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Judge breaks down in tears in Utah court as she sentences dad to life in prison for ‘abuse death’ of his 12 year-old son

&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpcnt">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpa">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<span class&equals;"wpa-about">Advertisements<&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"u top&lowbar;amp">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<amp-ad width&equals;"300" height&equals;"265"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; type&equals;"pubmine"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-siteid&equals;"109460728"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-section&equals;"1">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;amp-ad>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-5307e1848f41bf08e87a07343997868a wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;251818&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Shane Jesse Peterson&comma; 47&comma; was sentenced to up to life behind bars following the death of his son Gavin&comma; who died on July 9&comma; 2024 <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f5297a1fd05f11b96411088beb9eb683 wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;251818&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Delivering the sentence on Wednesday&comma; the judge broke down in tears as she sentenced a father to life imprisonment for the horrific abuse death of his pre-teen son <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1f049026a4f36093e5e1f3972c9fab4f wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;251818&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>12-year-old Gavin died at a Weber County hospital after what authorities described as &&num;8216&semi;unimaginable suffering&&num;8217&semi;&comma; subsequently his father&comma; stepmom and older brother were arrested for abuse and neglect<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-46a0c1d6a7f38133e556926844ac3b59 wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;251818&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Judge Camille L&period; Neider of Utah&&num;8217&semi;s Second District Court fought back tears as she delivered the maximum possible sentence<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f58566a38cea0b411122a83af657c443 wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;251818&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Peterson pled guilty in March to five felony charges&comma; including child abuse homicide&comma; three counts of aggravated child abuse&comma; and child endangerment&comma; same as Nichole Leah Scott&comma; 51&comma; and Tyler Peterson 22 <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e57da1fe2873795e877a7659502d343f wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;251818&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Peterson was sentenced five years to life in prison for child abuse homicide&comma; three terms of 1 to 15 years for aggravated child abuse&comma; <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e1480dc027273033bb0b7a408fbe3771 wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;251818&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>He also got one term of zero to 5 years for endangerment of a child&comma; with stipulated sentences to be served consecutively <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2025&sol;05&sol;Gavin-Peterson-1&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-478783" style&equals;"width&colon;813px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Gavin Peterson&comma; 12&comma; died on July 9&period; Webster County Sheriff&&num;8217&semi;s deputies were called to his father&&num;8217&semi;s home in West Haven&comma; Utah after it was reported that the young boy was &&num;8216&semi;not breathing&&num;8217&semi; and &&num;8216&semi;experiencing vomiting&&num;8217&semi; for days on end&period; Reportedly&comma; he&&num;8217&semi;d have been starving the boy to death&comma; after years of abuse&comma; locking in his room and fed only on scraps of food and water <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">A Utah judge broke down in tears as she sentenced a father to life imprisonment for the horrific abuse death of his son&period; <br>Judge Camille L&period; Neider of Utah&&num;8217&semi;s Second District Court fought back tears as she delivered the maximum possible sentenced the defendant 47-year-old Shane Jesse Peterson to a life time in prison following his conviction in the death of his pre-teen son Gavin&comma; who died on July 9&comma; 2024&period;<br>12-year-old Gavin died at a Weber County hospital after what authorities described as &&num;8216&semi;unimaginable suffering&period;&&num;8217&semi;<br>Two other family members &&num;8211&semi; Gavin&&num;8217&semi;s stepmother Nichole Lea