“The system is broken,” says cafeteria employee about the death of a 12-year-old boy

WEST HAVEN – New details in the death of 12-year-old Gavin Peterson of West Haven.

Gavin’s father Shane Peterson (46), his stepmother Nichole Scott (50) and his brother Tyler Peterson (21) face several charges in connection with his death.

Jan Davis, a cafeteria worker at Kanesville Elementary School in West Haven, said she and other cafeteria workers were worried about Gavin several years ago.

“He was small for his age, quite thin, his hair was cut short and he often missed school,” Davis said.

Davis said she met Gavin during the 2021-2022 school year and the 2022-2023 school year.

“He would come in to take a drink of water and then he would casually pick up his cup and throw it in the trash that was where they put their trays and then you would see him digging through the trash,” Davis said. “Then when the little kid is hungry, I buy him a food stamp.”

Davis said she and a colleague began paying for Gavin’s lunch despite being “discouraged” by school administrators not to do so because the school wanted to encourage families in need to fill out a form for a reduced or free lunch.

Their efforts came to an abrupt halt, according to Davis, when Gavin’s stepmother, Nichole Scott, found out.

“She was really upset and we should stop paying for his school lunches because if she ‘wanted him to eat lunch at school, she would pay for it,'” Davis said, adding that Nichole was angry and confronted the school administration. “When she found out there was money in his account and he was eating lunch at school, she said, ‘No more.'”

Shortly after the incident, Davis said Gavin came to school with a broken tooth.

“People try to tell themselves that he fell and broke a tooth, but I think that was another warning sign,” Davis said.

During the following school year, 2022-2023, Davis said, she noticed that Gavin, then in fifth grade, was stealing lunch from other children.

“That’s what I feel most guilty about,” Davis said. “Other kids’ lunches or lunch bags would disappear and I just think he was so hungry that he stole other people’s food.”

Davis said she and even school children would share food with Gavin.

Davis said she and other cafeteria employees made multiple calls to school officials and the Utah Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) over the course of several months to share their concerns.

“First we checked all channels. The cafeteria manager knew what was going on and said the principal had to take care of it. We reported it to the principal,” Davis said, adding that they later called DCFS directly.

“We as lunch ladies and mothers felt that not enough was being done, so we called and reported it to social services. We called and reported it twice,” Davis said.

“I think school was a safe haven for him … but I just don’t think we did enough for him,” Davis said.

“If he’s eating out of a garbage can, does he have an eating disorder or is he starving? We didn’t know. Was he really sick when he was missing so much school, or were they just not sending him to school? I just don’t understand why nobody checked in when he was missing so much school.”

Davis said she personally called DCFS to investigate her complaints and find out if social workers had taken any action.

“I was told that because of the family situation and the child’s situation, I would never know what was going on,” Davis said of not being able to get updates on the case because it involved a child.

In August 2023, Gavin left school for sixth grade.

“The stepmother had taken him out of school to homeschool him,” Davis said. “I was honestly hoping that child services had taken him out of the home and that was just the excuse they gave us at school.”

The Weber School District declined to answer specific questions but referred to an earlier statement dated July 19 confirming that Gavin dropped out of school in August.

The school district also confirmed in its statement that there had been numerous complaints from school employees.

“Prior to removing the student from the district, school officials filed multiple complaints with the Utah Division of Child and Family Services regarding suspected abuse and neglect of this child,” the school district’s statement said.

The next time Davis learned of Gavin was through media reports when news of his death broke.

On July 9, officers were called to the Petersons’ home, where they found Gavin on the bathroom floor after “being sick for several days, vomiting, and not breathing,” according to police records.

Gavin was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. Doctors reported that his body was “so malnourished that the child’s internal organs had completely failed,” the police affidavit states.

“I was heartbroken. I should have done more, but not just for him. I should have done more for other kids who fall through the cracks, and that’s why I’m here today,” Davis said.

Davis said she immediately suspected that Gavin’s stepmother had committed a crime after hearing news of Gavin’s death on July 9.

“It seemed like it took a long time for us to hear about the arrest,” Davis said. “Honestly, I always thought in the back of my mind that the stepmother and father had gotten away with murder.”

Shane and Scott were booked into the Weber County Jail on July 17, where they were booked on charges of child abuse, two counts of aggravated child abuse and child endangerment. Scott also faces charges of obstruction of justice and drug possession.

Tyler Peterson was arrested on July 18 in connection with the investigation of child abuse and manslaughter, two counts of aggravated child abuse and obstruction of justice.

“I just hope their time comes and they pay for the crime they committed against this little boy,” Davis said.

At Gavin’s home, officials reportedly discovered the horrific conditions in which Gavin was held and starved before he died.

However, Jan also questions DCFS’s response and whether school and state officials did enough to help him.

“The system is broken, not just DCFS, but I feel like the school system is broken. I think someone should have been following his homeschooling and checking in with him at home to find out what was going on.”

A vigil for Gavin will be held tonight at the church in West Haven, 2333 South and 2700 West, beginning at 8:45 p.m. and lasting until 11 p.m.