Judge dismisses wrongful death lawsuit that Gabby Petito's parents filed against Moab, Utah police

[November 21, 2024]  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah judge on Wednesday dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit that Gabby Petito's parents filed against the city of Moab alleging police did not do enough during a traffic stop to protect their daughter from the man who killed her weeks later.

Plaintiffs' attorney Judson Burton argued that a state law barring lawsuits against government agencies is unconstitutional and said they plan to appeal.

Seventh District Court Judge Don Torgerson said he could not consider the law's constitutionality but the Court of Appeals can, KSL-TV reported.

Petito’s family said the dismissal was expected.

“We never anticipated that this would be an easy process and look forward to the Utah Supreme Court upholding the Utah Constitution’s original intent to preserve the right to recover for wrongful death claims under these circumstances,” her family said in a statement.

Petito, 22, was traveling the country in a converted camper van with her fiance, 23-year-old Brian Laundrie, and posting about it on social media when they were stopped by police in Moab on Aug. 12, 2021. Someone had called to report a man was slapping a woman. Police determined that Petito was the aggressor, and officers had them spend the night apart.

Her parents last heard from her in late August and reported her missing on Sept. 11, 2021, after Laundrie returned to Florida alone.

The search for Petito drew worldwide attention, spurring amateur sleuths to scour social media for clues. It also brought scrutiny from authorities and the media, both of which have been criticized for focusing more attention on missing white women than women of color.

Laundrie was named a person of interest in the case and disappeared two days before Petito's body was found on Sept. 19, 2021, just outside Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Authorities determined that she had been strangled.

Laundrie's remains were found a month later in a wildlife reserve near his parents' house in Florida. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after writing in a notebook that he killed Petito.

Nichole Schmidt, mother of Gabby Petito, whose death on a cross-country trip has sparked a manhunt for her boyfriend Brian Laundrie, speaks alongside, from left, Tara Petito, stepmother, Joseph Petito, father, Richard Stafford, family attorney, and Jim Schmidt, stepfather, during a news conference, Sept. 28, 2021, in Bohemia, N.Y. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

An independent investigation found that Moab police made “ several unintentional mistakes ” when they encountered the couple. In their report investigators said Petito very likely “was a long-term victim of domestic violence, whether that be physically, mentally, and/or emotionally.”

Her parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, sued Moab Police in November 2022, seeking $50 million in damages.

Burton, their lawyer, said Wednesday that Gabby Petito called them during the interaction with police and they wanted her to come home, but she assured them police would take care of things. The attorney said the parents relied on the police to handle the situation but a “grossly negligent” investigation increased the chances of their daughter being harmed.

Burton said officers placed Gabby Petitio in a police car and sympathized with Laundrie, laughing with him, which could have emboldened him. He said one of the responding officers explained the risk of domestic violence, showing he understood the situation but did not respond properly.

Mitchell Stephens, the attorney representing the Moab Police Department, argued for dismissal on the grounds of governmental immunity, while adding that allegations about Moab’s involvement in her death are completely speculative.

He said the couple left Moab together and continued traveling. He cited multiple instances where courts have not found police at fault when domestic violence escalated to murder.

“Moab is not liable for criminal conduct that occurred a month later in a different state. Brian Laundrie is the cause of Gabby Petito’s death,” Stephens said.

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