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Gabby Petito told a Utah police officer Brian Laundrie hit her on August 12, according to new body camera video of a second officer from Moab who arrived at the scene – but she quickly did. walked back and claimed she struck first.
Meanwhile, Laundrie said he “had no time” to defend himself against allegations that he hit his fiancee.
“I pushed her away,” he said to the officer. “She gets really pissed off, and when she does, she is rocking and she had her cell phone in her hand. So I was just trying to push her away.”
The August 12 911 call – first reported by Fox News Digital earlier this month – illustrated what experts reported as a potentially abusive relationship between Petito and Laundrie. Fox News previously obtained the body camera video of another officer, but it appears police conducted separate interviews.
BRIAN LAUNDRIE SHOWS SIGNS OF DOMESTIC ABUSE, SAYS CRIMINAL PROFILER
“Did he hit you? asks the officer.
“I guess,” she replies – although she always seemed to downplay the incident to the second officer and try to blame herself.
“I guess so,” Petito continued, tears in his eyes. “But I hit him first.”
“Where did he hit you?” Replied the officer. “Don’t worry, just be honest.”
She then backtracked and said he had grabbed her “with his fingernail” and claimed to have been the abuser himself.
“He didn’t like hitting me in the face,” she said. “He didn’t like hitting me in the face or anything.”
“Did he slap you, or what?” asked the officer.
“Well he grabbed me with his fingernail, and I guess that’s what it looks like, I definitely have a cut here,” she said, rubbing her cheek. “I can feel it, when I touch it it burns.”
The second video, obtained through requests for public recordings from Fox News and FOX 13 Utah, reveals more details about the encounter just weeks before Petito was last seen alive in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
“He was really frustrated with me, and he locked me out of the car and told me to go take a break, but I didn’t want to take a break,” Petito says in the new video. “And I wanted to go. We’re out of water.”
The officer asked Petito if she had been shot in the face and arm.
POLICE BREAKDOWN RECORDS SHOW UTAH POLICE WAS TOLD OF MAN HITS WOMAN
“Is there something on your cheek here?” he says. “Did you receive a blow to the face?” “
“I’m not sure,” Petito said, telling the officer she was just trying to get in the car.
The witness also told police that Laundrie looked like she was trying to steal Petito’s phone and rushed into the car, crawling on him through the driver’s side door after it appeared to be he could leave without her.
At another point in the video, the officer asks a witness to clarify what he saw.
“Have you ever seen the male hit the female?” He asked.
DETAILS OF GABBY PETITO’S UTAH FIGHT WITH FIANCE BRIAN LAUNDRIE REVEALED IN POLICE WITNESS STATEMENT
“I wouldn’t say that,” replied the witness. “I think I saw maybe a push or a push, but not a full punch to a face or anything.”
“You saw him slap him although it looks like,” the officer said.
“Yes,” replied the witness.
Later in the video, an officer told Laundrie that Petito had not admitted hitting her.
Laundrie’s alleged mistreatment of Petito matches patterns of domestic violence, many experts told Fox News. And her reaction to the police presence – on the verge of tears and blaming herself all the time – could be a sign of a victim being manipulated by her attacker.
GABBY PETITO INVESTIGATION: 911 CALL REVEALS BRIAN LAUNDRIE SEEN HITS, ‘HIT’ BEFORE DISAPPEARING
The city of Moab announced an independent investigation into its police department’s handling of the arrest earlier this month. State officials told Fox News this week that they were not involved in the investigation.
Laundrie returned to Florida on her own on September 1 – driving her van. A few days later, he bought a new cell phone, according to his lawyer, Steve Bertolino.
Then he left it with his wallet and disappeared. The FBI is now on a manhunt for the 23-year-old, who is wanted on debit card fraud and has been named a person of interest in Petito’s homicide.
Before police encountered Laundrie who allegedly speeded up the entrance ramp to Arches National Park just north of the town, a dispatcher told them the reported party saw “a man hitting a woman” outside. the Moonflower Cooperative – an organic grocery store just off Main Street.
When the first officer turned on his lights, Laundrie slammed into the sidewalk, later claiming that Petito had pulled the steering wheel.
She said she was trying to get Laundrie’s attention when she saw the lights.
Two Moab police officers responded to the incident, and two U.S. forest rangers also arrived at the scene.
The Rangers body camera videos have yet to be released by federal authorities.
This is a developing story. Check back with Fox News for updates.
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