Rachel Morin update: Family of slain Bel Air mother issue fresh plea for leads as profiler gets involved
DNA found at the scene of Morin’s murder matches the DNA left at a home where an unknown man broke into a home in Los Angeles and violently attacked a young girl back in March
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Rachel Morin’s family are pleading for information that leads to an arrest more than a month after her body was found on the Ma & Pa Trail after she failed to return home from an evening hike.
Authorities in Harford County, Maryland, continue to hunt for Morin’s killer amid fears that the suspect could strike again.
Police previously released footage from the scene of a home invasion and assault in Los Angeles, where DNA found matched DNA at the Morin crime scene.
But despite the developments, investigators have yet to make any arrests in the case.
Morin’s brother Michael Morin told NewsNation on Wednesday that his family was hopeful somebody would provide the key piece of information needed to bring the suspect to justice.
“We only need one lead. We need a last name, we already have DNA and video,” Mr Morin said.
Last week, Morin’s sister Rebekah Morin shared a behavioural profile built by a volunteer criminal profiler.
It suggested that the killer has psychopathic traits and may have travelled to Bel Air because he knew someone in the tight-knit community.
Rachel Morin’s mother describes her ‘unbearable’ pain after daughter’s body was found
Rachel Morin’s heartbroken mother shared what she felt when she found out her daughter’s body had been found.
“The pain was so unbearable,” Patty Morin said as she choked back tears.
The family held a public Celebration of Life on Sunday in Baltimore to remember the 37-year-old who was found dead on 6 August along the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air. She had last been seen on 4 August.
“The first thing you think of as a mom is, I wish I could be there. I’m 500 miles away. I wish I could be there. I wish I could find her. She’s probably scared. I wish I could hold her,” Patty Morin said.
Morin’s killer has still not been found, but the Harford County Sheriff’s Office recently released video of a suspect, whose DNA was found at the scene.
Earlier this month, hundreds of people walked the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air to remember Morin.
“I can’t be there to hold my baby and to comfort her, but I know that the God that we believe in, and the God that Rachel believed in, was there holding her and comforting her and he never left her,” her mother said Sunday.
The reward for information has since increased to $10,000.
Rachel Morin killer ‘not going to stop’ unless arrested, police say as new clues dry up
“He still poses a threat wherever he’s laying his head and we need to get him off the street,” Harford County sheriff Jeffrey Gahler told NewsNation on Friday.
“The public will not be safe until we get him in custody.”
On 17 August, the sheriff’s office announced it used DNA evidence collected at the scene of Morin’s 5 August homicide to identify a potential suspect.
The genetic material matched a sample found at the scene of a March home invasion in Los Angeles where a young girl was attacked.
“Unfortunately that suspect has not been positively identified, but he did leave behind his DNA,” Harford County police colonel William Davis said during a press conference announcing the discovery. “Based on the DNA evidence, we consider the individual in the video we received from the Los Angeles Police Department to be the person that murdered Rachel Morin on August 5.”
More details in our full story.
Rachel Morin killer ‘not going to stop’ unless arrested, police say as new clues slow
Police say suspect could be out of country by now
Maryland police still struggling to find suspect in Rachel Morin case
Maryland police say they have few new clues about the identity of who killed Rachel Morin, a mother of five from Bel Air, after announcing last week they found a DNA sample matching the unidentified man they believe to be the murderer.
“He still poses a threat wherever he’s laying his head and we need to get him off the street,” Harford County sheriff Jeffrey Gahler told NewsNation on Friday.
“The public will not be safe until we get him in custody.”
Harford County Police offers $10,000 reward for information about suspect
The law enforcement department investigating Rachel Morin’s case has announced a $30,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the suspect in the brutal murder.
The suspect was captured was linked to a burglary in Los Angeles earlier this year. Footage from that incident suggests that the suspect is 5’09’’ and weighs around 160 pounds.
The man is believed to be between 20 and 30 years old.
Police warn Rachel Morin killer will strike again after weeks on the run
Maryland law enforcement officials are worried that the suspect on the run in the Rachel Morin murder case could do “something harmful to someone else”.
Harford County sheriff Jeff Gahler said the accused has no regard for the sanctity of human life and his identification remains a “top priority” for the police.
“This individual poses a threat to every community from here to Los Angeles because we don’t know where he’s laying his head at night,” sheriff Gahler told Fox News.
Read more...
Police warn Rachel Morin killer will strike again after weeks on the run
Police officials say suspect remains ‘threat’ to community until arrested
Maryland police plan to offer reward to help catch killer
Maryland police are planning to offer a reward to help catch Rachel Morin’s killer who remains at large more than two weeks on from her murder.
The Harford County Sheriff’s Office told FOX45 News on Monday that the department was working with metro crime stoppers to come up with a reward.
It is not clear how much the reward would be.
Childhood friend of Rachel Morin gives touching social media tribute
Esther Limoges Burke, one of Morin’s childhood best friends, said that the pair drifted in adulthood. “I don’t regret much in life but I do regret not making more of an effort to keep in touch,” she wrote.
Richard Tobin posts tribute on Facebook to Rachel Morin
“You showed me how rewarding it was to be man and treat you like a queen! Making you happy gave me joy everyday and I’m so glad I could give you that,” Morin’s boyfriend wrote. Mr Tobin posted a photo of himself holding flowers while looking at a tree with Morin’s photo plastered to it.
Rebekah Morin posted a poem to honor her late sister
I wish you sweet sleep, my sister dear.
Although there’s so much that you’ve left bare
I hate that you had to endure such pain
On my mind, your saddened eyes have left a stain.
I want to know what crossed your mind
Unspoken words you’ve left behind
Undone things we’ll never do
No sharing thoughts you never knew.
A peace has fallen upon your head
A taste of sorrow we have been fed
It really is like a hole in our lives
One swiftly dug but carved out by knives.
But I have hope that those sleeping will rise
The Bible says that God will open their eyes.
No suffering, sickness, yes not even pain,
Those who did good, eternal life they’ll gain.
So… sleep on my sister, sleep tight
For now with you the sky is night.
But after night will come daybreak
Therefore I will wait hoping to see you awake.
Hundreds take part in community walk for Rachel Morin
Rachel Morin was remembered over the weekend as hundreds of community members took part in a tribute walk along the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland, where the mother-of-five was murdered.
The 5km walk, called “Rachel’s last steps”, was organised by Morin’s sister Rebekah and took place on Saturday.
Community members came out to pay tribute to the 37-year-old on the walk before then heading to the Flavor Cupcakery Bakery and Cafe, where 20 percent of its sales were donated to support Morin’s five children.