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New York Post
a day ago
- New York Post
Illegal migrant who killed Rachel Morin sat emotionless as family members remembered mom at sentencing
The Salvadorian illegal migrant who viciously raped and killed Rachel Morin was emotionless as her grieving children remembered their 'kind' and 'determined' mom at his sentencing Monday — where he was given life without the possibility of parole. Harford County Circuit Court Judge Yolanda Curtin threw the book at Victor Martinez-Hernandez, 24, after an hours-long hearing Monday where Morin's family members, including four of her five children, delivered emotional victim impact statements. Morin's eldest daughter described her mom, who has the 'best laugh,' as 'kind, strong, honest, determined and funny,' in a heartbreaking written statement she asked the prosecutor to read to the court, WBAL-TV reported. 'I had to relive the worst two days of my life in order to write this,' the statement from the 20-year-old read. Her three youngest children delivered their statements via audio recordings. 'She was a good mom,' her son could be heard saying in one recording. 'Every time I see a picture of her I think about the life I had with her and my four sisters. I miss her.' Morin's children range in age from 9 to 20. 3 The killer of Maryland mother-of-five Rachel Morin was sentenced Monday. Facebook/Rachel Morin 'You took a life that was not yours to take,' the judge told Martinez-Hernandez, according to WBAL-TV. 'Your acts not only brutalized a young woman but also terrorized a community. 'You are not a candidate for rehabilitation. There is simply no hope to rehabilitate you.' A jury found Martinez-Hernandez guilty in April of murdering Morin, 37, as she was exercising on the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail in Bel Air, Maryland, on Aug. 5, 2023. He strangled her and then bashed her head against rocks before hiding her partially naked body in a drainage culvert on the trail that is about 30 miles northeast of Baltimore. Morin's younger brother, John Morin, said through tears Monday that he's experienced a 'tidal wave of grief' since his sister's slaying, according to a post on X by ABC 2 reporter Blair Sabol. Martinez-Hernandez remained stony-faced and emotionless as the family members told the judge about the toll that Morin's murder had taken on the family. After, through a Spanish translator, Martinez-Hernandez addressed the judge, thanking her 'for the opportunity to speak' but that he would 'not be giving any testimony.' Morin's mother, Patty Morin, told the court she has suffered nightmares, panic attacks, and insomnia since her daughter's death. 'The depths of grief are equivalent to the depths of love felt,' Patty said. 'This will impact generations to come.' Ahead of the sentencing, the heartbroken mom told Fox News' 'Fox & Friends' that she didn't know if she wanted to hear from her daughter's murderer at the sentencing, because she would never really know if an apology was simply a bid for a lighter penalty. 'To be honest, I don't know, because even if he spoke, would I believe what he said?' Patty said. 'If he said he was sorry, could I believe that he actually is or if he's just saying that to you know, to hope for a lesser sentence.' 3 Illegal immigrant Victor Martinez-Hernandez was convicted in April of the brutal rape and killing of Morin. Tulsa Police Department The killer wasn't captured until nearly a year later in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June 2024, after investigators were able to match the DNA taken from his sock to the DNA found at the crime scene. He was convicted of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offense and kidnapping and faced up to life in prison. He didn't face the death penalty as the Free State doesn't allow capitol punishment. Martinez-Hernandez entered the country illegally after allegedly slaying another woman in his home country of El Salvador. 3 Martinez-Hernandez was an illegal immigrant from El Salvador. X/BarrySimmsWBAL Morin's killing gained national notoriety as an example of former President Joe Biden's dangerous border policies. Patty was outspoken against Biden for his policies, which she blamed for the fact that Martinez-Hernandez was able to get into the country and kill her daughter. The murder of Laken Riley also made headlines as Jose Ibarra, a Tren de Aragua gang member, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for slaying the promising 22-year-old nursing student on Feb. 22, 2024, in Georgia.
