Gabby Petito: Utah officials haven’t ruled out link between unsolved double murder and missing YouTuber
‘We’re looking at everything, I mean, anything and everything that was suspicious around that time,’ sheriff’s office says
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Investigators in a Utah resort town are refusing to rule out a possible connection between the unsolved murders of a newlywed couple and missing YouTuber Gabby Petito.
Kylen Schulte, 24, and Crystal Turner, 38, were last seen at a bar in Moab on August 13, and their bodies were found five days later at a campsite in the South Mesa area of the La Sal Mountains.
Moab police revealed on Wednesday they were called to a violent argument between Ms Petito, 22, and her boyfriend Brian Laundrie on August 12 in the town.
Police officers attending the incident said Ms Petito had tried to hit Mr Laundrie after she feared he might drive off without her, causing her boyfriend to try to restrain her.
The incident was not deemed serious enough to merit domestic violence charges, and police sent Mr Laundrie to a hotel for the night while Ms Petito stayed in the van.
There is no evidence to connect the two incidents, but the timing and proximity to each other has prompted further unease in the town.
On Wednesday, a spokesman from the Grand County Sheriff’s Office told Fox News they were looking at any suspicious activity around the time of the double homicide.
“We’re looking at everything, I mean, anything and everything that was suspicious around that time or we’re not ruling anything out at this time,” a spokesman for the sheriff’s office said.
“So we’re just investigating the information as it comes in.”
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Ms Schulte and Ms Turner worked in Moab had only recently married, and lived in a campsite near the town.
The couple were last seen leaving local bar Woody’s Tavern at around 8.30pm on 13 August.
Earlier this month, KUTV reported that the Grand County Sheriff’s Office believe someone killed the women and fled the area. They are yet to identify a suspect in the case.
Unsealed search warrants filed in court this week said the newlywed couple were found by a friend partially undressed in a nearby creek with multiple gunshot wounds.
On Wednesday, police in Utah released body camera footage of Ms Petito and her boyfriend Mr Laundrie, almost a month before a search got underway for the 22-year-old.
The almost hour-long video shows officers from Moab City Police Department separating Ms Petito and Mr Laundrie, who returned from a road trip without the Long Island native about a week ago, prompting an investigation.
He has since been named as a person of interest by police in North Port, Florida, where the pair lived together.
The body camera footage shows officers interviewing Ms Petito and Mr Laundrie, who reportedly fought before a witness called 911 with concerns for the pair. No charges were filed.
The couple had been mostly staying in campgrounds as they embarked on a cross-country ‘van-life’ trip which they were documenting on Instagram and YouTube.
The FBI is working with local law enforcement in both cases.