New Rachel Morin Murder Details, Suspect Sketches Revealed Six Months After Horrific Crime

On Monday, the Harford Sheriff's Department released two brand new sketches of the suspect, along with a 40-minute podcast in which Captain Andy Lane shared new details about the case.

The investigation into the mother-of-five's murder began in August 2023, after her boyfriend said she never returned from a run. After he reported her missing, her body was discovered the following day along a hiking trail. Later that month, authorities released footage of a male they believe is connected to the brutal homicide of Rachel Hannah Morin; the video was from Los Angeles.

In the podcast, Lane confirmed for the first time that they believe Morin was attacked on Ma & Pa trail in Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland, before she was pulled into a drainage culvert "where she lost her life."

While they had been "leery about releasing too many details," authorities said a number of witnesses saw Morin on the trail that day, leading them to believe the suspect was "most likely familiar with Rachel, who had a time of day she liked to run and this individual took an opportunity when Rachel was briefly out of view of anyone else for a short period of time."

Though one of the officers on the podcast said his "gut tells me she was stalked," they added it could have been a crime of opportunity and there was no evidence Morin was specifically targeted.

At the scene, they were able to recover genetic material which was entered into a national database, leading to a "huge break" linking Morin's murder to another, earlier unsolved crime in Los Angeles. That crime is where the Ring camera footage came from, showing a shirtless man leaving a residence in darkness, carrying his clothes in his arms. There appears to be someone inside the house, who closes the door after he leaves.

According to Lane, the man seen in the video left behind a hat at the home, which had DNA on it matching the genetic material at the Morin crime scene.

"The crime that occurred there was also a violent attack," he said, explaining, "there were multiple people within that home who got injured and there were minor children who were injured as well in that attack."

Saying the earlier LA incident was still being actively investigated by the LAPD, Lane said the man did not live at the home and was not known to anyone who lived there. "After entering the home, he violently and physically attacked multiple people, to include a child," he said, adding that the man's entry to the home wasn't captured on camera because he didn't use the front door.

"There was a lot of yelling .. they forced him from the home. I think people often times believe this family should have held this person there or in some way tried to stop him. I think that's not always possible," said Lane. "This attack was stopped by a member of this family who I think acted in the best interest of everyone there and did everything he could do to get that person out of the home."

After saying the suspect attacked two family members who were "unable to defend themselves," a third, younger family member "managed to surprise the suspect" and force him out of the home. The video shows the man being shooed out of the house, before having the door slammed in his face by someone who then locked it and called the police.

Per Lane, they've received "well over 1,000 tips" about Morin's murder since August, which have come in from all across the country.

Regarding the two new sketches released on Monday, he also cautioned that it's been six months since the crime and people are able to change their appearance with longer or shorter hair.

See more coverage of Morin's case below: