The Misery Machine - The Case of Gavin Peterson

Starting point is 00:00:00 Nestled between open fields and quiet mountain views, West Haven, Utah feels like a place time for God, in the best way. Neighbors wave from porches, kids ride bikes until sunset, and block parties still bring everyone together. It's the kind of town where doors are rarely locked. Casseroles show up unasked during hard times, and someone's always around to lend a hand. Everyone knows everyone, and that's.

Starting point is 00:00:30 That's the charm. People care. Gavin Hanson Peterson was born on a cold winter's day on January 15th, 2012 in the quiet town of Ogden, Utah. Born to Melanie and Shane Peterson, he was the couple's youngest child, cherished deeply by his parents, his older brother Tyler, and sister Malani. Life soon shifted course, and his parents split up when Gavin was one. Shane would eventually remarry, finding new beginnings with Nicole Lee Scott, and together they welcomed another son into the world. The first few years of Gavin's life or how you'd expect them to be, ordinary.

Starting point is 00:01:10 He was your typical pre-teen boy, loved to play on the Nintendo Switch, and was obsessed with Pokemon. School teachers and cafeteria workers developed a special bond with him. There was this one cafeteria lady, Jan Davis, who described Gavin as the happiest boy she'd ever seen. He was beaming, so young and full of life.

Starting point is 00:01:31 You couldn't help but feel a sense of compassion for the 12-year-olds. Melanie retained custody of all three children until 2014. That was when a police officer found a then-two-year-old Gavin wandering the streets all by himself. Locals immediately identified him as Melanie's youngest child, and they led the officer to their home. There, the officer saw something that would change the kid's lives forever. Melanie was in possession of weed, and after they found that in related paraphernalia, that prompted a child endangerment case against her and a call to Shane. A hundred hours of community service, a $600 fine, mental health classes, and a drug treatment program.

Starting point is 00:02:15 It was a hard year for Melanie, but she knew she had to get better for the sake of her children. She was determined to see the program through and get back to living a normal life with her kids again, but that day never came. In to Melanie, the system was working against her now that she had a record. Courts ruled that it was in the kids' best interest to stay with their father. To them, it seemed like a more stable two-parent household with neither parent having a record. This broke Melanie. She said, I went through everything I was supposed to, as one should.

Starting point is 00:02:44 I took all the classes for my own mental health. It's important to recognize when you need help. I took all the classes. I really did everything I could to better myself and be a mom to my kids. would be at Shane's home bright and early whenever it was her turn to have the kids. Gavin was always excited to see his mother, running up to her, hugging her tightly and telling her all about his day. Same, unfortunately, couldn't be said about her oldest two, Malani and Tyler. Something felt strange. It was almost like the kids dreaded seeing their mother. Tyler would pretend she didn't

Starting point is 00:03:16 exist and every little thing apparently bothered Malani. Melanie didn't know what caused the shift in their behavior. They once lived like a happy family. under the same roof. So what changed? The kids did have a better life at Shane and Nicole's for the first two years, according to Malani. Yes, Shane did have more rules than Melanie ever did, but they knew their father was the stricter parent anyway. Nicole complimented Shane in that she would be the enforcer when Shane wasn't around. She made sure the kids completed their chores every day, though the kids thought it was pretty strange how Nicole always had something negative to say about their mother, Melanie.

Starting point is 00:03:58 Malani eventually came to see Nicole as a maternal figure, and for the first two years, things were fine between them, so if you asked her to pinpoint the exact moment that something shifted in their household, she wouldn't be able to tell you. It was like a switch turned in Nicole's head one day. Started with name-calling and petty arguments soon turned into starving Meilani and using violence against her if she ever resisted. Shane pretended like he didn't see what Nicole was doing, and that was the worst part, according to Malani. It almost felt like he would rather save his peace than be there for his own child.

