Gabby Petito’s murder “might have been prevented” if Moab, Utah, police had stepped in, according to a new lawsuit filed by her family.
A notice of claim for a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit, filed Monday, accuses three Moab officers and 10 others of “negligent failure” in their investigation into the alleged assault between 22-year-old Petito and her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, just weeks before he murdered her in August 2021.
The Long Island, New York, couple had been on a cross-country van road trip, building Petito’s influencer status, when they stopped in Moab on Aug. 12. At a coffee shop, a witness reported the pair “talking aggressively,” according to a police report cited in the notice. Laundrie allegedly grabbed Petito’s phone and tried to stop her from getting into the van. A second witness called 911 to report seeing Laundrie “slapping” Petito and that he “hit her” while chasing her along the sidewalk.
