Brian Laundrie ‘swung at Gabby Petito with a CLOSED fist’ during fight in WY days, witness claims
A new witness claims he saw Brain Laundrie ‘swing’ at Gabby Petito with a ‘closed fist’ during a fight in Wyoming just days before her death.
Chandler, 26, who asked to go only by his first name, told The Sun he was stopped at a red light when he noticed Laundrie, 23, striking Petito, 22, outside of Moonflower Community Cooperative in Wyoming on August 12, 2021.
Chandler insisted that Laundrie was the aggressive one and hit Petito – who died exactly one year ago today – with ‘a closed fist.’
‘It was kind of like a slapping motion, but with a closed fist,’ he told The Sun. ‘They were kind of yelling and then Brian swung at her, I believe it was his left hand.’
He recalled seeing the couple fighting near the back passenger-side tire when he saw Laundrie lightly swing at Petito, striking her in the face and causing her to fall back against the white van.
‘She definitely felt it [the hit],’ Chandler told The Sun. ‘When she hit into the van, she pretty much hit her back and probably the back of her head.’
A new witness claims he saw Brain Laundrie ‘swing’ at Gabby Petito with a ‘closed fist’ during a fight outside of Moonflower in Wyoming on August 12, 2021. Petito (pictured then) told officers he had ‘grabbed’ her face and she had slapped him a ‘couple of times’
The witness, Chandler, who only went by his first name, 26, said he saw Laundrie (pictured on August 12, 2021) hit her, but admitted it wasn’t a hard hit, but she ‘definitely felt it’
Chandler insisted that Laundrie was the aggressive one and hit Petito – who died exactly one year ago today – with ‘a closed fist.’
From there, the pair started reportedly yelling at each other before Laundrie walked away and his girlfriend followed.
Chandler, who was ‘very much’ shocked by the encounter he witnessed, kept driving after he saw other locals approach the couple.
Another witness called 911 and reported they saw Laundrie slap Petito before they both climbed into the van and took off.
It was also reported that Laundrie had attempted to prevent Petito from getting back into the van.
‘They were talking aggressively [at] each other [and] something definitely seemed off,’ the witness, identified only as Christopher in a statement, obtained by Fox News, wrote. ‘At one point, they were sort of fighting over a phone – I think the male took the female’s phone. It appeared that he didn’t want her in the white van.’
Moab Police – which is facing a $50million lawsuit from Petito’s family – caught up with the van life couple shortly after and separated the two to ask what happened.
The fight happened outside of Moonflower, where several witnesses claim Laundrie hit Petito
In recently released body-cam footage, Petito was seen telling officers that Laundrie had ‘grabbed’ her, but insisted that she ‘slapped’ him first.
An officer could be seen gently pointing to the young woman’s cheek and asking if he could ‘see the other side of your face,’ which appeared slightly bruised.
She claimed the ‘backpack got me’ as she had climbed back into the van, but when the officer insisted ‘two independent witnesses’ had claimed Laundrie had hit her and that there was a domestic dispute, she changed her story.
Stating: ‘Well, to be honest, I hit him first.’
She admitted to slapping him a ‘couple of times’ because he ‘told me to shut up.’
Petito then told officers back in August 2021 that she ‘guessed he hit her,’ but again insisted she hit him first.
‘He grabbed my face,’ she admitted. ‘He didn’t, like, hit me, he didn’t, like, punch me in the face.’
When asked if Laundrie had slapped her, she replied: ‘He grabbed my face with his nail. I definitely have a cut right now, I can feel it.’
Petito’s family is now gearing up to sue the Moab Police Department for wrongful death after the cops who pulled the couple over failed to see she was in a dangerous situation.
The $50 million notice of claim contends police in the tourist town of Moab missed signs that Petito was the victim of domestic violence at the hands of Laundrie.
A witness claimed in a report they were fighting over a phone and Laundrie tried to prevent Petito from getting into the van
The pair had been traveling on a cross-country trip together, starting on July 2, when they left New York. Petito was reported missing on September 11
‘If the officers had been properly trained and followed the law, Gabby would still be alive today,’ said attorney James McConkie in a statement announcing the filing of the notice of claim.
Notices of claims are required before people can sue government entities and the family’s claim said that the lawsuit will seek $50 million in damages.
Petito was reported missing a month after that traffic stop, and her strangled body was discovered on September 19 on the edge of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
Laundrie, 23, later killed himself in Florida after being named the only person of interest in her death. Petito and Landrie were originally from Long Island, New York.
The search for Petito drew worldwide attention, spurring amateur sleuths to scour social media for clues.
Earlier this year, an independent investigation found that police in Moab made ‘several unintentional mistakes’ when they came across Petito and Laundrie.
In the report, police said it was very likely that Petito ‘was a long-term victim of domestic violence, whether that be physically, mentally, and/or emotionally.’
Gabby’s remains were discovered on September 19, 2021, in an isolated spot in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming.
She and her boyfriend had lived with his parents in North Port. The young couple set off on an adventure from New York State, where her mother lives, in early July and headed West.
However, on September 1, Laundrie arrived back at the his family home on his own in Gabby’s white Ford van. Eleven days later Gabby’s mother reported her missing after last having contact in a phone call on August 25.
Hours after Gabby’s mom raised the alarm, North Port Police hauled the white van off the Laundrie’s driveway and took it off for forensic examination.
Officers asked to speak to Laundrie at the house, but were told by his parents he wasn’t available. It is not known if the killer was inside at the time.
Laundrie then went missing in Carlton Reserve near his home, sparking a massive hunt involving local police, the FBI and at least two sheriff’s departments.
His parents initially told police he vanished on September 14 to go hiking in the reserve, but later changed this to a day earlier. His body was eventually found in the swamp on October 20 after his parents broke cover and joined law enforcement there.
The Petito family (pictured: her mother) are planning on suing the Moab Police Department for $50million, stating they failed to recognize that Petito was a victim of domestic violence
Petito’s remains were found on September 19, 2021, and she died exactly one year ago today
Laundrie killed himself in a Florida swamp, leaving behind a notebook that authorities said contained a confession. His body was found on October 20.
The murderer admitted that he strangled Petito as the result of an ‘unexpected tragedy’ in Grand Teton National Park, in which Gabby fell into a creek and injured herself on their road trip last summer.
And he began the notebook with a personal message addressed to Gabby, in which he claimed: ‘I wish I could be at your side, I wish I could be talking to you right now.’
In self-pitying sentences written in smudged blue pen, Laundrie claimed he battled to comfort Gabby, who was deteriorating, crying in pain and shivering from constant cold.
But eventually he killed her, writing: ‘I don’t know the extent of Gabby’s injuries, only that she was in extreme pain.
‘I ended her life. I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted, but I see now all the mistake that I made. I panicked. I was in shock. But from the moment I decided, took away her pain.’
His notebook was found in a dry bag beside his body on October 20 last year after he fled to the alligator-infested Carlton Reserve near his home in North Port, Florida. He’d shot himself in the head.
Laundrie’s waterlogged journal, where he confessed to the murder of Petito
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