Starting point is 00:04:32 And as for Tyler, well, he used to be Malani's best friend all her life, but when Nicole decided she couldn't stand her anymore, well, she turned Tyler against his sister too. She had done it with Melanie before, and now she was doing it to Malani. Nicole decided she wasn't going to be a standard mother for Malani anymore. She could have let her be, but that would have been too easy. Instead, Nicole decided to do everything she could to make life miserable for her. Every day after school, Maloney would do all the chores around the home. While Shane was at work, Nicole ruled the home with an iron fist,

Starting point is 00:05:08 making sure that Maloney didn't take any breaks while she did everything around the home. And once she was done, she'd be sent over to their great-grandmother's home down the street to complete a list of chores there. Malani fought back or at least she tried to. Why wouldn't she? But Nicole would resort to violence whenever she saw any pushback from her. She managed to subdue Malani in a way that made her believe that mistreatment was normal and that fighting back would just mean more violence. What should have been Malani's sanctuary and retreat became more like a prison cell. In 2016, Maloney finally confided in a friend at school about the mistreatment. The bruises were becoming harder and harder to conceal, and her friend started to get concerned.

Starting point is 00:05:52 They couldn't believe what they were hearing. Wasn't Nicole supposed to be a maternal figure to them? Where was Shane in all of this? Was this happening to Gavin too? Those questions were raised by a caseworker from the Department of Children and Family Services who visited Maloney at her school later. that same week. One of the kids had told an adult about what was going on at the West Haven home,

Starting point is 00:06:16 and they called DCFS, the agency that should have looked out for Malani. They asked her if she'd been mistreated and if Nicole was violent towards her, and if the allegations that her stepmother would make her work in the scorching heat were true. Maloney was nervous, scared of retaliation or mistreatment getting worse if she told on her stepmother. She did what seemed right to her at the moment, lie. The young girl told them that things were normal at home and that her friends were worried over nothing. But the bruises painted a very different picture and the caseworker pled with

Starting point is 00:06:51 Malani to tell her the truth. Maybe things would get better now. Maybe the mistreatment would ends. Gathering up all the courage she had left in her, Malani told the caseworker everything. DCFS now had evidence as well as Malani's statement that her stepmother was mistreating her. So what did they do? They enacted a safety plan. Basically, Maimani wasn't allowed to be in Nicole's care without Shane being present anymore. So every day after school, the young girl would head over to her great-grandmother's home down the street, stay there until Shane came back from work and then go back to the family home.

Starting point is 00:07:27 This, in DCFS's opinion, was the best that they could do. They closed the case within the month of receiving the complaint, claiming that all issues had been resolved and there was no further need for any involvement. In Nicole's eyes, Malani had justified her. She had told on her to a state agency and claimed to have been the victim of physical violence, and furthermore made them question her as a maternal figure. Things were bad for Malani before they got even worse after that. Life of the Peterson home from 2016 through 2019 mimicked hell for this young girl.

Starting point is 00:08:00 She claimed that Nicole would purposefully starve her, beating her only mustard sandwiches with a third of a cup of water after making her work in the heat all day. She claimed that Nicole knew that she hated mustard, and this is just another twisted way of tormenting her. Shane acted indifferent like he always did, but Tyler was encouraged to partake in this. He would call Malani names and act like she didn't exist, and furthermore would berate her every chance that he got to. This wasn't his sister any longer. This was someone that he had been manipulated into hating.

Starting point is 00:08:34 Would have Gavin, while Malani claimed that Gavin was largely she. shielded from the harm she'd been suffering at their stepmother's hands. It was clear that Nicole hated him just the same. However, in Nicole's eyes, Malani was a much easier target as she viewed her to be more rebellious. In 2018, Malani finally had enough. Life at home became all about survival, and she believed she wouldn't be able to survive there anymore. She decided that the only way out was to run away from home. Malani, a young teen, ran to the nearest gas station, begging the employees for help.

