WARNING: The Most Horrific Case of Child Abuse & Torture in History!!!
ers near the West Haven home where authorities say a 12-year-old boy died from neglect and abuse. They’re not shocked by the accusations against this family. It honestly hurts because we are our kids’ safe place. They should come to us and talk to us and tell us what’s going on. And he did not have that.
Feel like we have failed him. The story began with a demonic woman who desired a man. Strong, attractive, with a steady income. He was several years younger than her and became her obsession. She hated his wife and strived to outdo her in everything. Through cunning, flattery, and any means necessary, she separated him from his family until she captured him completely.
She didn’t expect that the man would bring three small children with him. Her hatred for the mother of these innocent children took on a new form. 10 years of life in their stepmother’s house forever broke the destinies of these children. She twisted the soul of the eldest, left terrible mental scars in the soul of the middle child, and with a particularly perverted cruelty, slowly killed the youngest.
8 months have passed since little Gavin’s heart stopped forever. Finally, in March of 2025, all three adults involved in his death appeared in court. Each of them was aware of what was happening and had the power to stop the nightmare that was killing little Gavin. Each could have given him a glass of water, a piece of bread, or simply said enough.
But these monsters had no mercy for the defenseless dying boy. We hope that justice will be just as merciless to them. Friends, while you’re watching this story, please write in the comments what time of day you’re viewing this video. This will help me understand when it’s best to publish similar materials. And please don’t forget to subscribe to the channel so more people can learn about this story.
In the quiet town of Ogden, Utah, the story of Gavin Peterson began on January 15th, 2012. He was born to Melanie and Shane Peterson, who already had two children, an older son Tyler, a boy with autism, and a daughter Milani. Gavin was a happy child with an infectious laugh and smile. Smart and curious, he loved science and everything related to space.
Like any boy his age, he loved Pokémon and Nintendo Switch, and his favorite color was blue. But the family’s well-being turned out to be an illusion. In August of 2014, an incident occurred that changed the fate of all three children. A police officer found 2-year-old Gavin wandering unsupervised on the street near his home.
During a search of the house, the officer found a pipe containing a prohibited substance lying on an open shelf in the living room. Melanie has been charged with crimes related to illegal substances and the creation of a dangerous environment for children. By November of 2014, Melanie plead guilty to the charges.
She was sentenced to 100 hours of community service and a $600 fine. She was also ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation and treatment, a parenting program, and substance abuse treatment. During this period, she lost custody of all three children. Melanie took the court’s orders seriously.
By February of 2015, she had completed all her community service hours and paid the fine. By July of the same year, she had officially completed mental health and substance abuse treatment programs. She had a stable job. She did everything possible to get her children back. I went through everything I was supposed to, as one should, Melanie later recounted.
I took all the classes for my own mental health. It’s important to recognize when you need help. I really did everything I could to better myself and be a mom to my kids. Despite all her efforts, Melanie was never able to regain custody of her children. By then, Shane had married Nicole Scott, a woman who became obsessed with him and hated everything that connected him to his ex-wife, including the three children.
Nicole was calculating and cunning. She understood that she couldn’t openly show hatred toward her husband’s children, so she acted methodically. First, she turned her attention to Tyler, the eldest son. Knowing about his autism, she used his suggestability to her advantage. She gave him privileges that the other children were denied and gradually turned him against his mother and younger siblings.
Tyler became her ally in abusing his own brother and sister. Tyler did whatever they wanted. Milani later recounted, “They told him it was okay to beat me. I don’t know what was going through his head. It’s just hard knowing that he was my best friend. Then it was Milani’s turn. As the girl grew older and increasingly resembled her mother, Nicole’s hatred grew.
By 2018, when Milani was about 13, her life turned into a living hell. They manipulated me into hating my mom. She called me names every day. Nicole installed surveillance cameras in the bedrooms, watching the step-daughter’s every move. Nicole tracked my every move with a camera. Milania remembered. At one point, Nicole tied her to the bed with zip ties.
They would uh tie my ankles, and she said if I moved, she’d beat me over and over again. According to Milani, Nicole regularly beat her with a belt or a wooden spoon. Girl had to ask permission for everything, to take a shower, use the bathroom, or brush her hair. I found a comb on the bathroom floor and I started combing my hair with it and she found out about it and got really mad at me.
And that’s what eventually led to her shaving my head, Milani recalled. 6-year-old Gavin, returning from school that day, froze in the doorway when he saw his sister. His childish eyes widened in incomprehension. It’s me, Gabby,” whispered Milani, trying to smile, but her lips trembled and tears flowed down her cheeks. She reached out to him, but the boy took a step back, still not believing.
