During a deeply emotional appearance as a special guest at Wednesday’s White House press briefing, Patty Morin, mother of Rachel Morin, recounted the harrowing details of her daughter’s murder and implored media outlets to present an accurate portrayal of the situation.
“Please tell the truth,” Morin pleaded with reporters as she departed. “Tell how violent it really is.”
Morin joined White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at the podium to discuss her daughter’s death, which occurred in August 2023 at the hands of Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez.
Rachel Morin, a Maryland mother of five children, was jogging when Martinez-Hernandez attacked her, inflicting brutal injuries before ultimately strangling her. On Monday, a Maryland jury found Martinez-Hernandez guilty on all counts including first-degree murder, rape, and kidnapping.
Morin shared the graphic details of the attack, describing how Martinez-Hernandez repeatedly assaulted her daughter after fracturing her skull. Photographs documenting the extent of Rachel’s injuries have been sealed due to their disturbing nature; Morin stated that “not one inch” of her body was free from harm.
“You could see where the blood ran down around her as he was raping her, and then he threw her down, and raped her some more, and then he strangled her because he didn’t want her to be able to live to tell the story,” Morin recounted with palpable grief.
She questioned the prioritization of resources and political attention given to cases involving illegal immigrants. “Why should we allow people like this, violent criminals that have no conscience at all, to murder our mothers, our sisters, our daughters?”
Morin also criticized Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) for traveling to El Salvador ostensibly in support of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant and suspected MS-13 gang member who previously resided in Maryland. The Department of Homeland Security has since asserted that Garcia had a documented history of violence, contradicting portrayals of him as an “upstanding Maryland Man.”
“To have a senator from Maryland…so that he can use my taxpayer money to fly to El Salvador to bring back someone that is not even an American citizen,” Morin said. “Why does that person have more right than I do for my daughter or my grandchildren? I don’t understand this.”
Senator Van Hollen released a statement following the conviction, expressing gratitude for law enforcement and pledging to strengthen border security while also supporting immigrant communities.
“While the conviction of Rachel Morin’s killer will not return Rachel to her family where she rightfully belongs, this verdict brings a measure of justice that they so deserve,” Van Hollen stated.
The White House briefing with Patty Morin was notably absent from live coverage on CNN and MSNBC.
A study by the Media Research Center revealed a stark disparity in media attention: ABC, CBS, and NBC devoted zero seconds to covering the Martinez-Hernandez trial, yet dedicated 64 minutes to Kilmar Abrego Garcia between April 1st and 15th.
Margo Martin, special assistant to the president and communications advisor, shared a video on X showing Morin engaged in prayer with White House staff prior to the briefing.
“This is probably going to be one of the highlights of my life, being able to be a part of a prayer meeting at the White House,” Morin stated. “There is no greater God than the one that we serve, and because there is no greater God, he has a purpose and plan for all of us being here at this moment in time, and even the death that happened to Rachel is part of his purpose.”