Starting point is 00:09:12 She wanted someone to listen to her, anyone to believe her. But instead, they did what they thought was the right thing. Call Shane and Nicole. When the couple arrived, they put up a front that could have deceived anybody. Her stepmother begged her to come back home, telling her that she would try to be better and that things would be different. Shane also asked his daughter to come back home because her son. siblings were worried sick. What about Gavin? They asked and Malani was convinced she loved her little

Starting point is 00:09:43 brother and wanted to go back to see him. Maybe things would be better, she hoped, but on the ride back, Nicole turned to her, screaming at her, berating her, and eventually choking her with so much force that Malani thought she was about to pass out. The next day, Nicole pulled her out of school to homeschool her. Things weren't better. The violence continued for another whole year until one day, while mowing the lawn in 2019, Malani accidentally ran over a sprinkler. She claimed that she thought this otherwise trivial thing would be enough for Nicole to do the unthinkable. Deathly afraid, shivering and with tears in her eyes, she went up to her father with a broken sprinkler in hand.

Starting point is 00:10:30 Maybe Shane thought the same thing. His partner barely ever needed a reason to mistreatment. Maloney and there in her hands was reason enough. Malani claimed that her father didn't say anything, just instructed her to get in the truck. She thought they were going to get another sprinkler before Nicole found out, but no. He drove her straight to Melanie's home,

Starting point is 00:10:53 left her on the front porch, and then drove away. That was the last time Maloney ever had contact with her father. They manipulated me into hating my mom. Melani Peterson says she lived in a world of isolation under the roof of her father, Shane Peterson, and stepmother, Nicole Scott. She called me names every day. The emotional and physical abuse started in late 2018 when she was about 13. Malani describes disturbing details like the time Nicole allegedly shaved her head as punishment for brushing her hair. At that time, I was mostly focused on surviving.

Starting point is 00:11:27 But that was only the start. They would starve me until I was really skinny. Malani says she was fed one or two times a day. The same food prosecutors allege her little brother Gavin ate before presumably dying of hunger. The same thing Gavin did bread with mustard. Malani says Nicole included the mustard because the kids hated it. I don't go there. She also alleges being locked inside a bedroom. Nicole tracked her every move with the camera.

Starting point is 00:11:54 At one point, zip tied her to the bed. They would tie my ankles and she said if I moved, she'd be moved. She'd beat me over and over again. Melani says Nicole beat her with a belt or a wooden spoon. In March 2019, a concerned friend reported the abuse at school, and Malani alleges DCFS was brought in. They basically told me that they couldn't do anything. I told them that I was, like, deathly, terrified to go back with them.

Starting point is 00:12:24 Instead, Malani says a safety plan was created, and Nicole wasn't allowed to be alone with her. I remember her telling me and she wanted to kill me. But the abuse allegedly continued until May of 2019, when Malani was finally able to go live with her mom. Melanie always believed that something was wrong, but after seeing her daughter bruised, emaciated and broken, she decided to call the police.

Starting point is 00:12:49 She understandably wanted to regain custody of her other kids who were still with Nicole. The police instead referred her again to DCFS, where Melody claimed that a caseworker was assigned, who severely downplayed the situation. The caseworker reportedly claimed that her father's household might have just been more strict than her mother's and that he couldn't do anything about a bad haircut.

Starting point is 00:13:12 This bad haircut was in reference to a time that Nicole had shaved Malani's head for brushing her hair without Nicole's permission. I don't know how they wouldn't review that as CA, but Malani's allegations were enough to warrant a home visit. Of course, Shane and Nicole knew, this was coming and they'd prepared a script for the interview. The caseworker noted that Nicole did most of the talking, appearing very emotional to the point of tears. She claimed that