“See, even your brother thinks you’re ugly,” Nicole said with satisfaction from behind. Tyler, watching the whole scene from the corner of the room, laughed loudly. This was exactly what Nicole wanted to destroy the connection between the children to deprive them of the ability to support each other. Nicole also forced Milani to work constantly.
I was their maid. They would have me outside from morning until dinnertime. She recounted the girl spent long hours doing yard work at their house and at her great grandmother’s house across the street. Even with such physical demands, Milani received minimal food. At that time, I was mostly focused on surviving.
They would starve me until I was like really skinny. The only food the brother and sister were given was bread smeared with mustard. Nicole added mustard on purpose because the children hated it. So, the kids had to earn the poor food as a reward, but they only had to eat what they didn’t like.
In March of 2019, a concerned friend of the girl reported possible abuse at school and a DCFS worker 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. Instead of decisive action, according to Milani, a safety plan was created according to which Nicole should not be left alone with her.
This intervention only intensified Nicole’s anger. In April of 2019, Milani tried to run away to her mother, but was caught by Shane and Nicole near a gas station. She strangled me in the backseat of my dad’s car. Milani recounted, “I thought I was going to die. I remember her telling me she wanted to kill me.
” After this incident, Milani was not allowed to attend school for the last 2 weeks of the school year. Dark, winding bruises remained on her neck, silent witnesses to the monstrous violence. But Nicole was smart and calculating. You disappointed us. You’ll stay home for 2 weeks to think about your behavior.
The girl lowered her head in shame, thinking that being deprived of school was punishment for trying to escape. She was made to believe that she was bad, that she didn’t deserve to learn like other children. Only later did she realize that it was all part of a cruel game. The bruises on her neck couldn’t be hidden by clothing, and teachers and school staff would have asked uncomfortable questions.
Thus, the cunning stepmother turned the need to hide signs of violence into yet another psychological weapon against her stepdaughter. Milani’s fate changed in May of 2019. The girl was mowing the lawn and accidentally ran over a sprinkler with the lawn mower, breaking it. This happened on Saturday on Memorial Day weekend.
Nicole was asleep at the time, but Shane was awake and told the girl to get in the car so they could buy a replacement. Instead, to Milani’s surprise, he drove her to her mother’s house. Shane left without saying a word. It would later become apparent that her father’s impulsive act likely saved Milan’s life. Seeing her emaciated daughter with a shaved head, Melanie was shocked.
That same day, Milani told her mother about the abuse she had endured. Melanie immediately called the Weber County Sheriff’s Office and was referred to DCFS. After the holiday weekend, Milan met with a social worker. She was also interviewed by a sheriff’s deputy, but no investigation by the authorities followed.
By November of 2019, Melanie finally won the right to see Gavin every other weekend. During these visits, she anxiously noticed signs of malnutrition in her son. In February of 2020, during one of her rare visits, Melanie photographed Gavin without a shirt. His ribs clearly protruded under his pale skin. His face was haggarded.
The last time I saw him, I took a picture of him um because he looked so skinny. The mother’s concern turned into panic. She decided to document her son’s condition and approached Child Protective Services with evidence. But when Shane and Nicole found out about the photos, their reaction was swift. They filed a false complaint with DCFS against Melanie which suspended all visits until a decision was made.
The process dragged on due to the beginning of the CO 19 pandemic. And it’s not that I didn’t try. No one helped me. February of 2020 was the last time she saw her son alive. With his sister gone from the house and contact with his mother lost, Gavin was left alone with his tormentors. Now all of Nicole’s fury fell on him.
With each day, the conditions of his existence became more and more unbearable. School remained the only refuge where the boy could at least temporarily escape from the nightmare of his home hell. In the 2021 to 2022 school year, teachers couldn’t help but notice the sad changes in Gavin.
Always small for his age, he now looked painfully thin. His eyes, once shining with curiosity, had dimmed and sunken. His hair was cut short, just like his sisters once was. He often missed classes. A school cafeteria worker named Jan took the boy’s fate especially to heart. She noticed Gavin’s strange behavior. He would take a cup of water, approach the trash can where students threw away leftover food, and secretly retrieve uneaten pieces.
The realization that a child was so hungry that he was willing to eat from the garbage broke the woman’s heart. Jan and another cafeteria employee began secretly paying for Gavin’s lunches. They were forbidden to do this. The school administration insisted that families experiencing financial difficulties should fill out a form for free meals.
But the problem wasn’t poverty. Shane had a stable income. Nicole was deliberately starving the boy. When she found out that money had appeared in Gavin’s school account, her fury knew no bounds, she stormed into the school and demanded that they stop feeding her stepson, stating that if she wanted him to have lunch at school, she would pay for it herself.
A few days after this incident, Gavin came to school with a chipped tooth. The school staff assumed the boy had simply fallen, but it later became clear that it was the result of abuse at home. By the 2022 to 2023 school year, when Gavin was in fifth grade, the emaciation reached a critical point.
