Maryland police link DNA from Rachel Morin murder suspect to Los Angeles home invasion and assault of young girl​



Maryland police have used DNA evidence to link Rachel Morin's murder suspect to an unidentified man accused of assaulting a young girl and committing a home invasion in Los Angeles, California.

Rachel Morin was last seen alive on Aug. 5 when she went for a hike in Bel Air, Maryland. Morin's boyfriend notified authorities that the 37-year-old mother of five had gone missing.

The next day, the naked body of Morin was found near the drainage tunnels on the Ma and Pa Trail. Morin reportedly suffered from severe head trauma, and it appeared that her face had been smashed with a rock.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler called Morin's death "an intentional taking of a person's life."

During a press conference on Thursday night, Col. William Davis of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office announced that investigators finally have a suspect in Rachel's murder.

The suspect left DNA at the crime scene, and the Maryland State Police ran the evidence through the Combined DNA Index System. The DNA matched that of a man suspected of committing a March home invasion in Los Angeles. During the home invasion, the suspect allegedly attacked a young girl.

The Harford County Sheriff’s Office released security footage from the Los Angeles home invasion, which shows only the back of the shirtless suspect leaving the property.

Maryland police believe the suspect acted alone in the "violent homicide" of Morin.

Davis said, "I think now it leads us down the path that we believe this was a person that Rachel probably didn't know. Potentially a random act of violence."

The Harford County Sheriff’s Office did not have a name for the suspect. Officials described the suspect as a Hispanic male in his 20s, standing 5-foot-9 and weighing approximately 160 pounds.

Davis said his department would be working with the FBI to track down the suspect.

Morin's boyfriend reacted to the news of a suspect in Rachel's murder.

"Please help identify this scum bag #ripRachelmorin," Richard Tobin wrote on Facebook. "I hope they found this scum of the earth. Justice for Rachel. Rip. Love you, Rach."

Joseph Murtha, attorney for Morin's family, released a statement Friday that read: "We are deeply saddened by the loss of Rachel Morin, and our hearts go out to her family during this difficult time. Our firm is committed to providing support to the Morin family as justice is pursued."

Anyone with information on the Rachel Morin murder case is encouraged to contact police at 410-836-7788 or email RMtips@HarfordSheriff.org.

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Gilgo Beach murders: How a pizza crust, Tinder account, and 'sadistic' Google searches helped police locate Long Island serial killer suspect



After more than a decade, police have arrested a New York man believed to be responsible for the deaths of three sex workers and the prime suspect in the murder of a fourth woman. An avalanche of evidence – including a pizza crust, a Tinder account, and "sadistic" Google searches – led police to the Long Island serial killer suspect in the cold case murders.

Rex A. Heuermann, a 59-year-old Long Island architect and married father of two, was arrested at his Massapequa Park home on Thursday night.

Heuermann was charged with murder in connection to the killings of three women who are part of the “Gilgo Four.” He is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder in connection with the killings of 24-year-old Melissa Barthelemy in 2009, and 22-year-old Megan Waterman and 27-year-old Amber Costello in 2010.

Heuermann was held on no bail. His attorney entered a plea of not guilty on Friday.

Authorities named Heuermann as the "prime suspect" in the death of another victim found on Gilgo Beach. Maureen Brainard-Barnes went missing in 2007.

The New York Post reported, "Suffolk County investigators spent 18 months painstakingly building a case against suspect Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann – the married dad of two who allegedly left a trail of damning evidence behind linking him to the so-called 'Gilgo Four' slayings."

Witnesses say the last client seen with Costello drove "a dark-colored, first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche," according to Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney.

Coincidentally, a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche was registered to Heuermann. His pickup truck has since been impounded for evidence.

The suspect reportedly used a different burner phone to book appointments with the sex workers. Tierney said that cell phone tower data showed all of the calls were made from Massapequa Park – where Heuermann lived.

Tierney told Fox News, "So we were able to use that technology, but we still had to develop a suspect. And that's where the phone evidence and the evidence with regard to the car and some of [Heuermann's] other activities came in."

"The FBI and other phone analysts are really skilled in what they can do," Tierney continued. "So they could really analyze phone records and really isolate location areas where suspicious activity occurs. And that really allows you to capture or identify suspects."

Investigators were motivated to arrested Heuermann because continued to use burner phones to make appointments with sex workers, according to officials.

Court documents say Heuermann signed up for Tinder accounts with fictitious names to search for "dates" or "hookups." He purportedly used an American Express credit card via Google Pay to purchase a subscription to Tinder.

"Records obtained from Tinder revealed a burner phone was linked to a fictitious Tinder account for 'Andrew Roberts' using an email that Heuermann also accessed from his personal cell phone," according to the New York Post.

A burner phone was reportedly found on Heuermann at the time of his arrest.

The suspect reportedly used a phone to call Barthelemy’s then-16-year-old sister to say her sibling is a "whore."

CNN reported, "The suspect made taunting phone calls to Barthelemy’s sister, 'some of which resulted in a conversation between the caller, who was a male, and a relative of Melissa Barthelemy, in which the male caller admitted killing and sexually assaulting Ms. Barthelemy,' according to the bail application."

Prosecutors said in the court documents, "Investigators could find no instance where Heuermann was in a separate location from these other cellphones when such a communication event occurred."

Investigators claimed that Heuermann's wife and children were traveling out of New York state on vacation during the time of the victims' disappearances.

