Gabby Petito case: her family sues the Utah police

This is the terrible and sordid story that marked thousands of people last fall. The Gabby Petito case has not only held thousands of people around the world in suspense, but has also mobilized many online fans of true crime, eager to lift the veil on the circumstances of this femicide.

Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie, a young and promising heterosexual couple, were on the streets of the United States in July 2021, documenting their road trip fairytale version vanlife. Everything seemed perfect.

The young woman has given no sign of life to her relatives since August 24 and was found dead in a Wyoming wildlife park on September 19. The forensic report concluded that she died of strangulation. Meanwhile, Brian Laundrie has surfaced at his parents’ home in Florida, alone, without saying where his girlfriend was. He escaped before he could be questioned by the police.

Wanted by the authorities as a witness, he was finally found dead in mid-October in a nature reserve. In January 2022 the FBI made public its conclusions on the investigation: the elements found near the body of Brian Laundrie made it possible to prove his responsibility in the murder of Gabby Petito. He committed suicide.

However, one question remained unanswered for the young woman’s relatives: what is the responsibility of the police in this case? An investigation has been opened, but Gabby Petito’s family is also asking for compensation: on Monday, August 8, he sued the Utah police for manslaughter.

Were the officers negligent in the face of Gabby Petito’s anguish?

A few days before Gabby Petito’s disappearance, on August 12, 2021, the couple were arrested in Moab, a small town in Utah. On the pedestrian video of the intervention, we have seen the young woman in tears and visibly in shock, says she and Brian Laundrie had a fight. After blaming their youth, the police let the couple go after asking them to spend the night separately.

officers they felt that their discussion was a consequence of emotional distress of having traveled together for several months. A independent investigation report established last January that the officers did “several unintended errors” – the fact, for example, that Brian Laundrie’s injuries were photographed, not Gabby Petito’s.

In the video broadcast on the Law & Crime Network, we distinctly hear the agent telling the young woman that there is nothing she can do and which is considered the main attackerafter hitting her boyfriend first, while driving.

It wasn’t Gabby Petito a victim credible enough to be heard and protected ? Her case can now illustrate police preconceptions about what behavior is expected of a woman experiencing domestic violence.

Gabby Petito’s family claims that the agents who intervened did not recognize a situation of domestic violence and that Gabby Petito was not protected. You are asking for $ 50 million.

” Had they been properly trained and obeyed the law, Gabby would still be alive today. “family attorney James McConkie said.