(NewsNation) — Maryland authorities are denying Michael Gabriszeski’s claim that his stepdaughter found the body of Rachel Morin, a Mayland mother of five who vanished over the weekend.
“(Morin) was laying on her back, fully naked, and she had brutal head trauma … It looked like her head had been smashed in with a rock,” Michael Gabriszeski told the Daily Mail. He claimed his stepdaughter, Cecilia, found her friend in a drain tunnel on the trail.
“There was a 15-to-20-foot blood trail. So, it looked like she had been beaten and dragged into that position. It looked like (the killer) was trying to erase her identity … the right side of her face was gone.”
However, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office told NewsNation that Gabriszeski didn’t find or even see Morin’s body.
“He had no first-hand knowledge of the crime scene. At this time, we do not want to offer him any more notoriety. Additionally, continued discussion can hurt the investigation. To us, it is clear he has provided differing information to different news stations and our investigators. Based on our information, he would not have any first-hand knowledge of the crime scene.”
Former homicide detective Fil Waters joined NewsNation’s “Banfield” to discuss the homicide investigation.
“There are many times where, for whatever reasons, people want to insert themselves into one of these high profile homicides,” Waters said.
“And he may be one of those people, if it was, in fact, his stepdaughter that found Rachel, and detailed to him what she saw. Then he’s given to embellishment, exaggeration and so forth and so on. ,,, He wants to bring attention to himself. Therefore, he’s going to be saying much more than perhaps the facts actually are.”
Morin was last seen alive when she left to take a walk on a nature trail in Bel Air, Maryland over the weekend. At this time, authorities do not have a person they consider a possible suspect in the investigation.
They say there will be an increased police presence near the Ma and Pa Trail.
Another woman also went missing in Bel Air on Saturday. Karen Elliott, 58, was last spotted walking into a wooded area behind Cypress Drive. The sheriff’s office insists this case is “completely unrelated” to Morin’s death.
Anyone with information on either case is urged to call the Harford County Sheriff’s Office at 410-836-5430.
NewsNation’s Caitlyn Shelton contributed to this report.