Heuermann conducted "thousands" of explicit Google searches for child pornography, nearby sex workers, and other disturbing inquiries, according to court documents.

ABC News reported, "Internet search records from the burner phones showed that between March 2022 and June 2023 indicated the suspect searched for sites 'related to active and known serial killers, the specific disappearances and murders of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello, and the investigation into their murders,' as well as 'sex workers, sadistic, torture-related pornography and child pornography,' prosecutors alleged."

Tierney said, "And there was a lot of torture porn. And what you would consider depictions of women being abused, being raped, and being killed."

The district attorney said, "In a 14-month period, he had over 200 searches pertaining to the Gilgo investigation. Not only was he looking at investigative insight. He was looking, trying to figure out, how is the task force using cell phones to figure out what's happening."

The Google searches reportedly included: "Why could law enforcement not trace the calls made by the long island serial killer," "Why hasn’t the long island serial killer been caught," "In Long Island serial killer investigation, new phone technology may be key to break in case."

Investigators reportedly linked Heuermann to the death of Waterman via a pizza crust.

On Jan. 26, investigators witnessed Heuermann throw a pizza box into a trash can in Midtown Manhattan, authorities say. The leftover pizza crust in the box was sent to a crime lab. The DNA from the pizza crust matched a hair found in the burlap used to wrap Waterman's body, according to court docs.

The bodies of Barthelemy, Costello, and Waterman were all found wrapped in camouflaged burlap.

Tierney explained, "All the women were bound at the head, the midsection or chest, and the legs using camouflage burlap used in duck blinds, for hunting. So obviously, it was used to purposely hide the body."

By spring 2011, there were 10 bodies found in the Gilgo Beach area.

The investigation is still ongoing.

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How a utility bill helped solve sexual assault cold cases from 1980s that led to serial rapist being sentenced to 650 years in prison



An Indiana man convicted in a series of home invasions and sexual assaults in the 1980s was finally sentenced to a total of 650 years in prison for his crimes. A utility bill helped law enforcement apprehend the man who terrorized women in Shelby County some 30 years ago.

Steven Ray Hessler sentenced to 650 years in prison

Steven Ray Hessler, 59, was found guilty on March 3 of 19 felony charges for crimes against 10 victims between 1982 and 1985.

Following an eight-day trial in Shelby Circuit Court, Hessler was convicted on two counts of rape, six counts of unlawful deviate conduct, seven counts of burglary resulting in bodily injury, three counts of criminal deviate conduct, and one count of robbery, according to WXIN.

Shelby Circuit Court Judge Trent Metzler described Hessler's crimes as "monstrous" and "horrific." The judge gave Hessler the maximum of 50 years on each count, all of which were Class A felonies, WRTV reported.

How a utility bill broke open the cold case

Hessler was arrested at his home in Greensburg in August 2020 after investigators linked him to the cold case crimes through DNA evidence.

In 2019, the Shelby County Sheriff's Department decided to renew interest in the cold case after learning of advances in forensic technology. "A detective asked prosecutors if they would pay for samples to be sent to a company that uses the same sort of DNA testing that resulted in the capture of "the Golden State Killer," according to the Associated Press.

The prosecutors agreed and sent a DNA sample left in the victim's garage from the last reported assault on Aug. 17, 1985. Investigators also sent a licked utility bill that they had intercepted in the mail to Parabon NanoLabs. The DNA on the sample and the utility bill matched.

"Police said there was a one trillion-to-one chance the DNA found at the scene belonged to anyone but Hessler," the Indianapolis Star reported. "A subsequent test by Indiana State Police of DNA from Hessler's arrest confirmed the match."

Police found other evidence linking Hessler to the crimes, including pictures stolen from one of the victims was found in his possession. Law enforcement also determined that he searched for some of the victims on his computer.

The 'monstrous' crimes committed by the 'Coward Sadist'

In the middle of the night, Hessler – wearing a ski mask or tights to conceal his face – would break into the houses of women who were often home alone and force them to perform sexual acts while threatening harm if they did not do as he said, according to police. Hessler would bind, rape, and sexually torture his victims at gunpoint and knifepoint, investigators said. He also stole money and valuables from his victims.

"In a few cases, men who were in the home were made to watch or participate," according to the Indianapolis Star. "The man would sometimes lecture his victims about the lack of security in their homes, according to police. Before he left, some victims reported he would unplug phones and take their money."

Hessler allegedly took photos of the victims to blackmail them not to inform the authorities and said if they told the police, he would come back and kill them.

Several of the victims testified during the sentencing hearing about the trauma they experienced from the heinous attacks. Some expressed fears that Hessler would return to kill them or their children.

Shelby County Prosecutor Brad Landwerlen issued a statement:

Steven Ray Hessler is one of the most evil, dangerous, sadistic predators that I’ve had the pleasure of prosecuting in my 30+ year career. He derived great pleasure from his unnecessarily brutal methods of terrorizing and sexually torturing his victims. I promised the victims early-on that my goal would be that he go to prison the rest of his life, and all involved are very happy that we have achieved that goal.

Landwerlen dubbed Hessler the "Coward Sadist."

"He's a sadist because he loves getting pleasure from hurting other people," Landwerlen said. "He's a coward because he would only do it when he was armed."

In his closing arguments, defense attorney Bryan Cook said, "It's a hot mess of a case the state has."

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