November 23, 2024 • 42 mins
Gabby Petito was strangled by her then boyfriend Brian Laundrie while the pair were on a cross-country van trip. The FBI report states that Laundrie confesses to the murder in a hand written notebook, found near the remains of Laundrie's body after he committed suicide. According to the report, Laundrie tried to cover up Petito's death by using the woman's debit card, and then also sending text messages from her phone, to give the impression that Gabby was still alive. During the trip, a domestic violence episode was caught on Moab police body cam, after a 911 call came in reporting a man slapping a woman.
The footage shows Petito was injured with scratches and bruises. Police determined however that Petito was the aggressor, after she admitted hitting Laundrie. The pair was separated for the night, with no domestic violence counseling.
Petito's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Moab Police Department. Utah's 7th District Court Judge Don Torgerson dismissed the case, citing governmental immunity. Torgerson said he is bound to follow the law as it currently exists and follow rulings of other courts. The Petito's attorney argued to end just the police immunity. He added the Court of Appeals has the authority to determine whether the governmental immunity law is constitutional.
Joining Nancy Grace Today:
- Kathleen Murphy - Raleigh, North Carolina, Attorney at TriangleDivorceLawyers.com
- Caryn Stark - Psychologist, renowned TV and Radio trauma expert and consultant, www.carynstark.com, Instagram: carynpsych, FB: Caryn Stark Private Practice
- Lisa Dadio - Former Police Lieutenant, New Haven Police Department, Annie Le Lead Detective, Senior Lecturer, Director of the Center for Advanced Policing and Graduate Program Coordinator, Investigations program, University of New Haven
- Kristy Mazurek - Emmy Award-winning Investigative Reporter
- Mike Hadsell - President and Founder, Peace River K9 Search and Rescue, Twitter: @K9River, PRSAR.org
- Dale Carson - Criminal Defense Attorney (Jacksonville), Former FBI Agent, Former Police Officer, Author: "Arrest-Proof Yourself, DaleCarsonLaw.com
- Sheryl McCollum - Forensic Expert & Cold Case Investigative Research Institute Founder, ColdCaseCrimes.org, Twitter: @ColdCaseTips
- Joe Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics: Jacksonville State University, Author, "Blood Beneath My Feet", Host: "Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan"
- Mahsa Saeidi - Investigative Reporter, WFLA-TV (Tampa), Twitter/Instagram: @MahsaWho, Facebook: "WFLAMahsa"
- Dale Carson - High Profile Attorney (Jacksonville), Former FBI Agent, Former Police Officer, Author: "Arrest-Proof Yourself, DaleCarsonLaw.com
- Dr. Bethany Marshall - Psychoanalyst, www.drbethanymarshall.com, New Netflix show: 'Bling Empire' (Beverly Hills)
- Joe Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics: Jacksonville State University, Author, "Blood Beneath My Feet", Host: "Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan"
- Michael Ruiz - Reporter, Fox News Digital, Twitter: @MikeRreports
- Wendy Patrick - California prosecutor, author “Red Flags” www.wendypatrickphd.com 'Today with Dr. Wendy' on KCBQ in San Diego, Twitter: @WendyPatrickPHD
- Dr. Angela Arnold - Psychiatrist, Atlanta GA www.angelaarnoldmd.com, Expert in the Treatment of Pregnant/Postpartum Women, Former Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology: Emory University, Former Medical Director of The Psychiatric Ob-Gyn Clinic at Grady Memorial Hospita
- Sheryl McCollum - Forensic Expert & Cold Case Investigative Research Institute Founder, ColdCaseCrimes.org, Twitter: @ColdCaseTips
- Joe Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics: Jacksonville State University, Author, "Blood Beneath My Feet", Host: "Body Bags with Joseph Sco
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace Can the family of murder
victim a beautiful young girl, Gabby Petito bring a wrongful
death lawsuit against the Moat Police Department for Gabby's death.
(00:24):
If you will recall, Gabby and her killer slash fiance,
Brian Laundry, were pulled over by Moab police. Witnesses had
seen Brian Laundry hitting Gabby in the face. Yet after
(00:45):
Brian Laundry takes off in the car and Gabby Potito's
for a transit, almost leaving her behind, she had to
try and jump in the car window. He was leaving
not only in her for transit, but everything she owned
in the world. She had single handedly customized the transit
(01:09):
for a cross country trip in the heat of the moment.
After hitting her in the face, he tries to drive
off with her transit at all her worldly belongings. She
finally gets in and not too far out of the city,
she's pulled over along with Laundry who's driving, and believe
it or not, the Moa police name her as the
(01:33):
aggressor and let them go. It was within hours that
Gabby Petito was murdered by her violent fiancee, Brian laundry.
So bottom line, can her family sue the Moa Police Department? Well,
as of right now, believe it or not, the answer
(01:57):
is no. But let me get I predict this case
ain't over yet and that it will become extremely complicated
and contentious. Remember this happened in Moab, Utah. The Utah
(02:17):
Seventh District Court Judge Don Torgerson agreed with the city
of Moab. They requested that the Gabby Potito family motion
be dismissed, and the judge went along with it. He
basically said, this is too big for a district court
(02:39):
to decide, and appeals courts will have to determine if
the Potitos had a case. Now, many people argue that
Judge Torgerson had no choice but grant the request to
dismiss the case based on something called governmental immunity. It's
(03:00):
also called sovereign immunity, which dates all the way back
to our common law from Great Britain. The king can
do no wrong. In other words, you can't sue the
king and hear you can't sue the government. So what
of the Potatoes are asking is for the judge to
(03:21):
rule against sovereign immunity. Well, I think everybody else is wrong.
I think Torgersen could have gone along with the Potatos,
but he hid behind his robes and decided not to act.
Let's do a little reality check about what happened to
(03:42):
Gabby Potito. Take a listen to our friend Jenna Dangeli's
at CBS two.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
An emotional mother holding on to a photo of her
daughter is desperate for her to come home.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Scary and nerve wrecking. We don't sleep, We're just actively
looking for her.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Gabby Potito's family reported her missing Saturday to Suffolk County Police.
The twenty two year old with blue point was on
a cross country road trip, but kept in touch with
her mom at.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Least three times a week. We've been FaceTime called tex frequently.
She kept me updated on this whole trip.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Her mother says they last facetimed about three weeks ago.
The last text she received was on August thirtieth.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
The first couple.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Of days, though I wasn't getting responses.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
I believe she was in a place with no service.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
It took it was like day eight and nine that
I really became concerned.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
I've been on that exact route before with the twins
in an RV and the mom is right. There are
a lot of desk spots where you can't get a
sale to call out. We're looking at behavioral evidence. How
many days had passed before mom realized something was wrong?
Take a listen to our friends at CBS two.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Police say she's believed to have last been in Wyoming's
Grand Teetown National Park. Video of the trip was uploaded
to YouTube August nineteenth. Her mother says she left New
York early July for the trip, which was set to
end in Oregon next month. She was traveling in his
white van, which police say has been recovered.
Speaker 5 (05:12):
I just believe she's in danger because is she not
in touch with us and she could be alone somewhere,
She could be stranded somewhere in the wilderness and.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
She needs help. Well, is that what happened? Does she
and her boyfriend have an argument and he she stormed off?
Did he just leaver stranded? My question is why is
he not being forthcoming and telling the story as to
what happened to Gabrielle? As I told you, the van
is found in his parents' driveway back in Florida. But no, Gabby,
(05:44):
how did it all start? Take a listen to April
Baker Fox thirteen.
Speaker 6 (05:49):
Gabby is originally from New York, but she was living
in Florida with her fiance at the time they took
off on the road trip back in July. Her family
tells Fox News that the couple touring national parks and
a converted camper van before heading to Salt Lake City.
The couple actually documented most of their trip on Instagram
and YouTube. You're seeing it here, some of it showing
(06:11):
them hanging out in a tent outside Capital Reef. Gabby's mom, Nicole,
says she last spoke on the phone with her daughter
August twenty fifth.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
That's very critical as a matter of fact, because that
travel on video, which I have watched over and over
and over, it's call I think nomadic static with the K,
static with the K and it's very engrossing. It makes
you want to be with them on the camp or
this beautiful, wonderful trip. But it's critical to me because
(06:43):
her last Instagram posting linked to that video, and that's
really the last day as I understand the timeline that
we know her to be safe and alive about the video.
Take a listen to her video Van Life. Take a
tiny listen. Yeah, I mean Pa never goes outside. You know,
(07:09):
you hear this beautiful, whimsical music throughout and it shows
them traveling the country. A lot of the shots our
video as they're you know, looking out the window as
they're flying past desert. They went to the Delicate Arch,
they went to the Mystic Hot Springs, They covered everything
beautiful in the West. How did it all go so
(07:31):
horribly wrong? With me? An all star panel to try
to make some sense of what we know right now?
