New bodycam footage released by the National Park Service sheds light on the encounter between Gabby Petito and a female park ranger during a traffic stop in Utah weeks before Petito's murder. The footage shows the ranger urging Petito to distance herself from Laundrie's abusive behavior and offers a different perspective on the incident.
In previously unreleased bodycam footage, a female U.S. Park Ranger approaches Gabby Petito during a contentious traffic stop in Utah involving her then-fiancé and suspected killer, Brian Laundrie. The videos, obtained by Fox News Digital through a public records request, provide a glimpse into the ranger's efforts to calm Petito down and encourage her to seek help.
Unseen Bodycam Footage Reveals Ranger's Interaction with Gabby Petito during Ominous Utah Traffic Stop
The encounter occurred on August 12, 2021, just weeks before Petito's murder. The traffic stop was initiated by Moab police officers in response to a 911 call reporting domestic violence.
In parts of the audio, which is at times hard to make out, Petito appears to vent her frustrations with Laundrie. She claims to have hit him first and takes the blame for his collision with the curb. "He's a lot stronger than me," she says, denying that she could have hurt him.
Unseen Bodycam Footage Reveals Ranger's Interaction with Gabby Petito during Ominous Utah Traffic Stop
However, the ranger, identified as Melissa Hulls, takes a different approach than the Moab police officers. She steps aside to speak with Petito in private, offering her a bottle of water and encouraging her to take a deep breath.
"It sounds like you guys might need to work on your communication," Hulls says. "Have you told him how it affects you when he makes these sarcastic comments?"
Unseen Bodycam Footage Reveals Ranger's Interaction with Gabby Petito during Ominous Utah Traffic Stop
According to Hulls, she believed Petito would be more open to speaking with a female officer alone. "I can still hear her voice," she said days after Petito's remains were discovered. "She wasn't just a face on the milk carton. She was real to me."
The Moab police officers treated Petito like the aggressor in the incident, but the ranger took a different approach. She urged Petito to distance herself from a "toxic" relationship with Laundrie.
Unseen Bodycam Footage Reveals Ranger's Interaction with Gabby Petito during Ominous Utah Traffic Stop
"Look, I'm gonna speak to you…I'm looking at you not so much like a suspect, but also kind of a victim, in the sense that you're dealing with the struggles, emotionally and mentally at your age, probably that work themselves out as you get older," one of the male officers tells Petito.
Ultimately, the officers declined to press charges but booked Laundrie a motel room in town through a nonprofit for domestic abuse survivors. Motel management was unable to confirm whether he had actually stayed for the night.
Unseen Bodycam Footage Reveals Ranger's Interaction with Gabby Petito during Ominous Utah Traffic Stop
Petito was last seen alive in Jackson, Wyoming, on August 27. According to the FBI, Laundrie killed her and left her body at a campsite in the nearby Bridger-Teton National Forest. He then drove her van to his parents' house in Florida and disappeared.
Laundrie was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a Florida park in October 2021, leaving behind a handwritten confession. Petito's parents sued Laundrie's family, and the sides settled out of court earlier this year. They are also suing the Moab Police Department in a case that has not yet gone to trial.
Unseen Bodycam Footage Reveals Ranger's Interaction with Gabby Petito during Ominous Utah Traffic Stop
