Utah man shoots sons to death while babysitting for ex-wife before turning the gun on himself
SOUTH JORDAN, UTAH: A man shot and killed his two young sons before turning the gun on himself in an apparent double murder-suicide.
The tragic incident took place on the afternoon of June 2 at a residence in the 4300 black of West Pentenwell Lane in South Jordan, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
The mother of the slain children returned home from work around 4 pm, according to local law enforcement, only to find her sons and ex-husband suffering from gunshot wounds.
Responding officers found the devastated woman holding one of her fatally wounded sons in the living room, per Fox 13.
Authorities found the elder sibling and their biological father dead from gunshot wounds in other parts of the house, South Jordan police Lt Matt Pennington reported.
"It was a horrible scene," he told The Tribune.
The younger boy was rushed to Riverton Hospital, but he died despite the doctors' best efforts.
Police believe the father was babysitting his sons and shot them sometime between 3.30 pm and 4 pm.
While police have not formally named the victims, a neighbor of the family identified them as Ezra Osborn, 10, and Seth Osborn, 8, in the description of a GoFundMe campaign.
"Ezra (10) was an artistic, imaginative boy who loved to throw parties," the page reads. "He loved making others feel special and was an amazing friend. Seth (8) was a ball of energy! He loved to be outside, play nerf gun wars with his friends, and finding adventures wherever he could. These boys were Ying and Yang; except for their love of reading. Both loved to curl up and lose themselves in a good book."
Their mother is identified as Sandra Ang in the fundraiser, which has drawn more than $29,000 thus far.
Police said the mother and the boys' father, who has not been identified, had separated sometime between October and November 2019.
Police records reportedly include domestic calls to the residence from around the time of the couple's split, Lt Pennington said, but none since.
According to Pennington, the father was no longer living at the home at the time of the suspected murder-suicide and was only spending time with his children.
The police spokesman said there is a "short history of some domestic calls here dating back to November/October of last year, which is when I believe they went their separate ways. Nothing since then that we have in our system."
South Jordan City Mayor Dawn Ramsey appeared visibly emotional as she arrived at the scene on June 2 evening to speak about the tragedy, per The Tribune. She urged the community to reach out for help when it came to domestic violence.
"There are people who can help, there are people you can talk to," she said. "I just implore those listening, to please reach out for help. Talk to someone-- anyone you trust-- if you need help."
"This is a tight community. People care about each other, they know each other. They watch out for each other's kids," Ramsey added. "This is just a tragedy on every level. There is nothing that's okay about this."