Found Deceased WY - Gabby Petito, Grand Teton National Park #88

[Sundog]

I agree wholeheartedly.

I can't see the PD doing anything else in the circumstances.

Even Gabby's mom, who was talking to her on the phone during the Moab stop, didn't sense any real danger or call the Moab PD and insist her daughter was in trouble.

No one sensed she was in that sort of danger. And, at the time of the stop, she wasn't. Something happened quite a bit later that triggered the final attack.

The Moab PD could be more sensitive in their statements, but I don't think anyone can legitimately fault them for their actions that day.

MOO

Also, IIRC, early on after the Moab incident, Gabby's mother played down the seriousness of the situation saying that it was the result of the small living quarters in the van and spending all that time in those close quarters while travelling. If this case ever goes to trial in civil court, that statement will be part of the evidence, I would think.

 

[Megnut]

Had they arrested Gabby (or Brian), sure, it may have changed the course of events. But, there's no guarantee it would have. And they couldn't hold either one of them for more than just one night.

The Moab PD recognized domestic abuse, but the circumstances (and injuries) didn't rise to the level of arrests.

Maybe if Gabby would have said she was scared of Brian, but she didn't. Instead, she took responsibility, and her story matched Brian's story.

I get the feeling that van life was so stressful, as long as they pursued it, they were at risk.

But that trip was Gabby's dream, and it seems as though she was determined to see it through even though their relationship was souring.

If Gabby couldn't forsee Brian's growing tendency to violence, and neither of their parents picked up on it during the visit home or phone calls, I can't imagine LE could have foreseen it, especially because the Moab stop was so long before the murder.

I think a lot of departments deal with mild cases of domestic abuse and have to make judgment calls as to whether they should take stronger steps to intercede. On the one hand, they want to prevent injury, but on the other hand, they don't want to punish the participants if it's a one-off event.

Just MOO

I think the Moab PD could be more tactful in their statements, but I don't think the Petitos have a case they can win.

GP's family doesn't have to 'win' the lawsuit to effect change. Increased awareness, targeted trained, heightened accountability, forced change.

Five years from now, in a city that adopts whatever new policy and advanced training comes out of this, LE will encounter a domestic situation, maybe on the side of the road, a car a or truck or camper, a new Gabby and a new Brian, and that tact LE takes may save lives. We don't know how or what that will look like because we aren't there yet.

But that is the hope and IMO the is what GP's family is fighting for.

JMO