Driven to desperation by hunger, he began stealing other children’s breakfasts. Teachers and even classmates, seeing his condition, shared their food with him. Adults could no longer officially buy him lunches, but secretly gave him part of their own. For several months, cafeteria workers tried to draw attention to the situation.
At first, they were told that the principal should file the report. They reported their concerns to management, but nothing changed. Then, they personally called DCFS, but again, to no avail. In August of 2023, what everyone who knew Gavin feared happened. Nicole completely removed him from school, claiming she was transferring him to homeschooling.
For the boy who loved learning and found in school the only refuge from his home hell. This became a final sentence. Now he was completely isolated, deprived of the opportunity to receive any food and communicate with other people. After Gavin was taken out of school, no one saw or heard from him for almost a year.
None of the numerous reports to child protective services led to an inspection. No officials bothered to make sure that the homeschooled boy was actually receiving an education. The system designed to protect children failed Gavin again and again. Jan as well as the school staff often thought of Gavin and hoped that perhaps he had been taken away from that horrible family and placed in a safe place.
They could get no information about the boy and clung to this faint hope. I have been a mess. I think the system has spelled him. I could have packed his lunch for school. I could have pushed the issue harder. I just feel like I could have done more. But reality was much more frightening than any fantasy.
Behind the closed doors of the Peterson home, a real nightmare was unfolding. Gavin was kept in an empty, cold room with almost no furniture. There was no carpet or bedding in the room. As he grew weaker, he sometimes could not get to the bed. He slept directly on the bare floor. The boy was forced to wear diapers, which weren’t changed for long periods.
He had no access to a toilet, couldn’t wash himself, and didn’t receive necessary medical care. Gavin’s diet was reduced to an absolute minimum. one/3 of a cup of water and a piece of bread smeared with mustard per day. Sometimes he wasn’t fed at all. He was also regularly beaten, including with a piñata bat that Nicole kept specifically for punishments.
Like his sister once, he was constantly monitored through cameras. Any movement, any attempt to find food or water was severely punished. With each passing day, life was leaving the once bright and inquisitive boy. His body slowly deteriorated from malnutrition and more and more soores appeared on his body that did not heal.
The system did not have the resources to sustain life in the body and his spirit was broken by endless humiliation and beatings. On July 9th, 2024, a call to 911 reported a child not breathing at the Peterson home. Before emergency services arrived, Tyler had texted his father asking what to do about his brother’s condition.
Paramedics found Gavin on the bathroom floor, his skin cold to the touch. His body was already showing signs of rigor mortise. Shane and Nicole claimed he had been vomiting for days, but was never taken to a doctor. They said Nicole had found him covered in vomit and helped him to the shower. It was too late. At the hospital, doctors pronounced Gavin dead, shocked beyond words by his condition.
Medical personnel, hardened by years of emergency room tragedies, were moved to tears. The attending physician later testified he had never seen such severe malnutrition in his 20-year career outside of war zones and famine areas. Gavin’s body told the story of prolonged deliberate torture.
At 12 years old, he weighed less than 60 lb, the weight of an average 6-year-old. His bones jutted painfully through paper thin skin. His stomach was concave, his rib cage grotesqually prominent. The medical examiner noted his muscles had begun to waste away, his body cannibalizing itself in a desperate attempt to survive.
His hair was falling out in patches. Pressure sores covered his back and hips from lying on a hard floor. His fingers on his hands were twisted from swollen joints and torn bloody. Multiple ribs showed evidence of previous fractures that had healed improperly without medical care. His teeth were damaged, some broken completely. Dark bruises in various stages of healing covered his body, particularly around his wrists and ankles where he had been restrained.
The medical examiner’s verdict was unequivocal. Death by starvation. Signs of physical abuse. In a country where obesity is considered a national crisis, where food banks serve the homeless, where restaurants discard tons of food daily, this child from a middle-class family had starved to death. This stark contradiction made Gavin’s case even more shocking and incomprehensible.
He didn’t die from lack of resources, but from deliberate cruelty in a world of prosperity. The police investigation revealed horrors beyond imagination. Gavin had been kept in an empty room with surveillance cameras monitoring his every move. He slept on a bare floor without bedding. He wore unchanged diapers. His daily meal consisted of 1/3 cup of water and a piece of bread smeared with mustard, a condiment he hated.
Text messages between Shane, Nicole, and Tyler revealed casual discussions about Gavin’s punishments, beating him with a pinata stick, locking his door from the outside, and deliberately withholding food and water. Surveillance footage showed the skeletal boy curled up on the bare floor, too weak to move. When police searched the home, they found that Tyler had hastily removed cameras from Gavin’s room, hiding them in the backyard shed.