Starting point is 00:13:39 Malani was defiant and that the reason why they shaved her head was because she'd smelled like urine and the family was worried she'd be bullied for it at school. Later on, when they were asked why they kept Malani from going to school, they recalled the time when she had run away from home, claiming that Malani was unstable and couldn't be trusted unless she was put under constant surveillance. Caseworkers asked Shane why he abruptly left his daughter at his ex-wife's home. He claimed that there was no broken sprinkler, and he had told Malani, threatened her, actually, that he'd take her back to her mother's home if she was defiant one more time. He said she was. They claimed that Malani was acting this way because she resented her father for having rules

Starting point is 00:14:20 and preferred living under her mother's roof with no repercussions for her actions in his words. It was their word against Malani's at the end of the day, and DCFS believed that the likelihood of a teen being unhappy with having rules to live by was more likely than them harming her. Once again, the state agency refused to help the young girl in any way, but she didn't care anymore. She was just glad to be out of the living situation and back with her mother. However, Melanie still had a very important task on hand. She had to get Gavin out of that home no matter what it took to do so. Tyler was a lost cause, one, because Nicole had sufficiently manipulated. manipulated him against his own mother and siblings, and two, he had crossed the age of 18 at that point.

Starting point is 00:15:01 He no longer could be told what to do. He was legally an adult. This meant that the apparent power struggle now was for Gavin. Nicole never loved Gavin, but she never cared enough about him to mistreat him either. But once Maloney was out of the home, Melanie's entire struggle became about getting Gavin back. Nicole shifted her focus to the young boy. Thus he became her next victim. Gavin was made to take over where Maloney had left off. All the chores for everyone in that household. After making the boy work in the sun all day, Nicole would give him the same meal she had given his sister,

Starting point is 00:15:42 mustard sandwiches and a third cup of water. This wasn't an everyday meal, by the way. If Nicole felt like Gavin had done enough to deserve a meal, she'd give it to him. Yes, there were days when Gavin went to bed without eating anything at all. He started to lose weight to the point where his ribs became clearly visible. Melanie claimed that when she tried to take a picture of the severely malnourished Gavin, Nicole and Shane filed a false complaint with DCFS,

Starting point is 00:16:15 alleging that she was trying to break the custody arrangement and manipulating Gavin against them. Of course, Melanie fought back against the accusation. and DCFS decided that both households needed to do better. This meant in-home services, but they refused to press Gavin for more information about what was happening. His mother wasn't the only one who was concerned. At school, the cafeteria staff noticed that Gavin would ask for nothing more than water and then stand by the trash for the rest of the lunch.

Starting point is 00:16:49 They claimed that he'd wait until everyone was back in class to sneak into the trash and grab whatever he could find to eat. Gavin was embarrassed and didn't know who to confide in about being hungry to the point of scavenging through the trash. Eventually, he opened up to Jan, a cafeteria worker who promised him she wouldn't tell his dad or stepmom. Gavin told Jan that he'd been hungry for days and that he didn't have any money to eat lunch at school.

Starting point is 00:17:19 The cafeteria worker could see that Gavin, a growing boy, was severely malnournerable. and constantly fatigued. They did what they thought was best for him and pitched in to put enough money on Gavin's lunch account so he could eat something at least at school. But when Nicole found out about this, she rushed to the school to berate the staff,

Starting point is 00:17:40 claiming that if she wanted Gavin to have lunch money, she would have given it to him. They felt they couldn't argue with a parent, even if they believed that they were mistreating their kid. So the staff felt that they had no other choice but to stop. This didn't mean that they gave up on him. No, they actually went ahead and shared their own lunches with him.

Starting point is 00:18:02 The other kids in Gavin's grade could also see that the once happy and active boy was becoming a shell of who he used to be. They offered their lunches to him as well. School became Gavin's safe space. Home was hell. The school district placed several calls with local agencies over the years concerned for Gavin's safety. For the CA Prevention and Treatment Act, the division of child and family services had to outline all of the reports they had received over the years for Gavin, or by extension, any of the kids under Shane and Nicole's care.

