Photo: Harford County Sheriff's Office
The boyfriend of a woman found dead on a popular Maryland walking trail Sunday (August 6) broke his silence after authorities launched a homicide investigation into her death.
Richard Tobin, 27, the boyfriend of Rachel Morin, 37, denied his involvement in her death in the comment section under a Facebook post in which they announced their relationship status on August 1. Tobin acknowledged his lengthy criminal history, which included multiple arrests for second-degree assault, malicious destruction of property, drug possession and violating restraining orders, but claims he has "changed as a person."
“I love Rachel, I would never do anything to her, let the family and I grieve. Yes I have a past but I also have 15 months clean and have changed as a person. Please,” Tobin wrote.
The post has more than 480 comments following news of Morin's death with many speculating about Tobin's possible involvement, while others claimed he was innocent until proven guilty. Tobin has not been accused of any wrongdoing, nor named by police as a suspect in Morin's death as of Monday (August 7) morning.
Morin, a mother of five, was last seen heading to the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland, on Saturday (August 5) at around 6:00 p.m. and her body was located by authorities after "a citizen called 9-1-1 to report a female's body" found off the trail, Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler announced during a press conference Sunday.
Tobin was confirmed to have been the person who reported Morin missing after she failed to return home and provided details about where her vehicle was located, which was confirmed to be correct by police during their search. Gahler said "the investigation went from a missing persons investigation to a homicide investigation" when officers located Morin's body.
“I’m not going to go into what, physically, they observed at the scene. But investigators believe sadly that it’s a homicide case,” Gahler said during Sunday's press conference.
A GoFundMe page has been launched to help Morin's family pay for funeral expenses.