Scott&comma; 51&comma; and his oldest brother Tyler Peterson&comma; 22&comma; have been accused of along with his dad of starving the him to death&comma; subjecting him to years of abuse&period;<br>At trial&comma; the court heard how the boy was kept locked him in a room&comma; with a daily ration of scraps of food and a little water as the only nourishment&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2025&sol;05&sol;Shane-Jesse-Peterson-1&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-478785" style&equals;"width&colon;840px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Shane Jesse Peterson&comma; &lbrack;photo&rsqb;&comma; was sentenced up to life in prison following the death of his son death from abuse and neglect in July last year&period; Gavin&&num;8217&semi;s body was &&num;8216&semi;visibly emaciated&&num;8217&semi; with internal organs that had &&num;8216&semi;shut down completely&comma;&&num;8217&semi; according to the affidavit<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">The shocking conditions revealed in court documents show Gavin was severely malnourished before his death&comma; and fed only &&num;8216&semi;a piece of bread with mustard&&num;8217&semi; and one-third cup of water daily&comma; while being locked in an empty room under constant camera surveillance&period; <br>When discovered&comma; the boy&&num;8217&semi;s body was &&num;8216&semi;visibly emaciated&&num;8217&semi; with internal organs that had &&num;8216&semi;shut down completely&comma;&&num;8217&semi; according to the affidavit&period;<br>Handing down the maximum possible sentence Wednesday&comma; Judge Neider said&colon; &&num;8216&semi;I agree that you should be given the maximum sentence&comma;&&num;8217&semi; adding&comma; &&num;8216&semi;I am going to run it consecutive&period; <br>&&num;8216&semi;I also am going to encourage the board to keep you until you die&comma;&&num;8217&semi; Judge Neider stated&period;<br>Judge Neider ordered Peterson to serve five years to life in prison for child abuse homicide&comma; a first-degree felony&semi; three terms of 1 to 15 years for aggravated child abuse&comma; a second-degree felony&semi; and one term of zero to 5 years for endangerment of a child&comma; a third-degree felony&period; <br>Neider said it was the first time in 25 years that she got &&num;8216&semi;teary&&num;8217&semi; in court&period;  <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2025&sol;05&sol;Camille-L&period;-Neider-1&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-478786" style&equals;"width&colon;836px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>In court on Wednesday&comma; Judge Camille Neider fought back tears as she delivered the maximum possible sentence&comma; as she told Peterson &&num;8216&semi;I agree that you should be given the maximum sentence&comma;&&num;8217&semi; adding&comma; &&num;8216&semi;I am going to run it consecutive&&num;8217&semi; <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">&&num;8216&semi;You were Gavin&&num;8217&semi;s dad&period; I don&&num;8217&semi;t think you deserve that title anymore&comma; but there&&num;8217&semi;s nothing that can be done to change it&comma;&&num;8217&semi; the judge told Peterson&colon; &period; <br>&&num;8216&semi;You certainly were not his father and you certainly were not his protector&period; <br>&&num;8216&semi;I also find it telling that I am more emotional about this than you are &&num;8211&semi; and I think that there is reason for that&period;&&num;8217&semi; <br>Last month Peterson pled guilty to five felony charges&comma; including child abuse homicide&comma; three counts of aggravated child abuse&comma; and child endangerment&period;<br>When Gavin died last summer&comma; three family members were subsequently arrested for child abuse homicide within days of his death&period; Documents later released by the Utah Division of Child and Family Services revealed several years of investigation into the Peterson family&period;<br>Those documents state that Gavin had suffered &&num;8216&semi;severe and chronic physical abuse and severe and chronic physical neglect&period;&&num;8217&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2025&sol;05&sol;Nichole-Lea-Scott-2&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-478790" style&equals;"width&colon;794px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Nichole Lea Scott&comma; &lbrack;photo&rsqb;&comma; admitted on Monday to actions that led to the horrific death of her stepson Gavin Peterson in July 2024&period; Her sentencing hearing is set for May 12<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">In court last month Gavin&&num;8217&semi;s stepmother&comma; Nichole Lea Scott&comma; broke down in tears as she pled guilty to her role in starving her 12-year-old stepson to death&period;<br>51-year-old Scott of West Haven&comma; Utah&comma; admitted to the crimes that led to the emaciated death of Gavin&period;<br>Scott&comma; along