The mom of a Maryland jogger who prosecutors say died by the hands of an unlawful immigrant with a protracted historical past of assaults on girls and women got here face-to-face with the suspected killer for the primary time in courtroom Friday.
Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, 23, is accused of abducting and brutally assaulting Rachel Morin, a 37-year-old mom of 5, on a operating path close to her house earlier than hiding her physique in a culvert.
Martinez-Hernandez, carrying a striped jail jumpsuit, handcuffs and shackles, leaned right into a Spanish-language interpreter all through the proceedings, in keeping with Randolph Rice, the lawyer for Morin’s household. It was his first in-person courtroom look after attending the others nearly.
RACHEL MORIN’S MOM CALLS OUT BIDEN-HARRIS FOR IGNORING FAMILY AFTER MIGRANT MURDER
Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, 23, arrives in Maryland. He’s charged with first-degree homicide and first-degree rape in Rachel Morin’s demise on the Ma & Pa Heritage Path in Bel Air, Md. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Solar/Getty Photographs)
“Seeing Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez enter the courtroom with a flat, impassive expression solely deepens the anguish felt by Rachel Morin’s household,” Rice instructed Fox Information Digital. “That is the person accused of taking Rachel’s life in such a brutal and horrific method, but his demeanor suggests no regret.”
He averted eye contact with the grieving mom, Patty, different family members and even prosecutors.
“It is infuriating to suppose that if our borders had been correctly secured or the DNA Fingerprint Act had been adopted, this household wouldn’t be enduring this nightmare,” Rice added. “This tragedy was preventable, and immediately’s courtroom look is a painful reminder to America of the failures in our present immigration system that allowed this particular person to stay undetected till it was too late.”
Rachel Morin was dragged off a climbing path Aug. 5, 2023, and brutally murdered. (Household handout)
The homicide suspect’s arrival “introduced an amazing sense of grief and disappointment to Patty Morin,” who teared up as he took his place on the protection desk, Rice mentioned.
BIDEN-HARRIS OPEN BORDER POLICY FREED ILLEGAL 3 WEEKS BEFORE JOCELYN NUNGARAY MURDER, MOTHER SAYS
Martinez-Hernandez revealed in courtroom he dropped out of faculty after seventh grade. When he first arrived within the U.S. illegally in 2023, he was already suspected of killing a girl in his house nation of El Salvador.
Victor Hernandez-Martinez is accused of the rape and homicide of Rachel Morin Aug. 5, 2023, in Bel Air, Md. (Hartford County Sheriff’s Workplace/Tulsa Police Division)
Earlier than making his approach to Maryland, the border “gotaway” allegedly raped a California mom and her 9-year-old daughter of their house.
Martinez-Hernandez waived his proper to a speedy trial and likewise waived a possible battle of curiosity that arose attributable to Morin’s boyfriend having as soon as been represented by the identical public defender’s workplace.
TRUMP MEETS WITH RACHEL MORIN FAMILY AT BORDER
“As we speak’s postponement was not sudden. We’ve been making ready the household for a prolonged authorized course of,” Rice mentioned. “The household is powerful and taking this in stride, understanding that justice will take time. We stay dedicated to making sure that Rachel’s reminiscence is honored and justice is served.”
Patty Morin, proper, testifies to the Home Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C., about border coverage and the demise of her daughter Rachel in Harford County, Md. Alexis Nungaray, left, testified concerning the killing of her daughter Jocelyn in Houston, Texas, which police say additionally got here by the hands of unlawful immigrant suspects. (Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Solar/Tribune Information Service through Getty Photographs)
After the waiver, the decide set a sequence of latest listening to dates — a motions listening to for Jan. 31, 2025, a pretrial convention on March 31 and a brand new trial date for April 1. It’s anticipated to final two weeks.
Patty Morin traveled to Capitol Hill final month in a bid to get lawmakers to take the border disaster extra severely.Â
Morin instructed the Home Judiciary Committee that if routine protocols had been adopted — like taking a DNA swab and a photograph of Martinez-Hernandez when he was stopped on the border — her daughter may nonetheless be alive.
Interpol already had a warrant for his arrest when he got here to the U.S.
“I notice a few of you’re disinterested on this since you simply suppose it is a partisan factor, however these are American individuals,” Morin instructed lawmakers on the listening to. “We have to shut the borders. … These individuals which are coming over the border, in the event that they’re coming over illegally, it is as a result of they’ve one thing to cover.”
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., pictured along with his head down and his eyes closed as an aide seems by means of his cellphone throughout congressional testimony from the moms of homicide victims Sept. 10, 2024. (Cathie Groenewold)
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New York Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler appeared to nod off through the listening to.
“What I would love to return throughout is that I really need the American individuals, members of Congress, senators, presidents … I need everybody to truly take heed to our voices, take heed to our phrases, take heed to what we’ve got to say and take it to coronary heart,” Morin instructed Fox Information Digital later.Â
“It’s onerous to verbalize the message to them as a result of they have already got the mindset that this can be a political factor, that you just’re both for immigration otherwise you’re towards immigration. I don’t suppose Individuals are towards immigration if it’s completed accurately.”
