Immigrant sentenced to life for murder of Maryland mom

Illegal immigrants from El Salvador have been sentenced to life imprisonment for killing a five-year-old American mother — in cases cited by President Donald Trump in support of his border security crackdown.

Victor Martinez-Hernandez, 24, was convicted of rape and murder this year on a hiking trail at Bell Air Maryland in August 2023.

The court heard that he beat her, smashed her head with a rock, strangled her to death, and then hid her body in a drainage culvert.

The killer was also linked to the 2023 Los Angeles family invasion and was wanted for murdering another woman, prosecutors said.

He learned his destiny on Monday and showed little emotion.

Judge Yolanda Curtin sentenced him to life imprisonment for first-degree murder, rape charges, and third-degree sex crimes and kidnapping. He will serve his sentence in a jail in Maryland.

He was arrested in June 2024 after a 10-month raid in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“It can be said that Harford County has never seen a case or the maximum sentence the defendant deserves,” prosecutor Alison Healey said outside the court.

“The cruelty of her murder will bother us for the rest of our lives,” Patty Morin, the victim’s mother, said in a victim’s remarks ahead of the verdict.

The dubbing recordings of Ms. Molin’s children range from 9 to 15 years old and are played in court.

In a message to the mother, one of the children said, “Now I have to spend more time without you, not with you.”

Rachel’s older brother Michael Morin told the court that his Christian faith forced him to offer killer forgiveness.

According to immigration and customs enforcement, the murderer illegally entered the United States and was sent back to the U.S.-Mexico border in 2023.

During last year’s White House campaign, Trump took on Ms. Moline’s killings and other so-called angel families – loved ones killed by illegal immigrants – and he promised to close the U.S.-Mexico border.

Most studies show that immigrants without documents are more likely to commit crimes than American citizens.

The Molins support Trump’s border security campaign.

Michael Morin spoke last summer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“Open borders are often portrayed as compassionate and benign, but there are no compassionate people who allow violent criminals to enter our country and rob mothers’ children,” he said.

In April, amid constant showdowns between the president and the immigration judiciary, the White House invited Ms. Moline’s mother to speak to the media briefing.

Patty Morin shares graphic details about her daughter’s death.