'Architect of Gavin's destruction': Judge hopes abused boy's stepmom never gets out of prison

OGDEN — The stepmother of a 12-year-old boy will spend at least 20 years and up to life in prison after pleading guilty to his murder.

Nichole Scott's actions were similar to what happened in concentration camps during World War II, a judge said, noting the isolation, dehumanization and deprivation of basic human needs. Second District Judge Camille Neider said that's the one thing she could think of that comes close to describing what she saw in the case of Gavin Peterson's death.

"I don't know that you will get out, and frankly, I hope that you don't get out," Neider said during Scott's sentencing hearing Monday. "I think it's entirely fair for you, at this point, to serve the rest of your life in prison."

Gavin died of sepsis on July 9, 2024. Responding officers found he had been locked in a room with no bed or carpet, and an investigation showed food and water were withheld from him. Although others were involved in the abuse, the judge called Scott the "architect of Gavin's destruction."

Neider pointed out to Scott that she had the opportunity, each day, to put an end to it.

"Don't think for a minute that I believe that you were unaware of what was going on with that little boy. … You did everything you could to strip Gavin of his humanity, of his ability to receive and accept validation and love," Neider said.

Scott, 51, was in tears as she said she wished she could go back and change things and apologized to Gavin's mother and siblings.

"I want to say how truly sorry I am. Gavin did pass away in my care; I should have done better by him. He deserved better," she said.

The woman interrupted the judge as she talked about Gavin being forced to eat his own vomit and feces, claiming, "It wasn't like that." Neider, however, said she doubted much of what the woman self-reported, suggesting that she created her own story about what happened.

'Absolutely horrific'

Scott was ordered to serve a term of 15 years to life in prison for murder, a first-degree felony; and five terms of one to 15 years in prison — three for aggravated child abuse and two for obstruction of justice, second-degree felonies. She was also sentenced to a term of zero to five years for endangerment of a child, a third-degree felony; and one year in jail for possession or use of a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor. She was given credit for the almost 10 months she had already spent in jail.

The judge ordered that the sentences run consecutively, meaning Scott will be in prison for at least 20 years.

Neider called the case "absolutely horrific," saying it is the most horrific she has seen in her 30 years as an attorney and judge.

"He wanted to live, he wanted to go to school, he wanted to be able to eat with the family," the judge said.

Neider told Scott that the bus driver, lunch ladies and others cared more about Gavin than she did, and instead of letting others care for him, she took him out of school.

"You are not the victim here. I don't know if you have ever been a victim, but you were never a victim of Gavin," the judge said.

She said she would not give Scott a "ray of hope" that she might get out. Neider said not seeing her grandchildren or her children's achievements and losing parental rights for Scott's still-minor son are consequences, and minor ones compared to her actions. She said Scott's dignity in jail will remain intact, unlike Gavin's, because "we don't do that to other human beings."

'Gavin's life mattered'

Many people showed up in the courtroom to support Gavin and his family, including staff at the school he attended before he was taken out following a Division of Child and Family Services call. Neider told them their instincts were correct. She said people are told they shouldn't interfere and there are boundaries to what can be done, but she encouraged people who care for children to trust their instincts so cases like this don't repeat.

An attorney representing Gavin, Brandon Merrill, said the stepmother in "Cinderella" would have been a better parent for Gavin, saying the boy suffered not just neglect but "prolonged torture" from someone who was supposed to be a parent.

"Gavin's life mattered," he said, adding that Gavin's stepmother failed him and her punishment should reflect that.

"She didn't just fail him; she hated him. This wasn't one bad decision; it was a campaign of abuse that lasted for years," Merrill continued. "It ended with a 12-year-old boy alone, starving, locked in a room, dying."

A statement written by Mayloni Peterson, Gavin's sister, who Scott also admitted to abusing, said their father and stepmother were "completely incapable" of being parents.

"My little brother meant so much to me, so learning about what happened to him really took a toll on me emotionally. I wake up every day filled with anger and sadness that Gavin can't be home with his real family," she said.

She said Gavin was "one of a kind" and deserved the life that was taken from him. She said she will never forgive Scott or their father, Shane Jesse Peterson, and will grieve Gavin with her family for the rest of their lives. She said her father never showed any discomfort with what was happening to her brother and didn't think about how alone or humiliated Gavin felt.

"All I wanted was a father who loved and protected me and my siblings the way I thought Shane would; instead, we were left with an emotionally unavailable man who cared more about protecting his own image than he did about being a dad. I don't ever want to be recognized or known as his daughter," she said.

Judge, family in tears as father gets consecutive sentences in death of 12-year-old boy

Shane Peterson will spend the next eight years, and up to the rest of his life, in prison after pleading guilty to child abuse homicide in the death of his son — 12-year-old Gavin Peterson.

She asked the judge not to give either Scott or her father a chance at a normal life.

"He made sure he had a warm place to sleep while they left Gavin with nothing," she said. "They took every memory Gavin was supposed to make, and every milestone."

Her father, Shane Peterson, 47, will spend at least eight years and up to life in prison after pleading guilty to causing his son's death. Neider ordered Peterson on May 6 to serve a term of five years to life in prison for child abuse homicide, a first-degree felony; three terms of one to 15 years for aggravated child abuse, a second-degree felony; and one term of zero to five years for endangerment of a child, a third-degree felony.

Attorneys dispute whether Scott is remorseful

Deputy Weber County attorney Letitia Toombs said Scott continues to blame everyone else, including Gavin, claiming he did not behave. However, she said everyone outside of the home saw Gavin as a respectful, kind, hungry boy whose only error was taking food because he wasn't fed.

Toombs read texts of Scott asking an adult son, Tyler Peterson, to punish Gavin and complaining about him taking a quarter of a cup of Shasta on a day he hadn't been given anything to drink. She said the stepmother would "deflect, deny and downplay," and worked to convince people around them that Gavin was bad and needed punishment.

"As we go through Gavin's death and understand why he died, Nichole Scott is at the forefront of it. Nichole Scott chose to lock him in his room," she said.

Toombs said the woman "deserves each and every second of imprisonment," saying she showed no remorse when Gavin was being given CPR on her floor or being rushed to the hospital.

"She is sitting here pretending to show remorse for what she did. The remorse is that she is facing a major consequence," Toombs said.

There was muffled laughter in the courtroom from multiple attendees as Scott's attorney, Randall Marshall, talked about Gavin being a "challenging child" who overwhelmed Scott, although he said that does not excuse her response. He said Scott removed the mattress in Gavin's room because Gavin had wet the bed.

He said his client was not oblivious to the boy's pain but was trying not to have medication in the home.

"Sometimes, when we're sort of in the thick of things … it's difficult for us to realize the reality that's around us," Marshall said.

Marshall also said Scott was abused as a child and believed she was doing the best she could, but her actions snowballed into a tragedy.

"She's not here acting today, and she's not here just because she got caught," the attorney said. "She has willingly accepted a more severe punishment than Shane (Peterson) did."

Peterson's adult son, Tyler Shane Peterson, 22, also pleaded guilty in relation to the case but with a mental illness. He has been scheduled for mental illness treatment reviews, but not a sentencing at this point.

Related topics