Heartbreaking Tale: 12-Year-Old Endures ‘Death Camp’ Ordeal at Home as Family Heads to Disneyland

A harrowing case of family betrayal and tragedy has reached a somber conclusion in Utah, where a young man has been sentenced to prison for his involvement in the death of his younger brother. Tyler Peterson, 23, will serve a term of five years to life for the charge of child abuse homicide, a decision handed down by the court on Tuesday.

This sentencing comes as part of a larger legal saga following the death of 12-year-old Gavin Peterson. Earlier in May 2025, both their father, Shane Peterson, 47, and stepmother, Nichole Lea Scott, 50, faced justice for their roles in the tragic events, having entered guilty pleas themselves.

During the courtroom proceedings, as reported by local Fox affiliate KSTU, emotional testimony and chilling details emerged about the abuse Gavin endured. The boys’ birth mother, advocating through her attorney, implored for leniency towards Tyler, suggesting that he had been manipulated into his actions, describing him as “brainwashed.”

Presiding over the case, Judge Camille Neider acknowledged Tyler Peterson’s culpability in his brother’s death. She remarked, “I have no evidence that you didn’t know right from wrong based on the circumstances,” though she recognized that he was not the dominant force in the household, stating, “It’s very clear you weren’t the alpha.”

In a poignant letter read aloud in court by her attorney, the boys’ mother expressed her belief in Tyler’s innocence at heart, asserting, “I know Tyler would never do this on his own. He was brainwashed from a young age.” Supporting this, Tyler’s defense attorney, Ryan Bushell, highlighted his client’s revelations about the “horrific nature of what occurred in the house,” painting a grim picture of the environment in which these tragic events unfolded.

Law&Crime previously reported that during Scott’s sentencing, prosecutors said school nurses called Scott in 2023 about the boy having an infection. She texted Shane Peterson, “He does this [expletive] for attention and I [expletive] hate it and it makes me hate him more and more!”

Gavin was never seen in school again. Prosecutors said the boy was forced to live in one room of the house without a bed, no access to the bathroom, and half a glass of water a day with a piece of bread with mustard, if he was fed at all. He was forced to wear a diaper, which was often soiled. Prosecutors said Gavin was subjected to “nothing short of a prolonged death camp” while in the home.

However, prosecutor Kevin McGaha told the court that Tyler Peterson was an active participant. He cited texts that he sent to Scott that listed what abuse the victim’s older brother had inflicted on Gavin, including beatings and making the younger boy hold his bladder. McGaha recounted how the family left Gavin and Tyler Peterson by themselves while the rest of the family went to Disneyland. During the trip, he “reported incidents of mental and physical torture” to Scott.

At the time of his death, “Gavin was found with multiple bruises on his body from beatings,” McGaha told the court. “Some pictures recovered show Tyler kicking and beating Gavin all on his own.”

Prosecutors said during Scott’s sentencing that on the day Gavin died, after he was found unresponsive, Tyler Peterson and Scott “hid surveillance cameras, removed other items from the room, and removed and replaced the doorknob in an effort to mislead the police and hide the abuse and isolation that had been happening in the home” before calling 911.

The boy’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.

Tyler Peterson was sentenced to five years to life for child abuse homicide, one to 15 years for two counts of aggravated child abuse, and one to 15 years for obstruction of justice. The sentences will be served concurrently, and he gets credit for 246 days served.