Suspect in 2023 murder of Maryland mother of five arrested, county sheriff says

Watch video: Police arrest man in murder of Maryland mom Rachel Morin

BALTIMORE — A suspect in the murder of Maryland mother Rachel Morin has been arrested in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Harford County Sheriff's Office announced during a news conference Saturday.

Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez, a 23-year-old undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, was arrested Friday in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler said. He is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree rape, and Harford County State's Attorney Alison Healy will be the prosecutor in that case, Gahler said.

Hernandez had crossed the U.S. border illegally in February 2023, after murdering another young woman in El Salvador a month earlier in January 2023, Gahler said. Interpol, the international law enforcement agency, had issued a warrant for his arrest for the woman's murder there.

The suspect has connections in the Washington, D.C., area, Virginia and Prince George's County, and ties to known gangs, Gahler said.

Martinez is awaiting extradition to Maryland, which Gahler said could take 30 to 60 days.

Rachel Morin was found murdered along the Ma & Pa trail last August. She disappeared after taking a walk along a popular Harford County trail. Law enforcement believes the suspect hid in a drainage culvert and attacked Morin as she walked. Authorities were able to connect his murder to an assault and home invasion in Los Angeles, California, which took place on March 26.

His family launched a commercial appeal in April for justice in the investigation.

Emily Hung contributed to this report.