Speaker 7 (07:38):
With me?
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Renowned trial attorney you know her well, Kathleen Murphy joining
us out of North Carolina. You can find her at
NC Domestic Law dot com. Karen is Stark, you know
her well. She is a psychologist, joining us out of
Manhattan at Karenstark dot com on Facebook Karen Stark. That's
with a c who hasized nearly every high profile criminal
(08:04):
case that I can think of. Joining me Lisa M. Daddio,
a former police lieutenant. And you have a police department
lecturer and the director of the Center for Advanced Policing
in be Haven and Emmy Award winning investigative reporter Christy Missourich. Christy,
let's start at the beginning, tell me about how the
road trip. With the inception of the road.
Speaker 8 (08:25):
Trip, they were living together in Florida, and this boyfriend
promotes himself as a nature enthusiast's.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Stop, what do you? May promote himself well.
Speaker 8 (08:39):
On Facebook, in all of his other social media he
promotes himself as a nature enthusiast and believes that getting
bug bites out in the beauty of the world are
better than being brainwashed by the media his words.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
What's wrong with that? You say it like there's something
wrong with being a nature enthusiast? And I want to
ask you, is nature enthusiast? Are those your words? Are
his words?
Speaker 8 (09:02):
His words? His words?
Speaker 1 (09:03):
And nature? Can I ask you this? What does he
do for a living other than be enthusiastic about nature?
Speaker 8 (09:10):
Working at a public's grocery store?
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Okay, Oh, I'm glad you said that, because they both
worked at publics. But that's not where they met. Okay,
I'm interrupting you.
Speaker 9 (09:19):
Go ahead?
Speaker 8 (09:19):
Will They originally meet in New York State and then
he leaves with his parents to go to Florida. She
follows a few years later, so earlier this summer, they
decide that they are going to leave all of their
valuables behind and transform this van into a mini camper,
(09:40):
travel up to see her brother graduate in New York State,
and then cross the country on this excursion.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Now it's my understanding. Christy, Missouri. They knew each other
way back way back home in Suffolk County.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Then she.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Goes. Then they meet each other again years later, slightly
meeting an old high school friend, and they fall in love.
He moves to Florida, she comes down with him. Her father,
her bio dad, also moves to Florida to be near her.
The mom and her new husband stay in New York.
Is my understanding, and then they travel back to New
(10:18):
York for her little brother's high school graduation, and from
there they commence the road trip Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.
In the last hours, a judge dismisses Gabby Petito's family
(10:42):
suit against the Moab Police. I think it's completely wrong,
but it happened. A Disha Court judge dismissed the case
against the Moab Police Department. Now Justin Burton, who is
Gab's family lawyer, argued the ability to file a suit
(11:05):
like this is built into the Utah Constitution and that
the government immunity. As I was describing earlier, sovereign immunity
is unconstitutional, completely unconstitutional. Now, the judge, as I've seen
so many times before, this is Judge Don Torttersen goes
(11:28):
to great links to explain before he dismissed it how
he had to follow the law. Well, if this is
the lawn, the law is an ass okay, and Torgerson
went along with it. What happened, Sharon Stark? It looks
like something off HGTV where they have people that live
(11:50):
they redo a little house or a house on wheels,
or traveling campers, and you're on the room and it's
so amazing and it's escapist, but this was their real life.
Gabby Gabrielle and boyfriend Laundry go on this What's in
a lifetime fantastic trip and they video blog it and
(12:14):
the blog is engrossing in one part. Karen, I mean,
I watched the whole thing, which is rare for me.
She's in her tent. She says, we're going to hang
out at the campsite today and it all looks so
cozy and perfect, and you can see this beautiful natural
scenery that most of us just dream of seeing one
day in the background and then one day it's raining
(12:37):
and she's holding the tent up like that because she
says the rain's coming in and she's laughing. She's just
so happy and it makes you want to go along
with them. She's got a very inviting personality.
Speaker 10 (12:51):
She's totally engrossing, and the whole trip. The only thing
that's what makes it so mysterious and upsetting to think
about how beautiful is coming across and she totally disappeared.
And Nancy, when you watched that, the only thing that
you can find is that she talks about how precarious
(13:11):
it is that they like to climb, and they really
like to climb things that are difficult.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
You know, that's so funny, funny. Odd. I was up
super early this morning studying about Gabrielle Gabby and was
discussing it with my friend Medea, and she said, well,
what if they were posting on a cliff and Gabby
fell off? And my response was that could possibly have happened,
(13:38):
But why would he get in the van and come
all the way back home to Florida. Is it north
Port or North north Point, Christy Masurich, It's north Port
Port Port.
Speaker 8 (13:52):
Nancy, to your point of all the cliff climbing. On
August twenty third, Gabby didn't post on Instagram that the
pair were doing adventurous and risky hikes through some dangerous
terrain during their stay. That was one of her last posts.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
You know, back to you, Karen, with that knowledge. You know,
Christy massourk is right, the hiking was very forcarious. As
a matter of fact, if that happened, why would he
drive all the way back to Northport, Florida, which I
think is Sarasota County and not say a word to
(14:32):
anybody if she fell off a cliff, or even if
they had an argument, Karen and she's like, I'm not
going anymore, this is it and leaves number one? Why
would he leave or stranded if that's what happened, but
to come all the way back home and not tell
everybody what happened.
Speaker 10 (14:50):
Either this is really a nefarious character and he planned
something all along, or he went into shock. Something really
did happen to her and he.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
Couldn't cope with it and not a hand Karen, Karen, Karen, Karen, Karen, Karen.
If he could drive across country and operate a van
having to stop, I guess for gas or food. That's
not a shock to me. When you're in shock, you
can't think straight.
Speaker 11 (15:18):
Not necessarily.
Speaker 10 (15:20):
He could get himself home. He could have punished. And
that's the only thing I could think of that would
make sense out of it. Unless he actually had planned all.
Speaker 7 (15:30):
Along to do something.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
I don't believe that there was a plan all along
to do something. I don't believe that. Guys. Take a
listen to our cut five. I loved it.
Speaker 5 (15:44):
So we are right outside Capital Reef right now in
a free dispersed camp spot. And we've been lucky so
far at all the places we stayed, but I say
this is one of the best so far. Since we
left in New York, I've only set up my Hammick ones.
They were all do way in Utah, and luckily enough,
I was able to setup my handmack.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
One of these trees, and they're kind of like in
the desert.
Speaker 5 (16:06):
I heard a few trees.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
It just sounds so beautiful. And I also noticed, straight
out to you, Kathleen Murphy, North Carolina trial lawyer Kathleen,
I noticed throughout he spoke very little. It's mostly her
shooting the video and speaking. He did occasionally speak, but
I want to know what you make of it, Kathleen.
Speaker 11 (16:27):
Well, first, Nancy, I went and tried to do a
deep dive on who this guy is. In all of
his social media accounts, there's nothing. Prior to meeting this
young lady. I knew nothing about him except what.
Speaker 12 (16:40):
He is like with this young lady.
Speaker 10 (16:42):
I did, and.
Speaker 12 (16:44):
It's concerning to me that we don't know much.
Speaker 11 (16:46):
And you know, I have a daughter about the same
age and I know her boyfriend pretty well.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
And I went and deep dived on his social media account.
Speaker 11 (16:54):
I can't find anything about this young guy before he
met this girl.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
How old is Well, from what we understand, he is
a twenty three year old young man. That's my understanding
of his age, Kathleen, twenty three.
Speaker 11 (17:09):
He looks a lot older on his pictures, but it
seems to me that he would have high school pictures
and work pictures and family pictures out there. But I
didn't find anything, and so I don't really know if
the family knows much about him.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Well, I would think that they do. Christy, Missouri, because
my understanding of how the two knew each other is
they knew each other previously, and there's not much previously.
The only she's only twenty two, so she had to
know him in high school or college. She had to
know him at that point. Then they reconnect and then
(17:45):
fall in love. That's my understanding. So the family had
to know him if she knew him in her past.
Speaker 8 (17:50):
She's only twenty two, correct, they didn't go to high
school together, and they knew Brian in passing in passing
and when they reconnected, they time gave the duel their blessing.
That's why her biological father moved down to Florida to
be close to them.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Listen to Nicole Schmidt is Gabby's mother, and Jim Schmidt,
her stepfather, at their most recent press conference. When she left,
what did she say, like Cima, we sit on my height?
What did she what was it like?
Speaker 13 (18:23):
We hig?
Speaker 1 (18:24):
We gave them some money, so you know they needed
it because they're kids. You know, they were excited.
