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Utah police allegedly ignored abuse, according to attorneys who released a photo of Gabby Petito’s wounds

Florida’s SARASOTA — According to attorneys for the dead girl’s family, a fresh photo from Gabby Petito’s phone depicts her injuries moments before she and Brian Laundrie contacted the Moab, Utah police department.

The photo, which was allegedly taken by Gabby and supplied by Parker and McConkie’s legal team, depicts how the woman had been “violently abused and was probably strangled and/or smothered before she meets with Moab police on August 12, 2021.”

Parker and McConkie’s news statement stated that “according to available data, the image was captured at 4:37 PM, at or before the approximate time of the initial 911 call.”

The parents of Brian Laundrie, who is thought to have killed his fiancée when the two were traveling across the country in the summer and fall of 2021, have been sued by Gabby’s parents. Additionally, they have filed a lawsuit against the Moab, Utah Police Department for allegedly failing to recognize domestic violence’s warning indications.

During their journey, a white vehicle carrying a man and a woman was involved in a domestic dispute, and the caller dialed 911 to report it. Both Brian and Gabby admitted to having a violent dispute in which Gabby struck Brian when Moab police caught up with them.

A month later, Gabby vanished, sparking a massive search for the woman whose fiancé had driven her van back to his parent’s house in Florida. According to the lawsuit, while the search was in progress, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie and their attorney Steven Bertolino were aware that Gabby had passed away.

Videos captured by body cameras during interactions between Gabby and Brian and Moab police show Gabby detailing disputes between the pair.

The Petito family’s attorneys claim that even though Gabby pointed out the damage to Officer Pratt, he disregarded her and did nothing further to look into or document the injury.

Gabby looked to be wearing the same shirt in Moab’s body camera footage as she is in the Parker and McConkie shot.

A Utah statute requiring the use of training and procedures to recognize and stop similar tragedies in the future by utilizing a lethality assessment has the backing of the Petito family.

In circumstances when they suspect domestic violence, law officials in Utah would be required to ask a total of 11 questions, including ones about prior threats, firearm availability, and a history of actions like choking, resentment, or snooping.

Nichole Schmidt, Petito’s mother, stated in a statement, “Our daughter, Gabby, died as a result of intimate partner violence that could have and should have been discovered by law enforcement using the lethality assessment.” “We believe that Gabby would still be alive today if the lethality assessment had been applied appropriately in her situation, along with the necessary assistance and resources.”

A timeline of Gabby Petito’s case, who is 22 years old

The 22-year-old woman whose case has captivated America’s attention since she first vanished, Gabby Petito, is nearing the end of its investigation, according to the FBI.

In September, after starting a cross-country trip with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, Petito’s family reported her missing.

Early in September, when Laundrie visited the couple in their North Port, Florida, a home without Petito, a week-long hunt for him in a sizable Florida nature reserve was launched.

Only a few days into the hunt for Laundrie, officials on the opposite side of the nation located Petito’s remains in Wyoming, and a coroner determined that strangling was the cause of death.

Authorities announced they had discovered Laundries’s remains after searching the 25,000-acre Florida reserve for weeks. A medical examiner determined his cause of death was suicide. The FBI claims that close by, authorities discovered a notepad in which Laundrie took ownership of Petito’s demise.

This is how the case developed.

June 2021

According to North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison, who refers to Laundrie as Petito’s fiancé, the two left on a cross-country journey.

According to Garrison at a news briefing, they intended to go in Petito’s white Ford van to the West Coast and visit state and national parks all over the western United States.

According to him, she had been eager to share her journey on social media with her friends and family.

During her trips, “she kept in touch with her family members regularly, but that communication abruptly halted around the end of August,” the police chief continues.

12 August

On August 12, the pair is approached by Moab, Utah, police, who characterize them as having “engaged in some form of argument.”

The two are said to have gotten into a physical altercation after arguing, but according to officer Eric Pratt’s report, “both the male and female indicated they are in love and engaged to be married and desperately didn’t wish to see anyone punished with a crime.”

According to the report, which characterizes Petito as “confused and upset,” the pair decided to part ways for the evening at the officers’ advice.

Officer Daniel Robbins states in the report, “After assessing the totality of the circumstances, I do not believe the scenario progressed to the level of a domestic assault as much as that of a mental health crisis.” No complaints are made.

The report also states that the pair each carried a cell phone for emergencies.

The Grand County Sheriff’s Office has a 911 audio clip from that day in which a caller reports a domestic conflict and gives a description of a white van with a Florida license plate.

