Gabby Petito’s family has released a never before seen photograph that shows the late travel blogger with blood on her face. The photo was taken right before police arrived at the scene of a domestic violence incident involving her and her ex-fiance Brian Laundrie in August 2021.
The law firm representing Gabby Petito’s family, Parker & McConkie, first mentioned the existence of this photo in their November 2022 wrongful death lawsuit against the Moab City Police Department. It appears that Gabby Petito took the photograph herself roughly fifteen minutes before police encountered them outside Moonflower Co-op, an organic grocer in Moab.
According to data recovered from her phone, authorities believe that she snapped this picture at 4:37 pm – around the same time a witness called 911 to report Brian Laundrie hitting Gabby Petito and trying to drive off without her.
When officers arrived on the scene approximately 15 minutes later, they interviewed both individuals for nearly an hour but failed to document or further investigate Petito’s injury despite it being shown to Officer Eric Pratt by Gabby herself.
The city of Moab has declined any comment on this ongoing matter of litigation due to its sensitive nature and state laws prohibiting public discussion of such cases until their conclusion in court.
It is a tragedy that yet another instance of domestic abuse had been overlooked by those responsible for protecting victims like Gabby Petito and preventing further harm from occurring. This case serves as an example of why we must not be complacent when it comes to standing up for victims of domestic violence no matter who they are or where they are from.