Speaker 6 (18:30):
About the truth.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
They left on July second from New York. What was
the hardest of the trip?
Speaker 5 (18:35):
On the many what are they wanted to do?
Speaker 3 (18:37):
Camping, hiking, seeing the country?
Speaker 12 (18:41):
What was both truth?
Speaker 1 (18:44):
The trip was the end in October and Shortland Oregon.
Speaker 14 (18:49):
And what was the last conversation you had with her
on video chat?
Speaker 5 (18:52):
Whether she's say, I believe it was around the twenty
third and for the twenty fourth I can't recall, but
she was having a great time.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
She said she was headed up to Wyoming. So the
last time that we see her they were facetiming, to
my understanding, was around let's give it the benefit of
the doubt, August twenty four. She was not reported missing
by her family until September eleven. Why well, you heard
(19:22):
the mother stating that she thought Gabby had gone into
a remote area where there's no cell phone coverage, so
she chalked it off. Now, they were speaking every three
days or so by FaceTime, and her bio dad was
also speaking to her. So the first three days past
and she thinks, well, she's in a bad cell area.
(19:43):
Then we get to the next three days as she
still does not.
Speaker 7 (19:47):
Hear from her.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
So you go August twenty four, you pass six days,
you're now at August thirty. Then she finds out, to
my understanding, that the boyfriend comes back home on September
eleven in the van with no Gabby. That is when
she not the boyfriend reports Gabby missing. I don't like it.
(20:13):
I don't like it one bit. A judge has granted
the defense motion to dismiss the family of Gabby Potito's
lawsuit against Moab Police Department. It was a virtual hearing
in the last hours. The state argued a lawsuit like
this should not be filed against the Moab PD because
(20:33):
of sovereign immunity. The king can do no wrong. It's
a holdover from Anglo Saxon common law that we brought
with us when we settled America from Great Britain. Well,
I got a curve ball for you, judge. If this
is the law, then the laws asked, do I need
(20:54):
to jog your memory, Judge Jorgerson, about what happened to
Gabby Potito? Okay, I will. I want you to take
a listen to what we know about the van showing up.
Take a listen to our cut twenty four. It's Evan Exelbank.
Our friends at Fox thirteen.
Speaker 15 (21:10):
Police found the van that they were potentially by the
boyfriend's parents. They're now processing that. They've toted it away
and are looking through it for any evidence they can find.
Family in New York say that Gabrielle Pateto was on
a cross country trip, leaving Long Island on July tewod
They were headed to Oregon, but stoppering numerous places along
(21:31):
the way, documenting their journey in their van on YouTube.
Family last spoke with her August twenty fourth or twenty fifth,
and last texted.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
With her August thirtieth.
Speaker 15 (21:41):
She was reported missing this weekend September eleventh, and they
may have reached as far as Grand Teton National Park.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
What happened that fateful moment when Moap police ignored all
the signs that Gabby Berttita was a domestic violence victim,
named her the aggressor, and sent her along her way
with her killer body cam video. Let's go Tyler, if
(22:11):
you could play cut to zero eight. This is Adrian
Banker Muse Nation now.
Speaker 16 (22:16):
Biddi camera video has been released from Gabby Patito and
Brian Laundry's heated exchange in Utah back in August, and it.
Patito admits she hit Laundry first, but that then he
grabbed her face after and dug his nails into her face.
The officer is heard on this camera footage this video
footage telling Laundry that he is the victim of domestic assault.
Speaker 4 (22:37):
The police chief has taken a sudden leave of absence,
and now the city is looking into how the police
officers involved handled the situation when they were called to
stop there with Gabby and with Brian, and many people
criticizing this incident because the police called Brian the victim
in this situation.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Let me go straight out to Marsacaiety joining us WFLATV.
How come we didn't say that bodycam video to start with.
Speaker 17 (23:04):
Great question, A great question and a question that we're asking.
And another question, is there any other bodycam video that
we haven't seen yet. There's a female law enforcement officer
on that scene, and she is according to the two
bodycam videos that we have seen already, she does appear
to be talking with Gabby alone while Gabby is in
the back of that police cruiser. You know, sometimes a
(23:27):
girl might reveal more information to another to another woman,
So it'd be very interesting to see if there's any
other bodycam video and feel free to chime in. But
I did think I saw possibly a camera on her uniform,
so that's one big question. But really the new thing
that happened when this video was released the officer says, quote,
did he hit you though, And she says, I guess yeah,
(23:50):
but I hit him first, and she kind of breaks down.
She says, he grabbed my face. He didn't punch me,
but he grabbed.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Me with his mail.
Speaker 17 (23:58):
I definitely have a cut it.
Speaker 13 (24:00):
When I touch.
Speaker 11 (24:00):
It, it burns.
Speaker 17 (24:02):
So this is what was new Gabby saying very clearly
that he also assaulted her in this way. This is
something that we did not hear as clearly.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Let's try to play the entirety of cut to eleven
the Moa Police Department second body cam footage that we
didn't see initially after lock out.
Speaker 10 (24:24):
He walked away to take it either, but I wanted
to sit in the car because there was all myself in.
Speaker 14 (24:30):
The car.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
And I was working on something at the moment in
the car and I don't want to relax. So I got.
Speaker 9 (24:47):
Happen here. It's like, did you get hit in the face?
Speaker 10 (25:01):
I would hitting you in.
Speaker 11 (25:02):
The face, an over on your arm, shoulder just this
new huh, new mark.
Speaker 10 (25:12):
That's the other side of the face.
Speaker 17 (25:14):
So what happens here?
Speaker 7 (25:16):
And here.
Speaker 12 (25:18):
I'm I'm sure you.
Speaker 14 (25:23):
Find so the back gotcha?
Speaker 1 (25:30):
So she has a bruise and a cut on her face,
a bruise on her left arm, yet she was deemed
the aggressor. If Laundry had been arrested right then and
there for domestic violence in Moab, would Gabby be alive today?
Speaker 18 (25:51):
I'm doctor brin Blue County, Wyoming Corner. After a detailed
investigation by our forensic pathologists or anthropologist and over the
law enforcement with assistance from the FBI the Teton County
Corners offices following the fallen Verdon in a manner of
death of Gabrielle Noora Patito, we find the cause and
(26:12):
manner of the cause death by strangulation and manner is
homicide to investigate.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
A reporter with w FLA TV joining me right now.
Massa's Society on the case from the very beginning. Were
you surprised at all with what the car owner said
strangulation death?
Speaker 13 (26:32):
I mean, it has been just an absolutely heartbreaking day.
We know that the Petito family knew this was coming,
that officials were in.
Speaker 17 (26:38):
Touch with them.
Speaker 13 (26:39):
But as you said, we just learned from the Titan
County Corner that Gabby Petito was strangled. It's unclear if
it was manual or with an object. We also learned
that her body had been outside in the wilderness, likely
for three to four weeks before it was discovered.
Speaker 17 (26:55):
We had no other information about.
Speaker 13 (26:57):
Her remains, as you mentioned right off the top, Nancy,
any potential prior injuries, that the body had been moved,
none of that. The Chutung County corner doctor Brent Blue
kept saying that his job was only to determine the
cause of death and the manner of death. Reporters were
peppering him with tons of questions. Everyone was asking him
about Brian Laundry, about the potential suspect, and he kept
(27:18):
saying that he could reveal nothing about the success. But
then he made a statement that to me was stunning.
He said, unfortunately, and I'm quoting here, he said, this
is only one of many deaths around the country of
people who were involved and domestic violence. And when he
said that, that just struck me because he said he
(27:38):
couldn't reveal anything about the suspects. But then he made
that statement to.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
Doctor angel Arnold, psychiatrist joining us out of Atlanta at
ANGELA Arnold MD dot com. What do you think we
have finally learned the cause of death, not manner cause
she was strangled. And I guarantee you it was manual.
When I say manual vligator, I mean ligature is with
a pair of pantyhose or stocking or a scar. Manual
(28:03):
is with your hands. Yes, go ahead, Dodger, Nancy.
Speaker 19 (28:06):
This is what I have been saying all along.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
True.
Speaker 19 (28:10):
The domestic violence, the intimate partner violence that was going on.
He slapped her, that was the last thing we saw.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
We have it on.
Speaker 19 (28:19):
They have hurt him a knitting to that strangulation. Strangulation
happens over time, Okay, the violence becomes more severe. This
is what was going on in this situation. My thought is,
I don't know, maybe they had another altercation in the van.
Speaker 12 (28:39):
Y think you say they.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Got out of the band warden and he's female warden
that said, hey, you need to rethink whether you want
to go forward this guy. It's toxic.
Speaker 11 (28:48):
Do you remember that, Cheryl Nancy?
