BEL AIR, Md. — For 10 months since Rachel Morin’s murder along the MA & PA Trail, some people, like Sandy Lupold, were hesitant to return to the area.
“In the beginning, I was very nervous about it. Yes, because we didn’t know if it was a stalker or if it was somebody around here,” said Lupold, “It turns out that it was a random, vicious animal. A horrendous act.”
The Harford County Sheriff’s Office is still posting deputies along the trail and signs have gone up since the arrest.
“We want the people who come here to exercise to know that this case is solved,” said Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler, “That this monster is not out here waiting, lurking in the woods, waiting for the next victim."
It is a case, which struck close to home for the sheriff in a very literal sense.
“A section of the trail is my backyard. It was the reason my wife and I picked that house to raise our family 20 years ago, because it’s such a nice part of the parks and rec system here in the county and a safe resource for our community.”
While the community is breathing a collective sigh of relief over the arrest, this case represents a growing sense of innocence lost in this sleepy county.
Questions remain surrounding murder suspect Victor Martinez-Hernandez and how he planned the crime.
“How he could stay here?” asked Lupold, “Was he with someone helping him? That kind of thing that I hope he is willing to talk about, but we don’t know.”
It is a point not lost upon Sheriff Gahler as investigators double down on that aspect of the case.
“He had someone who probably, and we thought all along, recognized the video footage, knew about this case, maybe thought it might have been him, but weren’t confident enough that they wanted to pick up the phone and call the police,” said Gahler, “so I’m asking those people, now that we have a name and have a lot more pictures, if something goes off in your head, don’t think that just because he’s in custody that we’re done.”