The caller said that “the gentleman was hitting the girl” as they drove by.

The caller said, “Then we stopped.” The sidewalk was traversed by them as they ran. He then struck her before getting in the car and driving away.

17 August

On August 17, Laundrie took a plane from Salt Lake City to Tampa, Florida, according to Laundries’s family lawyer Steven Bertolino.

To save money and because they were thinking about continuing their journey, Laundrie “flew home to get a few things and empty and close the storage unit.” Bertolino said.

The lawyer stated that Laundrie rejoined Petito on August 23 after returning to Salt Lake City. He added, “To my knowledge, Brian and Gabby paid for the trips as they were sharing expenditures.

27 August

A Louisianan couple visiting Jackson, Wyoming on vacation on August 27 claimed to have witnessed Petito and Laundrie getting into a “commotion” as they were leaving the Merry Piglets Tex-Mex restaurant.

Laundrie was noticeably upset, walking in and out of the restaurant numerous times, and displaying anger toward the service members near the hostess stand, according to Nina Angelo, who was visiting the restaurant with her boyfriend.

Despite claiming to have witnessed “an incident” on August 27 at the restaurant, the manager of the establishment declined to reveal her identity or elaborate on what had taken place, adding that there was no security footage of the event.

August’s final week

According to North Port police, Petito’s relatives told officers that they last spoke with her during the last week of August. Petito is thought to have been in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park before that last communication, according to the authorities.

Richard Stafford, an attorney for the Petito family, stated during a press conference in September that although the family believes the message they received was from Petito, their last contact with her was on August 30.

Stafford gives the following account of what happened on September 17 as the family understands it:

On August 24, Petito FaceTimes her mother to let her know she was leaving Utah and moving to Wyoming to visit the Teton mountain range.

Petito and her mother exchange several texts on August 25. The family of the young woman thinks she will be in the Tetons on this day.

More texts were exchanged between Petito and her mother on August 27; throughout this time, her family believes she is still in the Tetons.

Her family receives Petito’s final text message on August 30. They question her claim of authorship. “No service in Yosemite,” the notification said, according to Stafford.

Laundrie claimed he had been camping alone for several days while Petito was at their van working on social media posts. This claim was made public by a lady who claimed she and her boyfriend gave Laundrie a ride on August 29 in Wyoming.

Miranda Baker claimed to have picked up Laundrie that evening when he was hitchhiking in Colter Bay, Wyoming, in a series of films that were uploaded to TikTok. She stated Laundrie told them he had been camped close to the Snake River, outside of the Grand Teton National Park.

Laundrie became upset when he learned Baker and her boyfriend were traveling to Jackson Hole rather than Jackson, requested that the car stop, and get out close to the Jackson Dam, according to Baker.

Baker claimed that she discussed the encounter with law enforcement. Baker met with the department before uploading the footage to TikTok, according to North Port police.

According to North Port police spokesperson Josh Taylor, “Her account is reasonable.” Baker’s statements have not been independently corroborated by the associate press.

On August 29, Laundrie was picked up close to Jackson Lake Dam by Norma Jean Jalovec, a temporary resident of Wyoming, who gave him a lift to the Spread Creek scattered camping area, where Petito’s remains were later discovered.

Jalovec claims Laundrie told her he had been hiking along the Snake River embankment for a few days and that his fiancee had been working on their travel blog while she was in their van at the campground. Jalovec claimed that she later gave the FBI access to the data.

When they got to Spread Creek, according to Jalovec, she dropped Laundrie off in front of the gate leading into the camping area. She claimed that despite her repeated offers to take him further, he insisted on being dropped off at the door. Laundrie then gave her money for gas, but she claimed to have declined.

Jalovec claimed to have picked up Laundrie at roughly 6:15 p.m., which was only a short while after Baker claimed that Laundrie had left her car.

In summary

Several messages exchanged between Laundries’s phone and Petito’s phone after her death was likely Laundries’s attempt “to deceive law enforcement by giving the impression that Ms. Petito was still alive,” according to the FBI, which also confirms Laundrie used Petito’s debit card without permission between August 30 and September 1 on his drive back to Florida from Wyoming.

The government claims that after meeting with Petito’s family, the inquiry “will be finished soon.”

The lead special agent, Schneider, declared that “all reasonable investigative processes have been completed in this matter.” Other than Brian Laundrie, who was personally involved in Gabby Petito’s unfortunate death, no other people were found to be implicated, according to the investigation.

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