before midnight our time, police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, assisted by our federal partners, located and arrested Rachel's murderer, Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez. So far we have learned that the suspect now pictured on the screens is a 23 year old citizen

of El Salvador who illegally crossed the border into the United States in February of 2023. Ms. Moran, could you tell our listeners who is Rachel? I guess the backdrop of who is this guy, Hernandez? Well, Rachel from birth on has been this little spark, like a little fireball. I remember her being like 14, 15 months old and she's very petite, fair skin, bright orange hair. And she just loved life. She loved learning new things. Everything

excited her. The excitement wasn't learning, but also she was very sensitive. She cared about people. She cared about people's feelings. She was very compassionate. She grew up to be just a wonderful woman, balanced. I loved her because she has a strong sense of herself and she didn't have a problem disagreeing with mom because mom's a little older and more traditional than she was. But that's what made her who she was. She knew who she was.

She loved her children. She devoted herself to her children. She was a hard worker. Ms. Morin, can you tell me about Rachel's children and how they have been responding to mommy being gone? Yes. In the beginning, it was, they lived in denial.

They couldn't understand why she was gone. They couldn't understand why she couldn't come back. She has an autistic daughter who's high on the spectrum. And her daughter just kept saying, I just want my friend back. She has an autistic daughter who's high on the spectrum. And her daughter just kept saying, I just want my friend back. And she couldn't understand that she couldn't come back to her. I know that they've been getting counseling and help and processing this, but I think that it's going to be a long time because they're still so young and so at different points in their growth and in their maturity they're going to come back to this and kind of reprocess it. So I think this is going to be a

long-term thing for her children. Patty, how old is her youngest? Eight years old. There are five of them. Have they been kept together or did they have to be separated? There's five. They're all separated. Her oldest daughter has been living with her fiancé for the past two years or so and they're actually expecting their first baby. So Rachel's missing the birth for first granddaughter Then two of her children the next two in age are with their father which is about an hour away From the rest of the family and then the youngest

live in the area. So they are they live with their fathers in separate places, but they do try to come together a couple of times a month to hang out for a weekend and to be with each other. But it's very, very disheartening to have such a broken up family. You know, until I had the twins, I would hear people talk about the best thing that ever happened to them was having a grandchild and being there.

The thought that I wouldn't be there to help my daughter when she has a baby or to help my son. It's devastating. The most important thing that happens to them in their life, and she's not going to be there, and that child is not going to have her. And when I think about this woman, when I think about Rachel Moore,

and I was first, when I heard about her murder, I was just struck by her incredible physical beauty. But the more I learned about her, she was completely devoted to those children. And who is he? Listen. Victor Hernandez did not come here to make a better life for himself or for his family.

He came here to escape the crime he committed in El Salvador. He came here and murdered Rachel and, God willing, no one else. But that should have never been allowed to happen. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Guilty, an illegal immigrant now convicted in the murder of a beautiful young mother of five. Guilty in her murder and rape, the jury deliberating less than an hour. Patty Moran along with her lawyer also joining us, Randolph Rice, who is the family lawyer, I might add.

Vincent Hill joining me in addition to Dr. Bethany Marshall. Vincent Hill, investigative reporter, Fox 45 in Baltimore and former police officer in private eye. He's the author of Playbook to a Murder. Vincent, thank you for joining us. I want to try and explain, but you're very familiar with the path, how this guy, a predator, already murdered one woman back in El Salvador, already attacked a mother and a nine-year-old little girl.

How he is waiting along this trail. And this is not a trail where nobody can say, you know, Vincent, how people love to say, oh, I would never have gone walking on that trail by myself. Or everybody feels in the blank right there. It drives me crazy. So they can differentiate themselves from a violent crime victim

because it makes you feel safe. That's not gonna happen to you. But this trail, Ma and Pa Trail, it's you feel safe. That's not going to happen to you. But this trail, Ma and Pa Trail, it's a family trail. Families are on it all the time. If you look past those trees, there's an apartment complex and people access it all the time. And I just want to point out, there is no way to insinuate that Rachel Moran in any way was acting negligently or recklessly. I want to dispel that myth because I've heard it.

It's not true. Yeah, that's right, Nancy. I mean, if Rachel had any inkling that something would have been best on that trail, given her size, given the fact that she was alone she wouldn't have been there but on that particular day I'm sure there were hundreds of people out because the weather was nice this guy was lying in wait he had been to that trail he had maybe even seen Rachel before because we know that he had been in Maryland for quite some time before he did what he did. So Rachel was just going about her day, and unfortunately she was in the wrong place

at the wrong time, and she came across Victor Martinez, which ended her life. You know, Vincent, I want to address something that you just said. Of course, everything you said as usual is accurate. But you said, and I think it's because Rachel's mother is with us, you said he, and you paused, did what he did. I've had to look juries in the face,

little old ladies sitting on the jury, and tell them what happened. Rachel's mother knows what happened. You think I want to hurt her? We have to be blunt. What he did, he did what he did, you said, after a long pause. He stalked her. He saw her. He bludgeoned her. He beat in her face and he raped her and he left her on that trail naked.

