Harford County Circuit Court Judge Yolanda Curtin ruled Friday morning that the jury trial of Victor Martinez-Hernandez will remain in Harford County, despite concerns from defense attorneys that the man who is charged in the 2023 killing of Rachel Morin would not get a fair trial due to national attention on the case.

In her ruling Curtin said pre-trial publicity has not been damaging to the defendant despite the defense attorneys’ citing of numerous stories in the media and the display of signs and vigils as being informative to potential jurors.

A jury trial is scheduled to begin April 1.

A motion for a change of venue was made by the legal team of Martinez-Hernandez, 24, of El Salvador, earlier this month. Defense attorneys said Martinez-Hernandez would not be able to receive a fair trial in Harford County due to the case being used as a nationwide talking point on immigration policy.

Martinez-Hernandez is charged with first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree rape, third-degree sex offense and kidnapping for the August 2023 death of Rachel Morin, 37, on the Ma and Pa Heritage Trail in Bel Air. Police say that Martinez-Hernandez illegally entered the U.S. in 2023.

DNA evidence found on Morin’s body was used to identify Martinez-Hernandez as a potential suspect and he was arrested at a sports bar in Tulsa, Oklahoma in June — ending a nearly 10-month investigation.

The case was a political talking point for President Donald Trump during his 2024 campaign; he used Morin in his campaign messaging favoring stricter immigration laws and border controls.

Morin’s mother, Patty Morin, was critical of former President Joe Biden’s border policies, and appeared with Trump at several events and has testified before Congress about immigration policy on several occasions.

Public defenders for Martinez-Hernandez, Marcus X. Jenkins, Tara LeCompte and Sawyer Hicks, wrote in the filing for the venue change that their client “has been the subject of nationwide public hatred and vilification” after the case has been “the subject of numerous inflammatory and prejudicial reports in both legacy and social media.”

Due to the attention the case has received, the motion stated that the “defendant believes that an impartial jury cannot be empaneled in Harford County” and that as a result, Martinez-Hernandez “cannot receive a fair trial in Harford County.”

Harford County State’s Attorney Allison Healy stated during a news conference following the arrest of Martinez-Hernandez that prosecutors are seeking a life sentence without the possibility of parole in this case.

This story will be updated.

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