A sentencing date has been set in August for the man found guilty of raping and killing Rachel Morin on the Ma and Pa Heritage Trail in August 2023.

Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, 24, is a Salvadorian native found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree rape, third-degree sex offense and kidnapping in the death of the 37-year-old Bel Air mother who’s body was found beaten and naked in a drainage culvert off of the popular hiking trail.

Sentencing is set for Aug. 11 at 9:30 a.m. at the Harford County Circuit Courthouse in front of the case’s presiding judge, Yolanda Curtin.

Prosecutors, Harford County State’s Attorney Alison Healey and Deputy State’s Attorney David Ryden, are seeking that Martinez-Hernandez be sentenced to life without possibility of parole — the maximum penalty for first-degree premeditated murder.

The Maryland State Sentencing Guidelines are recommendations.

However, since a sentence of life without parole is a possibility, state law requires Martinez-Hernandez to be subject to a pre-sentencing investigation so the state can learn of his upbringing, mental health issues, prior offenses and other background information for Curtin to consider during sentencing.

Prosecutors also requested that Martinez-Hernandez 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, so Martinez-Hernandez’s sentencing date will be set months from now.

Martinez-Hernandez was found guilty on April 14, bringing a nine-day jury trial to a close. The guilty verdict prevented Martinez-Hernandez, who entered the United States illegally in 2023, from being deported to El Salvador, as he is expected to serve his sentence in the United States.

Have a news tip? Contact Matt Hubbard at mhubbard@baltsun.com, 443-651-0101 or @mthubb on X.