A prohibited substance were also discovered, adding to Nicole’s charges. Most disturbing was Shane’s complete emotional detachment from his son. His co-workers didn’t even know Gavin existed, though photos of his child with Nicole proudly decorated his desk at work. All three were arrested and charged with child abuse, homicide, aggravated child abuse, and child endangerment.
Nicole faced additional charges of obstruction of justice and possession of illegal substances. Gavin’s death shocked his hometown and the entire state. His story became a grim spotlight on a system that had failed him at every turn. Despite at least seven reports to child protective services over the years, no effective intervention had ever occurred.
His mother, Melanie, heartbroken, spoke publicly. I never would imagine that Satan would let this happen to starve him and let him die. On July 23rd, a memorial vigil was held for Gavin, drawing a large crowd of community members, many of whom had never met him, but were deeply moved by his story.
The gathering became not just a mourning for one child, but a collective expression of grief over a system that failed him. Despite this outpouring of support, complications emerged with Gavin’s actual burial. Bureaucratic and legal questions about burial rights created obstacles. There was confusion about who had the authority to make final decisions about where to bury Gavin.
Only after Shane Peterson’s arrest were his parental rights officially terminated, allowing Melany’s family to begin the legal process of obtaining the right to bury Gavin next to his grandfather. By March 25th, 2025, the legal cases moved forward. Shane Peterson plead guilty to all charges in exchange for avoiding the death penalty.
His sentencing, scheduled for May 6th, could range from 8 years to life imprisonment. Tyler, whose autism and mental health conditions complicated his case, was released to his mother’s custody pending psychiatric evaluation. The court would decide on April whether treatment might replace imprisonment. Only Nicole Scott maintained her innocence despite overwhelming evidence.
Appearing stoically in prison clothes, her preliminary hearing was set for June 17th. Meanwhile, legislators debated system reforms. Representative Christine Watkins proposed a bill giving social workers authority to obtain warrants to check on children when multiple abuse reports existed.
Yet by March, this bill remained stalled in committee. Gavin Peterson died as invisibly as he had lived his final year unseen, unheard, erased. A boy who once loved science and Pokémon, who had an infectious laugh and whose favorite color was blue, vanished from existence through calculated cruelty. His story stands as a stark reminder that protecting children isn’t just a moral imperative, but a societal obligation.
In the quiet town of West Haven, a child disappeared before anyone could save him, leaving behind only photographs and unanswered questions about how we fail our most vulnerable citizens. Friends, if you are as touched by Gavin’s story as I am, please give it a like and spread the word. A little angel must be remembered.
Rest in peace, little Gavin. Dear friends, we will continue with video footage from the courtroom of the Shane and Tyler Peterson trial. Peterson uh decided uh to move this case forward uh and to resolve the case. I’m first going to hear from Mr. Whittison. He’s going to put what the negotiation is on the record.
Um and then I’m going to have some questions for you as we go through that. um and make sure that everything’s in order before I take any change of plea from you. Okay. Okay. All right. Uh Mr. Whittison. Thank you, your honor. Um we are currently scheduled for a preliminary hearing in this matter. Mr. Peterson today is prepared to wave his preliminary hearing and enter guilty, please. Uh Mr.
Peterson uh is prepared to plead guilty to uh counts one, two, three, four, and five of the amended information. And uh the negotiation with uh the state is that the state has agreed not to amend the child abuse homicide charge to murder or aggravated murder. And furthermore, the state and the defendant have agreed to recommend consecutive sentencing and imposition of the indeterminate prison terms at the time of sentencing.
Uh we have prepared a plea affidavit and reviewed that uh with Mr. Peterson in full. I’ve provided a copy to the state and to the court. Uh the state has affixed its signature and I’ve uh fixed my signature. Mr. Peterson is prepared to sign. All right. Is that the state’s agreement? It is, your honor. I think before we um proceed with the waiver, we probably should arraign him on the amended information.
Uh and do you you’ve received a copy of the amended information? I have and I’ve also gone over uh that with Mr. Peterson will wave formal reading of the information. All right, Mr. Peterson, that amended information changes uh the counts that were originally filed. They’re the same counts I understand that you’re going to plead to today.
And so, let me identify what those are. Count one is child abuse homicide on a reckless basis. A firstdegree felony carrying a maximum sentence of 5 years and maybe up to life. Counts two is aggravated child abuse. It’s a secondderee felony. Carries a maximum sentence of 1 to 15 years in the Utah State Prison and or a $10,000 fine.
Count three is aggravated child abuse. Also a secondderee felony carrying same maximum sentence of 1 to 15 in the Utah State Prison and a a fine of up to $10,000. Count 4 is a little bit different. It is aggravated child abuse is a secondderee felony, but with the initials of a minor child of MP. uh carries a maximum sentence of 1 to 15 years in the Utah State Prison and a fine of $10,000.
