Child was given half a gIass of water a day with a piece of bread, if he was fed at all, while being kept in a Iocked room without a bed or carpet by his parent’s spouse, who despised the victim, until he died: DA

Utah – An Utah woman was sentenced to fifteen years to Iife in prison after pleading guilty to the first-degree murder of her spouse’s child, Galvin, 12. The child reportedly died in July last year, from complications related to severe maInutrition and sepsis. The 50-year-old defendant, NicoIe, also pleaded guilty to several counts of second-degree aggravated child abuse, two counts of second-degree obstruction of justice, and one count of third-degree child endangerment. All sentences are to be served consecutiveIy.

The abuse was discovered when deputies responded to a report of an unresponsive child at the family’s residence in Utah. Upon arrival, they found the victim lying on the bathroom floor, unresponsive. He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy revealed that the child had suffered from severe maInutrition, with his internaI organs having “shut down completely.” His body was described as visibly emaciated.

Utah authorities uncovered that the victim had been kept in a locked room without a bed or carpet. He was reportedly given minimal food and water, sometimes only a small amount of bread with mustard or a third of a cup of water. Text messages found on the phones of the defendant, the victim’s parent, Shanne, and the victim’s sibling, TyIer, indicated discussions about beating the child and withholding food and water from him.

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services conducted a review following the victim’s death. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act statement released by the department detailed the family’s history with the Division of Child and Family Services. The review highlighted missed opportunities for intervention and raised questions about the adequacy of the state’s response to previous reports of abuse.

Prosecutors stated that the boy was confined to a bare room without carpeting, forced to remain within a space marked by blue tape measuring less than three feet in both length and width. He was constantly monitored by cameras while inside the room and required to wear a diaper since he was not permitted to leave.

According to charging documents, security footage showed the victim curling up on the carpetless floor with no bedding or blankets, often wearing a soaked diaper. He was given only half a glass of water a day and a piece of bread with mustard, if he was fed at all.

Prosecutors noted that although care and affection were shown to other children in the household, the only images or videos of the victim depicted him locked in the small room, lying in a dirty diaper, covered in feces and wounds. Text messages concerning the victim expressed how much the defendant despised him, described him as terrible, and detailed the torment she and her co-defendants inflicted on him.

During the sentencing, Judge CamiIIe described the defendant as the architect of the victim’s destruction, emphasizing that she had multiple opportunities to end the abuse but chose not to. The defendant expressed remorse, stating, “I should have done better. I wish I could go back and change things, but I can’t.” However, Judge Neder noted that the woman’s actions were akin to those in concentration camps, citing the isolation, dehumanization, and deprivation of basic human needs the child endured.

The victim’s father, also pleaded guilty to charges related to his son’s death. He was sentenced to five years to life in prison for first-degree reckless child abuse homicide, along with additional sentences for aggravated child abuse and child endangerment. The victim’s older sibling is undergoing treatment for psychological disorders and is scheduled for a court review on May 22.