Article by Eleni Fotis | Owl Staff
A precious mother-daughter moment between Rachel Morin and her daughter, Violet.
Three years ago today, April 5th 2023, Rachel Morin’s life was taken on the Ma & Pa trail in Bel Air, Maryland. This tragedy drastically affected her family, friends, and the Harford County community. Most importantly, the loss of Rachel heavily affected her five children. The trial for her murder took place on April 4, 2025, where her second oldest child, Violet, testified.
The sentencing of Rachel’s murderer followed on August 12, 2025, where numerous victim impact statements were read. One incredibly impactful statement that was read was Violet’s. Now, almost a year since the sentencing of the murderer, Violet has bravely shared her victim impact statement with us:
My name is Violet Custer, I am fifteen years old, and my mom is Rachel Morin, who was murdered on the Ma & Pa trail, August 5th, 2023. I remember the moment I got the phone call. The moment my heart stopped. The moment I couldn’t breathe. The moment my life ended.
“Sometimes I’ll think about the fact that I’m not the only one impacted. The way one act done by one person can cause so much hurt for so many others.”
It felt like i was stabbed straight through the chest. Like everything came crashing down. I’ll never be able to go back and prevent things from happening. The moment she left for the trail, the last goodbye, the last hug not knowing it was the last. We had plans to go to the store, I should’ve asked her if we could’ve gone earlier.
Everyday I wonder if I could’ve done something to make sure it never happened. I wouldn’t have lost my mom. Nothing would’ve changed. My life wouldn’t have ended.
I was the last person in my family to see her, and one of the last to talk to her. I can’t help but wonder if that was for a reason, like maybe I should’ve done something. I keep going back to the morning after we reported her missing, around 3am, when I walked the trail searching for my mom who didn’t come home. I walked the entire trail looking.
Of course i had no idea that my mom was still there, but it had been too late. There’s a saying that’s been in my head since then, which states: “And now i’ll have to spend more time without you than I did with you,” and all i can think about is how true it is. I only had thirteen years with my mom. My younger siblings, ages nine and eleven, had even less. They shouldn’t have, I shouldn’t have.
Sometimes I wish I could call or text her whenever something happens, whether it’s big or small, anything that i need my mom for – which is everything. Sometimes I’ll even go to text her, and then I’m left with the realization that I can’t. I can’t talk to her again like I used to and I can’t have the same conversations that we did everyday.
“She touched the soul of every person she met. She changed so many lives in such a positive way, even when she had been through so much.”
It will never fully feel real, and everyday I wish it wasn’t. She was my best friend and now some days it feels like I have no one. Not even the one person who should be here for everything. The person who should be here for prom, graduation, weddings, and to meet her grandkids.
Then I think of everything she’s already missed: things like my first day of high school, choir concerts, and how she can’t meet my niece. Which leads me to remember everything I won’t do again. Things that were normal, such as movie nights in her room, her picking me up from school, gas station trips, and getting groceries. Even being with her while she got ready for things like work, saying goodbye when she left for her run, and hugging her when she came back.
I’ll never have my normal life back, the one that included my mom – here, with me. Sometimes I’ll think about the fact that I’m not the only one impacted. The way one act done by one person can cause so much hurt for so many others.
My mom was always seen as the life of the party. She brought so much light into this world. Her laugh was the kind that made you want to join in. She had a smile that brightens your day.
You could have a conversation with her that changed your perspective on things or she would give the perfect advice you needed. She touched the soul of every person she met. She changed so many lives in such a positive way, even when she had been through so much.
She was strong, resilient and ambitious. She always tried her best at being a mom, even when she made mistakes, there wasn’t one day where she didn’t want the best for us kids. Not one day goes by where I don’t think of how it’s all gone – how she’s gone.
“Nothing is ever going to be the same. Not me, my siblings, or anyone that this case has touched. This never should have happened.”
How I’ll never be able to hug her, talk to her, sit with her in her room and talk her ear off about things going on in my life. I trusted her the most, and now I’ll never get that back. Nothing is ever going to be the same.
Not me, my siblings, or anyone that this case has touched. This never should have happened. However, I hope that the outcome of today is something that brings my mom justice and healing to all those who’ve been affected by this loss – the loss of a mom, a sister, a best friend, and the loss of someone taken too soon.
Violet also shared with us a brief insight on how she is feeling today:
Today, on the three year mark of my mom’s death, I bought a necklace that says “Heavenly Things,” which was written as a reminder of Colossians 3:2-4. This passage emphasizes how we should focus on the things waiting for us in Heaven that the Lord has in store for us, and not the life we are living here on Earth. I felt like this was a sign, I usually get lost in overthinking earthly things, but when i tend to think of my life in Heaven, I think of a life with my mom back. A life with no pain or hurt, just us and our family back together.
You can find our video of Violet reading her victim impact statement on our Instagram, Facebook, or Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kveyusBj-u4