Rachel Morin's mother asks for community to pray that investigators find her killer
BALTIMORE -- WJZ sat down with Patty Morin, the mother of a 37-year-old woman who was found murdered along a popular trail in Harford County nearly three months ago.
Morin is asking for the community to pray that whoever killed her daughter, Rachel, will be found.
Rachel was also a mother and had five children of her own.
"This is probably the worst thing that a mother can experience," Morin said.
Rachel was killed after she went for a walk along the Ma and Pa Heritage Trail in Bel Air on August 5. Her body was discovered the next day.
"It's like part of you is dying or has died," Morin said. "It's really very devastating."
Over the last couple of months, Morin has been channeling her grief into a mission: finding Rachel's killer.
"I don't want her to be forgotten," she said. "I know it's coming up about three months."
Rachel's mysterious murder gained international attention.
However, detectives still do not know the killer's identity despite getting a huge break early in the case, surveillance video that could show the suspect.
It was taken from the scene of a home invasion and assault in Los Angeles in March.
Detectives said DNA from that crime scene matches DNA found at Rachel's crime scene.
Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said the suspect could be anywhere at this point and could kill again.
"We don't know if our community is really safe, and so I want this person caught," she said. "I don't want this to happen to anybody else."
Rachel was known for her spirit.
"Rachel was this feisty little bugger, and I do mean that in the kindest way," Morin said.
She was one of six kids. Now, her five children are living with their fathers.
Rachel owned a cleaning company and worked around the clock to support her family.
"Part of the reason why Rachel was working so hard to make her financially secure—it was because she wanted to have all of her children living with her," Morin said.
Rachel also loved to exercise. She spent a lot of time on the Ma and Pa Heritage Trail.
"We actually lived a block away from the trail for over 10 years when they were younger," Morin said. "And, as a family, we would go there every day . . . I always told Rachel to never go on the trail alone. Even though it's safe, just don't do that."
With the search for Rachel's killer stretching into its third month, Morin remains concerned.
WJZ's Jessica Albert asked her if she felt the killer would be caught soon.
"No," Morin said. "Nope. And, I'm afraid that they won't find them and I think that the killer is either being protected somehow. Somebody must know who he is."
But she's holding on to hope, by using her faith.
The Morin family is launching a prayer initiative, asking as many people as they can to join them in prayer to help find her daughter's killer.
"I think God would be moved, that we would believe him and trust that he would answer our prayers and I think that—I think it would be effective," Morin said.
The Rachel Morin 30-day prayer initiative will begin on November 1 and will last 30 days.
The Morin family is asking members of the public to pray for four things. Those things can be found on the Facebook event that the family created.