Gabby Petito reported boyfriend 'grabbed her by face' months before her death

'He grabbed my face, I guess. He grabbed me like with his nails,' Gabby Petito told police month before disappearance

Newly released police footage shows Gabby Petito told officers about a domestic dispute with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, a month before she disappeared.

The 22-year-old was found dead in Wyoming last month and police searching for Mr Laundrie and want to speak to him as a person of interest in the case.

Ms Petito's death is being treated as a homicide. The couple were on a cross country road trip when she went missing.

Bodycam footage from August shows Ms Petito telling a Utah police officer that Mr Laundie had grabbed her by the face during an argument.

In the exchange the officer tells Ms Petito police have two witnesses that say they say Mr Laundie "punch" her.

She replies: "Well, to be honest, I hit him first [...] I slapped him".

The 22-year-old says Mr Laundie then "grabbed my arm," and when police ask if he slapped her face replies: "He grabbed my face, I guess. He didn't like hit me in the face. He didn't like punch me in the face or anything.

"Well he grabbed me like with his nails and I guess that's why I definitely have a cut right here. I can feel it. It's like a burn."

Ms Petito's body was found near Grand Teton National Park on September 19.

Her death has been classified as homicide, meaning she was killed by another person, but medical examiners in Wyoming haven't disclosed how she died.

Mr Laundrie faces federal charges in Wyoming of unauthorised use of a debit card.

He used a Capital One Bank card and someone's personal identification number to make more than $1,000 in unauthorized withdrawals or charges while Petito was missing, authorities alleged.

Authorities have not said whose card he allegedly misused.