An independent review of the investigation into Gabby Petito's death last August states Moab police made "several unintentional mistakes" by not citing Petito for domestic violence.

This review was conducted by Price City Police Department Captain Brandon Ratcliffe.


What You Need To Know

  • A review of the investigation into Gabby Petito's death states Moab police made "unintentional mistakes" by not citing Petito for domestic violence.

  • This review was conducted by Price City Police Department Captain Brandon Ratcliffe.

  • The city provided recommendations to Moab police to avoid incidents like this one in the future.

A phone call made to authorities detailed allegations that Petito's boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, hit Petito. When police arrived to the scene, both denied it had happened. The couple was split up and told to take the night to calm down.

The report says Petito should instead have been cited for domestic violence, since officers initially determined Petito to be the primary aggressor. However, officers went on to report the incident as being related to mental health instead.

Police also reportedly failed to get a statement from the person who originally called in the alleged domestic violence incident.

"There are many 'what-if’s' that have presented itself as part of this investigation, the primary one being: Would Gabby be alive today if this case was handled differently?" read Ratcliffe's review. "That is an impossible question to answer despite it being the answer many people want to know. Nobody knows and nobody will ever know the answer to that question."

The city of Moab announced upcoming changes to local policing in the aftermath of this incident.

"Plans are in place to add a trained domestic violence specialist to oversee incidents investigated by Moab officers," a statement by city officials said. "We also will implement added and ongoing training and testing to ensure that the officers understand policies and procedures."

On top of that, the city provided recommendations to the police department to better handle future incidents, including "providing additional training in domestic violence investigation, as well as additional legal training to ensure officers understand state laws and statutes; conducting an overall policy review; conducting a software review; and strengthening the review process for incident reports."

Finally, the report recommends the two responding officers be placed on probation.

The FBI found Gabby Petito's remains at a campsite in Wyoming. It was determined that she had been strangled. Petito and Laundrie had shared that camp together. Laundrie drove back to Florida alone and did not report her disappearance to authorities, leading some to speculate his involvement in her disappearance. Laundrie was found dead at Myakkahatchee Creek Park.