New video reveals Gabby Petito did tell Moab police Laundrie hit her, but they let him go
‘He didn’t, like, hit me in the face,’ says Petito, as she explains to police how she got a cut
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Your support makes all the difference.Deceased travel blogger Gabby Petito told Utah police that Brian Landrie hit her before changing her statement and saying she hit him first, according to newly released bodycam footage.
In the new video taken from a second officer’s bodycam on 12 August, and only now released by the Moab city police department, Petito is seen narrating a violent fight that took place between her and her boyfriend Mr Laundrie — who still remains at large.
“And he hit you though?” the second officer asks in the video, adding “we just want to know the truth.”
“I guess, I guess, yeah,” says a visibly distressed Petito, adding “but I hit him first.”
She adds Mr Laundrie grabbed her face but quickly clarifies that he did not punch or hit her.
“He didn’t like hit me in the face,” she said. “He didn’t, like, punch me in the face or anything.”
“Did he slap your face, or what?” the officer asked.
“Well he like, grabbed me with his nail, and I guess that’s why it looks, I definitely have a cut right here,” she said, rubbing her cheek.
The video is from the12 August traffic stop of the couple where footage from one bodycam had already shown there was a fight between the two, sparking concerns that they may have been in an abusive relationship before her disappearance and death. A witness also claimed he saw Mr Laundrie hitting her.
However, now with this new video emerging from a second officer’s bodycam, which was first reported by Fox News, it is clear that the police took separate interviews of both Petito and Mr Laundrie where she confirmed the incident.
“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,” Petito further says in the video. “And I wanted to get going. We’re out of water.”
Mr Laundrie on the other hand told the police he just pushed her away.
“I pushed her away,” he tells the officer. “She gets really worked up, and when she does she swings and she had her cell phone in her hand. So I was just trying to push her away.”
The search for Mr Laundrie has been extended for a second week now as the FBI again visited his residence in North Port, Florida, on Thursday, according to CNN.
“The FBI is at the Laundrie home today to collect some personal items belonging to Brian that will assist the canines in their search for Brian,” Steven Bertolino, the Laundrie family attorney, told CNN. “There is nothing more to this.”
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