Rachel Morin’s suspected killer extradited to Maryland on Thursday

By Adam Thompson, Jessica Albert, Christian Olaniran

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    BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) — Victor Martinez Hernandez, the undocumented migrant suspected of murdering Maryland mom Rachel Morin, was extradited to Maryland on Thursday

Hernandez is charged in the murder and rape of Morin, who was found dead off Harford County’s Ma & Pa Trail in August 2023. He was arrested on June 14 at a bar in Tulsa, Oklahoma before deputies brought him back to Maryland by plane.

He was then driven by deputies to the Harford County Detention Center.

“Our state does not have the death penalty but I certainly hope that the court will process, the end result of that is that he is found guilty and that he’s given the sentence of life without the possibility parole,” Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said Martinez Hernandez left El Salvador in February 2023 after an arrest warrant was issued for the murder of a young woman.

He is also accused of attacking a 9-year-old girl in Los Angeles.

“This crazy immigration policy is really evil and allowed this terrible guy to come in here and destroy this for so many people and especially the Morin family. We’ve got to stop this,” Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly said. “We’ve got to reverse the idiocy that is our current border policies. Start by catching the criminals. We can’t possibly police this country with a totally porous border on our southern end.”

The sheriff said a lead involving genetic genealogy led them to their suspect in Oklahoma.

Officers said when they approached Hernandez at the bar, he lied about who he was and his alleged crimes.

“Hopefully he’ll never have the opportunity to walk free again,” Gahler said.

The murder by an undocumented migrant has raised anger among Maryland leaders about immigration policies.

“We have an immigration policy that needed to have been dealt with and was not,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said. “And the consequences then fall on us as the chief executives of our states, the consequences fall on us as the leaders of our individualized jurisdictions.”

With Hernandez back in Maryland, Morin’s family is looking forward to getting justice for her murder.

WJZ’s Jessica Albert spoke with Rachel Morin’s mother about the recent arrest.

Hernandez has a bail review hearing Friday afternoon at the Harford County District Court.

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