‘The system is broken’: Cafeteria worker speaks out in death of 12-year-old boy

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

Gavin’s father, stepmother and brother were arrested and accused of causing the boy’s death following years of abuse, including severe malnutrition.

Jan Davis, a school cafeteria worker at Kanesville Elementary School in West Haven, said she and other cafeteria workers grew concerned about Gavin a few years ago.

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

Davis said she became acquainted with Gavin during the 2021-2022 school year and into the 2022-2023 school year.

“He would come and get a drink of water and then he would casually take his cup and throw it in the trash that was there where they dump their trays and then you would see him digging through the garbage,” Davis said. “At that point, if that little kid is hungry, I’m going to buy his lunch ticket.”

Davis said she and a coworker started paying for Gavin’s lunch, despite being “advised” by school officials not to do so because the school wanted to encourage families in hardship to fill out a form for reduced or free lunch.

Their efforts were abruptly halted when Gavin’s stepmother, Nichole Scott, found out, according to Davis.

“She was really upset and we were to stop paying for his school lunches. Because if she ‘wanted him to have school lunch, she’d pay for it,’” Davis said, adding that Nichole was furious and confronted school administrators. “When she found out there was money in his account and he was eating school lunch she said, ‘no more.’”

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

“You try to convince yourself that he had fallen and chipped his tooth but that was another red flag, I think,” Davis said.

By the following school year, 2022-23, Davis said she noticed Gavin, then in fifth grade, was stealing lunches from other children.

“This is what I feel the most guilty about,” Davis said. “Other kid’s boxes or sack lunches were disappearing and I just believe that he was so hungry that he was stealing other people’s food.”

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

Over several months, Davis said she and other cafeteria workers made multiple calls to school officials and the Utah Division of Child and Family Services to report their concerns.

“First we went through the channels. The head lunch lady knew what was going on, she said the principal had to take care of it. We reported it to the principal,” Davis said adding that later they also called DCFS directly.

“We as lunch ladies and mothers didn’t feel like enough was being done and so we called and reported it to social services. We called and reported it two different times,” 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. When he missed so much school, was he truly sick, or were they just not sending him to school? I just don’t understand when he missed so much school why wasn’t anyone checking.”

Davis said she personally called DCFS to follow up on their complaints and whether any action was taken by social workers.

“I was told I would never know what was going on because of the family situation and the child situation,” Davis said of being unable to receive updates on the case because it involved a child.

By August 2023, Gavin stopped attending school for his sixth-grade year.

“The stepmother had pulled him out of school to homeschool him,” Davis said. “I honestly was hoping that social services had removed him from the home and that was just the excuse they had given us at the school.”

The Weber School District declined to answer specific questions but pointed to a previous statement released on July 19, in which they confirmed that Gavin stopped attending school in August.

In their statement, the school district also confirmed that multiple complaints were filed by school employees.

“Prior to the student being withdrawn from the district, multiple complaints were filed by school employees with the Utah Division of Child and Family Services related to suspected abuse and neglect of this child,” the school district’s statement said.

The next time Davis heard news of Gavin was through media reports as word of his death got out.

On July 9, deputies were called to the Peterson home where they found Gavin on the bathroom floor after being “ill for several days, experiencing vomiting, and was now not breathing,” according to police documents.

Gavin was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead and doctors reported that his body “showed malnutrition to the point the child’s internal organs had shut down completely,” the police booking affidavit stated.

“I was heartbroken. I should’ve done more, but I shouldn’t do more just for him. I should do more for other children out there that are falling between the cracks and that is why I am here today,” Davis said.

Davis said she was immediately suspicious of foul play by Gavin’s stepmother following news of his death on July 9.

“It seemed like a long time before we heard news about the arrest,” Davis said. “I honestly kept thinking in the back of my mind that the stepmother and dad had gotten away with murder.”

Shane Peterson, Gavin’s father, and Scott were booked into the Weber County Jail on July 17 for investigation of child abuse homicide, two counts of aggravated child abuse, and child endangerment. Scott is also facing charges for investigation of obstruction of justice and drug possession.

Tyler Peterson, Gavin’s brother, was arrested on July 18 for investigation of child abuse homicide, two counts of aggravated child abuse and obstruction of justice.

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

Inside Gavin’s home deputies allegedly discovered the horrific conditions in which Gavin was allegedly kept and starved before he died.

However, Jan is also questioning DCFS’ response and whether enough was done by school and state officials to help him.

“The system is broken, not only (DCFS), but I feel like the school system is broken. I feel like someone should have followed up on his homeschooling, done a home check on him just to find out what was going on.”

A community vigil was held for Gavin Tuesday night at the church located at 2333 South and 2700 West in West Haven. It started at 8:45 p.m. and ran until 11 p.m.

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Child abuse resources:

• Utah Domestic Violence Coalition operates a confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic abuse hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465). Resources are also available online: udvc.org. The statewide child abuse and neglect hotline is 1-855-323-DCFS (3237).

Help with Children

Those who feel stressed out with a child, who need a break or who feel like they need counseling or training can reach out to one of the following agencies:

• The Family Support Center has 15 locations throughout the state and offers a free crisis nursery for parents who have to keep appointments or who are stressed out. They also offer counseling and family mentoring. Call 801-955-9110 or visit familysupportcenter.org/contact.php for more information.
• Prevent Child Abuse Utah provides home visiting in Weber, Davis, and Box Elder counties. Parent Educators provide support, education, and activities for families with young children. Their statewide education team offers diverse trainings on protective factors, digital safety, bullying, and child sex trafficking. They are available for in-person or virtual trainings and offer free online courses for the community at pcautah.org.
• The Office of Home Visiting works with local agencies to provide home visits to pregnant women and young families who would like to know more about being parents. Home visitors are trained and can provide information about breastfeeding, developmental milestones, toilet training, nutrition, mental health, home safety, child development, and much more. Find out more at homevisiting.utah.gov.
• The Safe Haven law allows birth parents in Utah to safely and anonymously give up custody of their newborn child at any hospital in the state, with no legal consequences and no questions asked. The child’s mother can drop off the child, or the mother can ask someone else to do it for her. The newborns should be dropped off at hospitals that are open 24 hours a day. Newborns given up in this manner will be cared for by the hospital staff, and the Utah Division of Child and Family Services will find a home for the child. For more information, visit utahsafehaven.org or call the 24-hour hotline at 866-458-0058.