Starting point is 00:18:34 The first case dated back to 2018 and was related to the bruising found in Malani, but the case was closed just a month later. The time, state workers claimed that Gavin was not in any danger from either Nicole or Shane. And on February 27, 2020, after Malani returned to her mother Melanie's care, the first call related to Gavin was made. May 27th, 2020, the juvenile court ordered both households to participate in DCFS in-home services. While another call was made raising concerns about Gavin's safety on August 24th of the same year, the caller remained anonymous and DCFS claimed that there was insufficient evidence to support their claim. Pearson family successfully completed their mandated in-home services on May 21st, 2021. Gavin remained in the custody of his father. In-home services case was closed by the juvenile court.

Starting point is 00:19:20 But just a little over a year later, 16 months to be precise, another call was made to DCFS. Given the previous allegations, a DCFS supervisor reviewed the information. Supervisor found that the information provided to DCFS did not meet the criteria legally required to open an investigation. March 28, 2023, DCFS received a new report against the Peterson family alleging physical neglect of Gavin, and they opened an investigation. DCFS received a second call reporting physical neglect against the Peterson family two days later on March 30th. The information from the second report was added to the open investigation. For several calls have been made in regards to Gavin's safety, DCFS workers decided to interview him on March 31st of the same year at school without either Nicole or Shane present.

Starting point is 00:20:07 According to the agent who was interviewing Gavin, the child claimed that no mistreatment was taking place in the family home. The report didn't specify if the case investigator found Gavin to be severely malnourished or not. although that had been the primary concern for school teachers and cafeteria workers. Shortly after this happened, Gavin was pulled out of school entirely to be homeschooled. A home visit was made on May 15, 2023, without Nicole or Shane present. Again, Gavin claimed that no mistreatment had taken place. The DCFS case was closed on May 15, 2023 as unsupported because DCFS did not have evidence to indicate Gavin had been mistreated or neglected.

Starting point is 00:20:50 However, they seemed to miss some rather obvious clues within the home. It was as if the Peterson family refused to acknowledge the 12-year-old's existence. While there were pictures of nearly all of the siblings on the home computer, especially of Gavin's 11-year-old half-brother, there were none of Gavin. One of Shane's coworkers claimed that he had a framed picture of his youngest son on his desk, and they had never even heard of Gavin. It was like he didn't exist.

Starting point is 00:21:20 The only text message exchanged that there was about Gavin, it was about how the family loved torturing him, or how much they hated him. In those messages, Gavin is never referred to by name. Only derogatory terms are used to refer to this young boy. While the other siblings had carpeted floors, Gavin's room had painted plywood. The scene of the inside,

Starting point is 00:21:45 of his room was nothing short of horrific, according to investigators. Tape was laid out in the shape of a box on the floor, and areas in his room were covered with black vomit. The box on the floor was supposed to be his bed. Things had gotten particularly horrific with Tyler taking an active part in the CA, just like Nicole and Shane. At one point, he beat Gavin with a pinata stick because he claimed he was acting defiant. Gavin was starved for days and refused water despite begging for it. In the end, with nothing left, it's been reported that the young boy resorted to eating his own feces to survive. At about 2.40 p.m. on July 9th, 2024, the Weber County Sheriff's Office responded to the Peterson's home.

Starting point is 00:22:35 They arrived at the scene. They found Gavin weak, cold, and severely malnourished. Paramedics claimed that they barely had time to think because Gavin had a faint pulse. and their top priority was transporting him to McKay D. Hospital to give him some chance at survival. But unfortunately, the doctors declared him dead within a few minutes of reaching the hospital. Gavin's cause of death was reported to be complications from sepsis with contributing factors including pneumonia, dehydration, and untreated infections. His body had also shown signs of starvation and several other physical wounds. Nicole was the one who called 911. She claimed that her stepson had been ill for several days before he was ultimately found unresponsive in the bathtub.

