Gabby Petito sobs in harrowing cop bodycam vid after she hits fiancé Brian Laundrie ‘with phone’ before disappearance
HARROWING bodycam footage shows missing van-life vlogger Gabby Petito sobbing to police as she is asked why she slapped her boyfriend Brian Laundrie in an argument 13 days before she vanished.
The video was captured by the Moab City Police Department in Utah as they responded to a 911 call about domestic violence incident between Petito, 22, and Laundrie, 23, outside of a grocery store on August 12.
"I'm so sorry officer," he calls out as Petito opens the door.
HYSTERICALLY CRYING
Petito is visibly emotional as she attempts to explain to the officer what she and Laundrie were arguing about.
"I have OCD and I was just cleaning and straightening...," she says, sobbing. "And I was apologizing to him and saying I'm sorry that I am so mean as sometimes I am so mean because I have OCD and get really frustrated.
"Not like mean towards him I guess my vibe is like in a bad mood and I said I'm sorry I'm in a bad mood I am stressed I had so much work."
She then tells the officer they have been traveling the country and
"We have been fighting all morning and he wouldn't let me in the car before," she says.
The officer asks why, adding: "Is it because of your OCD?"
Scratches are visible on his face and arm, according to a police report.
He tells the officer that Petito gets "really worked up sometimes" and that he tries to "distance himself from it".
The argument started, he said, when Petito tried to get the keys to the van off him. There also was a discrepancy over her phone, Laundrie explains.
"I want you guys both to be tonight, away from each other," the cop says, before telling Petito, "Relax, breathe, because there's no need to be crying now."
'DIDN'T STOP CRYING'
In the police report of the incident, Laundrie is listed as the victim and Petito as the suspect.
Petito, who had been traveling across the country with Laundrie in their camper van since July 2, was last known to have been visiting Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on August 25.
She was officially reported missing by her mom on September 11, two weeks after she'd last spoken to her daughter on the phone, and ten days after Laundrie returned home to Florida in their van without her.
In a statement, Petito's family said: "Every day the search for Gabby continues the Schmidt and Petito family becomes more desperate. They are frantically searching for answers and information in their daughter’s disappearance while Brian sits in the comfort of his home.
"Many people are wondering why Mr. Laundrie would not make a statement or speak with law enforcement in the face of Ms. Petito’s absence," it read.
"In my experience, intimate partners are often the first person law enforcement focus their attention on in cases like this and the warning that “any statement made will be used against you” is true, regardless of whether my client had anything to do with Ms. Petito’s disappearance.
"As such, on the advice of counsel Mr. Laundrie is not speaking on the matter."
LAUNDRIE 'HINDERING' INVESTIGATION
North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison spoke out about the case on "Good Morning America" Thursday morning.
He said there are no plans to obtain a search warrant for Laundrie's parents' home, where the two lived.
"We don't have a crime in this. We are investigating a missing person."
"Two people went on a trip and one person returned. And that person is not talking to us," Garrison said.
He added Laundrie "has the pieces to the puzzle that we need to be able to find Gabby."
"As a father, I can imagine the pain and suffering Gabby's family is going through," Garrison said. "We are pleading with anyone, including Brian, to share information with us on her whereabouts in the past few weeks.
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"The lack of information from Brian is hindering the investigation.
"The answers will eventually come out."
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