Over the past month, there have been new updates coming from the Gabby Petito murder case, as the Petito family is now suing the Laundrie family and the Moab Police Department in Utah. 

At the start of July 2021, Gabby Petito and her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, took their van and went on a road trip. They covered a huge chunk of the states, stopping at many different famous landmarks along the way. In the first month, they stopped at Monument Rocks, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Mystic Hot Springs, and Canyonlands National Park. They had intended for their trip to last for four months, but it ended up being cut short. 

On August 12th, 2021, there was a call made to 911 from a witness who reported a couple that appeared to be fighting outside their white 2012 Ford Transit Connect in Moab, Utah. The caller reported witnessing a male slap a female multiple times, and that the female was also punching the male in the arm repeatedly. They also reported that the pair were talking very loud and aggressively to each other. It also appeared that the male was trying to leave the female on the street and take her phone with him. The couple was later identified as Petito and Laundrie. 

Gabby went missing in late August. The last time she was seen alive was on August 27, 2021, shopping at Whole Foods with Laundrie. Shortly after, Laundrie decided to drive the van from where the couple were staying in Wyoming, all the way back to his parents house in North Port, Florida. He arrived in Florida on September 1st, which was suspicious because he was not helping with the search for Petito’s body. This was a red flag to police, as he was already refusing to cooperate with officers and declining questions when asked where Petito was. 

Laundrie became a person of interest in the case when he was caught making withdrawals from Petito’s debit card. Petito’s parents ended up officially reporting her missing on September 11, 2021. Just two days later, on September 13, Laundrie fled from his home in Florida, and was also reported missing on September 17. 

Petito’s remains were found on September 19, 2021 in Teton National Forest, in Wyoming. It is speculated that she was killed approximately three to four weeks prior to her body being discovered. Medical examiners found that Petito was killed from strangulation and blunt-force trauma to the head and neck. 

On October 20, 2021, Laundrie’s remains were located in Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, just outside of North Port, Florida. He died from gunshot wounds to the head, which were self-inflicted. The FBI declared that Laundrie had admitted to murdering Petito in a notebook found near his body. Part of the note read, “I ended her life. I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted, but I see now all the mistakes I made. I panicked. I was in shock.”

Over a year later, there have been some new updates in the case. Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, Petito’s parents, have recently filed a lawsuit against Chris and Roberta Laundrie, Laundrie’s parents, claiming that the Laundries knew about Petito’s death and location of her body while the search for her remains was being conducted back in September, 2021. Laundrie’s parents left to go on a camping trip in early September, and Petito’s parents are claiming that the Laundries knew about what had happened to Petitio at that point in the investigation.

About a month ago, the Petitos also filed a 50 million dollar wrongful death lawsuit against the Moab Police Department for improperly handling a 911 witness call. This lawsuit is relating to the incident where Laundrie was seen hitting Petito and trying to steal her phone from her. With the incident taking place just a couple weeks before the murder, the Petitos believe that if more law enforcement action had been taken at this time, Gabby could still be alive.

Additional information on this case can be found on NBC News.