with the boy&&num;8217&semi;s father and the boy&&num;8217&semi;s oldest brother Tyler Peterson&comma; 22&comma; were charged with starving the child to death and subjecting him to years of abuse&comma; including locking him in a room and providing only scraps of food and water&period; <br>&&num;8216&semi;When talking about feeding the child victim&comma; the three suspects talk about only giving the child one-third of a cup of water&comma; only giving him a piece of bread and mustard&comma; or not feeding him food at all&comma;&&num;8217&semi; the charging <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;eastidahonews&period;com&sol;2025&sol;04&sol;stepmother-pleads-guilty-in-starvation-death-of-utah-12-year-old&sol;">documents<&sol;a> state&period; <br>&&num;8216&semi;All of this messaging and evidence revealed a prolonged pattern of abuse over the course of several years&period;&&num;8217&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2025&sol;05&sol;Gavin-Peterson-3&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-478791" style&equals;"width&colon;773px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Gavin&&num;8217&semi;s dad&comma; stepmom and older brother were all convicted in his death&comma; which was brought on by &&num;8216&semi;a prolonged pattern of abuse over several years&&num;8217&semi;&period; Gavin had suffered &&num;8216&semi;severe and chronic physical abuse and severe and chronic physical neglect&&num;8217&semi; &&num;8211&semi; <strong>Court docs <&sol;strong><&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2025&sol;05&sol;Nichole-Lea-Scott-1&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-478792" style&equals;"width&colon;840px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Weeping and emotional&comma; <strong>Nichole Sc<&sol;strong>ott&comma; tearfully pled guilty to murder&comma; three counts of intentional aggravated child abuse&comma; two counts of obstruction of justice&comma; child endangerment and possession of a controlled substance<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2025&sol;05&sol;Tyler-Peterson-1&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-478788" style&equals;"width&colon;838px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Gavin&&num;8217&semi;s brother&comma; Tyler Peterson&comma; &lbrack;photo&rsqb;&comma; his dad <strong>Shane Peterson<&sol;strong> and stepmom Nichole Scott&comma; all admitted to starving the 12-year-old to death&comma; subjecting him to years of abuse&comma; including locking him in a room and providing only scraps of food and water<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">In Ogden&&num;8217&semi;s 2nd District Court on Monday&comma; Nichole Scott was seen weeping and emotional as she tearfully pled guilty to murder&comma; three counts of intentional aggravated child abuse&comma; two counts of obstruction of justice&comma; child endangerment and possession of a controlled substance i the death of her <strong> <&sol;strong>the stepson&period;  <br>Shane and Tyler both pled guilty to child abuse homicide and other child abuse charges on March 20&period; <br>Part of the guilty pleas for both men involved admitting to the factual basis of the charges&period;<br>They both testified that investigator statements were true and that Gavin was subjected to a &&num;8216&semi;prolonged pattern of abuse over the course of several years&period;&&num;8217&semi;<br>Webster County Sheriff&&num;8217&semi;s deputies were called to the family&&num;8217&semi;s home in West Haven on July 9 after reports that Gavin was &&num;8216&semi;not breathing&&num;8217&semi; and &&num;8216&semi;experiencing vomiting&&num;8217&semi; for days on end&period;<br>Responding officers and paramedics who found the distressed boy on the bathroom floor&comma; transported him to the hospital&comma; where he later died&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2025&sol;05&sol;Gavin-Peterson-4&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-478794" style&equals;"width&colon;840px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Upon hospitalization doctors found that Gavin Peterson&&num;8217&semi;s body &&num;8216&semi;showed malnutrition to the point his internal organs had shut down completely&comma;&&num;8217&semi; according to the affidavit<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">His father&comma; stepmother and older brother were all arrested in connection to the boy&&num;8217&semi;s horrific death&comma; which the court heard was brought on by &&num;8216&semi;a prolonged pattern of abuse over the course of several years&comma;&&num;8217&semi; informed by surveillance footage and text messages between the trio revealed events leading into Gavin&&num;8217&semi;s final days&period;<br>One deputy noted that the bathroom floor where the found the child was &&num;8216&semi;wet and the child&&num;8217&semi;s skin was cold to the touch&comma;&&num;8217&semi; the