Multiple Blows To Head, Face Plus Strangulation Led To Morin's Death: Doctor Testifies

BEL AIR, MD — Testimony continued Monday and Tuesday in the case against 24-year-old Victor Martinez Hernandez, the El Salvadorian national accused of raping and killing mother of five Rachel Morin, who was found dead near a popular Bel Air walking trail in August 2023.

On Tuesday, the 11th witness to take the stand was Zabiullah Ali, a now retired forensic pathologist with the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Ali testified that he's been a forensic pathologist for 22 years and while he cannot recall all of the autopsies he carried out, the number of injuries Morin suffered makes her case stand out in his mind. Morin experienced a minimum of 15 to 20 blunt force injuries to her head and face, reported The Baltimore Banner. She also had a 6x6-inch cut on the back of her head. Ali said that "the cause of death was blunt force injuries and strangulation. The manner of death was homicide.”

Juan Troncoso, a professor of pathology and neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, was the next witness Tuesday who said that the injuries Morin endured would’ve led to loss of consciousness and might have contributed to her death, The Baltimore Banner reported.

According to WJLA, the first person to testify Monday was a woman named Cecilia Occorso , who discovered Morin's body along with her friend Evan Napp. They first found a bloody rock off the main path, then as they approached a tunnel, Napp found Morin's body.

Harford County Sheriff’s Deputy First Class Joshua Danmyer, who responded to their 911 call, stated that he went into the tunnel and saw an unclothed woman with her "head and face disfigured and bloody." She was found lying in an inch or so of water. Two other deputies testified Monday - Deputy First Class Christopher McGann who found Morin's Apple Watch smashed 15 feet from the trail and another who explained crime scene photos that included a path of bloody leaves leading into the woods from the trail, WJLA reported.

The Baltimore Banner reported that detectives found an iPhone XR in the tunnel with a smashed screen and one Apple AirPod.

On Friday, the rape and killing of Morin was called "a mother's worst nightmare" by a prosecutor the murder trial started. State's Attorney Alison Healey gave jurors an overview of the case Friday, according to WBFF. The state's attorney also said during opening statements Friday that DNA was pulled from clothes and other belongings from family members who Martinez-Hernandez had lived with in Prince George's County. That DNA matched what was found on Morin.

Officials have said Martinez-Hernandez entered the United States as an undocumented immigrant. Martinez-Hernandez also has been linked by DNA to a home invasion and sexual assault in southern California of a 9-year-old girl and her mother.

Related:

• Martinez-Hernandez Trial's Starts In Death Of Rachel Morin: 'Mother's Worst Nightmare'
• Rachel Morin Murder Suspect's Trial To Begin Jury Selection
• Rachel Morin Murder Trial Calls For Road Closures, Increased Security In Bel Air
• Rachel Morin's Daughter Sues Grandmother Over GoFundMe Proceeds
• Rachel Morin Case: Harford County Prosecutor Seeks Life Sentence Without Parole
• Clue Uncovered On Rachel Morin's Birthday Led To Suspect, Arrest
• Murder Charge Filed In MD Mom Rachel Morin's Death
• Suspect In Rachel Morin Killing Hid In MD For Months During Investigation: Court Documents
• Rachel Morin's Family Mourns Loss Of 'Bright, Beautiful Spark'