Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie had a “volatile” relationship: expert

Moab, Utah, police body camera footage stops following an alleged altercation between Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie before their respective deaths show signs of an unhealthy relationship, according to an expert Heather dugan exclusively tells In touch.

“You know, I admit, I haven’t looked closely. I find it really hard to see this kind of pain for someone. Obviously, she was very distraught ”, Friendship upgrade and Date like an adult the author reveals. “It would be yet another red flag. I know that in many interviews people have spoken of volatility and drama. In a healthy adult relationship, there isn’t much drama. The drama can stem from an incident outside in life, but you learn to deal with those bumps along the way without making it something flowing between the two of you. It seemed like they had many cycles of spinning in and out of this kind of volatile back-and-forth.

Petito, 22, and Laundrie, 23, met at Bayport-Blue Point High School in their shared hometown of Long Island, New York. The couple had been dating for several years and got engaged in July 2020. They lived together and shared a house with the parents, Laundrie’s father. Christophe Laundry and mother Roberta Laundry. In July, they embarked on a road trip across the country from Long Island through the American West in Petito’s converted white 2012 Ford Transit minivan, as part of the “van life” social media movement.

On August 12, after more than a month of traveling together, Petito and Laundrie encountered police in Moab following an alleged altercation. A 911 caller claimed to have witnessed a domestic violence incident in which “a man assaulted the woman” near the Moonflower community cooperative, ABC News 4 reported. The couple left, but police caught up with their van near the entrance to Arches National Park.

According to body camera footage, released on September 16, Petito was very emotional and crying as Laundrie appeared calm. “At this point, it looks like she’s the main attacker,” one officer said in the video. Petito and Laundrie were interviewed separately, and Petito told officers they had “fought” and claimed she had “very bad OCD”. While cleaning up, Petito said she apologized to Laundrie for “being so mean” and said she was “really stressed out” because she had “a lot of work” to do on her computer. this morning.

“I’m trying to blog so I built my website so I’m really stressed out and he doesn’t really believe I can do anything so it’s kind of like a, I don’t dunno, he’s like a downer, ”Petito told an officer. “I don’t know, we had a fight all morning and he never would have let me in the car before.”

Dugan shared his thoughts on Petito’s behavior in the pictures. “What I saw there was someone in trouble. People find themselves in this situation when they feel overwhelmed with life. And this may be due to their interactions with another person or simply their inability to manage their own daily lives, ”said the award-winning author. “It’s difficult when you feel like you can’t set your feet up. And that, for me, unfortunately, is a woman who did not know how to plant her feet well in order to be able to make her own choices. I’m sure travel, travel, I mean, a lot of us revolve around that kind of lifestyle. And obviously, it didn’t turn out to be what she expected.

After securing Laundrie’s side, during which Laundrie was questioned about visible “scratches” on her face, police then separated the two for the evening. No charges were laid as the couple insisted to cops that they were in love. The officers who responded determined that the incident was not domestic violence but an incident caused by a “mental health crisis”.

Petito was reported missing on September 11 and her body was found on September 19 near the scattered camping area of ​​Spread Creek in Wyoming, one of the last places she was reportedly seen alive. The location is just outside of Grand Teton National Park. The aspiring travel vlogger was confirmed dead on September 21. An arrest warrant for Laundrie was issued on September 23 in connection with his “activities after the death of Gabrielle Petito”, according to a tweeted press release via the official FBI Denver Twitter account.

On October 12, the results of his autopsy confirmed his mode of death was homicide and his cause of death was manual strangulation / strangulation.

Laundrie was reported missing on September 17 – two days after being considered a person of interest in Petito’s disappearance. His body was found at Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park on Wednesday, October 20. He was confirmed dead on Thursday, October 21.