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Murdered blogger Gabby Petito's parents recently released a shocking selfie showing her bruised face just moments before a bystander called the local cops after seeing her fiance Brian Laundrie hitting her and trying to steal her phone.
Trigger Warning: This article contains pictures and written references to instances of violence. Viewer discretion as advised.
22-year-old Petito was bludgeoned and strangled to death by Laundrie while the two were on a cross-country road trip.
The selfie, which was taken on August 12, 2021, was part of a wrongful death lawsuit against the Moab City Police Department in Utah, where the incident occurred. The photograph showed a tearful Gabby with blood around her left eye and nose.
Netizens were enraged after the alarming picture circulated on social media. They called out the police for negligence, with one Twitter user, @sinnsage, commenting:
Internet users believe Gabby Petito's "life could have been saved" had cops intervened at the right time
As the selfie and news of neglect on the part of Moab police spread online, Twitterati were left horrified and furious. They took to the microblogging platform to call out law enforcement officers for "aiding in a domestic violence incident." Questioning why Laundrie was not taken into custody, they accused the cops of "bonding with the abuser."
Some users pointed out that they even made Gabby Petito seem like "the aggressor" without considering the whole incident.
Other users demanded that the cops be jailed for not carrying out their duties. One user, @Robbiezombie, demanded the officer be held accountable for their actions so that the mistake is not repeated:
Here are some more Twitter responses to Gabby's horrific selfie:
Gabby Petitio's parents file a lawsuit against Moab police officers for wrongful death
Gabby Petito was killed on August 28, 2021, and her remains were found in a shallow grave at a national park in Wyoming on September 18, 2021.
Immediately after the YouTuber's gruesome murder, her fiance Brian Laundrie returned to his parents' home in North Port, Florida, on September 1, 2021. He went missing soon after, and was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in a nearby swamp on October 20, 2021. Local authorities also found a handwritten confession to killing his fiance.
Body cam footage of the two police officers intercepting the 911 call in Moab, shows the distraught 22-year-old telling them Laudrie "grabbed her face," while gesturing to show them how he attacked her. The officers then treated the incident as disorderly conduct and separated them for the night.
Brian Steward, attorney for Gabby Petito's parents, who filed a $50 million lawsuit against Moab PD, stated:
"Moab police failed to listen to Gabby, failed to investigate her injuries and the seriousness of her assault, and failed to follow their own training, policies, and Utah law."
Moab police later stated that they made "unintentional mistakes" by letting the couple go after questioning a distraught Petito.