New York Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Man caught on video attacking pro-life activists handed slap-on-the-wrist sentence
A 28-year-old man who was caught on video attacking two pro-life activists outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Baltimore was sentenced this week to a year of home detention and three years of probation. Baltimore Circuit Judge Yvette M. Bryant rebuffed prosecutors' calls for a 10-year sentence against Patrick Brice, 28, after he was found guilty of two counts of second-degree assault and reckless endangerment in relation to the May 2023 incident, according to The Baltimore Banner. Advertisement 'What about my rights and my well-being?' one of the victims in the attack, Mark Crosby — who was 73 years old at the time — reportedly shouted at Bryant on Thursday as she left the bench. Brice said on May 26, 2023, he intended to debate Richard Schaefer – the other victim, who was 84 – about the concept of sin outside the Planned Parenthood facility, but then lost it after Schaefer made what he perceived to be a racial remark, The Baltimore Banner reported. Surveillance video showed Brice shoving Schaefer into a flowerpot and then assaulting Crosby when he rushed to his aid. 'I just snapped one day,' Brice was quoted by The Baltimore Banner as saying in court Thursday before apologizing to both men. Advertisement As part of his sentence, Brice must complete anger management classes, undergo drug and alcohol screening, and remain in therapy, the website added. It also said Crosby suffered permanent damage to his right eye as a result of the assault. 4 A 28-year-old man who was caught on video attacking two pro-life activists outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Baltimore was sentenced this week to a year of home detention. Youtube/WBAL-TV 11 Baltimore 'This was not a minor altercation between two parties with differing views on abortion. It was a vicious, targeted assault on two senior citizens whose only 'offense' was praying for expectant mothers and offering life-affirming alternatives to abortion,' Tom Brejcha, the President and Chief Counsel of the conservative law firm Thomas More Society, said in a statement. Advertisement 'One of the victims was knocked unconscious. The other suffered broken facial bones and a lifelong eye impairment. This was an act of cowardice and cruelty, and sheer mayhem. This crime deserves far more serious consequences than a 'get out of jail free' card and a one-year home detention that amounts to nothing more than a slap on the wrist,' he added. In May 2023, images posted on the Facebook page of Jay Walton, the president of the Baltimore County Right to Life chapter, purportedly showed Crosby wearing a shirt with the message 'Pro Life,' with swelling over his eye and blood covering his face following the attack. 4 Baltimore Circuit Judge Yvette M. Bryant rebuffed prosecutors' calls for a 10-year sentence against Patrick Brice, 28, after he was found guilty of two counts of second-degree assault and reckless endangerment in relation to the May 2023 incident, according to reports. Youtube/WBAL-TV 11 Baltimore 'One of our volunteers, Mark Crosby, was brutally beaten on May 26, 2023, while he was praying in front of the Planned Parenthood in Baltimore City,' Walton wrote on a GoFundMe page at the time. 'Mark is currently in the hospital being treated for the serious injuries he sustained.' Advertisement 'For years, Mark has prayed in front of the Planned Parenthood in Baltimore City to let the scared, young abortion-minded women know that they are loved, that their baby is loved,' Walton added. In a redacted police report, a Baltimore police officer said one of the victims, later identified as Crosby, told investigators he was standing outside the Planned Parenthood clinic 'in support of Pro-life ideals when an unidentified [white male] attacked another member of the same beliefs as [him].' 4 Police released video that they said shows an assault of two men outside the Planned Parenthood offices in Baltimore. Youtube/WBAL-TV 11 Baltimore The individual 'stated that he immediately went to assist and was struck by the suspect and fell to the ground, where he was struck in the face,' the report said. Police say the other victim, later identified as Schaefer, 'advised the suspect had approached volunteer members of the Planned Parenthood and spoke with them before directing his attention to him. That victim said 'the suspect spoke with him in an aggressive manner, opposing [his] pro-life ideals and without warning tackled him into a large flowerpot,' the report added. 4 One of the victims of the violent assault at the Planned Parenthood. Youtube/WBAL-TV 11 Baltimore It also noted that several witnesses saw the assault unfold, with one telling investigators that the 'conversation between the suspect and [victim] was a debate over their ideas about pro-life and pro-choice viewpoints.' Advertisement Crosby's attorney Terrell Roberts read a statement in court on behalf his client, saying that the incident demonstrated a 'gross disregard for the law and human decency.' 'We were in no position to defend ourselves,' Crosby wrote, according to The Baltimore Banner. 'To treat elderly folks with that kind of brutality is shocking.'
