Om Moses Gandhi: Murdered

What is more horrifying than a child being murdered by a parent?  The fact that it was preventable.

We are tired of reading condolences, sorrows and prayers when a child has been murdered.  We no longer want to read that people are “shocked,” or that the situation is “tragic.” It is absolutely tragic but, we are not shocked.

This is a social justice issue and it's a worldwide crisis. The failings of the family court system is a problem that belongs to all of us, regardless of whether someone is directly affected by the family court system. Protecting children is a responsibility that belongs to all of us. Children’s lives are dependent on every person getting involved. 

We are tired of words. No more words. We want to see action. 

Keep your words, your condolences and your prayers — and join us in this fight.

Year after year, for over a decade, we read about children being murdered by vengeful, evil parents. Every week, we receive emails that are dripping in desperation, “I fear my child is going to be next.”

While these stories may be shocking to someone who has never experienced family court, or to someone who has never experienced evil in human form, we’ve seen evil, and we know what evil is capable of. We see it each and every day and we also watch as family court professionals give, “the benefit of the doubt,” to the detriment of children.

It’s not a matter of “if” another child is going to be murdered, it’s a matter of “when” another child is going to be murdered. 

Survivors of domestic abuse often find themselves desperate and begging for family court professionals to believe them. They’ve seen behind the mask, they have stared evil straight in the eyes, and they know what this person is capable of yet, no one is listening.

Not only do family court professionals refuse to listen, survivors of domestic abuse are often painted as problematic because because they are trapped in a system that lacks training on domestic violence, coercive control, trauma and victim vs. perpetrator behaviors. Survivors are quickly labeled as hysterical, hyper-vigilant, paranoid, and worse, they are labeled as “alienators.”  

The concept of parental alienation has been denounced and debunked by the World Health Organization, the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association and now, the United Nations. In a report titled, Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences, Reem Alsalem concluded:

“The report demonstrates how the discredited and unscientific pseudo-concept of parental alienation is used in family law proceedings by abusers as a tool to continue their abuse and coercion and to undermine and discredit allegations of domestic violence made by mothers who are trying to keep their children safe. It also shows how the standard of the best interest of the child is violated by imposing contact between a child and one or both parents and by prioritizing it, even where there is evidence of domestic violence. Predominantly as a result of the lack of training and gender bias and of access to legal support, the custody of children may be awarded to perpetrators of violence, despite evidence of a history of domestic and/or sexual abuse. The risks of such consequences are compounded for women from marginalized groups in society. The report elaborates on systemic issues that lead to additional barriers to justice. Judges and evaluators need to move away from focusing on the identification of behaviours that are contested within the discipline of psychology and towards a focus on the specific facts and contexts of each case.”

It is horrifying to discover that most judicial officers are single-handedly cradling children's lives in their hands yet, they are not required to have training. When training is proposed, it is often met with resistance. In 2022, the California Judicial Council called a proposal for judicial training, “burdensome.” A judicial council feels that it is burdensome train judges on topics that would help them better protect children? As a society, how is this acceptable? By not standing up and demanding better for our children, we are all complicit when a child is failed.

The harsh reality is that children are business transactions to family court professionals. The family court system is an industrial complex. When we start to look at things through their abhorrent lens, it’s gutting. There is no money in believing survivors. There is tremendous amount of money generated when families are locked in the clutches of this industrial complex, dependent on professionals who are padding their wallets at the expense of children and survivors of domestic abuse.

We question how anyone wants to be “successful“ in this business of child trafficking? What type of person perpetuates these horrors, hiding and lurking behind the phrase, “in the best interest of children?” There is nothing in the best interest of children happening in our family court system. I invite every professional who is working in the system to prove me wrong, join us in passing legislation that actually protect children and cuts off the money flow. This is your official invitation to join us in passing Kayden's Law in every state across the country.

Om Moses Gandhi was murdered the day before Mother’s Day, and those of us who have walked this journey through the family court system, we agree it is tragic, but we are not shocked. This outcome is not only predictable, it was preventable. 

Om’s mother, Leah Moses, was a part of our One Mom’s Battle community and she fought fiercely for 14 years to protect her children. Leah stood with us at the state capital in Salt Lake City, Utah, on February 17, holding a sign that said, “Children’s Rights are Human Rights.” Those who refused to listen to Leah over the years are culpable in Om’s murder.

The National Safe Parents Organization (NSPO) issued a statement regarding Om's killing. According to the organization, Moses alleged "that Parth was violent and abusive, and she feared for her children's safety. She had asked a family court commissioner to keep the child safely with her. The father was granted full custody of the boy despite substantiated allegations of domestic abuse against the father, as well as other problematic behavior."

Gandhi, however, had accused Moses "of 'parental alienation,' a commonly invoked and unfortunately effective legal tactic of accused abusers in family court," according to the organization.

"My son Om's death was preventable," Moses said in a prepared statement issued by the organization. "The family court system professionals ignored my pleas for help to keep my son safe. My son's father persuaded everyone I was the problem, when in fact I was just trying to protect my child. I never want this to happen to another family, to another child. If the courts would listen to and believe survivors, this nightmare could stop."

We invite everyone to come together to honor Om Moses Gandhi on Sunday, May 21st at 8:45 PM at Sunnyside Park in Salt Lake City, Utah. This is a student lead candlelight vigil, and if you are not in Utah, please join us in lighting candles from home in honor of this child, who was take  far too soon.  

I also invite you to channel your words, your prayers and your condolences into action. Please join www.nationalsafeparents.org to ensure that Kayden’s Law is passed in Utah, and in every state around the country. We must put an end to unscrupulous professionals who see children as business transactions. Children’s rights are human rights and child safety should be placed at the forefront of all judicial decisions.

When child safety is in question, it is simply common sense err on the side of caution.  

A GoFundMe account has been established with proceeds channeled into advocacy efforts.