SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The mother of a teen murdered by his father in a contentious custody battle is backing a bill she believes could have saved his life.
Leah Moses said her son, Om Moses Gandhi, had the perfect name.
“His name means peace,” said Leah.
Peace is something Leah and her family desperately wanted, but instead she spent years in court over the custody of her children against her ex, Parth Gandhi, a man she was terrified of.
“In fact, a lot of the professionals that worked with us said, you know, this situation is so bad. This is really the worst we’ve ever seen. In fact, it’s so bad that we really believe that your kids are just going to have to age out,” said Leah.
In 2023 on Mother’s Day Weekend, Gandhi murdered Om and took his own life.
“I kind of imagine that, you know, in maybe some final moments that he really did step in, that he stepped in to protect me and his sister,” said Leah.
Leah is backing HB 272, also known as Om’s Law.
“It’s codifying what we already have in statute to keep kids safe. And then it’s limiting testimony to experts who really understand domestic violence and control and abuse. And then it’s also making sure we’re only involving families in safe treatments. And then the last part, I think, is actually the most important, and that’s that there’s continued education and enhanced education for decision-makers,” said Leah.
Moses said she knew not everyone would be on board, especially those that profit off of long custody battles, like the one her family went through for 13 years, but she couldn’t believe it when she learned who was emailing state leaders in opposition.
The Justice Files obtained an email sent by attorney Scott Wiser addressing several members of the legislature.
In the email he states, “I have no personal stake in the outcome of this legislation. Rather my desire is to ensure everyone who finds themselves involved in Utah’s family justice system is treated fairly with due process of law.”
Court documents show Wiser worked on Leah’s custody case, assisting her ex, Parth Gandhi. The Justice Files reached out to Wiser who declined an interview but did confirm he was hired to consult Gandhi during a custody evaluation in 2021, ending the email writing, “The subsequent news story about what happened between them a year later came as a kick in the gut as you might imagine.”
When Leah learned Wiser was contacting legislators asking them to vote against it, she was heartbroken.
Trying to move forward, Leah said she thinks about what Om asked her when he was just 5 years old about the custody battle.
“When do the kids get a chance to talk?”
Leah said it is now her mission to give her son the voice he never had, as well as all other children, in the hopes of stopping this tragedy from happening again.
HB 272 is based on a federal act also known as Kayden’s Law, which is in memory of a girl who was murdered by her father.