Speaker 20 (28:50):
I remember, And that's one of the things that makes
me so hard.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
I mean, now you've got complete strangers coming up to
her and saying, hey, little girl, this is bad. You
need to get out of this. And now she's dead
by manual strangulation.
Speaker 20 (29:03):
There's two things that happened in that instant, that female
officer saying to her, your relationship being toxic, and during
that event, right there on the side of the road,
her calling her parents, let's.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Look back at that Moab August twelfth incident as it's
been being called. When finally she revealed that Ryan Laundry
grabbed her by the face and I can just see
that hand going down to her neck. I mean, can
anybody but me visualize this happening to her? I mean,
(29:38):
she's basically told us what happened, and you know.
Speaker 14 (29:41):
What Laundry said. Nancy Laundry said that she lost her
balance but was able to scratch his face, just what
we were talking about before. So both of them, in
some sense give us some of the clues that we're
looking for now.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Crime stories with Nancy Grace. Gabby's family begged the court
to end police immunity, not for the whole government, but
just police immunity in a fifty million dollar lawsuit against
the MOEIPD, noting that before she died, Moab police were
(30:24):
called to a domestic violence complaint involving the pair. Gabby's
family insists responding officers did not take the complaint seriously,
The Moai police insists that Gabby Petito, this waif weighs
about one hundred and five pounds versus Brian Laundry approaching
(30:45):
two hundred pounds, she was the aggressor. Did they miss
every classic symptom of battering that she was abused? The denial,
the hysterical crying, the desire not to be separated, the taking,
the blame herself, explaining away her own injuries, ignoring the
(31:10):
nine one one call that had just happened for a
witness outside, I believe the Moonflower co Op Cafe saw
Brian Laundry hitting her in the face on the street
and broad daylight, and still, even with that knowledge, called
her the aggressor. Okay, you know what I want you
(31:36):
to take a listen to is very very disturbing to me.
It start cut four twenty eight is Nate Carlyle at
Fox thirteen.
Speaker 3 (31:45):
Here on what's labeled page two, the captain takes a
moment to ponder, would Gabby be alive today if this
case was handled differently? That is an impossible question to answer.
For his part, Krett told the captain, who worried taking
Patito to jail, would in bulk and laundry. So if
he's going to go bail her out, is he not
going to have more control over her now? Pratts quoted
(32:07):
as saying, well, I've said it would adopt the recommendations
to improve training and added domestic violence specialist to oversee
incidents investigated by its officers.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
So they're still sticking with They're going down with the ship.
They refused to admit, they screwed up, they had laundry,
They did nothing, and they let him go and now
she's dead.
Speaker 7 (32:31):
Jump intow what I used to teach domestic violence at
police academies in Florida. One of the things that's mandated,
certainly in Florida and is now mandated everywhere is to
arrest one of the parties. And there's even legislation that
prohibits individuals from suing the police if they arrest the
wrong person. So back at that time that this happened,
(32:54):
they should have arrested either one or both of these
individuals and that would have resolved the problem at least
for a moment.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Tell me about the Moai police and the investigation by
the neighboring county. I believe it was Price County.
Speaker 9 (33:09):
Yeah, it was Price police who did the investigation. The
Moab Police department is very small, and then the chief
takeaways from the investigation into their handling of the traffic
stop or the domestic violence stop.
Speaker 21 (33:20):
Was that these officers involved need more training and they
should go back on probation. And you know, if a
small department, they're probably not trained as a lot of
the big city departments were used to dealing with. So
they're saying, hindsighty's twenty twenty, we had no idea that
Brian was a killer. And that's the point that they're
sticking to.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Well, I agree with that. I agree with them on that,
But in this day and age, I mean, women are
beaten all across the world. It doesn't matter if you're
in a small town or a big city like New
York City. It doesn't matter if you dropped out of
school in the sixth grader, if you've got your PHID.
It doesn't matter if you make two hundred thousand dollars
(34:01):
a year, or you make thirty thousand dollars a year,
or if you have one child, no children, or six children.
It doesn't matter. Women are abused, beaten, senseless across the board.
None of that socio economic distinctions, none of them matter period.
That has been proven statistically. So the fact that Moi
(34:23):
Police is a small jurisdiction, does that mean the women
there aren't getting beaten behind closed doors? No, it does not.
And right there on the main street, Michael Luis, we
have a witness calling nine one one that Gabby is
getting beaten basically on main street in broad daylight. What
they couldn't check that out and figure out this is Gabby?
Speaker 7 (34:48):
Oh.
Speaker 9 (34:48):
I spoke with quite a few experts on the legal side,
in the law enforcement side, and you know, they found
the report a little bit lacking. They thought the findings
might not have been as as severe as they could be.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
Okay, let us talk about what you just said, Michael Luiz, Okay, okay,
let me get to my notes. I never saw any
photos that they took of Gabby's injury to her face.
They mentioned it in their BODYCM, but I didn't see
(35:20):
any video.
Speaker 21 (35:21):
Did you They talk about them, Yeah, you're right, they
talk about him in the body cam, but there's no
documentation of them.
Speaker 1 (35:27):
So they take pictures of Brian Laundry and his injury,
but not Gabby is yes, no, right, Okay. Did they
contact the nine one one caller who reported the Brian
laundry attack on Gabby? Did they call him? Michael Ruiz?
Speaker 9 (35:43):
So we found out from this report they went, they
circled back with one witness, but that witness was not
the ninety one one caller, so.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
That would be a note. They did not contact the
nine one one.
Speaker 9 (35:55):
Caller, not the one who said he saw the I
think the quote I saw the gentleman being the lady
is what the nine one caller said.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
Did they mention Gabby's injuries in their written report.
Speaker 9 (36:08):
The best of my memory, I didn't see anything about it.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
I heard is no, they did not. Did they understand
state law requirements for a claim of domestic assault Michael Ruis?
Speaker 9 (36:21):
I would think so because Officer Pratt even said so
in his own body cam He said, you know, the
reason this law is on the books that we have
to arrest one is because down the line someone's going
to get killed.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
The domestic violence domestic assault law in that jurisdiction, it
seems like they had skimmed it but didn't really know
what they were doing. In fact, in the final findings,
they stay the officers misunderstood state law requirements for domestic assault.
(36:51):
Did they ever consider or write in their report that
Brian Laundry could be entered the potential suspect? Or was
it always Gabby.
Speaker 9 (37:03):
In the initial police report it was Gabby? In the
review from Price, the captain who wrote that report said
that there was evidence that Gabby was a long term
victim of domestic abuse.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
So in the officer's initial report, at the moment they
could have stopped Brian Laundry and maybe prevented Gabby's murder,
they never considered Brian Laundry as a potential suspect?
Speaker 16 (37:28):
Is that correct?
Speaker 9 (37:29):
From the initial reports? That's how it seems.
Speaker 1 (37:31):
Did they ever connect either of them with mental health
caregivers such as even a volunteer like me at the
Battered Women's Center it's a toll free number. I manned
the hotline for nine years. Did they ever do that,
Michael Ruis?
Speaker 7 (37:51):
They did.
Speaker 9 (37:51):
They did bring Brian to a hotel through a charity
for domestic victims that they checked him into the hotel
through that charity. In the report from Price, we see
that they didn't connect them with professionals. They didn't give
them documentation.
Speaker 1 (38:06):
So the answer would be no, would it not. I
guess not, Doctor Bethany Marshall. What are the classic symptoms
of a domestic violence victim? And don't get me wrong,
I know that there are some men that are battered
and amused, but they are about one and a half
percent of the entire partner battering universe. So let's just
(38:29):
get real. Women are the victims. What are the symptoms
that Gabby Patito displayed, Doctor Bethany.
Speaker 12 (38:35):
Well, everything she displayed, I mean protecting the abuser, minimizing
the harm done for her self, blame not tailor telling
a cohesive history about what had.
Speaker 1 (38:46):
Been done to her.
Speaker 12 (38:48):
The fact is that she owns her part in the
things in the conflict. She says she's punched them in
the arm, but she minimizes that she punched them in
the arm because she was so frustrated and he was
driving erratically.
Speaker 1 (39:01):
He was taking her van and her cell phone.
Speaker 14 (39:06):
Exactly, and that you you put it more beautifully, that
I was trying to collect my thoughts on I know
he had taken the van, I know he had taken
the cell phone.
Speaker 12 (39:14):
Well, that was that would be the final.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
Sign nile denial that she is a domestic violence victim,
her injuries, the fact that she tried to minimize, as
you said, doctor Bethany, the damage to her. I mean,
it goes on and on and on, the classic signs
that she is a domestic violence victim. Saying would it
(39:38):
have stopped Gabby's murder is like reading the teelies. But
I know this, It would have been a much better
chance that she survived if she had gotten batter woman's counseling,
even over the phone with a volunteer at the shelter,
even that could have saved her life. But the officers,
(40:00):
to make themselves feel better, I guess, keep saying, well,
you know, we don't think it would have made a difference. Really, well,
you'll never know because you screwed it up. Take a
listen to our cup four two seven eight Carlisle Fox thirteen.
