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South Jordan boys killed by father honored by neighbors, friend

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A South Jordan neighborhood is coming together to support a grieving mother and honor two young boys who police say were killed by their father.

Wednesday evening families got together in a Daybreak neighborhood park. At first, it would seem like any other night, except on this night, there were two boys absent from the gathering.

Ezra and Seth would normally be playing with all the other kids.

Instead, all the kids were writing memories and prayers on pieces of ribbon that they hung on a "wishing tree."

The two boys and their mom, neighbors said, just had everyone over for a "welcome to summer" party last weekend.

They said they never saw this coming.

"What we've learned is she came home because she was alerted that there may be a problem," said South Jordan Police Lieutenant Matt Pennington. "So she was rushing home from work, and came home to that."

Came home, he said, to find 8-year old Seth critically injured. She called for help, and he explained police discovered 10-year old Ezra and their father, 41-year old Brian Osborn, dead inside the home.

Seth passed away at the hospital.

"We believe Brian shot both boys, before shooting himself," Lt. Pennington said.

Detectives don't know why this happened, or why now. Osborn and the boys' mother were divorced, and Lt. Pennington explained that back in November, there was a call to police that was not criminal but related to mental health.

"When it comes to an event like this, hindsight's always 20/20," he said. "Mental illness always seems to be apart of that."

However, neighbors explained that despite the divorce, the situation with Osborn and the children's mother was still very amicable. He would come to the house to watch the boys and spend time with them often.

They said there was no sign that Osborn was a danger, and that their mother was 100% about taking care of her boys.

She is always the neighborhood organizer, they said, and in fact she once put together a wishing tree event for everyone else.

That's why neighbors came together to create one for her, and Ezra and Seth.

People also tied blue ribbons around all the trees lining the street.

The boys' death has shocked the tight-knit community that said they consider themselves a big family, where kids are constantly playing over at each other's homes.

They said they love Seth and Ezra, and their mother-- and they miss the boys.

Everyone is grieving this loss together, saying they'll remember the two brothers as the kindest, sweetest little boys.

The neighborhood has set up a GoFundMe account, which you can find here.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, there are resources available to help. You can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255. You can also call the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition 24-hour, confidential and free hotline at 1-800-897-LINK.