Family Of Slain Mom Has Hope Killer Might Be Caught After Sketch Of Suspect Released
Maryland authorities on Monday released a sketch of a man they believe is responsible for the killing of a mother of five whose body was found on a hiking trail last summer.
Rachel Morin, 37, was reported missing Aug. 5, 2023, by her boyfriend, who told police she went for a run on the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland, but never returned home.
Morin’s body was discovered by a volunteer search party the following day, and investigators reported that her death was a homicide.
Authorities suspected that Morin was attacked on a bend in the hiking trail and then pulled into a hidden drainage culvert, where her remains were found, Harford County sheriff’s Capt. Andy Lane said on Monday’s episode of “Into the Sheriff’s Spotlight,” a podcast hosted by Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler.
Lane said he thought the killer stalked Morin and waited to attack her, but he did not think she was targeted. Authorities believe the killer was in the Bel Air area in the days before Morin’s death.
A sketch of the suspect sought in the death of Rachel Morin is released by the Harford County Sheriff's Office in Maryland.
Authorities later announced that DNA found at the crime scene in Maryland matched an unidentified male suspected in a March 26, 2023, home invasion in Los Angeles.
Lane told “Into the Sheriff’s Spotlight” that law enforcement got the DNA sample from a hat left behind in the Los Angeles home invasion.
The captain described the Los Angeles crime as a “violent attack,” adding, “There were multiple people within that home who were injured, and there were minor children injured as well in that attack.”
Anyone who can identify this unknown male, or has additional information, is asked to contact the Harford County Sheriff’s Office at our tip line (410) 836-7788 or via email at RMtips@HarfordSheriff.org. pic.twitter.com/U1niUnCmwB
— Harford Sheriff (@Harford_Sheriff) August 18, 2023
Morin’s mother, Patty Morin, told Baltimore’s WBAL-TV she is determined to find her daughter’s killer.
“I can’t live with pain for the rest of my life, like, I can’t do that. There has to be something to help us to move forward,” she said.
“He’s just going to continue to do it because he thinks he can get away with it, and someone else is going to feel this pain that we’re feeling — and it shouldn’t be that way,” Patty Morin said.
In a statement shared with HuffPost, Morin’s family said the sketch is offering them “hope” that an arrest in “imminent.”
“We are so thankful and encouraged that a sketch has developed for Rachel’s killer,” Patty Morin said in the statement. “This is a significant step forward in our pursuit of justice, and we are hopeful that it will lead to the identification and apprehension of the man who took Rachel away from us.”
On Monday, when detectives released the sketch, they said they’ve conducted more than 100 interviews and followed up on more than 1,000 tips. Harford deputies said the investigation has taken them to seven states and has been aided by several federal, state and local agencies.
“This investigation has not slowed or stalled,” the sheriff’s office said in its news release.