affidavit said&period;<br>&&num;8216&semi;Nichole &lbrack;Scott&rsqb;&comma; and Shane &lbrack;Peterson&rsqb;&comma; reported that the child had been ill for several days&comma; experiencing vomiting and seizures&comma; but was not taken to a doctor&period; On the day of the incident&comma; Nichole found the child in his bedroom&comma; covered in vomit&comma; and assisted him into the shower&period;&&num;8217&semi;<br>Once Gavin was taken to the hospital&comma; doctors found that his body &&num;8216&semi;showed malnutrition to the point the child&&num;8217&semi;s internal organs had shut down completely&&num;8217&semi;&period; <br>&&num;8216&semi;The child&&num;8217&semi;s body was visibly emaciated&comma;&&num;8217&semi; according to the affidavit&period;<br>Upon further investigation into the child&&num;8217&semi;s death&comma; detectives discovered text messages between Tyler and Shane where they discussed the condition of Gavin&period;<br>In the messages&comma; Tyler told his father that Gavin was not breathing&comma; asking what he should do&comma; the affidavit said&period;<br>Investigators also found home surveillance footage that showed Tyler making three trips to the shed in the backyard around the same time they called 911&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2025&sol;05&sol;Peterson-family-home-in-West-Haven-Utah-1&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-478789" style&equals;"width&colon;840px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Stills from surveillance footage that monitored Gavin&&num;8217&semi;s room at the Peterson family home in West Haven&comma; Utah &lbrack;photo&rsqb;&comma; <strong>showed the horrendous conditions to which he was subjected&period; The deleted footage was<strong><strong> was recovered from Nichole Scott&&num;8217&semi;s phone <&sol;strong><&sol;strong> <&sol;strong><&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">&&num;8216&semi;During two of these trips&comma; Tyler appeared to be carrying items to the shed&period; A search of the property uncovered small surveillance cameras in the shed Tyler entered&comma;&&num;8217&semi; the affidavit said&period;<br>Screenshots of surveillance footage that monitored Gavin&&num;8217&semi;s room were also uncovered on Nichole&&num;8217&semi;s phone that showed the horrendous conditions the boy was living in&period; <br>On Scott’s phone&comma; police discovered several screenshots from the surveillance system had been recently deleted and were in the &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;trash” folder&period;<br>&&num;8216&semi;In most of the screenshots&comma; the child is only wearing a heavily saturated diaper&period; The child can be seen curling up on the carpet-less floor of the room&comma; which lacked bedding or blankets&period;<br>&&num;8216&semi;Several screenshots also showed sores on the child&&num;8217&semi;s back&period; The room appeared to have multiple cameras&comma; as the infrared lights from other devices were visible in the screenshots&period;<br>&&num;8216&semi;The photo also showed the door handle with a locking mechanism positioned on the outside of the room&comma;&&num;8217&semi; the arrest report said&period;<br>After searching through the suspects&&num;8217&semi; phones&comma; detectives found text messages where they discussed if Gavin was allowed to &&num;8216&semi;use the bathroom&&num;8217&semi; or &&num;8216&semi;be given any food&period;&&num;8217&semi;<br>Their conversations also included talk about &&num;8216&semi;hitting or beating&&num;8217&semi; Gavin&comma; including &&num;8216&semi;using a piñata stick to do so&comma;&&num;8217&semi; the report said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2025&sol;05&sol;Melanie-Peterson-1&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-478808" style&equals;"width&colon;745px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Gavin Gavin was under the legal custody of his father Shane Peterson&period; <strong>Melanie Peterson&comma; said <&sol;strong> she lost custody of all four of her children between 2014 to 2015 after pleading guilty to a drug-related charge<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">&&num;8216&semi;They also talk about how the door to the child&&num;8217&semi;s bedroom is locked and how he has to knock on his door in order to leave&period;<br>&&num;8216&semi;When talking about feeding the child victim&comma; the three suspects talk about only giving the child one-third of a cup of water&comma; only giving him a piece of bread and mustard&comma; or not feeding him food at all&period;<br>&&num;8216&semi;All of this messaging and evidence revealed a prolonged pattern of abuse over the course of several years&comma;&&num;8217&semi; the affidavit said&period;<br>Sentencing hearing for Nichole Scott is scheduled for May 12&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph"><&sol;p>&NewLine;

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