Accused Killer Of Reston Teen May Be MS-13, Lawyers Say: Report

RESTON, VA -- Prosecutors are planning to introduce evidence tying 23-year-old Darwin Martinez Torres, accused of brutally murdering Reston teen Nabra Hassanen last year, to the nortorious MS-13 gang, according to a report.

The Washington Post reports that prosecutors will claim that Torres' brother-in-law "believed" him to be a member of MS-13 for years. Prosecutors reportedly are not claiming that the slaying of the 17-year-old had anything to do with his MS-13 membership, however. Police say they believe the killing to be motivated by road rage, although her family reportedly suspects an anti-Muslim bias may have been behind it.

Instead, prosecutors want to tie Torres -- an immigrant from El Salvador -- to MS-13 in the hopes of getting a stiffer conviction due to potentially dangerous past conduct. Torres could be sentenced to death.

The explosive allegation would certainly draw national attention to Hassanen's slaying, as President Trump and Republicans have attempted to use the gang as a reason to crack down on immigration.

Trump has frequently attempted to tie MS-13 with the immigration of Mexicans and other Hispanics. He famously argued during the campaign that Mexicans were "not bringing their best," and that many were rapists and violent people. He called attention to the murder of Mollie Tibbetts recently, an Iowa college student who was slain by someone who authorities say is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. And he reportedly complained behind closed doors about immigrants coming from "s***hole countries."

Image via Fairfax County Police