Migrant sentenced to perpetuity for the murder of Maryland mother

An illegal immigrant from El Salvador was sentenced to perpetuity without parole for having killed an American mother of five children – in a case invoked by President Donald Trump to support his repression of border security.

Victor Martinez-Hernandez, 24, was found guilty this year in the rape and murder of Rachel Morin, 37, on a hiking trail in Bel Air, Maryland, in August 2023.

He assaulted her, bathe his head with rocks and strangled her before hiding his body in a drainage sander, the court learned.

The killer was also linked to an invasion of domicile in 2023 in Los Angeles and was wanted in Salvador for the murder of another woman, according to the prosecutors.

He showed little emotion when he learned his fate on Monday.

Judge Yolanda Curtin sentenced him to life for conviction for first degree murder, life for rape accusation and an additional 40 years for a third degree sexual offense and kidnapping. He will serve all the sentence in a Maryland prison.

He was arrested in June 2024 after a 10 -month -old man hunt in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“Without doubt, Harford County has never seen a more deserving case or accused every day of maximum penalties that this court imposed,” said prosecutor Alison Healey outside the courthouse.

In a declaration of the victim before the sentence, the mother of the victim, Patty Morin, said: “The brutality of his murder will haunt us for the rest of our lives.”

Vocal recordings of children from Ms. Morin, aged nine at 15, were played for the court.

In a message addressed to their mother, one of the children said: “Now I have to spend more time without you than with you.”

Rachel’s older brother Michael Morin told court that his Christian faith forced him to offer forgiveness to the killer.

According to immigration and customs application, the killer illegally entered the United States and was returned through the American-Mexican border three times in 2023.

During the White House electoral campaign of last year, Trump organized the murder of Ms. Morin and other so -called angels – those with dear beings who were killed by illegal immigrants – while he was committed to closing the American -Mexican border.

Most studies indicate that undocumented immigrants are not more likely to engage in crime than American citizens.

The Morin family supported Trump’s campaign for border security.

Michael Morin addressed the Republican National Convention last summer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“Open boundaries are often described as compassionate and virtuous, but there is nothing compassionate to allow violent criminals in our country and steal their mother’s children,” he said.

In April, in the midst of an increasing test of force between the president and the judiciary on immigration, the White House invited Ms. Morin’s mother to address a press briefing.

Patty Morin shared the graphic details of her daughter’s death.