The man found guilty of raping and killing Rachel Morin on the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail in August 2023 will be sentenced next week.

Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, 24, was found guilty April 14 of premeditated murder, first-degree rape, third-degree sexual assault, and kidnapping following a nine-day jury trial in Harford Circuit Court.

Martinez-Hernandez, a Salvadorian native who entered the United States illegally in 2023, will be sentenced Monday, at 9:30 a.m. by Harford Circuit Judge Yolanda Curtin, who presided over the trial.

Harford State’s Attorney Alison Healey, who prosecuted the case, said on numerous occasions that she will seek a sentence of life without the possibility of parole — the maximum state penalty for first-degree murder.

Since a sentence of life without parole is a possibility, state law required a presentencing 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.

Healey also requested Martinez-Hernandez undergo a psychosexual evaluation — a tool used for risk assessment to gauge whether an offender might reoffend if given the opportunity — before sentencing.

The case dates back to Aug. 5, 2023, when 37-year-old Rachel Morin, of Bel Air, went for a run on the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail, but never returned. Her body was found in a culvert off the trail the next day by a man participating in a search party.

More than 500 pieces of evidence presented by Healey during the trial showed that Martinez-Hernandez waited in the woods along the trail before attacking Morin and dragging her body into a drainage tunnel, where he raped her and beat her to death.

Police matched DNA found on Morin’s body to Martinez-Hernandez, which led to his arrest at a sports bar in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 14, 2024.

During sentencing, Morin’s family will provide victim impact statements about the life-altering impact Morin’s murder has had on their lives. Randolph Rice, an attorney representing Morin’s mother, Patricia Morin, said the impact statements serve as a critical part of the sentencing process as they give victims and families a voice in open court before a final judgment is rendered.

“This sentencing marks a critical moment for the Morin family as they confront the man responsible for Rachel’s horrific death,” Rice said. “While no sentence can restore what was taken, the family’s voice and their pain deserve to be heard and this is their moment to speak directly to the court and the world.”

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