Lawyers for Petito’s parents,Nichole SchmidtandJoe Petito, filed a notice of claim on Monday in Salt Lake City, formally notifying Moab of their plans to seek $50 million in damages as part of a wrongful death lawsuit.
PEOPLE was provided with a copy of the filing, which alleges the officers failed to recognize the warning signs of domestic violence that placed Petito, 22, at risk for escalating harm.
It further argues police should have taken the 911 caller’s report — in which the caller reported witnessingLaundrie striking Petitooutside a co-operative market — more seriously.
The suit also contends the police should have reacted differently to the cuts they observed on Petito’s cheek, which she said she received when he grabbed her face violently during an argument.
Last September,body camera footageof the encounter was released, showing Laundrie unfazed as well as a sobbing Petito, who defended her 23-year-old boyfriend’s actions, telling cops she’d hit him in the face during their fight.
In paperwork filed after the incident, police categorized the entire call as a “mental health crisis” rather than an incident of domestic violence.
“The City of Moab sends our sincere condolences to the Petito family. Our hearts go out to them as they continue to deal with the tragic loss of their daughter,” the statement said.
Petito and Laundrie were on a cross-country trip when she vanished in late August 2021. She was reported missing on Sept. 11 — 10 days after Laundrie quietly returned to his parents' Florida home without her, but with her van.
Laundrie, whovanished around the same timeamid nationwide calls for his arrest, was found dead from aself-inflicted gunshot woundin the Florida wilderness last October.
Next to his body, authoritiesfound a notebookcontaining Laundrie’s full confession.
In it, Laundrie referred to Petito’s death as an “unexpected tragedy.” He claimed she was injured as the couple crossed a stream in the dark. Laundrie wrote that Petito had a “small bump on her forehead that eventually got larger” as well as other injuries, and that she was “begging for an end to her pain.”
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This past May, Schmidt filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the curator ofBrian Laundrie’s estate in Florida.
The lawsuit states Schmidt and Petito’s father “incurred funeral and burial expenses, and they have suffered a loss of care and comfort, and suffered a loss of probable future companionship, society and comfort” after Lauderie killed their daughter.
In March, both of Petito’s parents filed a civil suit against Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, alleging they helped their son conceal Petito’s murder.
“It is believed, and therefore averred that … Brian Laundrie advised his parents, Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie, that he had murdered Gabrielle Petito,” states the lawsuit. “On that same date, Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie spoke with Attorney Steve Bertolino, and sent him a retainer on Sept. 2, 2021.”
The Laundries did not show up fora June hearingin that case.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go tothehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