He stole this mother from her children in the most brutal fashion like an animal. That is what he did. And there's no way to sugarcoat it. There's no way to airbrush it or massage it into something else. And because of Rachel, we know who he is, and he is behind bars. This is what happened. Listen. There was a bend in the trail that most likely was used by the individual who attacked Rachel in the trail, pulled her through the wooded area

into this drainage culvert where she ultimately lost her life. DNA evidence was collected by our Forensic Services Unit. That DNA was analyzed by the Maryland State Police, and it was ran through the National Code of System. This DNA evidence has come back as a match tied to a home invasion and an assault of a young girl in Los Angeles this past March. Unfortunately, that suspect has not been possibly identified, but he did leave behind his DNA. That was then.

This is now. We got him due to an extensive manhunt and incredible work by lab scientists in genetic genealogy, cutting edge DNA, we have Hernandez. I want to go to our special guest, Patty Morin. This is Rachel's mother. Ms. Morin? Yes. I'm so sorry what you've lived through, but I know you're going to be front and center when this goes to trial. How many times

have you let yourself live through what Rachel experienced? It's an everyday thing. Sad to say it. I know part of grieving is you have to face the facts and you have to process them. have to face the facts and you have to process them. And until they apprehended the suspect, it was easy to kind of live in denial a little bit. But now that they have a suspect,

it makes all the facts true. And you have to face the truth and accept it. And so you have to rethink what you've been told and process those thoughts and put a timeline to it. And it's very, it's like, it's so painful and grieving to think what my daughter experienced and that there was no one there to help her. You know, as moms, we want to protect our children and have something so unexpected happen and for us just not to be there, not able to help. It's been a very, it's just

been, it's been very hard. I wasn't there to protect her or to help her, but I want to be there after the fact, I guess, to make sure that absolutely everything is done for her and that nothing is left undone. Randolph, I'm so glad you're there with Ms. Moran. I'm just so glad you're there. Randolph Rice, high profile lawyer that's working with the Moran family.

Let me go to Chris McDonough. He is the director of the Cole Case Foundation. He has been working on this case and investigating on his own as we all have been. Former homicide detective with no less than 300 homicide investigations under his belt. I found him on YouTube on the interview room during the Koberger investigation and was struck by his knowledge, his intimate familiarity with not only that case, but the workings of a courtroom. And Chris McDonough, I don't know if you ever let yourself think about the suffering of

the victims that you and I have represented our whole careers, if you can call what we do a career. But Chris, I'm listening to Ms. Moran, and I have never been quite as brave as she is being today. Because when I think about my fiance's murder, what happened in those moments that he was killed, I stop myself because to this day, it gives me an intense headache, a horrible headache when I start reliving what I think happened. Crime victims never get away from it and I can't now that I've got children I can't imagine what a parent goes through. You heard Rachel's mom describing you can't be

there for your child, your baby. You can't help them. It's excruciating. How do you separate yourself from that, Chris? You know, I lost a child in 2003, and I don't think anybody quite understands, like Nancy's explaining about the death of her fiance, what depth of pain you can get to. But here's the other good news. You can get through it. And you can empower yourself that her life

makes a difference to perhaps somebody else's family, that this never happens again to anybody else that they have to experience what you're experiencing. So it does, you will be able to get through it. And, you know, I know that Nancy's given you an amazing platform here to tell the nation, you know, how you're going to do that. And I commend you for saying what you've said, even this morning. I want to go to a special guest joining us. In addition to Rachel's mother, it's Randolph Rice, high-profile lawyer who is helping the Moran family through this. Randolph, thank you for being with us. You know, I tried a drug lord, and the night he was arrested, I'll never forget it. He was wearing, a la Michael Jackson, a bright red leather jacket and matching pants, the highest Italian leather.

He was wearing a red shirt underneath it and he was wearing red, they had to be $500 tennis shoes, okay, and a red hat, of course. That said, guess what he wore? Of course he made bond because he had millions of dollars drug money. But guess what he wore day one to the trial? Just guess. Same outfit? Yes, same thing.

And that is what one of the witnesses had described, a red jacket, a red leather jacket. What I'm saying is not just about the hat Randolph rise, it's the fingerprint nature of the crimes, the similarities. In both cases, he lie in wait for the right moment. In both cases, he attacked a female. In both cases, he's wearing the same thing. In both cases, there was physical brutality. In both cases, he makes off casually. He walked out of that house like he owned it. And I guarantee you, he did the same thing in Rachel's murder, the similarities of these cases.