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Tim Tooten, veteran TV reporter and church minister, dies
Tim Tooten, a reporter recalled as the 'heart and soul' of the WBAL-TV newsroom who also led a nondenominational church, died Saturday at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital. He was 66 and lived in Rosedale. His wife, Charleen Dawson Tooten, said her husband died of 'medical complications.' Born in Live Oak, Florida, he was the son of James Tooten Sr., a World War II veteran and farmer and his wife, Doris McKiver, a community activist. He was a graduate of Suwannee High School, where he ran track, played basketball and was a disc jockey. After studying at Tallahassee Community College, he earned a communications degree from Florida State University. He had broadcast jobs at WDVM-TV in Washington and at WSAZ-TV in Huntington, West Virginia, before coming to Baltimore and WMAR-TV. In 1988 he became a WBAL-TV news reporter. 'Tim was the heart and soul of the newsroom,' said WBAL news director Tim Tunison. 'He was loud in the best way possible. He was a mentor to us all. He was larger than life and we referred to him as our newsroom pastor.' Mr. Tooten covered schools throughout Maryland and announced school closings during weather events. After he started wearing hats with school colors and insignias, principals began mailing him their institutions' caps. He put on many during morning newscasts. 'Kids from all over Baltimore would tune in and wait for their school to be called,' said Mr. Tunison. He also covered school-related events, such as the Cool Schools Plunge, a benefit for Special Olympics Maryland. In 2023, Baltimore City Schools CEO Sonja Santelises spoke at Mr. Tooten's retirement celebration. He earned an Emmy Award for his documentary shot in Liberia, West Africa, called 'Africa's Maryland.' Mr. Tooten was later an affiliate faculty member and taught broadcast journalism at Loyola University Maryland. In 2006 he began an evangelistic ministry. He founded Harvest Christian Ministries, a nondenominational church in Perry Hall. Mr. Tooten was a Sunday afternoon patron at the Double T Diner in White Marsh, where he walked the dining room and greeted his many friends and congregants. He became a member of the Sharon Baptist Church, under the leadership of Dr. Alfred C.D. Vaughn, where he was also ordained into the gospel ministry. He received a master's degree in theology from Saint Mary's Ecumenical Institute and a doctorate of divinity from Virginia University of Lynchburg. He wrote, 'Leading by Example: A Parental Guide to Teaching and Modeling Christian Faith at Home,' and a collection of daily devotionals, 'Seeds of Encouragement.' He was a board member of the Maryland Bible Society. A life celebration will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Central Christian Assembly of God Church, 7411 Rossville Blvd. Survivors include his wife of 40 years, Charleen Dawson Tooten; two daughters, Fallon Cuthrell, of Westfield, Indiana, and Taren Tooten, of Baltimore; a son, Timothy Tooten Jr., of Baltimore; a godson, Charles Cuthrell, of Baltimore; two sisters, Evelyn Williams, of Orlando, Florida, and Pauline Tooten, of Live Oak, Florida; a brother, James Tooten, of Live Oak; and four grandchildren. Have a news tip? Contact Jacques Kelly at and 410-332-6570.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
SkyTeam 11 Capt. Roy Taylor explains flight operations around Reagan National
WBAL-TV's SkyTeam 11 Capt. Roy Taylor explains how flight operations work around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and his perspective of how pilots navigate the airspace.