Starting point is 00:23:20 She told the 911 operator that Gavin had reportedly complained about feeling dizzy that morning and that she had been trying to administer CPR on him while she was waiting for first responders. What she failed to mention was that she called in almost half an hour after finding Gavin lying motionless in the tub. During this time, the first 11 minutes while Gavin's body was shutting down, she placed a phone call to Shane asking, asking him what their next step should be. The other 10 minutes were spent reversing a lock on Gavin's door so it could be open from the inside. Tyler texted his father when Nicole told him Gavin was almost gone.

Starting point is 00:23:53 In the text, he's panicking, claiming that his brother wasn't breathing and asking what he should do next. He wasn't concerned for his younger brother. He wanted to know what their next move should be. Tyler knew if the police got involved the family was done for. Gavin's body showed signs of extreme CA, and it wouldn't take long for them to find out. who had done it. So in surveillance footage from the home, Tyler made three separate trips to the

Starting point is 00:24:17 shed in the backyard, carrying loads and loads of surveillance cameras for the ones from Gavin's room. Nicole, Shane, and Tyler were all arrested for their involvement in the horrific mistreatment of Gavin that ultimately led to the 12-year-old's death. But why were their cameras in Gavin's room? Tyler, Nicole and Shane relished in the harm they were inflicting on Gavin. Photos from Nicole's phone show Gavin locked in a carpetless room without bedding or blankets, monitored with multiple cameras. There were also photos that showed sores on his back and of him wearing only a diaper covered in feces. There were also text messages that they had tried to delete that discussed watching Gavin on the cameras. A text exchange between Nicole and Shane was revealed

Starting point is 00:25:06 in court, where she said that she hated Gavin more and more every day. And that particular case, a school nurse had called Nicole, informing her that Gavin's nail bed was severely infected and raised concerns to someone she thought was Gavin's protector. Instead, Nicole complained about the incident to Shane, claiming that the then 11-year-old was doing it for attention. Nicole, who was viewed to be the main aggressor, according to Judge Camille Need, was sentenced to a total of 15 years to life in prison for murder, along with six additional terms of one to 15 years each, all to be served consecutively. Eurely enough, she can be seen smiling in her mugshot as if she hadn't just contributed to murdering a 12-year-old boy. Her trial ended in April of

Starting point is 00:25:55 2025, where she pled guilty to eight felony counts, including first-degree murder, aggravated CA, and obstruction of justice. However, in her remarks before rendering a sentence, the judge said there was no doubt that Nicole was the architect of Gavin's mistreatment. Nicole, I hope you understand, Miss God, I hope you understand. But sometimes people sit in that chair. And I want to, as they go off to prison, say, do your best. Because at some point, you're going to get out. A glimmer of hope, a ray of hope, something for you to hold on to as you get down to the prison.

Starting point is 00:26:33 truthfully, I am not going to be that ray of hope for you. I don't know that you will get out. And frankly, I hope that you don't get out. I think it's entirely fair for you at this point to serve the rest of your life in prison. I think of some of the tangential consequences for you, you're never really going to see your grandchildren. You're never really going to see your children

Starting point is 00:27:02 achieve things. You're going to be stripped of your parental rights, I think, of your youngest, who's still underage. And I want you to understand that that is minor in comparison, first of all, what you have done to Melanie, but it's minor in comparison, too, I think, for what you deserve. Two of the charges for aggravated CA that Shane admitted to were related to the mistreatment of Gavin, while the third was related to the mistreatment. treatment of Malani. The child endangerment charges related to an 11-year-old half-brother of Gavin. At the time of Shane's sentencing, the judge stated that it was telling that she herself was more broken up over young Gavin's death than Shane was, who was his father. As she handed him his

Starting point is 00:27:50 sentence of eight years to life, she stated, father, you don't deserve that title anymore. There was a report that was written by Dr. Lasky, who's with the University of Utah. And she had some very valuable insights that I didn't see in any other document. And part of these, Mr. Peterson, I don't know if you've seen this. I would assume that you have, you have access to it, but I'm also very aware that sometimes in your situation, people will bury their head in the sand and not acknowledge the true devastation