And then count five is endangerment of a child. That’s a thirdderee felony carrying a maximum sentence of up to 5 years in the Utah State Prison and a $5,000 fine. All of those charges carry the same offense dates um being arranged between January 1st of 2022 and July 9th of 2024. Um, and all of those charges can run concurrent or consecutive with each other or with any other sentence that you may be serving time on.
Now, you have a right to a preliminary hearing on all of those charges. The state would have to put on evidence to show uh that a crime has been committed and that there is evidence to support um each of the elements of each of those charges. that uh hearing currently is scheduled for May and you’re entitled to that or you can wave that hearing um and go forward with the negotiated plea that we’ve discussed here today.
Do you want to wave your right to a preliminary hearing? Yes, your honor. And you’ve talked with council about that? That is correct. All right. Then I will uh accept that waiver and find that it’s been knowingly and intentionally made and the state cons uh consents to the waiver. We do, your honor. All right, Mr. Peterson.
I want to make sure uh that you’re going forward with your eyes wide open. Recognize uh the the maximum sentences and really in terms of uh whether or not there’s a prison sentence here that you know that prison will a prison term will be imposed by the court uh based on the negotiation and based on um what’s happened here.
Although we’re going to wait and go forward with sentencing. I just want to make sure that you understand uh what your maximum risk is if you plead guilty here today. Do you understand that? Yes, sir. All right, Mr. Well, I think the states prepared the statement in advance of plea. Maybe it was Mr. Whittison and Mr. Bashelle, but that document outlines the rights that you have and the waiverss the court would need to accept in order for you to plead guilty today.
Did you read that with your counsel? Yes, your honor. And did you understand it? Yes, your honor. And do you have any questions about it before we proceed? No, your honor. All right. As part of this document, first of all, it outlined the charges that you’re pleading to, the maximum sentences that go along with those. Uh it identifies uh what the elements of the charges are, and then there’s a page and a half that outlines uh the factual basis for these please.
Um are the fact the facts as they are outlined in this document, are they true? Yes, your honor. All right. And then I’ll rely on that for a factual basis. Uh it also uh Mr. Peterson indicates what the plea agreement is here. And is there anything that you’re counting on that you’re relying on that is not included in this document or that we haven’t talked about here in court today? No, your honor. All right, then.
Um I will acknowledge that. And as I said, um I have final say in terms of whether or not these run concurrent or consecutive or how the sentences are imposed. Uh but otherwise, I will accept the plea negotiation. Uh finally, I think I looked at this. It does have the current language, the brand new language as it relates to withdrawing your plea.
Uh so that is uh current and I don’t need to go over that. Uh, but do you have any other questions for your counsel or for me before I have you sign this document and before we take your plea today? No, your honor. All right. Um, you are satisfied with the counsel that you’ve been given by uh your two attorneys? Yes, your honor. All right.
Do you feel like you’re thinking clearly today? Yes, your honor. And are you under the influence of any alcohol or controlled substances or medication that would make it difficult or impair your ability to make an informed decision today? No, your honor. All right. Uh, Mr. Whittison, uh, any concerns on your part, uh, as his attorney? No. None, your honor.
All right. Um, and then, um, Mr. Peterson, if you’re ready to go forward with your plea, I’ll have you sign that statement in advance of plea. The attorneys will sign it as well. Um, once it’s been signed by them, I will affix my signature to it, incorporate it into the record, including any oral statements that have been made here in court [Applause] today. All right, Mr. Peterson.
Then uh to the amended information, count one, child abuse homicide as a firstdegree felony. How do you plead to that charge? Guilty. And to count two, aggravated child abuse as a secondderee felony. How do you plead to that charge? Guilty. To count three, aggravated child abuse as a seconddegree felony.
How do you plead to that charge? Guilty. And to count four, aggravated child abuse uh with the initials of a minor MP. How do you plead to that charge? Guilty. and account five endangerment as a child as a thirdderee felony. How do you plead to that charge? Guilty. I’ll accept those please. Find that they’ve been knowingly and intentionally made.
Um and I will enter the convictions for all five of those. Please. Um I do want a pre-sentence investigation report to be prepared by adult probation and parole. I think it’s important, Mr. Peterson. Although uh the fact that you’re going to go to prison is a given in this case, I do think it’s important that uh first of all, you have the benefit of reviewing the PSI that’s prepared and you have counsel uh that can help you correct any factual errors.
And in addition to that, that it include any information you want me to consider for purposes of sentencing. The state’s certainly going to include any information that they want me to consider for sentencing. Um, and then, um, I want to know part of what a document will tell me is what you’re accepting responsibility for.
