@jess_babb
Opening statements just wrapped up. The State’s Atty walked jurors through the case, calling this “a mother’s worst nightmare.” She says Rachel Morin went to the Ma and Pa trail around 6:58 and she stopped responding to texts from family members shortly after that.
They said data from her watch and phone show sometime between 7:04 pm and 7:10 pm that night she was killed. Her body was later found brutally beaten in a storm drain.
Cause of death was from strangulation and blunt force trauma. Extremely severe head wounds. The Sheriffs’ 10-month investigation later led them to Victor Martinez-Hernandez. The SA says there is evidence he was living in Maryland at the time of the murder.
They were able to track down DNA evidence from clothes and other belongings from family members he lived with for a period of time in PG county. That DNA according to the prosecutor matched what they found on Morin.
After Victor was tracked down, he was later arrested in Tula, OK. The SA says investigators found photos of Morin and web searches related to her and her death on his phone. They said he claimed he was “never in Maryland.”
However, they said they got more DNA from him which matched.
Next up: the Defense. Victor’s defense atty spent a lot of time talking to jurors about being fair and impartial. He said Victor was not the man who committed the offense.
At one point the defense mentioned that Morin “attracted male attention,” sometimes unwanted. He said she met her boyfriend on the trail and the news of the two dating was unwanted news to others.
The Defense atty poses several questions: What is the motive (says this was a crime of passion), asks where the connection between Victor and Morin, and where is Richard Tobin’s DNA (Morin’s BF) who they say admitted to having sex with her the day she died.
We will hear testimony when this recess ends.
We just took a break for lunch but we heard from Morin’s daughter. Had very emotional testimony crying on the stand when recounting the events of the day her mom went missing.
We also just heard from her boyfriend Rich Tobin. He said when Rachel stopped responding to texts she got worried, went over to her house and then went looking for her on the trail and nearby restaurants. He called 911 when he couldn’t find her.
He said he talked with police that night, even went to the police station to talk with them after trying to search the trail. When he later found out Morin died, he said he “freaked out” and “screamed,” and “cried.” He said he provided police with his phone and DNA when asked
Morin’s family was in the packed courtroom today. Court will be back in session at 2:15.
Opening statements just wrapped up. The State’s Atty walked jurors through the case, calling this “a mother’s worst nightmare.” She says Rachel Morin went to the Ma and Pa trail around 6:58 and she stopped responding to texts from family members shortly after that.
They said data from her watch and phone show sometime between 7:04 pm and 7:10 pm that night she was killed. Her body was later found brutally beaten in a storm drain.
Cause of death was from strangulation and blunt force trauma. Extremely severe head wounds. The Sheriffs’ 10-month investigation later led them to Victor Martinez-Hernandez. The SA says there is evidence he was living in Maryland at the time of the murder.
They were able to track down DNA evidence from clothes and other belongings from family members he lived with for a period of time in PG county. That DNA according to the prosecutor matched what they found on Morin.
After Victor was tracked down, he was later arrested in Tula, OK. The SA says investigators found photos of Morin and web searches related to her and her death on his phone. They said he claimed he was “never in Maryland.”
However, they said they got more DNA from him which matched.
Next up: the Defense. Victor’s defense atty spent a lot of time talking to jurors about being fair and impartial. He said Victor was not the man who committed the offense.
At one point the defense mentioned that Morin “attracted male attention,” sometimes unwanted. He said she met her boyfriend on the trail and the news of the two dating was unwanted news to others.
The Defense atty poses several questions: What is the motive (says this was a crime of passion), asks where the connection between Victor and Morin, and where is Richard Tobin’s DNA (Morin’s BF) who they say admitted to having sex with her the day she died.
We will hear testimony when this recess ends.
We just took a break for lunch but we heard from Morin’s daughter. Had very emotional testimony crying on the stand when recounting the events of the day her mom went missing.
We also just heard from her boyfriend Rich Tobin. He said when Rachel stopped responding to texts she got worried, went over to her house and then went looking for her on the trail and nearby restaurants. He called 911 when he couldn’t find her.
He said he talked with police that night, even went to the police station to talk with them after trying to search the trail. When he later found out Morin died, he said he “freaked out” and “screamed,” and “cried.” He said he provided police with his phone and DNA when asked
Morin’s family was in the packed courtroom today. Court will be back in session at 2:15.
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