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“I want to see him in a jail cell for the rest of his life.”
That was Joe Petito’s message Wednesday to Brian Laundrie if the ex-fiancé of his slain daughter had anything to do with her death.
Joe sat down with Dr Phil McGraw for the second part of a large interview aired Wednesday, with Gabby Petito’s mother Nichole Schmidt and her in-laws Tara Petito and Jim Schmidt.
They discussed their desire for Brian Laundrie to be apprehended alive, their plans with the Gabby Petito Foundation, and their reaction to a 911 call for a domestic incident between the couple.
Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie, seen here in body camera footage, had a domestic incident on August 12 which led to the police being called.
(City of Moab Police Department)
During that 911 call, a witness told the dispatch that he saw Gabby and Brian fighting on the phone and that “the gentleman was slapping the girl”.
“I didn’t listen to the whole call. I can’t do it,” Joe said in the interview on Wednesday. “I can not do it.”
Gabby’s mother agreed, saying she was “angry because it didn’t make sense.”
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Gabby went missing about two weeks after this incident and her remains were found in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming on September 19.
Brian, who is a person of interest in Gabby’s disappearance and death, returned to North Port in his van without her on September 1, but disappeared himself on September 13.
A manhunt is now underway after an arrest warrant was issued for alleged debit card fraud against him on September 23.
“I just hope he’s been found,” Joe said Wednesday. “I want to see him in a jail cell for the rest of his life, where he’s an outdoor enthusiast in that concrete cell.”
“I want to look him in the eye,” Nichole said.
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Despite the witness’s statement on the 911 call, the officers who responded appeared to focus on Gabby as the abuser after arresting the couple outside of Moab, Utah.
Gabby and Brian were ultimately separated for the night without any charges being laid. Dr Phil challenged the decision on Wednesday, saying it would have been helpful if a mental health worker was on the scene and could “recognize the red flags” related to the incident.
“One of the worst things you can do is just take them apart for eight hours and then put them back together,” Dr. Phil said in Wednesday’s interview. “It intensifies the violence. It does not defuse the violence. And that’s exactly what has been done in this situation.”
Richard Stafford, the lawyer for the Petitos, said they had rented a house so that all family members could mourn together in privacy.
“There aren’t a lot of people who can understand how sorry you can feel and you can empathize, especially if you’re a parent,” Joe said in Wednesday’s interview. “You’ve got it in your head, but until you get there, you have no idea.”
Gabby’s parents established the Gabby Petito Foundation in her honor to help other families with missing loved ones.
“We’re going to work hard to help as many people as possible. And I know, we’re just us. We don’t know what we can do, but we’re going to do our best,” Nichole said. Wednesday. “We’re not going to let Gabby be forgotten by helping others.”
Dr. Phil announced during the interview that he was donating $ 25,000 to the foundation “to help locate missing persons, to prevent people experiencing domestic violence from ending up like Gabby Petito.”
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The foundation’s first event will take place on October 17 in Long Island and will feature live music, a silent auction, and a raffle, with all proceeds going to their mission.
“She changes a lot of lives,” Nichole said. “She helps a lot of people and a lot of people love her and we are very lucky to have her.”
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