New bodycam footage has been obtained showing what Gabby Petito told police regarding her domestic dispute with boyfriend Brian Laundrie.
The 22-year-old travel blogger was confirmed dead by the FBI last month, nine days after her family reported her missing. Petito had been traveling the country in a converted van alongside 23-year-old Laundrie.
On September 1, Laundrie returned to the couple's Florida home that they shared with his parents in the van. He was alone.
Just days after Gabby's family reported her missing to the police, Laundrie's parents say he also went missing. Despite being named a "person of interest" in the case and widespread searches, Laundrie is yet to be found.
Now, CNN has obtained new bodycam footage revealing what Gabby told police officers following a domestic dispute with Laundrie on August 12.
More on this newly obtained footage in the video below:Moab Utah police attended to the couple after receiving a call from a witness who described the pair as "sort of squabbling over a phone". The witness also claims that the couple were striking each other "like two kids fighting."
In a 911 call, a witness said: "We drove by and the gentleman was slapping the girl."
"Then we stopped. They ran up and down the sidewalk. He proceeded to hit her, hopped in the car and they drove off," the caller continued.
Officer Eric Pratt, of Moab Utah, wrote in his report of the altercation: "Both the male and female reported they are in love and engaged to be married and desperately didn't wish to see anyone charged with a crime."
In the newly obtained footage - which is 52 minutes in length - Petito tells Pratt that while Laundrie did hit her, she struck him first.
Pratt asked the 22-year-old: "You slapped him first? And just on his face?"
To which, Petito responds: "Well, he kept telling me to shut up."
The officer then replies: "Did he hit you, though? I mean, it's OK if you're saying you hit him, and then I understand if he hit you, but we want to know the truth if he actually hit you, because you know- "
"I guess, I guess, yeah, but I hit him first," Petito responds.
Describing the incident, Petito recalls: "Well, he like grabbed my face, like, I guess. ... He didn't like, hit me in the face. He didn't, like, punch me in the face or anything."
"He, like, grabbed me with his nail, and I guess that's why it looks... definitely I was cut right here [gesturing to her cheek] because I can feel it. When I touch it, it burns," Petito continues.
The police report added that Petito was confused and emotional", and reported, "serious anxiety" that was made worse by "little arguments she and Brian had been having all day". Officers suggested that the couple separate for the evening, with Petito staying in the van and Laundrie being transported to a nearby hotel.
Attempting to avoid any further escalation, Petito says to the officer: "Like we're a team, please. It's going to give me so much anxiety. Can we just have, like, a driving ticket?"
Officer Daniel Robbins reported: "After evaluating the totality of the circumstances, I do not believe the situation escalated to the level of a domestic assault as much as that of a mental health crisis."
No charges were filed, and the altercation was labeled as a "mental [or] emotional break" rather than domestic assault.
In response to Petito's subsequent disappearance and death, the city of Moab said in a statement last week:
"We understand that individuals can view the same situation in very different ways, and we recognize how the death of Ms. Petito more than two weeks later in Wyoming might lead to speculation, in hindsight, about actions taken during the incident in Moab.
"The purpose of the City's formal investigation is to gather the underlying facts and evidence necessary to make a thorough, informed evaluation of such actions."
The statement continued: "At this time, the City of Moab is unaware of any breach of Police Department policy during this incident. However, the City will conduct a formal investigation and, based on the results, will take any next steps that may be appropriate."