And I think that’s important for me to know, uh, as I make findings and determinations on the consecutive or, uh, potential concurrent sentence of any of those things. I know there’s an agreement. I don’t expect sentencing to take a long time uh, because your council and you have agreed as to what that sentence might be. Uh but I think I need to give it some thought.
So I am referring it to APM uh for you to go through the prescence investigation report process. I expect you to cooperate with them. I also expect that you will give them any information they want, any information you want me to consider and if you need any assistance, please consult with your council uh as you prepare for that. Um, Miss Tombs, did you were you able to determine if the sixth or the seventh worked better for sentencing? Uh, for the state it would be the 6th at 4 pm.
And does that work for you, Mr. Whittison, Mr. Bishelle? It does. All right. So, Mr. Peterson, I’m going to set sentencing for May 6th. We’re going to set that at 400 p.m. in person. I expect that the pre-sentence investigation report will be uh completed and we will have it at that time. Um, all right.
I think that is everything. I’ll uh have you go back over to the jail in anticipation of that sentencing. We’ll make uh all of the paperwork here a part of the file. Um, and that will be all for your proceedings today. Thank you. [Applause] Um, Mr. Bashelle, are you pretty close? I’m ready. Uh those all have an offense date uh stemming on or about July 9th of 2024.
Uh those are the charges uh that if you plead to those all of those sentences can run concurrent or consecutive with each other and I would have final discretion as to what the sentence would be and also whether or not it runs concurrent or consecutive. I want to make sure you understand and appreciate the maximum risk you face if you plead guilty today.
Do you understand that? Yes. All right. Um, Mr. Bashelle has pre prepared or he has a statement in advance of plea to go over with you. Um, did you read that with him? Yes. Did you understand it? Yes. And do you have any questions about it before we proceed? No. All right. Do you think that you are um moving forward today thinking clearly? Yes. Okay.
Are you under the uh are you taking any medication or other substances that might impair your ability to make a meaningful and thoughtful decision today? No. All right. And are you getting any treatment over at the Weaver County Jail? Mental health treatment or uh taking any medication there? No. All right.
Uh you have met though with some doctors and uh is there any concern that you don’t any concern from you about going forward today? No. All right. Mr. uh Bashelle and the state included in the statement in advance of plea an outline of the elements of the charges that you’re charged with in this case and then also facts about what happened on or about July 9th.
the facts that are included there. Are those facts all true? They’re true. All right. Then I’ll rely on that for a factual basis. Um Mr. Bashelle, do you want to uh supplement the record anymore uh in terms of um your understanding as to whether or not he understands all of this and uh that you think he is entering a plea um that is in his best interest and also that he knows what he’s doing. I I would your honor.
Thank you. Uh as the court and the state is aware during the penency of this case, uh we retain the services of Dr. Rick Hawk and Dr. Kai Mendenhal to come and provide some assessments and some evaluations. We did a psychological evaluation as well as uh intellectual personality and an autism spectrum disorder uh evaluation.
uh and just and from that evaluation um there were some findings that I can get into here in a few moments after we take the plea. But during uh that and speaking with both doctors and my own interactions with Tyler over the pendency of this case, I have no concerns that he does not understand what’s happening. I have no concerns in spending the time with him that entering this plea isn’t his best interest.
Um, and so I would wholeheartedly agree that he is prepared to go forward today with the full mental capacity necessary to enter a plea. All right. Um, do you have any other questions here, uh, Mr. Peterson? No. All right. Then I need you to, uh, sign that statement in advance of plea acknowledging the rights that you have and the waiverss you’re giving the court uh, prior to me taking your plea.
Okay, we’re going to sign that right there. Okay, then we’re going to sound the firearm restriction line right there. I printed that off weird. Sorry. And we’re going to send one more right there. So before you pass that to me, uh deputy, uh Mr. Bashelle, will you look on page one under notification of the charges? It says under 7716, right? Will you just We already did that.
We changed that today. That’s why I screwed up. I was reading my own document. Didn’t put the A in. All right. And um the attorneys have signed this. Uh Mr. Peterson is now signed it. I’ll affix my signature to it. Incorporate the document into the record, including any oral statements that have been made here in court today. All right, Mr. Peterson.
Then to count one, child abuse homicide. It’s a reckless mental state first degree felony. How do you plead to that charge? Guilty. All right. And count two, aggravated child abuse, intentionally or knowingly. How do you plead to that charge? Guilty. Uh, count three, aggravated child abuse intentionally or knowingly.
How do you plead to that charge? Guilty. And obstruction of justice, a secondderee felony. How do you plead to that charge? Guilty. All right. I will accept those, please. Find that they’ve been knowingly and intentionally made. Um, and accept those, please. Now, let’s talk about uh the special provisions that apply under 7716A 103 and talk about where we go from here. U Mr. Bashelle.
