Gabby Petito

[JimMIA]

(they were in Utah, not New Mexico)

Good point, thanks. I corrected my mistake.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I know all the facts aren’t in yet, but at this point I feel pretty comfortable saying the one who ended up dead was probably the bigger victim in that tumultuous relationship.

I’m not “micro-focused on one comment made by a witness.” I’ve been discussing many aspects of this case throughout this thread and as the conversation has drifted to the police handling of the Aug. 12 incident, that’s what I’m currently discussing, as are others, you included.

You mentioned how state laws vary upthread. The officers spent a significant amount of time in that video talking about what Utah law (they were in Utah, not New Mexico) required of them. They were very clear that they had no discretion in cases of domestic assault and because Brian and Gabby lived together and Brian had visible injuries, they met the criteria for domestic assault. They expressly said multiple times that they had no choice but to charge Gabby. Towards the end of the video, three of the officers stood around deliberating about whether to charge her, then one of the officers went to Gabby and told her he’d decided not to charge her with domestic assault. But supposedly Utah law doesn’t allow them discretion not to charge someone under the circumstances.

There were two witnesses. One called 911, the other known as Chris physically walked up to a police officer and told him what he had seen and gave the officer his contact information. Later, he wrote a statement. Chris is the witness the officer called while at the traffic stop. The officer never called the second witness, but he did talk about there being two witnesses in the video:

“Both an independent witness, probably the next one we’re going to talk to as well, which we haven’t talked to yet, but one we did talk to, and your own companion have made it clear that she was the primary aggressor.”

He was *guessing* as to what the second witness would say if they contacted him.

So yeah, I don’t expect policing to be perfect, but I think there are a few things in this scenario that should raise some questions.

I was writing as you posted this.

This [bolded] is very confusing, and differs from what I have seen in various articles at the time the information was coming out. Who knows what is accurate.

It was my understanding that Christopher was the one who called in to 911, and it was he who wrote the Witness Statement.

Was there a walk up complainant who wasn’t Christopher? Anyone? Anyone?

 

[JimMIA]

I know all the facts aren’t in yet, but at this point I feel pretty comfortable saying the one who ended up dead was probably the bigger victim in that tumultuous relationship.

I’m not “micro-focused on one comment made by a witness.” I’ve been discussing many aspects of this case throughout this thread and as the conversation has drifted to the police handling of the Aug. 12 incident, that’s what I’m currently discussing, as are others, you included.

You mentioned how state laws vary upthread. The officers spent a significant amount of time in that video talking about what Utah law (they were in Utah, not New Mexico) required of them. They were very clear that they had no discretion in cases of domestic assault and because Brian and Gabby lived together and Brian had visible injuries, they met the criteria for domestic assault. They expressly said multiple times that they had no choice but to charge Gabby. Towards the end of the video, three of the officers stood around deliberating about whether to charge her, then one of the officers went to Gabby and told her he’d decided not to charge her with domestic assault. But supposedly Utah law doesn’t allow them discretion not to charge someone under the circumstances.

There were two witnesses. One called 911, the other known as Chris physically walked up to a police officer and told him what he had seen and gave the officer his contact information. Later, he wrote a statement. Chris is the witness the officer called while at the traffic stop. The officer never called the second witness, but he did talk about there being two witnesses in the video:

“Both an independent witness, probably the next one we’re going to talk to as well, which we haven’t talked to yet, but one we did talk to, and your own companion have made it clear that she was the primary aggressor.”

He was *guessing* as to what the second witness would say if they contacted him.

So yeah, I don’t expect policing to be perfect, but I think there are a few things in this scenario that should raise some questions.

Not looking for an argument, but you are still focusing on minutia.

The Utah police incident doesn't matter. It's just clickbait now that Gabby's body has been found and Brian can't be found.

What is important here is who killed Gabby, and where are they?

 

[JimMIA]

I was writing as you posted this.

