Slain Sandy Hook principal’s daughter to speak at DNC

Erica Smegielski, the daughter of slain Sandy Hook Elementary School principal Dawn Hochsprung, and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during a gun violence prevention rally in Hartford in April. Erica Smegielski, the daughter of slain Sandy Hook Elementary School principal Dawn Hochsprung, and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during a gun violence prevention rally in Hartford in April. Photo: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images Photo: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Slain Sandy Hook principal’s daughter to speak at DNC 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

NEWTOWN - The daughter of the elementary school principal who was slain in the Sandy Hook massacre will speak at the Democratic National Convention next week.

Erica Smegielski, the daughter of Dawn Hochsprung, will speak on Wednesday in Philadelphia as Democrats gather to nominate Hillary Clinton for president.

Hochsprung was one of 26 educators and first-graders who were killed by a gunman in 2012.

Smegielski was featured in a Clinton ad during the Democratic primary in the spring, speaking of how her mother’s murder left a giant hole in her life, and how no candidate was fighting harder for gun reform than Clinton.

“She reminds me of my mother,” Smegielski says in the ad, as the camera cuts to her giving Clinton a hug. “She isn’t scared of anything.”

Smegielski also shared the stage with Clinton during a gun violence prevention rally in Hartford in April.