Thank you, Judge. Um, as we discussed earlier, Tyler did have an evaluation done u both by a psychologist and autism spectrum disorder specialist. And that evaluation came back with the diagnostic impressions that Tyler suffers from autism spectrum disorder from generalized anxiety disorder, persistent depressive disorder, and as Dr.
Hawks indicated other specified personality disorders with avoidant independent features. Because of that, under the statute 7716A103, uh the parties, meaning myself and the state, can stipulate that he did have a com a mental condition at the time of the offense and that he could benefit from supervision or treatment. And under this statute, as we went over, uh because of this entry of plea under it today, the court can postpone sentencing until such time as an evaluation is completed and a treatment a re a recommended treatment plan is provided
to the court as well. Given that the parties have stipulated and given that I have spoken uh with representatives at we we human services uh which is required under the statute to provide said evaluation and treatment plan that can be done within the next 30 days. That being said that 30-day time frame would facilitate Mr.
Peterson being released from custody. So our request would be your honor pursuant to this statute he be re released with any terms and conditions that your honor places upon him including but again obviously not limited to his availability to appear at Weber human services to participate in the assessments which they will complete and then the uh treatment plan that we were human services will put forth for him and we can probably have a review on that in about 30 days according to wever for human services to be able then to
facilitate a further review on how treatment is going. I will let the court know and I believe the state will have something uh along this lines as well that while his release he will live with his mother uh and his other siblings who reside in that home. I understand that that uh is somewhat tenuous upon Tyler being a model citizen and a model son and brother while he is residing in his brother’s home with his with his siblings and the state can address that more.
So your honor, my request would be today that we set a hearing about 30 days down the road. I’ll make sure that Tyler gets over to Weber Human Services a ASAP. I know we discussed being uh released also on pre-trial a pre-trial level. I’ve explained to him what pre-trial level four would be, which I think is appropriate.
Honestly, and in full cander to the court um and getting to know Tyler and getting to talk with other individuals who know him. He’s very regimented. I don’t think there’ll be any problems with him attending his treatments, attending any scheduled appointments and even going to pre-tall services on the required dates while we get through the things we need to pending the full sentence on this case.
All right. Thank you. Uh Miss Tombs, your honor, just a a tiny clarification for the record. The state does agree that um based on Dr. Hawk and Dr. Menden Hall’s uh evaluation that um Mr. Peterson does uh suffer from a mental condition that would be meet the definition um as uh articulated in 7716A 103.
In terms of whether or not the defendant could benefit from supervision or treatment, the court has had an opportunity to review the mental health evaluation provided by defense council. Um, and there are findings there and I think the court can make those findings. I’m not necessarily stipulating to those findings.
Um, I do believe that the uh uh assessment will fair it out additional information and and is appropriate and is required by the statute. In terms of the request by defense council to release um Mr. Tyler Peterson today, the state agreed to submit on that issue. I will note that the court did ask us to um make contact with uh the mother um and I will have uh Miss Pit give you the the report and representations on that.
All right. Thank you, Miss Piff. We’ve spoken with the mother and they both agreed that yes, they would like him to come and stay with them at their home. But they don’t have any concerns over that. Okay. Uh any rules or regulations they wanted me to address for purposes of now? Okay. Um I will just supplement with uh they have they will be in contact with our office.
If they have um any concern if any concern develops um then they will then they will contact our office and we will be back before the court to ask for reconsideration of that. Would it be appropriate, and I’m sorry I didn’t mention this earlier, to issue a pre-trial criminal protective order. They are domestic violence um related uh first of all, they’re family members, but they are representatives of the victim uh here.
And um I think pursuant to the pre-trial criminal protective order, I could issue one of those that simply provides that there be no aggressive behavior, no uh domestic violence. Um and that that then would be in the system so that if there was any issue as far as uh law enforcement being called, uh they would have something that they could rely on instantly um in which they could uh detain uh Mr. Peterson.
It would just be a paragraph one, right? I don’t have any problem with it. Okay. I’ll ask that the state prepare that and send that over. Um so, Mr. Peterson, there’s a lot that needs to happen uh between now and when this case is over. This is an important first step. Um and I think that it uh has been some time coming.
you’ve spent a lot of time in custody and I’m recognizing uh based on what I’ve been told and also the recommendations from uh what I’m hearing uh from your mom and your sister uh that they are going to uh they want you to come and be with them but it is under some really strict terms and conditions okay and I want you to understand what those are.
First of all, uh because you haven’t been sentenced yet, I’m going to release you uh from the jail, but I’m going to release you to pre-trial, which means I don’t know that that will happen today. It might not happen until tomorrow. Uh but if it does, um either way, I’m fine with it, but the terms and conditions of your release are going to be these specific ones.