Starting point is 00:28:28 or the havoc or the harm that resulted from their behavior. Gavin likely endured unimaginable suffering in the weeks, if not months, leading to his death. The history provided is consistent with child torture. Gavin was most likely aware of the fact that there was food and that the rest of the family was eating. He also probably smelled the food they ate. It is likely this caused substantial anguish and distress. A common late stage manifestation of starvation is the ability to overcome revulsion and eat non-food in an attempt to sustain themselves. Considering the psychological abuse Gavin endured, being isolated from children at school outside contact with anyone,

Starting point is 00:29:15 restriction to his room, constant monitoring with cameras, not being allowed to wear clothes, being forced to wear diapers, being deprived of love and medical care, all would have been profoundly impactful on his psyche. by report of the school contacts, this was an essentially normal child who was driven to a point of psychological breaking. He would have been cognizant of what was happening, understood that it was wrong, and that the adults in his life who he should have been able to rely on for all things were, in fact, his tormentors.

Starting point is 00:30:04 It is without question that Gavin experienced physical pain prior to his ultimate death. His body was riddled with evidence that he was beaten more than once. The lack of body fat and diminishing muscle likely made the pain worse. He would have been cognizant of what was happening, how he felt, and who he should have been able to turn to

Starting point is 00:30:37 for care and support. He would have been hungry to the point of being willing to risk known physical consequences in order to obtain any sustenance to keep him alive and to overcome the innate disgust of ingesting feces. He would have felt fear and sadness and pain. Furthermore, his siblings would have sustained psychological trauma as a result of being in this same environment. As a judge, we are two sentence based on the facts.

Starting point is 00:31:18 but nobody sits here devoid of emotion, empathy, human experience, or just common sense. You don't have to be a parent, you don't have to be a criminal. You don't have to be any of those things to think, oh, maybe this should be wrong. The reason I emphasize that, and it does make me emotional, because I think of, first of all, you were Gavin's dad. I don't think you deserve that title anymore, but there's nothing that can be done to change it. You certainly were not his father, and you certainly were not as protector. I don't believe for a minute that you weren't part and parcel of a significant portion of the the abuse that he endured.

Starting point is 00:32:18 I also find it telling that I'm more emotional about this than you are. And I think that there is reason for that. I don't think there are enough adjectives and adverbs to adequately describe how awful this situation is. And the fact that I'm

Starting point is 00:32:38 teary about it is the first time in 25 years that I can think of that I have ever gotten teary in court other than something that I was here for of a personal nature

Starting point is 00:32:55 and part of that is because this case compares to none I've done Ms. Tumes and Mr. McGahey's job I've done Mr. Whitteson and Mr. Pichel's job I've prosecuted and defended

Starting point is 00:33:10 child homicide cases and I know what goes into that. I as I said before I respect the job that all of them have done here. But this has got to be one of the hardest situations any of them have dealt with. And it's absolutely unacceptable that your behavior was such that it ever took place more than once, that you allowed, condoned, encouraged, facilitated, and probably participated in any one of those instances, let alone instances that went on daily,

Starting point is 00:33:53 four weeks, and for months, and potentially even years. It doesn't help you that a lot of the text messages and the cameras were hidden, and there was an attempt to cover up, because anything you might tell me to explain why falls on deaf ears. If there was evidence of that, you wouldn't have deleted all of the things that got deleted. So the presumption really is that those were things that were going to be worse than what we do actually know. We don't know how long it went on. We don't know how many times you actively participated or how many times you were just aware of it.

