Gabby Petito's parents say 'no one knew' what she was going through year after vlogger's murder
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or chat at thehotline.org
MOAB, UTAH: Gabby's parents commemorate her one-year emotional anniversary of the death of their daughter Gabby Petito who was killed by her fiance Brian Laundrie. Gabby's heartbroken parents took it to Twitter to urge parents to pay attention to signs of domestic violence and said you never know who might be saved. The 22-year-old Gabby was a van bigger ho loved to document her life's journey but unfortunately, it was cut short by Brian who allegedly strangled Gabby to death.
Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt hosted an audio chat on Twitter Spaces where they reflected on Gabby's life. The former couple often works together to honor Gabby's life by raising awareness of domestic abuse. Nichole allegedly on Twitter claims, "Nobody had any idea what Gabby was going through." Devasted Gabby parents claim that their loving daughter could have been saved if the Moab police department would not have been negligent towards their daughter who clearly showed signs of domestic violence in the Body camera footage.
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Gabby and Brian were on a road trip around the United States. Whilst they were spotted by the Moab police who found Gabby crying over questioning both agreed to have been in a physical fight. Until September 1, Brain returned back to his parent's house in Florida without Gabby. Upon suspicion over Gabby's disappearance, the police found Brain as a person of interest and issued an arrest warrant against him. Brain then departed from his home on September 13 and was also reported missing on September 17. On September 19, Petito's remains were found at Bridger Teton National Forest in Wyoming. An autopsy found she was killed by manual strangulation. After a month of searching for Brian, the FBI found his remains in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park by self-inflicted gunshots on October 20 alongside a notebook where he confessed kiling Gabby. However, Gabby's family has since launched a $50million lawsuit against the Moab City Police Department, blaming its officers for failing to protect their daughter.
Gabby's father Joseph encouraged viewers to use the bodycam footage as a medium to recognize domestic violence."Use that video as a learning tool." "So we can get better. There's a perfect example right there. We can do better, and we should," said Joseph. "Let people know that they're not alone, and that might help get them through it. That's the important thing." While the couple also encouraged their followers to share rainbows pictures of rainbows to honor Gabby's life. The father on the tragic anniversary of Gabby said "if you see a rainbow take a picture, think of gabby and her light."