Speaker 5 (40:12):
If I had any discression of this, I would separate
you guys from the day and.
Speaker 9 (40:15):
Just give you warnings they stopped at each other.
Speaker 5 (40:19):
Well, I lawfully don't.
Speaker 3 (40:20):
Have discretion here yet. Veteran Moab police officer Eric Pratt
and the new officer he was trained by Daniel Robbins
dead let Gabby Batito and Brian laundry go The report
by a Price Utah police captain says that by law,
Patito should have been cited or arrested once officers determined
she was the aggressor. The captain sustained or confirmed multiple
(40:42):
complaints where Prad and Robbins failed to follow the law
in Moab's own policies, including failing to obtain witness statements
and properly documenting the roadside investigation.
Speaker 1 (40:53):
So give me your finals, go ahead, Dell.
Speaker 7 (40:55):
There's a fifty percent reduction in homicides in domestic violence
station is if one of the parties is arrested. That's
the statistic that led to all this legislation.
Speaker 12 (41:06):
Bethany and I would say, if one of the classic
signs of abuse is leaving the woman alone in a
deserted place without resources, then all three men abused her.
Speaker 1 (41:15):
In the last hours, a judge has ruled in the
favor of Moapp Police Department. Listen, I'm from LA law enforcement.
I believe in law enforcement. I support law enforcement. However,
what happened that day was wrong. In the last hours
(41:37):
of judge rules in favor of Moapp Police Department against
the family of Gabby Patito. As I said earlier, it
ain't over yet. Goodbye,
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace Can the family of murder
victim a beautiful young girl, Gabby Petito bring a wrongful
death lawsuit against the Moat Police Department for Gabby's death.
(00:24):
If you will recall, Gabby and her killer slash fiance,
Brian Laundry, were pulled over by Moab police. Witnesses had
seen Brian Laundry hitting Gabby in the face. Yet after
(00:45):
Brian Laundry takes off in the car and Gabby Potito's
for a transit, almost leaving her behind, she had to
try and jump in the car window. He was leaving
not only in her for transit, but everything she owned
in the world. She had single handedly customized the transit
(01:09):
for a cross country trip in the heat of the moment.
After hitting her in the face, he tries to drive
off with her transit at all her worldly belongings. She
finally gets in and not too far out of the city,
she's pulled over along with Laundry who's driving, and believe
it or not, the Moa police name her as the
(01:33):
aggressor and let them go. It was within hours that
Gabby Petito was murdered by her violent fiancee, Brian laundry.
So bottom line, can her family sue the Moa Police Department? Well,
as of right now, believe it or not, the answer
(01:57):
is no. But let me get I predict this case
ain't over yet and that it will become extremely complicated
and contentious. Remember this happened in Moab, Utah. The Utah
(02:17):
Seventh District Court Judge Don Torgerson agreed with the city
of Moab. They requested that the Gabby Potito family motion
be dismissed, and the judge went along with it. He
basically said, this is too big for a district court
(02:39):
to decide, and appeals courts will have to determine if
the Potitos had a case. Now, many people argue that
Judge Torgerson had no choice but grant the request to
dismiss the case based on something called governmental immunity. It's
(03:00):
also called sovereign immunity, which dates all the way back
to our common law from Great Britain. The king can
do no wrong. In other words, you can't sue the
king and hear you can't sue the government. So what
of the Potatoes are asking is for the judge to
(03:21):
rule against sovereign immunity. Well, I think everybody else is wrong.
I think Torgersen could have gone along with the Potatos,
but he hid behind his robes and decided not to act.
Let's do a little reality check about what happened to
(03:42):
Gabby Potito. Take a listen to our friend Jenna Dangeli's
at CBS two.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
An emotional mother holding on to a photo of her
daughter is desperate for her to come home.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Scary and nerve wrecking. We don't sleep, We're just actively
looking for her.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Gabby Potito's family reported her missing Saturday to Suffolk County Police.
The twenty two year old with blue point was on
a cross country road trip, but kept in touch with
her mom at.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Least three times a week. We've been FaceTime called tex frequently.
She kept me updated on this whole trip.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Her mother says they last facetimed about three weeks ago.
The last text she received was on August thirtieth.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
The first couple.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Of days, though I wasn't getting responses.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
I believe she was in a place with no service.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
It took it was like day eight and nine that
I really became concerned.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
I've been on that exact route before with the twins
in an RV and the mom is right. There are
a lot of desk spots where you can't get a
sale to call out. We're looking at behavioral evidence. How
many days had passed before mom realized something was wrong?
Take a listen to our friends at CBS two.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Police say she's believed to have last been in Wyoming's
Grand Teetown National Park. Video of the trip was uploaded
to YouTube August nineteenth. Her mother says she left New
York early July for the trip, which was set to
end in Oregon next month. She was traveling in his
white van, which police say has been recovered.
Speaker 5 (05:12):
I just believe she's in danger because is she not
in touch with us and she could be alone somewhere,
She could be stranded somewhere in the wilderness and.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
She needs help. Well, is that what happened? Does she
and her boyfriend have an argument and he she stormed off?
Did he just leaver stranded? My question is why is
he not being forthcoming and telling the story as to
what happened to Gabrielle? As I told you, the van
is found in his parents' driveway back in Florida. But no, Gabby,
(05:44):
how did it all start? Take a listen to April
Baker Fox thirteen.
Speaker 6 (05:49):
Gabby is originally from New York, but she was living
in Florida with her fiance at the time they took
off on the road trip back in July. Her family
tells Fox News that the couple touring national parks and
a converted camper van before heading to Salt Lake City.
The couple actually documented most of their trip on Instagram
and YouTube. You're seeing it here, some of it showing
(06:11):
them hanging out in a tent outside Capital Reef. Gabby's mom, Nicole,
says she last spoke on the phone with her daughter
August twenty fifth.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
That's very critical as a matter of fact, because that
travel on video, which I have watched over and over
and over, it's call I think nomadic static with the K,
static with the K and it's very engrossing. It makes
you want to be with them on the camp or
this beautiful, wonderful trip. But it's critical to me because
(06:43):
her last Instagram posting linked to that video, and that's
really the last day as I understand the timeline that
we know her to be safe and alive about the video.
Take a listen to her video Van Life. Take a
tiny listen. Yeah, I mean Pa never goes outside. You know,
(07:09):
you hear this beautiful, whimsical music throughout and it shows
them traveling the country. A lot of the shots our
video as they're you know, looking out the window as
they're flying past desert. They went to the Delicate Arch,
they went to the Mystic Hot Springs, They covered everything
beautiful in the West. How did it all go so
(07:31):
horribly wrong? With me? An all star panel to try
to make some sense of what we know right now?
Speaker 7 (07:38):
With me?
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Renowned trial attorney you know her well, Kathleen Murphy joining
us out of North Carolina. You can find her at
NC Domestic Law dot com. Karen is Stark, you know
her well. She is a psychologist, joining us out of
Manhattan at Karenstark dot com on Facebook Karen Stark. That's
with a c who hasized nearly every high profile criminal
(08:04):
case that I can think of. Joining me Lisa M. Daddio,
a former police lieutenant. And you have a police department
lecturer and the director of the Center for Advanced Policing
in be Haven and Emmy Award winning investigative reporter Christy Missourich. Christy,
let's start at the beginning, tell me about how the
road trip. With the inception of the road.
Speaker 8 (08:25):
Trip, they were living together in Florida, and this boyfriend
promotes himself as a nature enthusiast's.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Stop, what do you? May promote himself well.
Speaker 8 (08:39):
On Facebook, in all of his other social media he
promotes himself as a nature enthusiast and believes that getting
bug bites out in the beauty of the world are
better than being brainwashed by the media his words.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
What's wrong with that? You say it like there's something
wrong with being a nature enthusiast? And I want to
ask you, is nature enthusiast? Are those your words? Are
his words?
Speaker 8 (09:02):
His words? His words?
Speaker 1 (09:03):
And nature? Can I ask you this? What does he
do for a living other than be enthusiastic about nature?
Speaker 8 (09:10):
Working at a public's grocery store?
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Okay, Oh, I'm glad you said that, because they both
worked at publics. But that's not where they met. Okay,
I'm interrupting you.
Speaker 9 (09:19):
Go ahead?
