The parents of Gabby Petito filed a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Moab City Police Department claiming its officers were negligent when they encountered the 22-year-old and her fiancé Brian Laundrie two weeks before her death last summer.
“The purpose of this lawsuit is to honor Gabby’s legacy by demanding accountability and working toward systemic changes to protect victims of domestic abuse and violence and prevent such tragedies in the future,” attorney James W. McConkie said in a statement.
At a press conference, the parents say the lawsuit is not about the money.
“No one here, the four of us, don’t want to be here. We’d give it up in a second if she was back,” said Mr. Joseph Petito. “We feel we need to bring justice because she could have been protected that day,” said Ms. Nichole Schmidt. “There are laws put in place to protect victims, and those laws were not followed, and we don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”
In June, Laundrie, confessed to killing her in a notebook that the feds discovered in a Florida swamp he is believed to have committed suicide in.
“I ended her life,” he wrote, Fox News reports. “I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted, but I see now all the mistakes I made. I panicked. I was in shock.”
