A person convicted of the 2023 rape and homicide of Maryland mom Rachel Morin has been sentenced to life in jail with out parole.
In April, a jury discovered Victor Martinez-Hernandez responsible of kidnapping, sexually assaulting, and killing Morin, 37, in August 2023. Prosecutors stated Martinez-Hernandez entered america illegally and was launched in 2023 earlier than committing the crime.
Morin, a mom of 5, was reported lacking by her boyfriend on August 5, 2023, after she did not return from a hike on a path in Harford County, Maryland. Her physique was found the following day in a drainage space. Investigators testified that she had been struck within the head with rocks, sexually assaulted, and her physique hidden.
South Dakota Secretary of State Kristi Noem, who has been outspoken on crimes dedicated by undocumented immigrants, issued a press release after the sentencing, saying, “Rachel Morin’s killer was sentenced to life with out parole for her brutal homicide. This legal unlawful alien ought to have by no means been in our nation within the first place. Rachel ought to nonetheless be right here watching her 5 kids develop up.”
Noem additionally famous her determination to re-establish the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) workplace in her state. The VOICE workplace, initially launched in 2017 below the Trump administration, was designed to offer sources and assist for victims of crimes linked to immigration. The Biden administration closed the workplace in 2021, changing it with a broader sufferer assist program.
Martinez-Hernandez will serve his sentence with out the potential of parole.
