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.
Sheriff says Rachel Morin’s killer ‘could become a serial killer’
Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler provided an update on Thursday about the investigation into Rachel Morin’s death.
Mr Gahler said detectives had travelled across the country conducting interviews. Surveillance video near the Ma & Pa trial has been reviewed and cell phone data has been analysed, Mr Gahler said.
The sheriff said that the main concern was the suspect could strike again.
“With all that we do know about these two crimes, the one in Los Angeles and the one here, my concern is that this killer is escalating,” Mr Gahler said. “My investigators and I firmly believe that if we do not apprehend this individual, he will kill again if he hasn’t done so already.”
“And if given the chance, he could become a serial killer. Until he is in custody, this suspect poses a threat to every community in the country and maybe outside.”
‘We only need one lead’: Rachel Morin’s brother pleads for information that leads to an arrest
It’s been more than a month since the body of Rachel Morin was found on the Ma & Pa trail in Maryland.
DNA taken from the scene linked a suspect to another crime in Los Angeles. Video of that attack, a home invasion, shows a man believed to be of Hispanic descent.
But despite the developments, authorities investigating Morin’s murder 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 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.
The family’s attorney, Randolph Ryce, said the community had gathered on Tuesday night to hand out flyers with the description of the suspect. Mr Ryce said that some residents of the area said they had never heard about Morin’s murder.
“Yesterday we joined with a number of family members. The community got together, fanned out from the trail and handed out flyers to individuals and residents in the area,” Mr Ryce told NewsNation. “We purposely brought someone with us who spoke Spanish so that we could talk to members of the Hispanic community and one thing that we noticed was that a lot of members from the Hispanic community had never heard about this. And they live less than a half mile from this crime.”
Police hunting Rachel Morin’s killer ‘have no idea where he is’ a month after her murder
Authorities investigating the violent death of Maryland mother Rachel Morin have admitted they have “no idea” where her murderer is.
Morin’s body was found on the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air on 6 August, a day after the mother-of-five was reported missing by her boyfriend when she didn’t return home from her hike.
Law enforcement previously released footage from the scene of a home invasion and assault in Los Angeles, where DNA found matched that at the Morin crime scene.
The images released to the public have prompted hundreds of tips, Sheriff Jeff Gahler told Law & Crime on Friday, but none of them have led investigators closer to finding the killer.
Read more:
Police hunting Rachel Morin’s killer ‘have no idea where he is’
The mother’s body was found on a hiking trail on 6 August
Criminal profiler says killer may have known someone in Bel Air
A criminal profiler has gotten involved in the desperate manhunt for the killer of Bel Air mother-of-five Rachel Morin.
Morin’s sister Rebekah Morin shared a behavioural profile on Thursday that suggested the killer likely exhibits several psychopathic traits, including lack of empathy, compulsive lying, narcissism and manipulation.
The outline, reportedly volunteered by expert criminal profiler Pat Brown, also suggested that the suspect must know someone in Bel Air and that he had been able to stay at their home in the tight-knit community.
“The suspect would not be accounted for, either at work or home, sometime between 6:00 PM and dusk on Saturday, August 5, 2023, when the attack happened,” the profile also read.
Authorities have previously said that Morin was randomly targeted.
The sheriff’s office has previously voiced concerns that the killer may strike again.
WATCH: ‘Dog the Bounty Hunter’ reveals possible clues in footage of Rachel Morin murder suspect
Rebekah Morin shares touching poem for her late sister
I’m sending a dove to Heaven
with a parcel on its wings
be careful when you open it
it’s full of beautiful things
Inside are a million kisses
wrapped up in a million hugs
to say how much I miss you
and to send you all my love
I hold you close within my heart
and there you will remain
to walk with me throughout my life
until me meet again.
#rememberingrachelmorin #rachelmorin #justiceforrachelmorin
Detectives in Rachel Morin murder investigation are tracking leads in Chicago
Detectives who are investigating the murder of mother-of-five Rachel Morin are in Chicago this week tracking leads after receiving hundreds of tips in recent weeks.
Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler has said the suspect might be a serial killer as he said they feared there could be more attacks.
Sheriff Gahler told Law&Crime that there are detectives in Chicago this week following leads, but he would not delve into details of their investigation.
“There’s nothing right now to stop him from doing it again. I believe, and our investigators believe, he will do it again.”
Several weeks have now passed since Morin was found dead on the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air in early August. She had set off on a walk along the trail on 5 August, with the alarm raised when she didn’t return home.
‘Dog the Bounty Hunter’ joins search for Rachel Morin’s killer
“Dog the Bounty Hunter” is calling on “Bounty Nation” to help find Rachel Morin’s killer.
Duane Chapman appeared on NewsNation this week to offer his expertise on possible clues in the surveillance video footage previously released by the Harford County Sheriff’s Office showing the man they believe is responsible for the mother-of-five’s killing in Bel Air last month.
The footage is from the scene of a home invasion and assault in Los Angeles, where DNA found later matched DNA discovered at the scene of Morin’s murder in Maryland.
Mr Chapman zeroed in on the suspect’s necklace which appeared to be tight and one he wears often. He also speculated that his haircut could be military issued.
He then pointed out what looked like a cell phone and wondered how much information could be found out from nearby cell towers.
Mr Chapman first shared the video Tuesday on his Instagram.
“Hey Bounty Nation I need you guys to do what you do best and help me identify this suspect!!” he posted. “Rachel Morin was brutally murdered by who investigators believe is a serial killer.”
The footage shows a shirtless man leaving the house in the darkness carrying clothes in his arms.
The sheriff’s office said: “The unknown male is described as being approximately 5’ 09’’ 160 pounds, approximately 20-30 years of age, dark hair, muscular build and is believed to be of hispanic descent.”
“This is not a current photo (within the last six months), and the subject’s hairstyle may have changed. This individual is believed to have ties to the Los Angeles area and may have been involved in violent crimes in other states.”
Children of Rachel Morin are sad, angry and ‘don’t really understand’
Rebekah Morin, the sister of slain mother-of-five Rachel Morin, told “Banfield” Monday night that the children are sad, angry and “don’t really understand.”
She said the children know their mother is gone, but that they do not know the details of her murder.
“We plan on keeping it like that until they’re old enough to understand,” she added.
“They really love their mother. They pray for her to come back. It’s been really hard on all of them,” Rebekah said.
She added that the children are with their fathers and are being well taken care of.
The family’s one hope right now, she said, is just for the killer to be caught.
Rachel Morin’s sister warns ‘this guy is gonna do it again’
Rebekah Morin appeared on NewsNation Monday night where she told Ashley Banfield that she doesn’t understand why someone hasn’t come forward to identify the suspect in her sister Rachel Morin’s murder.
“Like the sheriff said, this guy is gonna do it again,” she warned.
“It could be your sister, your mother, your daughter. I’m really hoping that somebody comes forward soon. Somebody is brave enough to do what’s right.”
She went on to say that she doesn’t understand why no one has come forward.
“To me it’s obvious somebody recognizes this guy,” she said. “They have to. If this was somebody I knew, I would know who it was.”