Family members of Rachel Morin, the 35-year-old mother of five who was found dead on the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air last August, will be guests of former President Donald Trump at the 2024 Republican National Convention next week.

Morin’s family — including her half-sister, Erin Layman, and Layman’s husband; Morin’s two youngest children and their father; Rachel’s brothers, Nathan, Josh and Michael Morin; and Michael Morin’s family — have all accepted invitations to attend the convention in Wisconsin, with all expenses paid by the Trump campaign, Layman said.

Layman is scheduled to speak Tuesday night at the Republican National Convention about Rachel, her death and immigration policy.

The invitations follow growing political interest in Morin’s death after the man charged in her killing — a 23-year-old undocumented migrant from El Salvador — was arrested last month. The Harford County homicide has become a focus of the nationwide flareup over U.S. immigration and border policy after it was revealed that the suspect in Morin’s killing entered the United States unlawfully.

Suspect arrested in Rachel Morin murder case, Harford County sheriff says

 

Layman, 49, said she sees the political interest as a way to make positive change.

“This is a huge honor because I want to make an impact in Rachel’s name,” Layman said. “I want to give Rachel the proper honor in all of this and for people to know our story and see our family together.”

The convention will be Layman’s second time meeting the former president. She and Michael and Josh Morin met Trump during his rally in Philadelphia last month, she said.

According to Morin family members, Trump, who is expected to be nominated as the official Republican presidential candidate at the convention, called Rachel’s mother, Patricia Morin, in June to express his condolences.

Trump has used Rachel’s death to criticize Democratic President Joe Biden’s border policies. Trump’s re-election campaign created a political advertisement focusing on the killing that was shown during the 2024 presidential debate last month. The $200,000 ad campaign was bankrolled by a conservative group called Building America Better.

The advertisement sparked controversy among some community members who said they believe Morin’s death should not be used for political gain. However, Layman and other members of the Morin family said they believe politics can be a step toward ensuring a death like Rachel’s does not happen again.

“There are hundreds, if not thousands, of Rachels all over America, so we have to do our part to hopefully make change,” Josh Morin said. “This is 100% political because it was politics that created this problem, and it is politics that are going to fix it.”