August sentencing set for man who killed Rachel Morin on Maryland trail

Matt Hubbard, Baltimore Sun on Apr 29, 2025

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BALTIMORE — Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, who was found guilty earlier this month of the August 2023 rape and murder of Rachel Morin on the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail in Bel Air, will be sentenced by Harford County Circuit Judge Yolanda Curtin on Aug. 11.

Harford County State’s Attorney Alison Healey will seek a sentence of life without the possibility of parole — the maximum state penalty for first-degree murder.

A Harford County jury convicted Martinez-Hernandez, 24, a Salvadoran native, of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, third-degree sex offense and kidnapping in the killing of Morin, a 37-year-old Bel Air mother of five whose body was found in a drainage culvert off the popular hiking trail.

Since a sentence of life without parole is a possibility, state law requires a pre-sentencing investigation so the state can learn more about Martinez-Hernandez’s upbringing, potential mental health issues, prior offenses and other background information for the judge to consider.

Prosecutors requested that Martinez-Hernandez also undergo a psychosexual evaluation, which serves as a risk assessment tool for the state in gauging if Martinez-Hernandez could reoffend if given the opportunity.

Both evaluations take 60 to 90 days to complete.

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