And there's going to be more. I just wonder if the case in El Salvador is as similar as that can be brought in at trial as a similar transaction. I mean, if we're going to go Randolph Rice, let's go all the way. Right. Yeah. No, you're right. And it's, you know, as a former prosecutor and back in the day when I had a little less gray hair,

I remember prepping for these types of cases. And you're right, you have got to put together a timeline of where he was leading up to this and where he was after, because there could be patterns, there could be similarities. Crime stories with Nancy Grace. Finally, a guilty verdict in the case of a man

accused of viciously raping and murdering a Maryland mother of five. After a lengthy investigation that spanned the country, I'm just wondering how you're getting through each day. How do you put your head on the pillow? How do you make yourself fall asleep? When you wake up in the morning, what makes you get out of bed? Actually, I haven't really slept at all in the last 10 months. Because you just, you think about Rachel's life,

you think about all the details before she was murdered, and you think, is there any little detail that I missed that could help in some way. And so up until the suspect was apprehended, that's the way my days were, like literally day and night. Is there anything that I missed in her life that could have been helpful? There is now a sense of relief where before, to be honest, I was afraid to go to sleep

at night. Not that I look like my daughter anyway, but I was just as a woman, I just felt afraid. And I know our community did as well, especially the women. And so we feel a sigh of relief, but now it's still feeling exhausted and thinking, what more can I do to help my daughter? Chris McDonough joining me, veteran law enforcement, I'm thinking about what Patty, Rachel Moran's mom, is just saying. I know there are going to be other crimes to connect him to. The best way of course is DNA, and his DNA has already been entered into the National DNA Data Bank, but there is also the fingerprint data bank where he may not

have left DNA or the DNA may not have been preserved. There's a possibility of a fingerprint match, for instance, a burglary that turned into an aggravated assault or rape, a fingerprint on a car, a fingerprint anywhere that I can connect him to a crime, and also a digital fingerprint. This guy is, as we say now, a migrant. That's what we're saying. Nobody is saying illegal alien, apparently. So we're not going to track him through his credit card or his social security number.

That's not happening. But I guarantee you this. I guarantee you he had a top of the line iPhone or Android. Okay? This guy is involved with a gang. He is in a gang. Notorious for crime. I'm sure you prosecuted gang cases. I did. They're like a pack of animals. Human life means nothing to them. And I guarantee you, he was tricked out with the best phone to keep in touch with his gang buddies. All right? That's a way to trace him where he has been, what he has been doing. Yes, no. You are 100% right, Nancy, that if this guy, you know, we first of all, we have some good

information here. Number one, that he committed this ferocious crime in El Salvador. And then at some point, he must have crossed, you know, into this country. The question is, how many times and did they ever have contact with him? And if so, how does he make it to LA? And that gang connection that you're talking about is probably the most logical connection to this thing because that neighborhood where that first attack occurred is in the 77th Division of LAPD. That is one rough neighborhood, let me tell you, okay? I've been there, and we've served many search warrants there. And so how does he blend into that circumstance? And that gang affiliation is probably the most likely that would make him a chameleon within that environment and why he was hidden

for as long as he has. likely that would make him a chameleon within that environment and why he was hidden for as long as he has. Joining me is a very special guest. Patty Moran is with us, Rachel's mother. Ms. Moran, you are speaking to thousands and thousands of parents who are suffering. And I want you, as best as you can, to explain what you do when you feel overwhelmed by the loss of your girl. Honestly, I cry.

I cry and I pray. I cry and I pray. I know that different people have different religious affiliations, but I believe in the Lord. And I believe that God has a plan and a purpose, even if we don't understand it. And I believe that God is good and that he loves me. And so when things are very hard, I go to the rock, I ease my solace, and I just pray and pour my heart out to him.

And he comforts me. But then I also have a close group of friends that have been such a support these last few months, praying for our family, giving encouraging words. Mr. Rice, what an awesome man he is. He is so good and so kind and so generous. Just really very good supportive people. And so I would encourage anyone that's feeling pain from a loss to get counseling, to have

a support group, a group of friends, maybe grief share, and just to keep your friends close. And don't be afraid to feel your feelings and to process them, because you don't wanna be stuck. And it's healthy, even though it's very, very painful, it's healthy, even though it's very, very painful. It's healthy to process them. And I wanna make sure that I'm healthy for my family. So I'm willing to feel the pain now, so that I'm not stuck and not moving forward

for my grandchildren. It took less than an hour for a jury to convict an illegal immigrant, Victor Martinez Hernandez, age 24, in the murder and rape of a beautiful young mother of five, Rachel Morin. Nancy, if I can jump in here. Victor Martinez Hernandez willernandez will be sentenced in August. On the 11th, a sentencing hearing is scheduled and during the hearing, Moran's family and friends will have the opportunity to speak on the impact of Moran's death. Until then, Nancy, the children of Rachel

Moran have filed a lawsuit against their grandmother and aunt. The five children ranging in age from 9 to 19, claim they've not received any money from the GoFundMe account started after Moran's death or any other donated money and gifts. Nearly $55,000 was donated for funeral expenses, and according to the lawsuit, the remaining funds would be given to Moran's children. Instead, they claim the money is in an account controlled by Patty Moran and Rebecca Moran Rachel Moran's mother and sister the accusations against the two unjust enrichment and fraud

Rachel's oldest daughter 19 year old Faye McMahon who is the executor of her mom's estate along with Joseph Custer and Jonathan Alderson the father of Rachel's four other surviving children filed the claim they request a, quote, full accounting of the funds raised and their current disposition, and are asking the court to award both compensatory and punitive damages. A similar lawsuit was dismissed months ago, but we don't know why. Our prayers with the Moran family. Goodbye, friend.