Community involvement was crucial in discovering the 150-foot trail of blood leading to Rachel Morin’s body on a hiking path as volunteers joined police efforts in the search for the Maryland mother. These were the details shared in the opening remarks of the highly anticipated trial of her accused migrant killer.

The opening arguments took place Friday morning at the Harford County Circuit Court in Bel Air, Maryland, for the case against Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, a 23-year-old from El Salvador, charged with the 2023 murder of 37-year-old Morin.

Morin’s family members, including her mother, Patty Morin, were seen arriving at the courthouse on Friday.

Martinez-Hernandez is accused of raping and killing Morin, a Harford County mother of five, whose body was discovered along a popular walking trail back in August 2023.

Autopsy results revealed that Morin had endured 15 to 20 blows to the head and had died from a combination of strangulation and blunt force trauma. Her death was officially ruled a homicide.

Her body bore bruises around her neck, and according to Healey, a DNA profile matched Martinez-Hernandez.

“I’m going to make this short, because I’m very emotional,” Morin’s mother said previously. “I just want to take this time to thank all the law enforcement for all their hard work.

“They just really cared for our family and for our daughter,” she said. “They were going to diligently work and find the person who murdered her.”

Fox News’ Alexandria Hoff and Sally Persons contributed to this report.

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