Speaker 8 (09:19):
Will They originally meet in New York State and then
he leaves with his parents to go to Florida. She
follows a few years later, so earlier this summer, they
decide that they are going to leave all of their
valuables behind and transform this van into a mini camper,
(09:40):
travel up to see her brother graduate in New York State,
and then cross the country on this excursion.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Now it's my understanding. Christy, Missouri. They knew each other
way back way back home in Suffolk County.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Then she.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Goes. Then they meet each other again years later, slightly
meeting an old high school friend, and they fall in love.
He moves to Florida, she comes down with him. Her father,
her bio dad, also moves to Florida to be near her.
The mom and her new husband stay in New York.
Is my understanding, and then they travel back to New
(10:18):
York for her little brother's high school graduation, and from
there they commence the road trip Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.
In the last hours, a judge dismisses Gabby Petito's family
(10:42):
suit against the Moab Police. I think it's completely wrong,
but it happened. A Disha Court judge dismissed the case
against the Moab Police Department. Now Justin Burton, who is
Gab's family lawyer, argued the ability to file a suit
(11:05):
like this is built into the Utah Constitution and that
the government immunity. As I was describing earlier, sovereign immunity
is unconstitutional, completely unconstitutional. Now, the judge, as I've seen
so many times before, this is Judge Don Torttersen goes
(11:28):
to great links to explain before he dismissed it how
he had to follow the law. Well, if this is
the lawn, the law is an ass okay, and Torgerson
went along with it. What happened, Sharon Stark? It looks
like something off HGTV where they have people that live
(11:50):
they redo a little house or a house on wheels,
or traveling campers, and you're on the room and it's
so amazing and it's escapist, but this was their real life.
Gabby Gabrielle and boyfriend Laundry go on this What's in
a lifetime fantastic trip and they video blog it and
(12:14):
the blog is engrossing in one part. Karen, I mean,
I watched the whole thing, which is rare for me.
She's in her tent. She says, we're going to hang
out at the campsite today and it all looks so
cozy and perfect, and you can see this beautiful natural
scenery that most of us just dream of seeing one
day in the background and then one day it's raining
(12:37):
and she's holding the tent up like that because she
says the rain's coming in and she's laughing. She's just
so happy and it makes you want to go along
with them. She's got a very inviting personality.
Speaker 10 (12:51):
She's totally engrossing, and the whole trip. The only thing
that's what makes it so mysterious and upsetting to think
about how beautiful is coming across and she totally disappeared.
And Nancy, when you watched that, the only thing that
you can find is that she talks about how precarious
(13:11):
it is that they like to climb, and they really
like to climb things that are difficult.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
You know, that's so funny, funny. Odd. I was up
super early this morning studying about Gabrielle Gabby and was
discussing it with my friend Medea, and she said, well,
what if they were posting on a cliff and Gabby
fell off? And my response was that could possibly have happened,
(13:38):
But why would he get in the van and come
all the way back home to Florida. Is it north
Port or North north Point, Christy Masurich, It's north Port
Port Port.
Speaker 8 (13:52):
Nancy, to your point of all the cliff climbing. On
August twenty third, Gabby didn't post on Instagram that the
pair were doing adventurous and risky hikes through some dangerous
terrain during their stay. That was one of her last posts.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
You know, back to you, Karen, with that knowledge. You know,
Christy massourk is right, the hiking was very forcarious. As
a matter of fact, if that happened, why would he
drive all the way back to Northport, Florida, which I
think is Sarasota County and not say a word to
(14:32):
anybody if she fell off a cliff, or even if
they had an argument, Karen and she's like, I'm not
going anymore, this is it and leaves number one? Why
would he leave or stranded if that's what happened, but
to come all the way back home and not tell
everybody what happened.
Speaker 10 (14:50):
Either this is really a nefarious character and he planned
something all along, or he went into shock. Something really
did happen to her and he.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
Couldn't cope with it and not a hand Karen, Karen, Karen, Karen, Karen, Karen.
If he could drive across country and operate a van
having to stop, I guess for gas or food. That's
not a shock to me. When you're in shock, you
can't think straight.
Speaker 11 (15:18):
Not necessarily.
Speaker 10 (15:20):
He could get himself home. He could have punished. And
that's the only thing I could think of that would
make sense out of it. Unless he actually had planned all.
Speaker 7 (15:30):
Along to do something.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
I don't believe that there was a plan all along
to do something. I don't believe that. Guys. Take a
listen to our cut five. I loved it.
Speaker 5 (15:44):
So we are right outside Capital Reef right now in
a free dispersed camp spot. And we've been lucky so
far at all the places we stayed, but I say
this is one of the best so far. Since we
left in New York, I've only set up my Hammick ones.
They were all do way in Utah, and luckily enough,
I was able to setup my handmack.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
One of these trees, and they're kind of like in
the desert.
Speaker 5 (16:06):
I heard a few trees.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
It just sounds so beautiful. And I also noticed, straight
out to you, Kathleen Murphy, North Carolina trial lawyer Kathleen,
I noticed throughout he spoke very little. It's mostly her
shooting the video and speaking. He did occasionally speak, but
I want to know what you make of it, Kathleen.
Speaker 11 (16:27):
Well, first, Nancy, I went and tried to do a
deep dive on who this guy is. In all of
his social media accounts, there's nothing. Prior to meeting this
young lady. I knew nothing about him except what.
Speaker 12 (16:40):
He is like with this young lady.
Speaker 10 (16:42):
I did, and.
Speaker 12 (16:44):
It's concerning to me that we don't know much.
Speaker 11 (16:46):
And you know, I have a daughter about the same
age and I know her boyfriend pretty well.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
And I went and deep dived on his social media account.
Speaker 11 (16:54):
I can't find anything about this young guy before he
met this girl.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
How old is Well, from what we understand, he is
a twenty three year old young man. That's my understanding
of his age, Kathleen, twenty three.
Speaker 11 (17:09):
He looks a lot older on his pictures, but it
seems to me that he would have high school pictures
and work pictures and family pictures out there. But I
didn't find anything, and so I don't really know if
the family knows much about him.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Well, I would think that they do. Christy, Missouri, because
my understanding of how the two knew each other is
they knew each other previously, and there's not much previously.
The only she's only twenty two, so she had to
know him in high school or college. She had to
know him at that point. Then they reconnect and then
(17:45):
fall in love. That's my understanding. So the family had
to know him if she knew him in her past.
Speaker 8 (17:50):
She's only twenty two, correct, they didn't go to high
school together, and they knew Brian in passing in passing
and when they reconnected, they time gave the duel their blessing.
That's why her biological father moved down to Florida to
be close to them.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Listen to Nicole Schmidt is Gabby's mother, and Jim Schmidt,
her stepfather, at their most recent press conference. When she left,
what did she say, like Cima, we sit on my height?
What did she what was it like?
Speaker 13 (18:23):
We hig?
Speaker 1 (18:24):
We gave them some money, so you know they needed
it because they're kids. You know, they were excited.
Speaker 6 (18:30):
About the truth.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
They left on July second from New York. What was
the hardest of the trip?
Speaker 5 (18:35):
On the many what are they wanted to do?
Speaker 3 (18:37):
Camping, hiking, seeing the country?
Speaker 12 (18:41):
What was both truth?
Speaker 1 (18:44):
The trip was the end in October and Shortland Oregon.
Speaker 14 (18:49):
And what was the last conversation you had with her
on video chat?
Speaker 5 (18:52):
Whether she's say, I believe it was around the twenty
third and for the twenty fourth I can't recall, but
she was having a great time.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
She said she was headed up to Wyoming. So the
last time that we see her they were facetiming, to
my understanding, was around let's give it the benefit of
the doubt, August twenty four. She was not reported missing
by her family until September eleven. Why well, you heard
(19:22):
the mother stating that she thought Gabby had gone into
a remote area where there's no cell phone coverage, so
she chalked it off. Now, they were speaking every three
days or so by FaceTime, and her bio dad was
also speaking to her. So the first three days past
and she thinks, well, she's in a bad cell area.
(19:43):
Then we get to the next three days as she
still does not.
Speaker 7 (19:47):
Hear from her.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
So you go August twenty four, you pass six days,
you're now at August thirty. Then she finds out, to
my understanding, that the boyfriend comes back home on September
eleven in the van with no Gabby. That is when
she not the boyfriend reports Gabby missing. I don't like it.
(20:13):
I don't like it one bit. A judge has granted
the defense motion to dismiss the family of Gabby Potito's
lawsuit against Moab Police Department. It was a virtual hearing
in the last hours. The state argued a lawsuit like
this should not be filed against the Moab PD because
(20:33):
of sovereign immunity. The king can do no wrong. It's
a holdover from Anglo Saxon common law that we brought
with us when we settled America from Great Britain. Well,
I got a curve ball for you, judge. If this
is the law, then the laws asked, do I need
(20:54):
to jog your memory, Judge Jorgerson, about what happened to
Gabby Potito? Okay, I will. I want you to take
a listen to what we know about the van showing up.