This [bolded] is very confusing, and differs from what I have seen in various articles at the time the information was coming out. Who knows what is accurate.

It was my understanding that Christopher was the one who called in to 911, and it was he who wrote the Witness Statement.

Was there a walk up complainant who wasn’t Christopher? Anyone? Anyone?

 

[TipsyTraveler]

This was discussed on and around page 30 here.

Someone posted an article in post #582 from Fox News that said this:

“Christopher’s statement also reports that he "noticed another person had called this in." Authorities told Fox News that they had no record of a second call.”

The article:

Details of Utah’s Gabby Petito‘s Utah Fight With Fiancé Brian Laundrie Revealed In Witness Statement To Police

Christopher wrote the witness statement.

There has been a lot of conflicting information from news organizations. I’m just saying that, that according to this article, according to “authorities”, there was no second witness.

Because there was no second call. Only one witness called 911. The other witness, Chris, walked up to an officer in-person and offered up an account of what they had seen and their contact info. Then they wrote out a statement, snippets of which can be found online.

 

[Marrila]

I like reading the various opinions on this thread. I'm not crazy about the "it's clickbait" comments. One person's source might not be another's choice and that's fine. But disagreeing doesn't automatically make it clickbait.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

I was writing as you posted this.

This [bolded] is very confusing, and differs from what I have seen in various articles at the time the information was coming out. Who knows what is accurate.

It was my understanding that Christopher was the one who called in to 911, and it was he who wrote the Witness Statement.

Was there a walk up complainant who wasn’t Christopher? Anyone? Anyone?

Chris is the walk-up complainant who also wrote a witness statement. The second unnamed witness is the one who called 911. Chris even references the second witness calling 911 in the written statement. Listen to the body cam footage at 20:45. The officer can be heard saying “I just called one of the two witnesses.” He then mentions the second witness again while talking to Brian in the quote I posted upthread.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Not looking for an argument, but you are still focusing on minutia.

The Utah police incident doesn't matter. It's just clickbait now that Gabby's body has been found and Brian can't be found.

What is important here is who killed Gabby, and where are they?

I’ll focus on whatever part of this story I currently find interesting, and right now I’m interested in helping to clear up all the confusion about the witness reports. If not that, I’d be stuck talking about Dog the Bounty Hunter and I’d rather not.

 

[JimMIA]

I’ll focus on whatever part of this story I currently find interesting, and right now I’m interested in helping to clear up all the confusion about the witness reports. If not that, I’d be stuck talking about Dog the Bounty Hunter and I’d rather not.

Sure. You certainly have that right.

And if it will keep folks from talking about "Dog," I'll join you!

 

[neverlandsky]

If the Laundrie's lied about the whereabouts of their son, they may be forced to pay $1.2 million for the manhunt.
Brian Laundrie’s Instagram Goes Live After His Phone Was Left at Parents’ House (msn.com) <<<--- Interesting, unless his account was hacked.

 

[DLgal]

Apparently the Petito family will be holding a press conference tomorrow. Wonder what that is about?

 

[mom2rtk]

Apparently the Petito family will be holding a press conference tomorrow. Wonder what that is about?

No idea. But it could just be them trying to keep interest alive.

 

[DLgal]

Ooh...looks like the Dog may have found something! He found a campsite that may be linked to either Brian or the Laundries and is currently awaiting the arrival of the FBI. He is "in the woods in FL." No exact location revealed yet while they await law enforcement arrival. But, he is NOT at the Carlton reserve.

 

[JimMIA]

No idea. But it could just be them trying to keep interest alive.

And that is certainly okay. They don't want Gabby to just fade away. They want to know what happened, they want justice, they want closure -- and they are entitled to all three.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Sure. You certainly have that right.

And if it will keep folks from talking about "Dog," I'll join you!

Ooh...looks like the Dog may have found something! He found a campsite that may be linked to either Brian or the Laundries and is currently awaiting the arrival of the FBI. He is "in the woods in FL." No exact location revealed yet while they await law enforcement arrival. But, he is NOT at the Carlton reserve.