Starting point is 00:34:34 But the truth of the matter is, and I agree with what Ms. Toom said, you dehumanized that little guy. And it resulted in his death. And the responsibility for that lies at your feet. I don't think that there is anything that looking back in your past, and I got a couple of letters in support for you, that wanted me to understand what kind of a character you really are, what kind of character you really have. I want you to understand that those things that you might have done that were good in the world have all been completely wiped away and

Starting point is 00:35:17 eliminated by what happened here. The judge ordered Shane to serve five years to life in prison for CA homicide, a first degree felony, three terms of one to 15 years for aggravated CA, a second degree felony, and one term of zero to five years for endangerment of a child, a third degree felony. Shane agreed to the recommended consecutive sentences as part of his plea deal, which included prosecutors not altering his charge to murder. Gavin's older brother Tyler pled guilty with a mental condition on March 20th to four counts, including CA resulting in homicide. Tyler was released to his family while receiving treatment on the condition that he'd check in with his attorney in pretrial services. During the course of the trial, Tyler was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, persistent

Starting point is 00:36:02 depression disorder, the presence of a personality disorder, and generalized anxiety. We'll keep an eye out for sentencing details as they become available. Now, we can't help but feel that Gavin's story draws a lot of parallels to the case of Timothy Ferguson. Both boys were essentially tortured to death while their family members looked on via camera. And in both cases, an older sibling was recruited to take part in the mistreatment. Remember, Shonda Vanda Ark and Paul Ferguson teamed up together as a mother and son duo to mistreat Timothy. Paul Ferguson was sentenced to 30 to 100 years in prison for the death of his brother. But based on the sentences that both Nicole and Shane received,

Starting point is 00:36:45 it's likely that Tyler will have the same fate as Paul. Be sure to link Timothy's case in our pin comment to check it out if you haven't already. Gavin loved the color blue. And the balloons that covered his memorial site, as well as the ribbons and stuffed toys, were all blue. The community of West Haven came together to mourn the young boy's tragic passing, claiming that they all felt, in part, responsible for what happened to Gavin. State agencies failed him, but so did members of the community

Starting point is 00:37:17 who knew that there was a malnourished 12-year-old in the Peterson household. They knew that Gavin had been taken out of school and knew that Nicole was prone to violent outbursts. Yet, no one did anything. and now they're mourning what could have been a great life. Gavin had been on Utah's DCFS radar since 2014, 10 years before he ultimately passed away. Yet despite repeated warnings that something was amiss in the Peterson home,

Starting point is 00:37:49 no agency stepped up to remove him from the harmful living situation. Whether it was because a shortage of workers or resources, the fact remains that every agency that should have have protected the boy failed him miserably. Rachel Reynolds says Gavin Peterson had a bright smile, but his frail body was a desperate cry for help. It's been really hard and really hard for those of us that knew him. Rachel says she too found Gavin in the school cafeteria sifting through trash for food. I could not let a child eat food from the trash. I just couldn't. Rachel says the school filed at least four complaints with DCFS as they kept trying to help Gavin. So,

Starting point is 00:38:31 So we started sneaking him food, even after we were told not to give him food. In another incident, Rachel took Gavin to see the nurse and school principal who also called DCFS. He was picking at his fingers. They looked swollen and infected, so I took him to the office. And that was my goal, was to make sure that we had somebody high up in the school calling because I figured that would warrant a visit. And still, there was nobody that came to visit him.

Starting point is 00:38:54 When Gavin was withdrawn from school, we had the worst fear in our hearts, that something was going to happen. Rachel says they lost all contact with him. He was no longer seen, and nobody was allowed to go to his house to check on him. While Rachel holds DCFS accountable, she wants changes at the state level with homeschooling policies. And it's just not fair because he deserved so much more than this. In close, we'd like to leave you with a passage from Gavin's obituary, which reads, Gavin was a bright spark and was destined to be a huge personality.

Starting point is 00:39:31 even though his time on earth was cut tragically short. Although we will miss him, he will forever remain in our hearts.

The Misery Machine - The Case of Gavin Peterson

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