A man convicted of the 2023 rape and murder of Maryland mother Rachel Morin has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.
In April, a jury found Victor Martinez-Hernandez guilty of kidnapping, sexually assaulting, and killing Morin, 37, in August 2023. Prosecutors said Martinez-Hernandez entered the United States illegally and was released in 2023 before committing the crime.
Morin, a mother of five, was reported missing by her boyfriend on August 5, 2023, after she failed to return from a hike on a trail in Harford County, Maryland. Her body was discovered the next day in a drainage area. Investigators testified that she had been struck in the head with rocks, sexually assaulted, and her body hidden.
South Dakota Secretary of State Kristi Noem, who has been outspoken on crimes committed by undocumented immigrants, issued a statement after the sentencing, saying, “Rachel Morin’s killer was sentenced to life without parole for her brutal murder. This criminal illegal alien should have never been in our country in the first place. Rachel should still be here watching her five children grow up.”
Noem also noted her decision to re-establish the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) office in her state. The VOICE office, initially launched in 2017 under the Trump administration, was designed to provide resources and support for victims of crimes linked to immigration. The Biden administration closed the office in 2021, replacing it with a broader victim support program.
Martinez-Hernandez will serve his sentence without the possibility of parole.