See Jim, now we’re talking about Dog the Bounty Hunter. I bet you wish you could turn the clock back 10 minutes and talk about witness reports again, don’t ya?

But for real DLgal, keep us updated on what they find.

 

[Marrila]

See Jim, now we’re talking about Dog the Bounty Hunter. I bet you wish you could turn the clock back 10 minutes and talk about witness reports again, don’t ya?

But for real DLgal, keep us updated on what they find.

I'm not DLGal, but here's the info, FWIW.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1442616152161542144

 

[JimMIA]

See Jim, now we’re talking about Dog the Bounty Hunter. I bet you wish you could turn the clock back 10 minutes and talk about witness reports again, don’t ya?

But for real DLgal, keep us updated on what they find.

We'll see. If he actually finds something or gets info that helps close the case, that will be great. But when he publicizes whatever he says he's found before the FBI even arrives, you'll have to excuse me if I'm unimpressed.

But yeah, I could end up with egg on my face -- like the "New Mexico law" brainfart. That was not a typo; it was a brainfart. Won't be the first time; won't be the last, lol.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Chris is the walk-up complainant who also wrote a witness statement. The second unnamed witness is the one who called 911. Chris even references the second witness calling 911 in the written statement. Listen to the body cam footage at 20:45. The officer can be heard saying “I just called one of the two witnesses.” He then mentions the second witness again while talking to Brian in the quote I posted upthread.

I’ll take your word for it.

 

[neverlandsky]

Apparently the Petito family will be holding a press conference tomorrow. Wonder what that is about?

To publicly thank everyone for their outpouring support and love. That Gabby's body is finally home since I read that the FBI still had her body and the family was to make a statement when her body is finally home. Most likely Gabby will be laid to rest/ashes spread in a private ceremony.

 

[sasywtch]

Yes!

This is the kind of thing that frustrates police (and I'm sure prosecutors). Whenever there is a viral incident like this, all the "woulda-done, coulda-done, shoulda-dones" come out later with penetrating critiques of the best possible things that were not done.

But there are several inconveniences that restrict police ability to do certain things. One of them is the US Constitution, and others are hundreds of local and state laws with establish not only what is a crime, but what evidence is permissible in court and how it must be handled, as well as the arrest and following prosecution steps.

And thank goodness we HAVE those vital protections! Also thank goodness that any law enforcement officer's FIRST duty is to respect those constraints on the power with which we are entrusted.

The laws also vary widely from state to state -- and Florida has both good and bad examples. For example:

• Baker Act-- in Florida, police have the authority to take a person into custody if there is a reasonable belief that the person has some kind of mental issue that makes them a danger to themselves or others. In Baker Act detentions, the person is transported to a licensed mental health facility for evaluation. The facility can detain them up to 3 days (unless the law has changed) to determine if they need to be kept out of trouble. Families and other interested parties can also go to court and seek a judicial order (called an ex parte order) which directs the police to go get the person and take them for evaluation.
  • Having watched the hour-long body cam video of the police interaction with Gabby and Brian, I don't think either one met the standard required for involuntary commitment -- in FLORIDA. I know nothing about Utah law.
• Domestic violence statute -- in Florida, at one time we had a statute that REQUIREDpolice officers to arrest a subject in a domestic dispute if there was a) an allegation of violence, and b) anyevidence of physical injury. Every time, no exceptions, no consideration of any other factors.
  • I hated that law, and finally the Legislature changed it to a more rational approach. Now all allegations have to be documented, appropriate medical care must be rendered, the victim must be advised of all protections available to them, and if there are any injuries noted the officer must document why they did not arrest the person who caused the injury.

The reason why the law was enacted was because the victims would call 911 and then when they saw their spouse being arrested, then all of a sudden nooooo they didn't do that to me. 2 weeks later, the victim was severly beaten or dead. I went on a few DV calls and that is how it went every time.