Newly released body cam video shows bruises on Gabby Petito’s arm and cheek

MOAB, Utah —  The Moab police department released new body cam video of an officer speaking with Gabby Petito in August. This footage shows the conversation that another officer had with Petito after she and her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, were pulled over after receiving calls of a possible domestic violence situation.

The body cam video shows an officer asking Petito if Laundrie hit or punched her. Petito said, “He didn’t punch me, he just grabbed me and his nails scratched me her (her cheek).  It burns when I touch it.”

 

 

The video also shows Petito saying she hit Laundrie first and then he grabbed her.  Petito is visibly upset and crying throughout the encounter.

New body cam footage of Gabby Petito released

Officer
What happened over at moonflower?

Gabby Petito
I was just really stressed this morning trying to get a lot of work done and I was apologizing to him. I had thrown a bunch of stuff in the back and all our bags are back there and I was just apologizing. I was like, I’m sorry that I get so stressed out. Because I have OCD and I was just like organizing stuff and sometimes I just have a  mean attitude, but I’m not trying to be mean about straightening things up and stuff. So I was just apologizing, but I guess, I said it in like a mean tone. And he got really frustrated with me and he locked me out of the car and told me to go take a breather, but I didn’t want to take a breather. Because I wanted to get going, we’re out of water.

Officer
So it kind of made you more upset. It made you more upset. And then what happened?

Gabby Petito
So our goal was to come here and refill our water.

Officer
Are you guys living out of the van right now? On travels?

Gabby Petito
Yeah. So it was just really…

Officer
So what happened after he locked you out and told you to take a breather?

Gabby Petito
He walked away to go take his own breather. But I wanted to sit in the car because all my stuff was in the car.

So I was working on something in the moment in the car and he told me to just relax for a second and I didn’t want to relax so I got really mad. I don’t mean to be mad.

Officer
It happens. Then what happened? After he got mad?

Gabby Petito
Then I told him to drive to get water because I was really thirsty.

Officer
Is there something on your cheek here? Looks like did you get, did you get hit in the face? Kind of looks like some like hit you in the face. Then over on your arm, shoulder right here? That’s new. You have a new mark. Let’s see the other side. So what happened here and here?

Gabby Petito
I’m not sure I was just trying to get in the back of the car.

Officer
So the backpack gotcha? So there’s two people that came to us and told us that they saw him hit you. There’s two people saying that they saw him punch you. We just independent witnesses by moonflower

Gabby Petito
Well to be honest, I definitely hit him first

Officer
Where’d you hit him?

Gabby Petito
I slapped him in the face.

Officer
You slapped him first? Just on his face?

Gabby Petito
He kept telling me to shut up.

Officer
How many times did you slap him?

Gabby Petito
Just a couple, maybe

Officer
And then what his reaction was to do what?

Gabby Petito
He grabbed my arm so I wouldn’t slap him.

Officer
He just grabbed you. Did he, did he hit you though? I mean I mean it’s okay. If you’re saying if you hit him and then I understand if he hit you but we want to know the truth that he actually hit you. Because you know

Gabby Petito
I guess, I guess, but I hit him first.

Officer
Where did he hit you?

Gabby Petito
Well, he grabbed my face, like, I guess. He didn’t hit me in the face, he didn’t like punch me in the face or anything.

Officer
Did he slap you in the face or what?

Gabby Petito
He like grabbed me like with his nail and I guess that’s why it looks, I definitely have a cut right here because I can feel it and when I touch it it burns.

Search for Laundrie continues

Petito’s body was found in Wyoming three weeks after the couple were stopped in Moab.  Laundrie is still the only person of interest in the case, a medical examiner ruled Petito’s cause of death as a homicide.

The search is still underway to locate Laundrie.

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