Featured Image Credit: Parker & McConkie/@bizarre_design_/Instagram
Topics: US News, Gabby Petito
Jess Hardiman
Topics: US News, Gabby Petito
WARNING: CONTAINS DISTRESSING CONTENT
Gabby Petito’s parents have released a selfie of her bruised face as part of a wrongful death lawsuit, having found the image on her phone but not shared it publicly until now.
Petito, of Long Island, vanished during a cross-country road trip with her fiancé Brian Laundrie, having been documenting their journey on YouTube.
Remains discovered Sunday September 19 in a remote area of Bridger-Teton National Forest were later confirmed to be those of Petito, who was last seen alive in Salt Lake City, Utah on 24 August 2021.
Advert
Laundrie’s body was then found alongside a notebook, inside which he confessed to murdering his partner - claiming the killing was ‘merciful’ after Petito was allegedly injured and in extreme pain.
Patrick Reilly, an attorney for Petito’s family, told People that Laundrie’s claims are ‘nonsense’.
Now her parents have shared a selfie showing their daughter’s bruised face, with a timestamp showing it was taken at 4.37pm on 12 August.
Minutes later, a bystander had called 911 to say they had seen Laundrie slapping her in a parking lot in Moab, Utah.
Footage taken by the bodycam of a Moab City Police Department officer shows they arrived at around 4.45pm.
While the initial footage showed officers hearing that Petito was the aggressor during the incident, a second nearly hour-long video sees Petito acknowledge that she was hit and grabbed by Laundrie, who left a scratch mark on her face.
In autumn 2021, former attorney Happy Morgan said during a council meeting of the second clip: "Every news agency in the United States has requested it and they have not been turned over.
"It became obvious to me watching the news that information had been withheld from the media."
Wearing the same top and necklaces as in the selfie, in the second bodycam footage Petito told an officer that Laundrie had 'grabbed' her face, demonstrating how he put his hand across her cheek.
The officer then asked her: “Did he slap your face or what?”
Petito replied: “He grabbed me with his nail, and I guess that’s why it looks — I definitely have a cut right here. I can feel it. When I touch it, it burns.”
The attorneys representing the family have now released the graphic selfie as they build their case in a lawsuit filed against the police department last year, arguing that officers failed to realise Petito had been a victim.
Attorney Brian Stewart, from Parker & McConkie, said in a statement about the image: “Moab police failed to listen to Gabby, failed to investigate her injuries and the seriousness of her assault, and failed to follow their own training, policies, and Utah law.”
Her parents, Joe Petito and Nicole Schmit, have spoken in favour of a bill that would create a database for police of past domestic violence incidents and calls, even if the reports did not lead to a criminal charge.
The bill, SB117, would also make it mandatory for officers to ask a number of questions, known as the ‘Lethality Assessment Program’, in order to determine the level of potential danger to someone.
Schmidt said: “Our daughter, Gabby, died as a result of intimate partner violence that could have and should have been identified by law enforcement using the lethality assessment."
After a formal complaint was filed with the Moab City Police Department, an independent law enforcement agency completed a review of the incident.
The force said the report recommended 'improvements to both the policies and training' of Moab City Police Department, including 'additional training in domestic violence investigation'.
It added: "Based on the report’s findings, the City of Moab believes our officers showed kindness, respect and empathy in their handling of this incident.
"As the Moab City Police Department continues its daily mission to serve our community, efforts are underway to provide additional resources and tools to assist the in addressing domestic violence incidents.
"Plans are in place to add a trained domestic violence specialist to oversee incidents investigated by Moab officers. We also will implement added and ongoing training and testing to ensure that the officers understand policies and procedures."
UNILAD has reached out to Moab City Police Department for comment.
If you are in danger at the hands of domestic violence, please call 911 immediately. You can also receive anonymous, confidential help 24/7, by calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY).