A Utah woman who admitted to murdering her 12-year-old stepson stood before a judge to receive her sentence.
Nichole Lea Scott, 50, pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of Gavin Peterson, who died in July 2024 from sepsis, malnutrition, and other untreated medical conditions. Initially pleading not guilty, Scott changed her plea after Gavin’s father, Shane Peterson, 47, and brother, Tyler Peterson, 22, both pleaded guilty in connection with the boy’s death.
Prosecutors outlined the horrific abuse Gavin endured while awaiting sentencing before 2nd District Court Judge Camille Neider. As reported by KSL, Judge Neider addressed Scott with a sobering message:
“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 onto as you’ll be going to prison. 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.”
Scott was sentenced to a possible lifetime in prison.
Although she avoided trial by entering a plea deal, Scott listened as prosecutors detailed the harrowing conditions Gavin endured under her care. According to the court, Gavin was confined to a bare room without carpeting and forced to remain inside a taped-off box measuring less than three feet across. Surveillance cameras monitored him constantly, and he wore a diaper because he wasn’t allowed to leave the room.
The Salt Lake Tribune cited charging documents that described footage of Gavin curled up on the floor without bedding, often in a soaked diaper. He was given only half a glass of water and a slice of bread with mustard daily — if he was fed at all.
In court, prosecutors called Gavin’s living conditions “nothing short of a prolonged death camp.”
They added that while other children in the household received love and care, Gavin’s only documented experiences were of isolation and abuse.
“The only images or videos of Gavin were of him locked in the cell, laying in a dirty diaper, covered in feces and wounds. The only text messages regarding Gavin were of how much [Scott] hated him, how terrible he was, and the torture she and the codefendants enjoyed putting him through.”
One disturbing message from Scott to Shane Peterson, sent in May 2023 after a school nurse reported signs of infection in Gavin’s fingers, was read aloud in court:
“He does this [expletive] for attention and I [expletive] hate it and it makes me hate him more and more!”
At the time of those messages, Gavin was 11. After the school nurse’s concerns, Scott and Shane withdrew him from school entirely. Less than a month later, prosecutors said they removed him from public view for good. School officials had begun reporting suspected abuse to Utah’s Division of Child and Family Services, which appeared to prompt the decision.
On July 9, 2024 — the day Gavin died — Scott lied to police about what had happened and delayed calling for help. According to KSTU, when she finally called 911, she claimed Gavin had been ill for days with vomiting and had stopped breathing.
Prosecutors revealed that instead of immediately seeking help, Scott first texted Shane Peterson to say Gavin wasn’t breathing and then spoke to him on the phone for more than 11 minutes. Before contacting emergency services, she and Tyler Peterson hid surveillance cameras, removed evidence from the room, and even changed the doorknob to cover up the abuse.
More than 20 minutes passed between Scott discovering Gavin unresponsive and calling 911.
Gavin’s death was attributed to sepsis, with contributing factors including pneumonia, dehydration, untreated infections, and starvation. His body bore multiple physical injuries.
Judge Neider handed down the following sentences:
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15 years to life for first-degree murder
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Two terms of 1 to 15 years for second-degree aggravated child abuse
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Two terms of 1 to 15 years for second-degree obstruction of justice
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Up to 5 years for third-degree child endangerment
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Up to 364 days for misdemeanor possession or use of a controlled substance
All sentences will be served consecutively as part of Scott’s plea agreement.
