- A Utah mother has been beaten to death in a suspected murder suicide just one day after she filed for divorce, according to family friends.
- Lindha Paola Zerpa Lara, 43, was found dead in her home in Herriman, just south of Salt Lake City at around 7.15pm on Friday, NBC affiliate KSL reported.
- She had filed for divorce the day before, according to the outlet.
Police said she appeared to have been killed by ‘blunt force trauma’, and an unidentified man was also found dead in the home from a ‘self-inflicted’ injury.
No further details were given. Police are continuing to search the three-bedroom home at 4596 West Watchmen Way.
Lara owned a beauty business and she was originally from Venezuela. She shared a 10-year-old child with her soon-to-be-ex-husband.
Her friends Patricia Quinonez and Fabian Rapalino said that her heartbroken mother has been working with police to try to understand what happened.
‘She was always a bright light for her mom. A person that was always trying to do the best for their community, the Venezuelan community,’ Quinonez told KSL.
Utah mom Lindha Paola Zerpa Lara, 43, has been found dead in her home in Herriman, just south of Salt Lake City in a suspected murder-suicide. She had filed for divorce the day before
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Lara owned a beauty business and she was originally from Venezuela. Police said she appeared to have been killed by ‘blunt force trauma’ at her home in Herriman, Utah
Lara was an active member of the Venezuelan community in Salt Lake County, and she helped organize a support group for cancer patients called We All Must Shine
The friends said Lara planned to meet her estranged husband at her home on Friday afternoon, explaining that they shared a child and had a civil relationship.
Quinonez said though that alarm bells rang for her mother when she did not hear from her daughter later that day.
Friends said they called police who carried out a welfare check, who then found the bodies of Lara and her ex, who has not been identified.
They told KSL that their child was not home at the time of the slaughter, and is now being taken care of by other family members.
Lara moved from Venezuela to Utah eight years ago to start a new life in America. She trained as an esthetician before opening her own business, called Pao Glow Beauty.
Lara opened a med spa in 2022, but her business burned to the ground just two months ago, according to her friends, and she had been working to rebuild it.
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Lara moved from Venezuela to Utah eight years ago to start a new life in America
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Police are continuing to search the three-bedroom home at 4596 West Watchmen Way
Lara was an active member of the Venezuelan community in Salt Lake County, and she helped organize a support group for cancer patients called We All Must Shine.
Her friends said that as an immigrant, it’s harder to ask for help from police, which may have deterred Lara from reporting concerns about her ex.
‘When police show up, instead of providing help, they go and they have taken people into detention,’ Quinonez told KSL.
If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or exhibiting warning signs, help is available via the 24/7 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.