OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
11:53 AM – Tuesday, August 12, 2025
Salvadoran national Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for raping and murdering 37-year-old Maryland mother-of-five Rachel Morin.
In April, a jury found the illegal alien guilty of first-degree rape, first-degree murder, third-degree sexual offense and third-degree kidnapping after less than an hour of deliberations.
Maryland authorities noted that Martinez-Hernandez first illegally crossed into the U.S. in February 2023 and that he was already wanted for a woman’s murder in his home country of El Salvador, according to CNN. He had only been residing in the United States for a couple of months before he committed the brutal crime.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, many Americans have reasonably attributed his presence in the country to former President Joe Biden’s lax “catch and release” border policies.
In 2023, Morin had been running on the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel-Air, Maryland, when she was suddenly ambushed, raped, strangled, and beaten to death. DNA evidence linked Martinez-Hernandez to both the murder and the sexual assault.
At his recent sentencing on Monday, Harford County State Attorney Alison Healey requested the most severe sentence possible, describing Martinez-Hernandez as “completely and entirely unamenable to treatment or rehabilitation.”
Hartford County Circuit Court Judge Yolanda L. Curtin nodded in agreement with the attorney.
“You are not a candidate for rehabilitation. There is simply no hope to rehabilitate you,” the judge told the killer. “You took a life that was not yours to take. Your acts not only brutalized a young woman but also terrorized a community. The Ma & Pa Trail is a place of beauty … your acts turned that into a place of terror.”
Patty Morin, the victim’s mother, spoke to Fox News before the sentencing, reflecting on her process of drafting a statement for the judge in the two years following her daughter’s death. Patty emphasized that she had drafted at least nine versions of her statement.
“When you get to the point where you actually sit down and write the statement, you don’t think it’s good enough,” Morin said. “How can I put the value of her life — reduce it to ink and paper? And then how do I feel about this person and what he’s done to take that life away?”
Patty expressed that she wasn’t sure if she would want to hear an apology from her daughter’s killer, as she is not sure that she would even believe he has remorse. She also pondered whether he was only saying sorry “to hope for a lesser sentence.”
The heartbroken mother also said that she still suffers constant nightmares, insomnia and anxiety attacks ever since her daughter’s murder.
Four of the victim’s five children, ages nine, 12, 15, and 20, gave statements at court during the sentencing.
“Every time I see a picture of her, I think about the life I had with her and my four sisters. I miss her,” one of the victim’s sons said.
Later in court, Hartford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler called out a “failed” immigration system and the open Southern Border — which allowed the killer into the country in the first place under President Biden.
“The failure here, again, is the immigration system that allowed this person to enter our country illegally and remain in our country and commit crimes in Los Angeles and then here in Harford County,” Gahler said. “We all suspected that Rachel was not his first victim. It is my understanding that this suspect, this monster, fled to the United States illegally after committing the brutal murder of a young woman in El Salvador a month earlier in January of 2023.”
Maryland judges only have authority over criminal sentencing and incarceration within the state’s jurisdiction. They cannot directly order someone to be deported.
President Donald Trump, who has championed border security since his first presidential election, weighed in on the tragedy at the time of Martinez-Hernandez’s conviction back in April.
“Moments ago, the Illegal Criminal, who was allowed into our Country by Crooked Joe Biden, was convicted of the heinous murder of Rachel Morin,” Trump posted to Truth Social. “Rachel was a beautiful mother of five from Maryland, and her life was taken at the hands of a monster who should have NEVER been here in the first place.”
The president concluded his message by promising to deport all “Illegal Murderers, Rapists, and Criminals.”
President Trump invited Patty Morin to the White House on April 16th, where she gave a speech at the White House podium for a press briefing. The president could be seen hugging and comforting her as well.
“Today, Rachel Morin’s killer was sentenced to life without parole for her brutal murder. This criminal illegal alien should have never been in our country in the first place. Rachel should still be here watching her 5 children grow up,” said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. “We hear far too much in the mainstream media about sob stories of gang members and criminal illegals and not enough about their victims. God bless Rachel and her family.”
What Happens Now?
Serving His Sentence: Martinez-Hernandez will remain in Maryland’s correctional system, confined for the remainder of his life. Maryland judges lack the authority to transfer inmates out of state or deport them prior to their sentence completion.
ICE Detainer in Place: There is an active ICE detainer on him. If, hypothetically, he were ever to be released for any reason, though that outcome is extremely unlikely given his sentencing, ICE would be notified and could immediately initiate deportation proceedings.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
What do YOU think? Click here to jump to the comments!
Sponsored Content Below
