Brian Laundrie was acting ‘like a lunatic’ 2 weeks before killing Gabby Petito, witness told FBI
Brian Laundrie was seen acting “like a lunatic” and appeared to “slap” Gabby Petito in Utah two weeks before he murdered her, according to a newly released FBI report.
An unidentified man filed a report with the FBI saying he “believes” he saw Petito and Laundrie — and the couple’s white Ford Transit van — parked on the shoulder of a road in Moab while he was on a road trip with his family from Denver, Colo., to Las Vegas, NV., on Aug. 12, 2021, bureau documents show.
The witness told an agent at the time that he became “concerned” for the woman when he saw the man slap her.
He quickly made a U-turn and parked on the opposite side of the road from the van to watch — and his family saw the abusive man acting “like a lunatic” and “pleading with the female.”
The man was seen “opening and slamming doors and pacing around the van. He seemed to be pleading with the female and at one point may have tried to hug the female, but was pushed back by her,” the FBI documents revealed.
“The male ultimately pushed the female’s legs into the passenger side of the van, closed her door, and entered the driver’s side.”
The witness told the agent he saw the male “put his head between his hands and both passengers appeared to be crying.”
The unidentified witness “considered intervening and/or calling 911” but chose not to since he had already called the emergency number earlier the same day for an unrelated incident involving a trucker nearly running him off the road.
However, he ended up contacting the FBI weeks later when Petito’s disappearance captivated media coverage around the nation, and his daughter reminded him of the incident in Moab with the couple in the white van.
The witness and his daughter then reviewed photos of Laundrie and Petito and told the FBI they were “confident” it was them.
Petito’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, told Fox News Digital Monday that she was unaware of the witness report.
“[I] wish we could get a hold of this person,” she told the outlet. “I would love to ask questions.”
The witnesses told the FBI they observed the couple from 4:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. — minutes before the Moab Police Department pulled over the Long Island native and Laundrie.
Highly scrutinized bodycam footage showed Petito shaken as police responded to a 911 caller’s claim that Laundrie had slapped her outside a food co-op.
The couple said they were tussling out of frustration and denied there had been a severe attack.
The officers never arrested Petito or Laundrie, instead choosing to separate them for the night and leaving Petito in the van the couple had been traveling in while escorting Laundrie to a nearby motel used for domestic abuse survivors.
Petito was last seen alive on Aug. 27 on surveillance footage at a Whole Foods store in Jackson, Wyoming.
Laundrie quietly returned to his parents’ home in Florida without her on Sept. 1.
Ten days later, Petito’s family reported her missing after they failed to get information from the Laundrie family.
The 22-year-old’s body was discovered in Grand Teton National Park on Sept. 19, with investigators ruling her cause of death as strangulation.
Days after Petito’s body was discovered, the US District Court of Wyoming issued a warrant for Laundrie’s arrest, but the killer is believed to have fled his parent’s home days prior.
His parents refused to cooperate with authorities and give any information about their son’s whereabouts.
Laundrie, 23, subsequently killed himself, and his remains were discovered in a Florida nature park alongside his backpack and notebook with a confession about killing Petito.
