The Gabby Petito Foundation is hard at work to end domestic violence.
The foundation was started in honor of the late 22-year-old. It is gearing up to make a sizable donation to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
Gabby’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, was interviewed by NBC News’ Kate Snow, and a portion of the interview aired on “TODAY” on Thursday, August 4.
Gabby Petito Foundation Is Helping Put A Stop To Domestic Violence
In honor or her daughter, The Gabby Petito foundation has pledged to donate $100,000.00 to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
Following Gabby’s death, the NDVH saw an uptick in calls and chats, according to NBC. This summer, the hotline became overwhelmed with two-times the amount of calls and chats compared to last year.
The $100k donation will allow the NDVH hire more staff, which will help combat long phone call wait times.
The CEO of the National Domestic Violence Hotline, Katie Ray-Jones, said the donation will help save lives.
National Domestic Violence Hotline To Receive $100k Donation
“Every potential call that’s coming is someone’s life and that’s how we have to think about this. Time is precious. Lives are precious,” Ray-Jones explained.
September marks the one-year anniversary since Gabby’s body was discovered in a Wyoming national park. Coroners predicted she was killed sometime in August 2021.
When asked how she’s doing ahead of Gabby’s one-year memorial, Schmidt replied, “It’s hard. We’re trying to do good… for Gabby and for everybody else.”
Gabby’s life was cut way too short by her fiancé, Brian Laundrie. The couple were on a cross-country national parks road trip tour starting in July 2021.
Little did Gabby’s family know that she was a victim of domestic violence.
“Our story begins because of domestic violence tragedy and we don’t want to see that happen to anybody else,” Schmidt told Snow.
Schmidt Wanted To Jump Through The Screen & Save Her Daughter
While rewatching police body camera footage of her daughter in the back of a cop car, Schmidt admitted, “I wanted to jump through the screen and rescue my daughter. She’s hurting. She’s scared.”
When asked if she thought their road trip was the only time domestic violence had happened in Gabby and Brian’s relationship Schmidt said, “In hindsight, looking at that, no.”
In June, Schmidt shared a post about narcissist.
It read, “Narcissists rewrite history to escape accountability. You are not crazy.”
Snow asked Schmidt about the tweet and the message it conveyed.
“That was his character. Even in his last moments, he wanted to make sure he looked like the good guy, right? That’s ridiculous. We know how she died,” she said.
You may recall, the contents of Brian’s notebook were made public in June. In the multi-page manifesto, the 23-year-old admitted to killing his fiancée, not out of spite, but out of mercy.
He claims she fell in a creek and injured herself so badly that she could no longer walk.
Nichole Believes Brian’s Confession Is A 100% Untrue
“I ended her life, I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted, but I see now all the mistakes I made. I panicked, I was in shock,” he wrote in his notebook. “But from the moment I decided, took away her pain, I knew I couldn’t go on without her.”
Schmidt believes Brian’s reason for ending Gabby’s life is 100% untrue.
The Laundrie’s family attorney had no comment.
Despite the tragic end of her daughter’s life, Schmidt is very proud of her little girl.
“She touched the world, right. This whole tragedy that happened is for a higher purpose. That’s what keeps me going,” she said.
