Rachel Morin case: Autopsy shows Md. runner was killed by blunt-force trauma to head and strangulation

Matt Hubbard, Baltimore Sun on Apr 8, 2025

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BALTIMORE — Jurors in the trial of Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, a Salvadoran national charged with first-degree murder in the 2023 killing of Bel Air mother Rachel Morin, were shown more graphic crime scene photos Tuesday and heard testimony from the doctor who performed Morin’s autopsy.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Zabiullah Ali testified in Harford Circuit Court that of the more than 9,000 autopsies he has performed, the one he completed in this case “stands out from the standpoint of the number of injuries.”

Ali said Morin’s cause of death was blunt-force trauma and strangulation and said the largest injury on Morin’s body was a 6-inch by 6-inch laceration to the back of her head. He speculated that the laceration was caused by two to three impacts.

Lacerations, Ali said, are a “tear” in skin caused by pressure from blunt force trauma. Ali said Morin had 15-20 lacerations on almost every part of her head — many deep enough to show her skull. The lacerations on Morin’s head were “jagged” and “not clean” with scrapes surrounding them, Ali testified.

“That indicates to me that something with a rough surface was used,” Ali said.

Harford County State’s Attorney Alison Healey asked Ali if the lacerations could have been caused by a rock or the cement surface of a tunnel. Ali said yes.

Autopsy images presented to the court showed hemorrhaging on Morin’s brain and neck muscles, indicating blunt force trauma and signs of strangulation. Virtually every part of Morin’s body sustained injuries, Ali said, and images of the injuries were presented to the court.

Randolph Rice, an attorney for Morin’s mother, Patricia Morin, said the photos shown in court were “horrible” but noted that the state needed to show the injuries Morin sustained to “establish how brutal this crime was.”

“She was killed five times over,” Rice said.

Ali also testified that when Morin’s body was brought in for the autopsy, her body’s condition made it evident that she had been lying in the tunnel for roughly eight to 12 hours.

The front and back of Morin’s hands were also bruised and swollen, which Ali said indicates that she had tried to fight off the attacker.

“When you see injuries to the back of the hands or palms, they are considered defensive injuries,” Ali said.

Earlier in the day Detective Michael Wilsynski, of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, testified about the crime scene

“It was obvious this wasn’t a slip-and-fall injury,” said Wilsynski, a latent fingerprints expert who photographed the crime scene and collected evidence, such as DNA. “It was a massive attack.”

Defense attorneys cross-examined Wilsynski, asking whether the detectives wore gloves while collecting evidence and how often they changed them between swabs, as well as whether they used the same swabs for the same areas of Morin’s body and who touched and interacted with Morin’s body both inside and outside of the tunnel where it was found.

“I went through many gloves that day,” Wilsynski testified.

Wilsynski said that bags were put on Morin’s hands to preserve evidence. After Wilsynski testified that he could not remember whether another detective wore gloves when he touched the outside of the bags, the defense showed body cam footage in which the detective was not wearing gloves. Wilsynski said that the outside of the bags would not have come in contact with Morin’s body and that the bags are made of material that acts like the “insulation of a house,” keeping moisture and the outside environment away from the contents inside.

Wilsynski also testified that officials swabbed areas of Morin’s body for DNA that appeared to be areas of contact with her assailant — her wrists, breasts and ankle.

Martinez-Hernandez, 24, was arrested in June in Oklahoma and is facing first-degree rape and first-degree murder charges in Morin’s death. Morin disappeared after going for a run on the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air.

Testimony on Friday from the man who found Morin’s body while participating in a search party showed that Morin’s body was found in a culvert located hundreds of feet off a dirt path, leading from the trail.

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