SALT LAKE CITY — We are continuing to learn more about a murder-suicide that took place in Salt Lake City on Saturday.
Police say 49-year-old Parth Gandhi killed his 16-year-old son, before killing himself.
On Wednesday, the family identified the teen as Om Gandhi.
Anne Blythe has been a friend of Om's mother, Leah Moses, for twenty years.
"Om is known to everyone who knows him as a kind and compassionate boy," said Blythe.
Blythe describes the high school junior as an amazing musician, who loved basketball. She says he was the kind of kid any parent would adore, love and want to protect.
"Leah and her daughter genuinely feel like is their hero, they feel like saved them and they feel like he sacrificed himself so that they could be safe," said Blythe.
Court records that date back 15 years show a lengthy custody battle between Gandhi and Moses, beginning when Moses filed for divorce in 2009. The divorce would be finalized in 2014, but the fight over custody would continue for years.
In 2019, records show a case for custodial interference was brought up against Moses by Gandhi. It would ultimately be dismissed without prejudice, which Gandhi objected to.
In February of 2022, the courts awarded Gandhi full custody of his 16-year-old son in a temporary order that was issued in Third District Court.
It stated that "Parth shall have legal custody of minor son O.M.G. with the final decision-making authority regarding education and medical issues."
However, last month a custody evaluation report was filed in court, just weeks before the murder-suicide took place.
"She finally received a custody evaluation that she had been longing for the whole time that outlined all of the problems and recommended that be in her full custody," said Blythe.
As the divorce and custody battle took place, court records also show that Moses filed protective orders against Gandhi on two separate occasions, in 2009 and 2011.
"As Leah is trying to protect her child, luckily in 2021 the court gave her full custody of her daughter," said Blythe.
Now, for Blythe, she says they are working on getting legislation passed here in Utah, like Kadyn's Law. The federal law is named after another child who was murdered by an abusive father during his court-ordered custody time in Pennsylvania.
The hope is to prevent an incident like this from ever happening again.
"This is not going to be a new thing that Leah is doing and I'm sure that the rest of her life is going to be dedicated to protecting children," said Blythe.
A GoFundMe has been started for Om by a family friend. If you would like to donate you can visit their GoFundMe here.
Leah also requests that those moved by who Om was as a person and by his tragic death, donate to Om’s Memorial Fund.
This fund will be used to help pass Kayden's Law and expand the Safe Harbor Crisis Center, the only domestic violence and sexual assault survivor service in Davis County.
