Trial Begins in Killing of Rachel Morin, Md. Mom Who Went Running and Was Brutally Raped and Murdered on Trail

On a sultry early evening in August 2023, mother of five Rachel Morin went out for a routine run on a popular Maryland trail and never came back.

The 37-year-old’s battered remains were found the next day along the bucolic Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air, 30 miles north of Baltimore. Fear swept through the community when police announced she had been dragged off the trail, sexually assaulted and beaten to death and left in a storm drain.

Ten months later, after an exhaustive manhunt, police arrested Victor Martinez-Hernandez in Tulsa, Okla., and charged him murder, rape and assault, according to charging documents reviewed by PEOPLE.

On Monday, March 31, 2025, Martinez-Hernandez’s long-awaited trial finally began, as onlookers and supporters of Morin and her family packed the courthouse. With emotions running high, law enforcement has increased security around the courthouse for the next two weeks, WMAR 2 reports.

The suspect’s arrest ignited a media firestorm when authorities announced the 23-year-old was an undocumented immigrant who was wanted for murder in his native El Salvador and had been allegedly linked to other violent crimes in the U.S. including a home invasion in California, CBS News reports.

Authorities said he allegedly fled El Salvador and entered the U.S. in February 2023 after being accused of murdering a woman in his native country in 2022.

The case, said attorney Randolph Rice, who represents the Morin family, “has garnered a lot of attention, but really this trial is about finding closure for the family, finding justice,” WMAR 2 reports.

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In January, attorneys for Martinez-Hernandez asked a judge to change venues because of the intense attention given to the case, but the judge denied the request, WMAR 2 reports.

The trial is expected to last about two weeks, with jury selection taking at least two to three days because the case is so well known, Rice told the outlet.

Opening arguments are expected to begin on Friday, April 4, WBFF reports.

Authorities said they believed Martinez-Hernandez hid in a drainage culvert along the trail and attacked Morin when she passed by, CBS News reports.

In charging documents reviewed by PEOPLE, authorities alleged that they were able to track Martinez-Hernandez using DNA recovered from Morin’s body that they connected to him through relatives. 

Using investigative genetic genealogy to track down his family members, authorities allegedly matched his DNA to the crime scene.

Morin’s then-boyfriend, Richard Tobin, who had reported her missing, and the victim’s two oldest daughters, ages 19 and 14, are expected to testify on Friday, WBFF reports.

“I see this as an opportunity to stand up for Rachel, defend her, stand up for themselves,” Matt McMahon, the father of Morin’s oldest child, told WBFF. “So for them, I feel that it’s extremely healing to be part of the process.”

On Friday, attorneys for the two daughters who are testifying will be wearing pink and green, the girls’ favorite colors, said McMahon, who encouraged anyone attending the trial to wear those colors to show support for them.

Attorneys for Martinez-Hernandez were not immediately available for comment.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.