First of all, no further violation of the law, whether federal, state, or local. Two, I am going to issue a pre-trial criminal protective order on behalf of um the immediate family members um of Gavin, which means your mom and your sister, and I think that there’s another sibling that lives there, and any minor children that might be in the house.
And the protection order is is that you uh commit no domestic violence, no threatening behavior, no assaultive behavior, nothing that would qualify as domestic violence. That means that if you are frustrated, well, you handle that in an appropriate way. I’m not tr I’m not necessarily worried about a specific risk.
I just want you to understand what those terms are. There’s an argument and it there are raised voices, well then you need to extricate yourself or leave the situation and turn and walk away. Okay? Um you don’t even get in a loud argument with anybody. Second of all, you certainly don’t put your hands on anybody in an aggressive or angry manner.
Um, and I want you to make sure that you are in control, uh, so that we don’t have to revisit this portion of what I’m ordering you. Okay? Uh, pre-trial, uh, also is going to supervise. They, uh, that PLR4 status means they’re going to see you at the Weaver County Jail twice. Uh, oh, PLR 4 is only one time a week. I thought we said five. Okay. PLR 5 status.
They’re going to see you twice a week based on their schedule. uh you’re subject to all of the things that they may want you to do there. I am going to order that you have no controlled substances that aren’t lawfully prescribed to you and I and you are subject to testing for that. Um and I am just going to put you on a random basis that way.
Um, again, not because there’s a uh significant issue that’s been brought to my attention, but because I don’t want there to be any question uh that you are uh acting appropriately and you’re only using prescriptions based on how the prescription is written, no creative use of any prescriptions, no alcohol, um, and no going in any places where alcohol is the chief item of sale.
In addition to that, uh this isn’t part for pre-trial, but this is pardon the terms and conditions of your release. You are to engage uh with adult probation and parole immediately to get started on a pre-sentence investigation report. I do want that information because eventually uh there is going to be a sentencing in this case. Um and I’ll need that PSI.
Second of all, I want you to engage uh with the Department of Health and Human Services through their appointee, which I assume will be the Weaver Human Services. I want you to go through an evaluation pursuant to this statute. And uh the the department is ordered to provide a treatment assessment of the defendant and submit to the court treatment recommendations uh for the defendant.
And then we will talk about when we need to have sentencing. I’ll just refer as it relates to all of that to section 7716A 103 sub5. Um, I think all of it is included in sub five for purposes of what they need to do. And then, um, I also need a waiver of the time for sentencing. Oh, wave that you’re on. And so, uh, because you’re not likely to be sentenced within 45 days.
Um, do you have any questions of what I expect of you while you are or when you are released? No. And are you going to abide by those restrictions? Yes. Okay. Um then I also want you to stay in contact with Mr. Bashelle. Uh make sure that he knows where you are. If you are to spend the night somewhere other than at your mom’s house, uh first of all, Mr.
Bashelle needs to know why and where and so does pre-trial. Um and then they will send that information on to me. Um lastly, uh you need to sign any releases uh that may be necessary over at Weaver Human Services. You make sure that those releases are signed over there so that they can send them to Mr. Bashelle and frankly to the state as well so that those can be transmitted to me and um I think that is all for purposes of today.
Uh did uh we confirm April 24th at 2 PM. Does that work for everyone for a review of the treatment assessment? Um actually here on that’s a Thursday. Yes, that does work for the state as well. Mr. Belle, does that work? It does, Judge. I may have one clarification question as well if you have. Okay. Um the order for Weaver Human Services, will that be sent from here? So they So we uh you need to draft that. I need to draft that.
You draft it. Okay. All right. Uh Miss Vic will draft it. Okay. And it will be uh sent over uh directly. It’ll be made part of the file. You’ll all have it, but she will transmit it as well. Um at least check in. I think that Dr. Menhal is aware enough of the situation that he can have a check-in with him uh immediately upon his release uh by tomorrow.
Uh but that evaluation itself may not be set up for another uh couple of days. You just be compliant with whatever they want. They say jump, you say how. Hi. Okay. All right. Do you have any questions? No. All right. Um I think that is all on this matter and I will see you uh Mr. Peterson with all of those things done uh um on April 24th at 2 p.m. Okay. Okay. All right.
That will be all. Thank you. Thank you, your honor. All right. Just for a second. We are in recess then. [Applause] I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who watched this video all the way through. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this case in the comments and please don’t forget to subscribe to my channel.
I’d also like to send a special thank you to everyone who has donated to support my channel. Your support means the world to me and gives me the motivation to keep making new and interesting investigations for you, my wonderful viewers. Thank you all so
