The parents of Gabby Petito, 22, whose disappearance, subsequent strangulation, and murder by her boyfriend Brian Laundrie made headlines across the nation, have released a heartbreaking selfie she took just before a witness made a 911 call to report that Laundrie had attacked her.
On July 2, 2021, Petito left New York with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie. They took a road trip to Colorado and Utah. The selfie was taken at 4.37 p.m. on August 12, 2021, in Moab, Utah. The photo shows her with tears in her eyes and a bloody bruise around her eye, wearing the same clothes as the video footage when two officers later responded to the call.
The attorneys representing Gabby Petito's parents have released this photo from her cell phone.
They say it shows Gabby was violently assaulted and likely strangled before her interaction with Moab Police.
The Petitos are suing the police for the way they handled the interaction. pic.twitter.com/PssoLlg3mK— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) February 7, 2023
Petito told officers Laundrie “grabbed my face,” showing them how he had attacked her.
“Did he slap your face or what?” one officer asked.
“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.” Petito replied. After Petito said she had struck Laundrie first, police reportedly left.
The Petito family has filed a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Moab Police Department. Attorney Brian Stewart, stated, “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.”
The transcript of the 911 call reads:
Dispatcher: Grand County Sheriff’s Office.
Caller: Hi, can you hear me, sir?
Dispatcher: Yeah, I can hear you.
Caller: Hi, I’m calling, I’m right on the corner of Main Street by Moonflower and we’re driving by and I’d like to report a domestic dispute, Florida with a white van, Florida license plate, white van.
Dispatcher: Where’s it at?
Caller: They just drove off. They’re going down Main Street. They made a right on Main Street from Moonflower.
Dispatcher: What were they doing?
Caller: What’d you say?
Dispatcher: What were they doing?
Caller: We drove by ’em, a gentleman was slapping the girl.
Dispatcher: He was slapping her?
Caller: Yes, and then we stopped, they ran up and down the sidewalk, he proceeded to hit her, hopped in the car and they drove off.
Dispatcher: OK, you say that’s a white van?
Caller: It’s a white van. I can give you the license plate if you give me one [second] I took a picture of it.
Dispatcher: What kind of white van, like a big one?
Caller: Um it was a smaller van, with a license place of, it was white, Florida license plate [redacted]. It was, the make was a Ford, model was Transit, black ladder on the passenger side.
Dispatcher: Black ladder, passenger side.
Caller: White Ford Transit
Dispatcher: White Ford Transit, and what was your name?
Caller: [redacted]
Dispatcher: And where did they, so they turned, they headed south on Main Street from Moonflower Market?
Caller: Correct, they made the right turn.
Dispatcher: Oh, so they went north?
Caller: North, yes sir, I’m not from around here.
Dispatcher: So, you’re right there by the post office?
Caller: Right across the street, yep.
Dispatcher: And when they turned onto Main Street they went right or left?
Caller: Right.
Dispatcher: Right so they went north, north on Main, alright I’ll let somebody know thank you.
The last time Petito was seen alive was on August 27 at a Jackson Hole, Wyoming, restaurant. On August 30, a text was sent from her phone: “No service in Yosemite.” On September 19, human remains matching her description were found at Spread Creek campground.