The ju judge convicted a fugitive from El Salvador for rape and murder of a Maryland woman, attracted national media attention and took a break from a criminal case that became a hot topic in the 2024 presidential election.
Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez, an illegal immigrant, was found guilty Monday evening of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, sexual offences and confirmed in a press release by the Maryland ju court. Martinez illegally entered the United States multiple times before the murder, and was sought in his home country for the murder of another woman. (Related: Gangbang and Rapeer: Trump’s administrator name drop criminal deported to El Salvador)
President Donald Trump highlighted Morin’s murder during his campaign for reelection in 2024, taking her family to numerous campaign events, and celebrated his conviction Monday evening.
“A while ago, an illegal criminal allowed in our country by the bent Joe Biden was convicted of Rachel Morin’s violent murder,” Trump posted The true society. “Rachel is a beautiful mother of five from Maryland, and her life was taken away by a monster who shouldn’t have been here in the first place.”
Sierra Vista, Arizona – August 22: President Donald Trump, the US Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump, comforts Pati Morin, the mother of Rachel Morin, who was killed by undocumented immigrants on August 22, 2024, on the US-Mexican border south of Sierra Vista, Arizona. Trump will hold a rally tomorrow in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo: Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
“We will never forget Rachel Morin and are committed to protecting women like her throughout our country,” Trump continued. “We will deport illegal killers, rapists and criminals.”
Morin, the 37-year-old mother of five, was beaten, raped and murdered on August 5, 2023 along the hiking trail, prosecutors said. While walking along the MA & PA Trail in Harford County, Maryland, Morin was attacked by Martinez Hernandez. Martinez Hernandez pulled her around 150 feet from the main trail, according to data from her mobile phone and Apple Watch.
Oklahoma law enforcement officials finally grabbed Martinez Hernandez in June 2024 and charged him with Morin’s death. Investigators were able to link Salvador’s citizens to DNA found at the crime scene. At the time of his arrest he claimed he never lived in Maryland, but prosecutors produced multiple witnesses and business records to prove he lived in Bel Air, Maryland at the time of the murder.
Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) previously confirmed with the Daily Call News Foundation that Martinez Hernandez illegally entered the United States on multiple occasions in 2023.
He then entered the United States illegally in February 2023 without detection by border authorities, according to ICE.
Following the arrest of Martinez Hernandez, her mother, Patty Morin, has become a supporter of Trump’s campaign’s voice. Her family said they were “deeply moved” by Trump’s outreach and attended the 2024 Republican National Convention.
The president has consistently emphasized people whose families have been killed by illegal immigrants. In early April, the Trump administration resumed victims of the Immigration Crime Engagement Office, an office dedicated to supporting angel family members shut down by the Biden administration.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation is an independent, nonpartisan newswire service that is free to use for legitimate news publishers that can provide large audiences. All republished articles must include logos, reporter signatures and DCNF affiliation. For questions regarding our guidelines or partnerships with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
