An illegal migrant from El Salvador has been sentenced to life in jail for raping and murdering a Maryland mother on a popular hiking trail.

Victor Martinez-Hernandez, 24, was found guilty of first-degree murder, first-degree rape and kidnapping following a jury trial in April this year for his attack on the 37-year-old Rachel Morin.

Prosecutors alleged he carried out a planned attack when in August 2023, he grabbed the mother of five off a popular Maryland hiking trail, bashed her head against nearby rocks and concealed her body in a gutter.

During a hearing on Monday, a judge handed down the maximum sentence, condemning Martinez-Hernandez to serve life without the possibility of parole, another life sentence, and an additional 40 years in prison.