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(NewsNation) — Pretrial proceedings statesman Monday for the antheral accused of killing Rachel Morin, a 37-year-old parent of five, with the family's lawyer expressing assurance successful the prosecution's DNA grounds against the suspect.
"The DNA collected astatine the country is surely going to beryllium 1 of the biggest pieces of evidence," Randolph Rice, lawyer and spokesperson for Morin's family, said Sunday connected "NewsNation Prime." "There's copious amounts of DNA astatine the country that's going to beryllium the key, benignant of the linchpin of this case."
Morin's household is "nervous and anxious" arsenic the proceedings gets underway, according to Rice. He said Morin's mother, Patty, has expressed feeling "helpless" passim the ordeal.
"When Rachel was allegedly murdered by this suspect, she felt helpless that she wasn't determination to assistance her," Rice said. "She has the aforesaid feelings this week, but she is assured that the prosecutors successful this lawsuit are prepared to contiguous the grounds to the jury."
Investigators utilized DNA grounds and investigative familial genealogy (IGG) to place the suspect, Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez. Rice confirmed that the DNA linked the fishy to camera footage successful Los Angeles and yet led investigators to a household subordinate successful Southern Maryland.
"Once they had that household member, they were capable to interrogate them, inquire them questions that yet led to a name," Rice said. The fishy was aboriginal apprehended successful a barroom successful Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Despite the high-profile quality of the case, Rice believes a just assemblage tin beryllium seated successful Harford County.
"It's not 'have you heard astir this case,' it's 'can you beryllium just and impartial successful judging the grounds and the facts of this case,'" Rice explained. "Even though Harford County is simply a tiny community, I deliberation they've got a mates 100 1000 radical that they tin propulsion from."
Rachel Morin execution lawsuit timeline
Rachel Morin, 37, was past seen live astatine astir 6 p.m. Saturday erstwhile she near to instrumentality a locomotion connected a quality trail. (Photo: Harford County Sheriff's Office)
Credit: Facebook
DNA taken from the Rachel Morin transgression country has been linked to an unidentified fishy successful a Los Angeles location invasion, Colonel William Davis of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday night. (Harford Co. Sheriff's Office photos)
A memorial for Rachel Morin is displayed connected a histrion connected the Ma & Pa Trail successful Bel Air, Maryland. (Dillon Mullan/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Authorities person arrested Victor Martinez Hernandez successful the sidesplitting of Rachel Morin, a Harford County, Maryland parent whose assemblage was recovered adjacent a fashionable hiking way successful August 2023. Hernandez, 23, had illegally crossed the borderline into the U.S. successful February 2023, aft murdering different young pistillate successful El Salvador a period earlier, according to authorities.
Morin disappeared connected Aug. 5, 2023, portion moving connected a fashionable way successful Harford County, Maryland. Her assemblage was recovered the adjacent day, sparking a 10-month nationwide hunt for the suspect.
Martinez-Hernandez, 22, astatine the clip of the killing, was arrested connected June 15, 2024, successful Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was indicted connected July 2 and denied bail.
The lawsuit gained nationalist attraction owed to Martinez-Hernandez's migration status. According to reports, helium entered the U.S. from El Salvador illegally aggregate times and is wanted for execution successful his autochthonal country.
Authorities accidental his transgression spree began successful El Salvador, wherever helium is accused of murdering a pistillate successful December 2022. In aboriginal 2023, helium crossed the U.S. confederate borderline 3 times but was expelled each clip by the Border Patrol.
He succeeded connected his 4th effort and aboriginal surfaced successful Los Angeles, wherever helium was linked to the battle of a pistillate and a 9-year-old girl. He past traveled to Maryland, wherever helium was accused of sidesplitting Morin.
Rice, a erstwhile prosecutor, described the lawsuit arsenic "one of the worst" he's seen successful his career.
"The quality of being dragged disconnected the way and raped and kidnapped and beaten and past murdered. It's conscionable a horrific story," Rice said. "To person thing that's gruesome truly shook the assemblage of Harford County," which typically averages six oregon 7 murders per year.
Rachel Morin’s mom: I don’t privation different parent to consciousness this pain
Patty Morin has testified successful Congress astir enhancing borderline information since her daughter's death.
During a House Judiciary Committee hearing last September, Patty Morin talked astir however she was besides the unfortunate of intersexual unit erstwhile a antheral kidnapped her for 3 days and raped her astatine night.
Learning instrumentality enforcement had recovered Rachel Morin’s assemblage “tore maine apart,” Patty Morin previously told NewsNation, “because a portion of maine could recognize immoderate of what she suffered.”
NewsNation's Ashley Soriano contributed to this report.
