Patty Morin, the mother of murdered Maryland woman Rachel Morin, recounted her daughter’s brutal death and delivered a searing critique of the media, failed immigration enforcement, and political leaders she says failed her family.
“She was raped. She was strangled. There wasn’t a part of her body that didn’t have some kind of bruise, abrasion, cut,” Morin told Fox News Digital, recounting the horrific details revealed during the trial of Victor Martinez-Hernandez, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, who was recently found guilty of raping and murdering Morin in August 2023.
The jury returned a unanimous verdict in 46 minutes after a weeklong trial that exposed the graphic details of the crime and the cross-country manhunt that followed.
For Morin, the pain of her daughter’s story became a driving force behind her call for immigration reform.
RACHEL MORIN MURDER: JURY FINDS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT GUILTY OF KILLING JOGGER
Patty Morin (L), mother of Rachel Morin, speaks as White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt looks on during a daily press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on April 16, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Last week Morin joined White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt at the podium to talk about her daughter’s August 2023 murder.
“As soon as I got up to the podium, everyone shut off their cameras… Nobody wanted to record it live except for Fox News,” she said. “They didn’t want the American people to know how violent these crimes are and how rampant they are.”
She criticized the mainstream media for what she perceives as a deliberate effort to downplay crimes involving migrants.
“It was very sad to see the state of our media and how they have a particular narrative that they want to play, and they want to promote whatever that narrative is, instead of just doing honest genuine journalism where you present the facts and let the American people decide themselves,” she said.
Lizbeth Medina, Jocelyn Nungaray, Laken Riley and Rachel Morin are Americans allegedly killed by illegal immigrants. (Instagram; Fox Houston; Facebook; Family handout)
The murders of Rachel Morin, Lizbeth Medina, Jocelyn Nungaray, and Laken Riley became flashpoints in the 2024 election as the American public put faces to the spiraling migrant crisis at the southern border.
“I really do believe that these crimes and having them become talking points in the election were pivotal to President Trump winning the election,” Patty Morin said. “But also it shows the heart of the American people.”
Victor Hernandez-Martinez was convicted of the rape and murder of Rachel Morin on August 5, 2023, in Bel Air, Maryland. (Hartford County Sheriff’s Office/Tulsa Police Department)
Morin slammed former President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas for not reaching out following Rachel’s horrific murder.
RACHEL MORIN’S ‘BUM’ KILLER MOOCHED OFF LOCALS BEFORE MURDERING MOM OF 5: LAWYER
“Their silence and their actions or lack of actions speak volumes to their character and the values that they hold.”
Sen. Van Hollen, Rep. Garcia, Rep. Frost, Rep. Dexter and Rep. Ansari have all gone to El Salvador. (Getty/Fox News Graphics Dept.)
Morin called Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., flying to El Salvador last week to defend Kilmar Abrego Garcia – an alleged illegal immigrant, MS-13 gang member – “despicable.”
Reps. Robert Garcia of California, Maxwell Frost of Florida, Yassamin Ansari of Arizona and Maxine Dexter of Oregon flew to El Salvador on Monday to support Garcia, who was deported from Maryland.
“They would rather champion his cause, a criminal, than the victim,” she said. “Americans and especially Marylanders are outraged. This political stunt that he’s pulled.”
“It makes me angry just talking about it because it shows that I’m of no value, my daughter is no value to them, and she was very precious to me.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Van Hollen.
Rachel Morin was exercising on the Ma & Pa Trail in Harford County, Maryland when she was savagely killed by an illegal migrant. (Harford County Sheriff’s Office)
Through tears, Morin spoke about how her Christian faith has sustained her through loss.
“I know that there is a God and that He’s sovereign over all things… I want to glorify God with my life and my words.”
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As she looks to the future, Morin said that she plans to rest and regroup after months of media appearances.
“I’m tired. I’m actually going to go away for a couple of weeks just to emotionally rest,” she said. “But I had to speak and tell the truth because I couldn’t allow another life to perish because I didn’t say something.”
Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman contributed to this report.
