MOAB-UTAH —Gabby Petito’s family has given notice to Police in Moab, Utah that they plan to pursue a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against them.
The claim was filed on Monday stating that they believe the officers who investigated a domestic abuse claim against Petito and Brian Laundrie failed to see that Gabby was in a life-threatening situation.
Gabby was in the midst of a road trip with her then fiancé Brian when the couple got into a heated altercation in Moab on August 12th. A witness called the police and gave them a description of the couple and the vehicle they were driving.
Moab police eventually tracked down the pair and spoke to them both separately.

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Both parties declined to press charges against one another, so the officer made the decision to allow them to leave but required them to spend the night apart.
About a month after the traffic stop, Gabby was reported missing by her family.
The family says they found out that Brian returned home without Gabby and they could not get in touch with her, nor would Brian’s family give them any information.

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After several months of searching, Gabby was eventually found strangled to death at the edge of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
Once officials named Brian a person of interest in her murder, Brian went into hiding before killing himself. When authorities finally found Brian’s body, they also discovered that he left behind a confession to Gabby’s murder.
An independent investigation found that Gabby was likely a ‘long-term victim of domestic violence, whether that be physically, mentally, and/or emotionally.’ It also found that Moab police made ‘several unintentional mistakes’ when they encountered the couple.
‘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.