Take a listen to our cut twenty four. It's Evan Exelbank.
Our friends at Fox thirteen.
Speaker 15 (21:10):
Police found the van that they were potentially by the
boyfriend's parents. They're now processing that. They've toted it away
and are looking through it for any evidence they can find.
Family in New York say that Gabrielle Pateto was on
a cross country trip, leaving Long Island on July tewod
They were headed to Oregon, but stoppering numerous places along
(21:31):
the way, documenting their journey in their van on YouTube.
Family last spoke with her August twenty fourth or twenty fifth,
and last texted.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
With her August thirtieth.
Speaker 15 (21:41):
She was reported missing this weekend September eleventh, and they
may have reached as far as Grand Teton National Park.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
What happened that fateful moment when Moap police ignored all
the signs that Gabby Berttita was a domestic violence victim,
named her the aggressor, and sent her along her way
with her killer body cam video. Let's go Tyler, if
(22:11):
you could play cut to zero eight. This is Adrian
Banker Muse Nation now.
Speaker 16 (22:16):
Biddi camera video has been released from Gabby Patito and
Brian Laundry's heated exchange in Utah back in August, and it.
Patito admits she hit Laundry first, but that then he
grabbed her face after and dug his nails into her face.
The officer is heard on this camera footage this video
footage telling Laundry that he is the victim of domestic assault.
Speaker 4 (22:37):
The police chief has taken a sudden leave of absence,
and now the city is looking into how the police
officers involved handled the situation when they were called to
stop there with Gabby and with Brian, and many people
criticizing this incident because the police called Brian the victim
in this situation.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Let me go straight out to Marsacaiety joining us WFLATV.
How come we didn't say that bodycam video to start with.
Speaker 17 (23:04):
Great question, A great question and a question that we're asking.
And another question, is there any other bodycam video that
we haven't seen yet. There's a female law enforcement officer
on that scene, and she is according to the two
bodycam videos that we have seen already, she does appear
to be talking with Gabby alone while Gabby is in
the back of that police cruiser. You know, sometimes a
(23:27):
girl might reveal more information to another to another woman,
So it'd be very interesting to see if there's any
other bodycam video and feel free to chime in. But
I did think I saw possibly a camera on her uniform,
so that's one big question. But really the new thing
that happened when this video was released the officer says, quote,
did he hit you though, And she says, I guess yeah,
(23:50):
but I hit him first, and she kind of breaks down.
She says, he grabbed my face. He didn't punch me,
but he grabbed.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Me with his mail.
Speaker 17 (23:58):
I definitely have a cut it.
Speaker 13 (24:00):
When I touch.
Speaker 11 (24:00):
It, it burns.
Speaker 17 (24:02):
So this is what was new Gabby saying very clearly
that he also assaulted her in this way. This is
something that we did not hear as clearly.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Let's try to play the entirety of cut to eleven
the Moa Police Department second body cam footage that we
didn't see initially after lock out.
Speaker 10 (24:24):
He walked away to take it either, but I wanted
to sit in the car because there was all myself in.
Speaker 14 (24:30):
The car.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
And I was working on something at the moment in
the car and I don't want to relax. So I got.
Speaker 9 (24:47):
Happen here. It's like, did you get hit in the face?
Speaker 10 (25:01):
I would hitting you in.
Speaker 11 (25:02):
The face, an over on your arm, shoulder just this
new huh, new mark.
Speaker 10 (25:12):
That's the other side of the face.
Speaker 17 (25:14):
So what happens here?
Speaker 7 (25:16):
And here.
Speaker 12 (25:18):
I'm I'm sure you.
Speaker 14 (25:23):
Find so the back gotcha?
Speaker 1 (25:30):
So she has a bruise and a cut on her face,
a bruise on her left arm, yet she was deemed
the aggressor. If Laundry had been arrested right then and
there for domestic violence in Moab, would Gabby be alive today?
Speaker 18 (25:51):
I'm doctor brin Blue County, Wyoming Corner. After a detailed
investigation by our forensic pathologists or anthropologist and over the
law enforcement with assistance from the FBI the Teton County
Corners offices following the fallen Verdon in a manner of
death of Gabrielle Noora Patito, we find the cause and
(26:12):
manner of the cause death by strangulation and manner is
homicide to investigate.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
A reporter with w FLA TV joining me right now.
Massa's Society on the case from the very beginning. Were
you surprised at all with what the car owner said
strangulation death?
Speaker 13 (26:32):
I mean, it has been just an absolutely heartbreaking day.
We know that the Petito family knew this was coming,
that officials were in.
Speaker 17 (26:38):
Touch with them.
Speaker 13 (26:39):
But as you said, we just learned from the Titan
County Corner that Gabby Petito was strangled. It's unclear if
it was manual or with an object. We also learned
that her body had been outside in the wilderness, likely
for three to four weeks before it was discovered.
Speaker 17 (26:55):
We had no other information about.
Speaker 13 (26:57):
Her remains, as you mentioned right off the top, Nancy,
any potential prior injuries, that the body had been moved,
none of that. The Chutung County corner doctor Brent Blue
kept saying that his job was only to determine the
cause of death and the manner of death. Reporters were
peppering him with tons of questions. Everyone was asking him
about Brian Laundry, about the potential suspect, and he kept
(27:18):
saying that he could reveal nothing about the success. But
then he made a statement that to me was stunning.
He said, unfortunately, and I'm quoting here, he said, this
is only one of many deaths around the country of
people who were involved and domestic violence. And when he
said that, that just struck me because he said he
(27:38):
couldn't reveal anything about the suspects. But then he made
that statement to.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
Doctor angel Arnold, psychiatrist joining us out of Atlanta at
ANGELA Arnold MD dot com. What do you think we
have finally learned the cause of death, not manner cause
she was strangled. And I guarantee you it was manual.
When I say manual vligator, I mean ligature is with
a pair of pantyhose or stocking or a scar. Manual
(28:03):
is with your hands. Yes, go ahead, Dodger, Nancy.
Speaker 19 (28:06):
This is what I have been saying all along.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
True.
Speaker 19 (28:10):
The domestic violence, the intimate partner violence that was going on.
He slapped her, that was the last thing we saw.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
We have it on.
Speaker 19 (28:19):
They have hurt him a knitting to that strangulation. Strangulation
happens over time, Okay, the violence becomes more severe. This
is what was going on in this situation. My thought is,
I don't know, maybe they had another altercation in the van.
Speaker 12 (28:39):
Y think you say they.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Got out of the band warden and he's female warden
that said, hey, you need to rethink whether you want
to go forward this guy. It's toxic.
Speaker 11 (28:48):
Do you remember that, Cheryl Nancy?
Speaker 20 (28:50):
I remember, And that's one of the things that makes
me so hard.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
I mean, now you've got complete strangers coming up to
her and saying, hey, little girl, this is bad. You
need to get out of this. And now she's dead
by manual strangulation.
Speaker 20 (29:03):
There's two things that happened in that instant, that female
officer saying to her, your relationship being toxic, and during
that event, right there on the side of the road,
her calling her parents, let's.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Look back at that Moab August twelfth incident as it's
been being called. When finally she revealed that Ryan Laundry
grabbed her by the face and I can just see
that hand going down to her neck. I mean, can
anybody but me visualize this happening to her? I mean,
(29:38):
she's basically told us what happened, and you know.
Speaker 14 (29:41):
What Laundry said. Nancy Laundry said that she lost her
balance but was able to scratch his face, just what
we were talking about before. So both of them, in
some sense give us some of the clues that we're
looking for now.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Crime stories with Nancy Grace. Gabby's family begged the court
to end police immunity, not for the whole government, but
just police immunity in a fifty million dollar lawsuit against
the MOEIPD, noting that before she died, Moab police were
(30:24):
called to a domestic violence complaint involving the pair. Gabby's
family insists responding officers did not take the complaint seriously,
The Moai police insists that Gabby Petito, this waif weighs
about one hundred and five pounds versus Brian Laundry approaching
(30:45):
two hundred pounds, she was the aggressor. Did they miss
every classic symptom of battering that she was abused? The denial,
the hysterical crying, the desire not to be separated, the taking,
the blame herself, explaining away her own injuries, ignoring the
(31:10):
nine one one call that had just happened for a
witness outside, I believe the Moonflower co Op Cafe saw
Brian Laundry hitting her in the face on the street
and broad daylight, and still, even with that knowledge, called
her the aggressor. Okay, you know what I want you
(31:36):
to take a listen to is very very disturbing to me.
