The family of slain vlogger Gabby Petito has reportedly filed a $50 million lawsuit against the Moab Police Department in Utah, accusing them of allowing accused murderer Brian Laundrie to leave after an argument with Petito.
According to documents obtained by TMZ, the plaintiffs have accused Moab PD of failing to protect Gabby when officers responded to a “domestic problem” two weeks prior to her murder.
The lawsuit claims that the officers didn’t try hard enough when questioning Laundrie after they pulled him over in a white van near the Arches National Park in Moab. The lawsuit added that the Moab officers treated Laundrie as a domestic violence victim instead of the aggressor.
“We feel profound sympathy for the Petito and Schmidt families and the painful loss they have endured,” the city of Moab told TMZ. “At the same time, it is clear that Moab City Police Department officers are not responsible for Gabrielle Petito’s eventual murder.”
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the plaintiffs allege that one of the officers involved in the incident, identified as Eric Pratt, was in a previous domestic altercation himself, in which he reportedly threatened to kill a woman.
The lawsuit stated that Pratt was “fundamentally biased” against Gabby and sided with Laundrie.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Petito’s family said Moab police had the opportunity to save Gabby’s life when they responded to the call, but weeks later, Laundrie strangled her. After Gabby’s death, Laundrie is believed to have traveled back to his family home in North Port, Florida.
On September 13 or 14, 2021, he reportedly left his parents’ home and they subsequently reported him missing on September 17, 2021. He ultimately took his own life at a nearby environmental park.
Petito was found deceased in Wyoming on September 19, 2021, at the Grand Teton National Park. In late October 2021, Brian Laundrie’s partial skull was discovered at Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Florida.
The following month, the medical examiner in Sarasota County determined he died from a single gunshot wound to the head, self-inflicted.
Laundrie reportedly confessed to killing Petito in a notebook found near his partial remains. Its contents were released to the public in June of this year.
“I ended her life,” he reportedly wrote in October 2021. “I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted, but I see now all the mistakes I made.”
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[Featured image: Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie/ Instagram]
