(June 20, 2024) – The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration will temporarily close and detour interchange ramps at the I-695 (Baltimore Beltway) / US 40 (Pulaski Highway) interchange in the Golden Ring area of Baltimore County beginning Sunday, June 23. This is part of a $200,000 traffic barrier installation project that is expected to be complete by late June, weather permitting.

Crews will work overnight, Sunday through Thursday, 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. During those work hours, each ramp will be closed. In case of inclement weather, ramp closures will take place on the next possible weeknight.

Contractor L. S. Lee, Inc. of Hampstead will perform the work. The closures and detours will take place on the following schedule:

• Eastbound US 40 to Southbound I-695 (Inner Loop).
• Detour: Eastbound US 40 to Golden Ring Plaza, stay left and make U-Turn onto westbound US 40, proceed to southbound I-695.

Thursday, June 27:

• Eastbound US 40 to Northbound I-695 (Outer Loop).
• Detour: Eastbound US 40 to Golden Ring Plaza, stay left and make a U-Turn onto westbound US 40, proceed to northbound I-695 (Outer Loop).

This project is part of the State Highway Administration’s $5.7 million contract to upgrade traffic barriers along State highways in Baltimore and Harford counties. Customers who have questions may contact the District 4 Office – Construction Division at 410-229-2300 or toll-free at 1-866-998-0367.

For a list of all major State Highway Administration projects, go to Project Portal. For real-time traffic conditions, go to md511.maryland.gov.

This press release was produced by the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration. The views expressed here are the author’s own.

BALTIMORE – Victor Martinez Hernandez, the 23-year-old undocumented migrant accused of murdering Rachel Morin, was staying with family members in Maryland during the nationwide manhunt, according to court documents obtained by WJZ.

He is facing charges in the murder and rape of Morin in August 2023 off Harford County’s Ma & Pa Trail.

Martinez Hernandez’s family members told detectives he had been staying with them from December 2023 until May 2024.

He was arrested on June 14 at a bar in Tulsa, Oklahoma and was extradited to Maryland on Thursday.

DNA match

Martinez Hernandez left his family’s home early May and didn’t return, only leaving behind two bags of clothing and a pair of shoes, according to documents.

Morin, a mother of five, was reported missing on August 5, 2023, after she had gone for a walk on the trail and didn’t return home. Her car was found at the trail parking lot and she was found dead, seemingly beaten to death and sexually assaulted, according to court documents.

DNA swabs were recovered from the items that Martinez Hernandez left behind and were processed at the Maryland State Police Forensics lab, documents show, and they matched the DNA recovered from the crime scene. 

Investigators have not said how long they believe Martinez Hernandez had been in Maryland.

Illegally crossing the U.S. Border

Law enforcement officers said Martinez Hernandez fled his native country El Salvador in February 2023 after an arrest warrant was issued for the murder of a young woman.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Martinez Hernandez attempted to illegally cross into the United States three times before successfully making it through on the fourth attempt on February 13, 2023.  

Officials say attacked a 9-year-old girl during a home invasion in Los Angeles in March 2023, and DNA recovered matched what was found at Morin’s crime scene five months later.

“Our investigative genetic genealogy team in Baltimore worked countless hours to identify the suspect by using crime scene DNA and tracing that DNA to potential family members,” said Special Agent in Charge Bill DelBagno, from the FBI’s Baltimore field office.