It start cut four twenty eight is Nate Carlyle at
Fox thirteen.
Speaker 3 (31:45):
Here on what's labeled page two, the captain takes a
moment to ponder, would Gabby be alive today if this
case was handled differently? That is an impossible question to answer.
For his part, Krett told the captain, who worried taking
Patito to jail, would in bulk and laundry. So if
he's going to go bail her out, is he not
going to have more control over her now? Pratts quoted
(32:07):
as saying, well, I've said it would adopt the recommendations
to improve training and added domestic violence specialist to oversee
incidents investigated by its officers.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
So they're still sticking with They're going down with the ship.
They refused to admit, they screwed up, they had laundry,
They did nothing, and they let him go and now
she's dead.
Speaker 7 (32:31):
Jump intow what I used to teach domestic violence at
police academies in Florida. One of the things that's mandated,
certainly in Florida and is now mandated everywhere is to
arrest one of the parties. And there's even legislation that
prohibits individuals from suing the police if they arrest the
wrong person. So back at that time that this happened,
(32:54):
they should have arrested either one or both of these
individuals and that would have resolved the problem at least
for a moment.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Tell me about the Moai police and the investigation by
the neighboring county. I believe it was Price County.
Speaker 9 (33:09):
Yeah, it was Price police who did the investigation. The
Moab Police department is very small, and then the chief
takeaways from the investigation into their handling of the traffic
stop or the domestic violence stop.
Speaker 21 (33:20):
Was that these officers involved need more training and they
should go back on probation. And you know, if a
small department, they're probably not trained as a lot of
the big city departments were used to dealing with. So
they're saying, hindsighty's twenty twenty, we had no idea that
Brian was a killer. And that's the point that they're
sticking to.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Well, I agree with that. I agree with them on that,
But in this day and age, I mean, women are
beaten all across the world. It doesn't matter if you're
in a small town or a big city like New
York City. It doesn't matter if you dropped out of
school in the sixth grader, if you've got your PHID.
It doesn't matter if you make two hundred thousand dollars
(34:01):
a year, or you make thirty thousand dollars a year,
or if you have one child, no children, or six children.
It doesn't matter. Women are abused, beaten, senseless across the board.
None of that socio economic distinctions, none of them matter period.
That has been proven statistically. So the fact that Moi
(34:23):
Police is a small jurisdiction, does that mean the women
there aren't getting beaten behind closed doors? No, it does not.
And right there on the main street, Michael Luis, we
have a witness calling nine one one that Gabby is
getting beaten basically on main street in broad daylight. What
they couldn't check that out and figure out this is Gabby?
Speaker 7 (34:48):
Oh.
Speaker 9 (34:48):
I spoke with quite a few experts on the legal side,
in the law enforcement side, and you know, they found
the report a little bit lacking. They thought the findings
might not have been as as severe as they could be.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
Okay, let us talk about what you just said, Michael Luiz, Okay, okay,
let me get to my notes. I never saw any
photos that they took of Gabby's injury to her face.
They mentioned it in their BODYCM, but I didn't see
(35:20):
any video.
Speaker 21 (35:21):
Did you They talk about them, Yeah, you're right, they
talk about him in the body cam, but there's no
documentation of them.
Speaker 1 (35:27):
So they take pictures of Brian Laundry and his injury,
but not Gabby is yes, no, right, Okay. Did they
contact the nine one one caller who reported the Brian
laundry attack on Gabby? Did they call him? Michael Ruiz?
Speaker 9 (35:43):
So we found out from this report they went, they
circled back with one witness, but that witness was not
the ninety one one caller, so.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
That would be a note. They did not contact the
nine one one.
Speaker 9 (35:55):
Caller, not the one who said he saw the I
think the quote I saw the gentleman being the lady
is what the nine one caller said.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
Did they mention Gabby's injuries in their written report.
Speaker 9 (36:08):
The best of my memory, I didn't see anything about it.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
I heard is no, they did not. Did they understand
state law requirements for a claim of domestic assault Michael Ruis?
Speaker 9 (36:21):
I would think so because Officer Pratt even said so
in his own body cam He said, you know, the
reason this law is on the books that we have
to arrest one is because down the line someone's going
to get killed.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
The domestic violence domestic assault law in that jurisdiction, it
seems like they had skimmed it but didn't really know
what they were doing. In fact, in the final findings,
they stay the officers misunderstood state law requirements for domestic assault.
(36:51):
Did they ever consider or write in their report that
Brian Laundry could be entered the potential suspect? Or was
it always Gabby.
Speaker 9 (37:03):
In the initial police report it was Gabby? In the
review from Price, the captain who wrote that report said
that there was evidence that Gabby was a long term
victim of domestic abuse.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
So in the officer's initial report, at the moment they
could have stopped Brian Laundry and maybe prevented Gabby's murder,
they never considered Brian Laundry as a potential suspect?
Speaker 16 (37:28):
Is that correct?
Speaker 9 (37:29):
From the initial reports? That's how it seems.
Speaker 1 (37:31):
Did they ever connect either of them with mental health
caregivers such as even a volunteer like me at the
Battered Women's Center it's a toll free number. I manned
the hotline for nine years. Did they ever do that,
Michael Ruis?
Speaker 7 (37:51):
They did.
Speaker 9 (37:51):
They did bring Brian to a hotel through a charity
for domestic victims that they checked him into the hotel
through that charity. In the report from Price, we see
that they didn't connect them with professionals. They didn't give
them documentation.
Speaker 1 (38:06):
So the answer would be no, would it not. I
guess not, Doctor Bethany Marshall. What are the classic symptoms
of a domestic violence victim? And don't get me wrong,
I know that there are some men that are battered
and amused, but they are about one and a half
percent of the entire partner battering universe. So let's just
(38:29):
get real. Women are the victims. What are the symptoms
that Gabby Patito displayed, Doctor Bethany.
Speaker 12 (38:35):
Well, everything she displayed, I mean protecting the abuser, minimizing
the harm done for her self, blame not tailor telling
a cohesive history about what had.
Speaker 1 (38:46):
Been done to her.
Speaker 12 (38:48):
The fact is that she owns her part in the
things in the conflict. She says she's punched them in
the arm, but she minimizes that she punched them in
the arm because she was so frustrated and he was
driving erratically.
Speaker 1 (39:01):
He was taking her van and her cell phone.
Speaker 14 (39:06):
Exactly, and that you you put it more beautifully, that
I was trying to collect my thoughts on I know
he had taken the van, I know he had taken
the cell phone.
Speaker 12 (39:14):
Well, that was that would be the final.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
Sign nile denial that she is a domestic violence victim,
her injuries, the fact that she tried to minimize, as
you said, doctor Bethany, the damage to her. I mean,
it goes on and on and on, the classic signs
that she is a domestic violence victim. Saying would it
(39:38):
have stopped Gabby's murder is like reading the teelies. But
I know this, It would have been a much better
chance that she survived if she had gotten batter woman's counseling,
even over the phone with a volunteer at the shelter,
even that could have saved her life. But the officers,
(40:00):
to make themselves feel better, I guess, keep saying, well,
you know, we don't think it would have made a difference. Really, well,
you'll never know because you screwed it up. Take a
listen to our cup four two seven eight Carlisle Fox thirteen.
Speaker 5 (40:12):
If I had any discression of this, I would separate
you guys from the day and.
Speaker 9 (40:15):
Just give you warnings they stopped at each other.
Speaker 5 (40:19):
Well, I lawfully don't.
Speaker 3 (40:20):
Have discretion here yet. Veteran Moab police officer Eric Pratt
and the new officer he was trained by Daniel Robbins
dead let Gabby Batito and Brian laundry go The report
by a Price Utah police captain says that by law,
Patito should have been cited or arrested once officers determined
she was the aggressor. The captain sustained or confirmed multiple
(40:42):
complaints where Prad and Robbins failed to follow the law
in Moab's own policies, including failing to obtain witness statements
and properly documenting the roadside investigation.
Speaker 1 (40:53):
So give me your finals, go ahead, Dell.
Speaker 7 (40:55):
There's a fifty percent reduction in homicides in domestic violence
station is if one of the parties is arrested. That's
the statistic that led to all this legislation.
Speaker 12 (41:06):
Bethany and I would say, if one of the classic
signs of abuse is leaving the woman alone in a
deserted place without resources, then all three men abused her.
Speaker 1 (41:15):
In the last hours, a judge has ruled in the
favor of Moapp Police Department. Listen, I'm from LA law enforcement.
I believe in law enforcement. I support law enforcement. However,
what happened that day was wrong. In the last hours
(41:37):
of judge rules in favor of Moapp Police Department against
the family of Gabby Patito. As I said earlier, it
ain't over yet. Goodbye,
Host
Nancy Grace
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