Gabby Petito: Bodycam footage of Florida woman who went missing on road trip with boyfriend released
Footage released by Utah police shows Gabby Petito being questioned by an officer after an altercation with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, who is seen with “scratches on his face”. He remains a person of interest in the investigation.
Police have released bodycam footage of a Florida woman who disappeared on a road trip with her boyfriend - who has since returned home alone.
The video, released by the Moab Police Department, shows an officer speaking to tearful Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito and her boyfriend Brian Laundrie, 23, on August 12.
The childhood sweethearts had been pulled over after the camper van they were in was caught speeding and hitting a curb near the entrance to Arches National Park.
Mr Laundrie drove the Ford Transit van back to Florida on September 1 without his girlfriend, police said. Ms Petito's family reported her missing on September 11.
The body camera video shows Ms Petito visibly upset telling an officer "we've just been fighting this morning. Some personal issues."
She adds that she suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder that affects her behaviour.
"Yeah, I don't know, it's just some days, I have really bad OCD, and I was just cleaning and straightening up and I was apologising to him saying that I'm so mean because sometimes I have OCD and get frustrated," she said.
Mr Laundrie says they had got into a minor scuffle that began when he climbed into the van with dirty feet, and said he didn't want to pursue a domestic violence charge against Ms Petito, who officers decided was the aggressor.
"I'm not going to pursue anything because she is my fiancée and I love her. It was just a squabble. Sorry it had to get so public," Mr Laundrie says.
Officers decided not file charges and instead separated the couple for the night, driving Mr Laundrie to a nearby motel while Ms Petito stayed in the camper van.
"He's going to a hotel. I'm giving you the keys to the van. I'm giving him a ride to the hotel. Everything will be okay," the officer says.
The couple said their drive across the States began in in July from New York's Long Island, where they both grew up. They were hoping to reach Oregon by Halloween.
Ms Petito's family have not heard from her since late August when she got in touch from Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. The missing woman's father, Joe Petito, this week urged anyone with knowledge about his daughter to come forward.
Ms Petito documented their travels on social media but her Instagram posts stopped abruptly three weeks ago.
An eight-minute YouTube video titled "Van Life: Beginning our Van Life Journey" features happy and romantic scenes from the couple's trip.
In a direct plea to Mr Laundrie's lawyer, North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison, frustrated at the lack of cooperation, tweeted on Wednesday: “Two people left on a trip and one person returned!”