Days after a woman was found brutally murdered in rural Maryland, DNA evidence has linked the crime to a suspect wanted in a home invasion in Los Angeles earlier this year.
Rachel Morin, 37, was reported missing on Aug. 7, after she went for a nature walk in Harford County, Maryland. The mother of five’s body was found the following day along a popular hiking trail near the town of Bel Air.
Morin’s killing was particularly violent, investigators said. On Thursday, authorities in Maryland announced that DNA evidence had connected Morin’s murder with a man wanted for assaulting a young girl during a March home invasion in Los Angeles.
Video shared during a press conference Thursday, and then later shared on social media, showed a man identified as the suspect leaving a home during the L.A. home invasion.
The suspect has been described as a man in his 20s who is of Hispanic descent and stands around 5 feet 9 inches tall.
The Los Angeles Police Department later confirmed that the assault and break-in happened on March 26 in the jurisdiction of the 77th Division, which encompasses part of South Central.
The LAPD is in contact with authorities in Maryland and offering assistance with their homicide investigation, while simultaneously pursuing leads related to the March break-in.
Anyone with information regarding either case is urged to contact the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
