Uintah County Sheriff’s Office
Valerie Peck
Valerie Peck, 40, was arrested and charged with murder and child abuse after police said she shot her two-year-old son in Uintah County, eastern Utah, before driving around for hours with his body in the car. The Uintah County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release that Peck killed her son Zack on December 14 and then shot himself, sustaining “serious” injuries.
Authorities have not yet given a motive for the murder, but said the investigation is ongoing. The press release states: “The sheriff’s office offers its condolences to everyone who knew and loved Zack.”
After treating her injuries, Peck was released from the hospital on December 15 and taken into police custody. She is currently on the Uintah County Jail on serious murder and child molestation allegations.
The investigation found that Peck had been driving her son around before and after she killed him
Utah.govFantasy canyon
The sheriff’s office first announced that they responded to a report of a shooting near Fantasy Canyon in central Uintah County at 2:25 p.m. on December 14. The first press release stated that MPs found the woman “just west of 45 State Road on Glen Bench Road” and that the boy was dead when they arrived. “The woman, who was identified by MPs as the boy’s mother, received medical treatment on site before being taken to hospital for the severity of her injuries,” the authorities said.
In the press release below, the sheriff’s office said their investigation revealed that Peck and her son Zack were driving into the Dry Fork Canyon area earlier on December 14th. The two spent time at a campsite before Zack was killed, authorities said. “After spending some time in the area, Peck put her son back in the vehicle and shot him with a .22 caliber. Peck then shot himself, ”says the press release.
Peck then drove around for a few hours before she was finally found by the sheriff’s deputies.
A police affidavit says they shot themselves twice while trying to kill themselves
A police affidavit said Peck shot herself twice in the “upper limb” after killing her son in a suicide attempt, Deseret News reported. The affidavit states that when she failed to kill herself, she drove to another canyon to try to “freeze to death,” wrote the point of sale, where she was found by the sheriff’s deputies. Peck was at the campsite for about 30 minutes before shooting her son, the affidavit reads:
Valerie then used the .22 rifle and shot herself twice. Valerie told me that she tried to kill herself. When that didn’t work, she drove through Uintah County and then decided to go to Fantasy Canyon. When I asked her what she was doing in Fantasy Canyon, she told me she didn’t know, maybe they’ll freeze to death.
The investigators did not say whether the call came from the Peck authorities or from someone else. A Facebook page that appears to be owned by the mother shows that she has a husband, David. The two have an older child together. Detectives requested that Peck be denied bail because her other son and husband are in the area.
According to Deseret News, Peck was involved in an incident at the Ashley Regional Medical Center in Vernal, Utah, in early July and was charged with trespassing. At the time, her husband called the court and reported that Peck was struggling with mental health problems, the outlet wrote. Peck argued for no competition in September.
CONTINUE READING: Social media influencer set on fire and killed by ex-husband, family says
Comments are closed.