SALT LAKE CITY (Scripps News Salt Lake City) — The family of Gabby Petito will have their case against the Moab Police Department heard in front of the Utah Supreme Court, the law firm representing the family announced.
FILE – This Aug. 12, 2021 file photo from video provided by The Moab Police Department shows Brian Laundrie talking to a police officer after police pulled over the van he was traveling in with his girlfriend, Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito, near the entrance to Arches National Park. (The Moab Police Department via AP, File)
Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for March 4, according to Parker & McConkie.
The case stems from a legal challenge to the dismissal of the Petito family’s wrongful death lawsuit against the Moab Police Department and certain officers in the department. That lawsuit was dismissed in November 2024 under Utah’s governmental immunity framework.
The Petito family has claimed that if officers had followed the law, Gabby would still be alive. They also believe officer negligence contributed to Petito’s death.
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“The Petito family and their legal team remain steadfast in their pursuit of justice for Gabby and in seeking clarity from the Utah Supreme Court regarding municipal liability and the constitutional right to recover for wrongful death,” the law firm wrote in a statement.
Petito and her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, had a run-in with Moab police officers in August when a witness said they saw a man, identified as Laundrie, hitting a woman.
After officers pulled over the couple’s van, they determined Petito was the aggressor and separated the couple for the night.
Officers believed the incident was “more accurately a mental/emotional health ‘break’ than a domestic assault,” a police report reads.
Attorneys for the Petito family said police should have recognized the signs and symptoms of a domestic violence crisis and that the two responding officers intentionally sought out “loopholes” to avoid enforcement.
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An investigation into the interaction revealed that the two Moab Police officers made “several unintentional mistakes,” and the department was advised to implement software upgrades and provide additional training.
More than a month later, Petito’s body was found in the Bridger-Teton National Forest and her cause of death was determined to be strangulation.
Laundrie claimed responsibility for Petito’s death before he returned to Florida and died by suicide.
The Petito family also sued Laundrie’s parents, claiming they knew their son murdered Gabby and helped him leave the country. That lawsuit was settled for $3 million in November 2022.
This story was originally written by Michael Martin for Scripps News Salt Lake City, an E.W. Scripps Company
