Uintah County Sheriff’s Office provided the following update on Tuesday evening concerning Monday’s shooting. “Valerie Peck, 40, has been booked into the Uintah County Jail for investigation of aggravated murder and child abuse in connection with the shooting death of her 2-year-old son. On Dec. 14, 2020, sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a report of a shooting in the area of Fantasy Canyon in central Uintah County. The initial report was that a woman and a boy had been shot. Deputies found Peck and her son Zack in a vehicle just west of state Road 45 on Glen Bench Road. Zack was deceased when deputies arrived. Peck was transported to a local hospital, where she was treated for her injuries. During the investigation, deputies learned that Peck had taken her son on a drive to the Dry Fork Canyon area earlier in the day. She then stopped at a camping area north of Dry Fork on Red Cloud Loop Road. After spending some time in the area, Peck put her son back in the vehicle and shot him with a .22-caliber rifle. Peck then shot herself. After shooting herself, Peck drove around Uintah County for several hours with her son in the vehicle and eventually ended up in the area where deputies came in contact with her on Glen Bench Road. Upon Peck’s release from the hospital today, she was taken into custody and transported to the Uintah County Jail, where she is currently being held. The sheriff’s office extends its most sincere condolences to all who knew and loved Zack.”
