Gabby Petito speaks to officers from the Moab Police Department in Utah. Moab City Police Department
New footage has emerged from the Utah police stop of Gabby Petito & Brian Laundrie.
Petito says that Laundrie grabbed his face as the couple describe their fight.
Petito claims she hit him first. It happened weeks before she was discovered dead.
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New video of Gabby Petito's Utah police stop has surfaced. In it, the 22-year old describes her fianc scratching and grabbing her face.
It was taken at a police station on August 12, a month after Petito was declared lost.
Petito's corpse was discovered in a Wyoming camping area, on September 19. Her death was ruled as homicide. Laundrie is a person of concern in the missing-person investigation. She has been missing since September 14.
Two witnesses had called 911 on August 12 to report that they saw a man assaulting a woman and police pulled the couple's van over. One witness stated that the man seemed to have stolen the phone of the woman.
The new footage
Petito, who was seen looking upset and apologetic to police after she told them that she had hit Laundrie in a bodycam video. Insider obtained new footage that shows Petito and Laundrie speaking again from the same stop.
It's here:
Petito seems reluctant to speak out about any aggression from Laundrie in the video. She claims that she struck him first. She claims that he also locked her out the van and told her calm down.
Petito, still crying, tells the officer that she's having a "stressed day".
When asked about the scratch on her forehead and the new mark on her left shoulder she initially suggested that she was injured by hitting a backpack.
She said that Laundrie had first slapped her when she was pressed. She said, "He kept telling my to shut up."
Petito speaking to Moab City Police Officers on August 12. Moab City Police Department
She describes Laundrie grasping her arm. She then says, "He like, grabbed me face, like that," gesturing to show her.
Continue the story
"He didn’t punch me or do anything to me. ... He grabbed his nail and I think this is why it looks like he was grabbing at me. It is very tangible. It burns when I touch it," she said.
He also asked about the argument that preceded the physical assault. Petito said that she was trying to complete work and had "apologized" to Laundrie. When she's tidying up, she says she can have a "mean attitude".
She says, "So I was just apologizing. But I guess I did it with a mean tone. He got really frustrated and locked me out the car and said, 'Let’s take a break.'" She added that this made her even more upset.
Brian Laundrie speaking to Moab City Police Officers on August 12. Moab City Police Department
The officer can also be heard asking Laundrie questions about the incident earlier in the footage. He told him that there were reports of a man striking a woman.
"I don’t have the time to defend myself, so I just pushed her away." "She gets really upset, and when that happens, she swings, and she had her phone in her hand. So I was trying to push her away," Laundrie explains.
Later, Laundrie can be seen laughing as an officer invites him into the shade.
The officer can be heard saying, "I know how it works." From what we heard, we were more concerned about the type of guy you were when we first arrived. It seems to me that maybe this isn't so simple, if you talk to your girlfriend.
Laundrie also has facial scratches, according to the officer.
Although Petito was being considered by the Moab City Police Department for domestic violence charges, the department ultimately labelled the fight as a mental-health episode. The couple were then separated.
After Petito's disappearance, and his death, an investigation is underway into the department's handling at the August 12 stop.
Insider has the original article.
