Hello Everyone!
This month, we’re talking true crime. These cases are tough to talk about sometimes, not only because of the case facts but also because I don’t want to be seen as exploiting their tragedy. The educational value we experience when examining cases may lead to solving the crime or changing our behavior so we don’t become victims ourselves.
As a police sketch artist, I’m asked to assist investigators during their investigation of which many are high-profile investigations. Though each case seems more heartbreaking than the one before, make no mistake, whether or not a violent crime makes headlines, I’ve found that the results cause long-term trauma to the victim and the community where the crime occurs.
Such was the recent case in Harford County, Maryland, where sheriff’s department detectives were investigating a murder that occurred last summer. During their investigation, they identified witness(es) who they believed would help me to create composite sketches of the alleged suspect.
This murder was especially brutal and occurred on a popular hiking trail in an area that rarely experiences violent crime. The victim, Rachel Morin, was a stunning blonde, a fitness-conscious, dedicated mother of 5 who frequented the trail as part of her fitness regimen. A search was done after she failed to return home. A short time later, her body was found off the trail in an area obscured from public view.
DNA evidence collected at the crime scene was tied to a brutal home invasion that occurred in Los Angeles, CA. The doorbell video shows the suspect leaving the victim’s home via the front door. Despite the videos, investigators were unable to identify him because he kept his head turned away from the camera as he walked backward out the door and made his way down the sidewalk toward the street with his back towards the camera.
The sheer brutality of the crime, the victim, and the circumstances made headlines. I was recently asked by Nancy Grace to appear on her podcast to talk about the process of creating police sketches along with other crime experts, Rachel Morin’s ex-husband and the father of one of her children.
Detectives hope the sketches will prompt someone to call and provide a name. I’ve included links below so you can read and listen to more about the case.
In the coming months, we will cover true crime cases I’ve been involved with and others where a police sketch is front and center. Because the Morin case is still an open investigation, I won’t talk about anything related to the case. But, in other cases where I’ve contributed a police sketch, I will reference the challenges I faced when creating the sketch.
Feel free to share this newsletter with friends and have them sign up for our newsletter on my website: https://www.SketchCop.com.
In the meantime, stay safe, be well, and, as always…
Keep on Sketching!
Michael W. Streed – The SketchCop
https://harfordsheriff.org/news/releases/rachel-morin-update-and-new-details/