Gabby Petito's Parents Sue Utah Police: 'Gabby Would Be Alive Today'
By MLC on November 3, 2022 at 7:15 PM EDT
Gabby Petito’s parent’s will not stop fighting for their late daughter.
Nichole Schmidt and Joseph Petito are making sure everyone who ultimately aided in her murder at the hands of Brian Laundrie pay for their mistakes.
On Thursday, November 3rd, Gabby’s parents and legal team filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Moab City Police Department in Utah.
Moab City PD Have Been Sued By Gabby Petito's Parents
You’ll recall that Gabby and Laundrie were stopped by Moab police officers in August 2021, the same month she is believed to have been murdered, after an anonymous caller tipped them off about a domestic violence situation.
The caller told dispatchers they saw a man [Laundrie] slapping a woman [Gabby].
Police body camera footage shows a very distressed Gabby recounting how her fiancé grabbed her face, scratched her and also pushed her.
A different body camera shows Laundrie smiling, laughing and accusing Gabby of being emotional and hysterical.
Moab City Police Officer Eric Pratt Has A History Of Domestic Violence
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One of the family’s lawyer, James W. McConkie, also announced that new information was found by Gabby’s family that one of the officers, Eric Pratt, who spoke to their daughter during the traffic is accused of having a history of domestic abuse.
“[Pratt] was a domestic abuser, who has used authority and threats of physical violence to control and intimidate sexual partners," according to another Petito family attorney, Brian Stewart.
He believes the officer was “fundamentally biased and likely ignored Gabby.
"All police departments need to follow the law as it's written," the lawyer said.
"Gabby Would Still Be Alive Today" If Officer Pratt Did His Job
Gabby’s family is asking for an investigation into the police department as to why the officer was allowed to still be on the force.
“We believe that Gabby would be alive today if he had done his job to enforce the law as is written and protected Gabby that day," he said.
The Petito family announced they planned to file the $50 million lawsuit back in early August.
McConkie explained the purpose of the lawsuit in a statement.
The Purpose Of The Lawsuit Is To Combat Domestic Violence
"The epidemic of domestic violence is a silent killer, the sign and symptoms of which often go unrecognized by those not familiar with interpersonal violence. ... To combat domestic violence, each of us has to do our part to call out abusers and know how to identify systemic problems that enable abuse, even when that is difficult to do," he said.
The Moab City PD responded to the wrongful death lawsuit claiming their officers were not responsible for Gabby’s murder.
Moab city said it “will ardently defend” against the lawsuit and that its police officers acted "with findings, respect and empathy toward Ms. Petito.”
The city noted that Gabby’s death occurred over two weeks after their run-in with Moab police and in another state.
The Blast recently reported on Chris and Roberta Laundrie filing a motion to limit questioning in their upcoming deposition.
According to Fox News, attorneys for Chris and Roberta filed a motion asking the court to enforce a narrow line of questioning regarding the murder of Gabby.
The defense team is asking Judge Hunter Carroll to limit questions to details from August 27, 2021 to September 19, 2021.
Gabby’s parents believe she was murdered on or around August 27th and her remains were discovered in a Wyoming national park on September 19th.
"We are just looking to confine the questioning to matters and the time frame relevant to the claim that has been filed," Laundrie family attorney Steve Bertolino said Friday, October 28th.
The motion acknowledges that Petito’s family and the public at large are searching for more answers in connection to the 22-year-old’s death; however, it also argues that public interest is not enough to compel the Laundries to answer a broader range of questions.
