Utah police video shows Long Island missing woman and boyfriend after the couple fought last month
A missing Long Island woman and her longtime boyfriend were fighting before Utah police pulled the couple’s van over last month, with body-cam video released Thursday capturing the aftermath of their angry dispute.
The speeding vehicle belonging to Gabby Petito, 22, slammed into a curb near the entrance to Arches National Park on Aug. 12 before cops stopped the van. Police eventually separated the couple, with boyfriend Brian Laundrie checking into a nearby motel while his girlfriend stayed with the converted sleeper van, the video showed.
Laundrie, 23, was declared a “person of interest” in the disappearance of his girlfriend and has flatly refused to cooperate with authorities, including police in his hometown of North Port, Fla. The FBI has also joined in the national search for Petito, setting up a tip line as the woman’s family holds out hope that she will be found alive.
“Everyone has rights, and we respect the Constitution and their rights,” said North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison during a Thursday interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
“I can’t speculate on why he’s not talking, but he has the pieces to the puzzle that we need to find Gabby.”
At a later news conference, Garrison emphasized the investigation was focused on a missing person rather than a murder suspect. But he added investigators were unsure where to start their search given the couple’s cross-county jaunt and the lack of input from Laundrie.
“We are still trying to nail down geographic areas,” said Garrison. “There’s a lot of information we’re going through. Our focus is to find Gabby.”
The childhood sweethearts went on a trip that apparently ended abruptly, with Laundrie returning alone to Florida on Sept. 1 and no missing persons report filed until Petito’s family went to authorities on Long Island last Saturday.
“What I want from everybody here is help,” said Gabby’s father, Joe Petito, at the Florida news conference. “Whatever you can do to make sure my daughter comes home, I’m asking you to help. Nothing else matters right now.”
The Laundrie family lawyer issued an earlier statement saying they would have no comment on the investigation, and North Port police said Laundrie refused to even come to the front door when they visited the family home last weekend.
The Utah police video captured the aftermath of the couple’s dispute, which began after Laundrie climbed into the van with dirty feet. A visibly upset Petito explained the pair were “fighting this morning, some personal issues.”
Laundrie declined to press a domestic violence charge before police separated the pair and moved on, with the boyfriend explaining, “I love her. It was just a squabble.”
Joseph Petito, in an earlier Daily News interview, expressed his frustration over Laundrie’s continued refusal to cooperate with investigators.
“Right now, my daughter’s missing and he’s in the comfort of his own home, having home-cooked meals,” said Petito. “I mean, the optics of this don’t look good. But any scenario I come up with in my head makes me cry.”
Petito said he never saw any signs of conflict between the couple, saying they always seemed to get along well.
“I never saw any red flags,” he recalled. “If I would’ve seen any red flags, I would’ve said something. I’m a protective father. Nothing pops out that would indicate we would be where we are today.
“But here we are. My daughter’s nowhere to be found and he’s ... hiding behind his mother.”
