Illegal Migrant Convicted Of Raping, Murdering Maryland Mother Of Five

A jury convicted a fugitive from El Salvador for the rape and murder of a Maryland woman, putting to rest a criminal case that attracted national media attention and became a major talking point in the 2024 presidential campaign.

Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, a 24-year-old illegal migrant, was convicted Monday evening of first degree murder, first degree rape, third degree sexual offense and kidnapping by a Maryland jury for the death of Rachel Morin, the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office confirmed in a pressrelease. Martinez had unlawfully entered the United States multiple times before the murder and was wanted in his home country for the murder of another woman.

President Donald Trump, who highlighted Morin’s killing during his 2024 campaign for re-election and accompanied her family to numerous campaign events, celebrated the guilty verdict Monday evening.

“Moments ago, the Illegal Criminal, who was allowed into our Country by Crooked Joe Biden, was convicted of the heinous murder of Rachel Morin,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Rachel was a beautiful mother of five from Maryland, and her life was taken at the hands of a monster who should have NEVER been here in the first place.”

“We will never forget Rachel Morin, and are committed to protecting women like her across our Country,” Trump continued. “We will deport Illegal Murderers, Rapists, and Criminals.”

Morin, a 37-year-old mother of five children, was “viciously” beaten, raped and murdered along a hiking trail on August 5, 2023, prosecutors said. While taking a walk on the Ma & Pa Trail in Harford County, Maryland, Morin was attacked by Martinez-Hernandez, who pulled her roughly 150 feet away from the main trail, according to data on her phone and Apple Watch.