New Lifetime Film About Gabby Petito Set To Debut In October

BLUE POINT, NY — A Lifetime movie about Gabby Petitio —the Long Island woman who was killed by her fiancé Brian Laundrie while the two were on a cross-country road trip last year — is set to debut Oct. 1.

The film, "The Gabby Petito Story", announced Thursday, "follows Gabby's tragic murder. Centering in her complicated relationship with her fiancé Brian Laundrie and what may have gone wrong during their cross-country trip," according to imbd.com.

Directed by Thora Birch and written by Richard Blaney and Gregory Small, the film stars Skylar Samuels as Petito, Evan Hall as Brian Laundrie, Thora Small as Nichole Shmidt, Petito's mother, and Douglas Taurel as Joe Petito, her father, imbd reports.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. After her death, domestic violence experts spoke with Patch.

Advocates from The Retreat in East Hampton talked to Patch about what people can do if they suspect a woman is a victim.

Helen Atkinson-Barnes, The Retreat's prevention education director, noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers partner violence to be a public health epidemic.

"Sadly, Gabby's story is a common one," she said.

Approximately 1 in 4 American women, and nearly 1 in 7 men, have experienced severe physical violence by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime, according to the CDC's "National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey," published in 2010.

Laura Ahearn, of the Crime Victims Center/Parents For Megan's Law, put forth the 2021 "Take A Stand" initiative against domestic violence, including outreach to raise awareness, information sessions, and a social media campaign.

According to a release from the organization, on average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States, totaling more than 10 million per year. In 2018, partner violence accounted for 20 percent of all violent crime — and intimate partner violence is most common in women 18 to 24, the release said. In addition, nearly 21 percent of female high school students and 13.4 percent of males report being physically or sexually abused by a dating partner.

Gabby Petito's family announced plans Monday to file a $50 million lawsuit against the Moab Police Department, stating missteps by officers during a traffic stop in Utah — including their failure to notice signs of domestic violence — could have cost the Blue Point native her life.

A widely viewed police body cam video of that stop Aug. 12, 2021 – just weeks before Petito was killed – showed her visibly upset and crying.

Laundrie smiled and laughed with officers in the video. He was ordered to spend the night in a motel so the two could separate for the night, as well as to relax and breathe.

"I understand that this can feel like a nightmare, but you're coming out as the golden flower on top of it. . . I want you guys to stay away from each other. For both of your guys' sake. . . I just want everybody to breathe," the officer at the scene told Petito.

The notice of claim, filed Friday by the law firm Parker & McConkie, and attorneys Brian Stewart and Steve Jensen, accused Moab police of not fully addressing a 911 caller who reported seeing Laundrie hit Petito outside a Utah restaurant, the Moonflower Community Cooperative. Police also did not act on the fact that she had cuts on her face, and that Laundrie had grabbed her face in a fight, the legal document states.

A close-up photo of Petito's face, not yet released to the public, shows blood smeared on her cheek and left eye, the notice of claim added.

Petito disappeared in August last year. Laundrie returned to his parents' home in Florida in her van Sept. 1. After a frantic interstate search involving multiple law enforcement agencies she was found strangled to death near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on Sept. 19, eight days after a missing person report was filed with police in her hometown of Suffolk County.

A notebook found after Laundrie's reported suicide included a confession, stating that he had "ended her life."

At a news conference announcing the suit, Petito's mother Nichole Schmidt, her husband, Jim, and her father, Joseph Petito, and his wife, Tara, appeared via video. The notice of claim, the first step in filing a lawsuit against the police department, was filed against Moab police and against employees Chief Bret Edge, Assistant Chief Braydon Palmer, Officer Eric Pratt, and Officer Daniel Robbins.

According to the notice of claim, Laundrie "murdered Gabby Petito by strangling her and savagely inflicting blunt force trauma to her head."

The notice of claim also said police did not question Laundrie about "inconsistencies" in his version of events but, instead, "determined Gabby was the primary aggressor."

In a later independent review of the stop, it was determined that Moab Police "officers made several mistakes and could not rule out that Gabby's murder might have been prevented in officers had handled the situation properly," the notice of claim states.

Sobbing during the press event, Petito's mother Schmidt, who has spent months fighting domestic violence and creating the Gabby Petito Foundation, said: "We just want to let people know we're going to do whatever we can. That's why we're here."

Lisa J. Church, Moab City communications and engagement manager, responded to a request for comment by police by saying the city does not comment on pending litigation.

In May, attorneys for Gabby Petito's mother, Schmidt, filed a new wrongful death lawsuit in Florida against the curator of the estate for Laundrie, according to reports.

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• Laundrie Attorney Calls Petito Family's Lawsuit 'Frivolous': Report
• Gabby Petito's Birthday Remembered By Domestic Violence Donations
• Gabby Petito's Family Highlight Domestic Violence On Valentine's
• Brian Laundrie's Autopsy Released By Medical Examiner's Office
• 'No Doubt' Brian Laundrie Killed Gabby Petito: Family Attorney
• 'Unintentional Mistakes' By PD In Gabby Petito Utah Fight: Report
• Laundries To Give Gabby Petito's Belongings To Family: Attorney
• Gabby Petito's Family's Poignant Messages Of Hope On Christmas
• NBC's Peacock TV Streams Documentary On Gabby Petito Case Friday
• Gabby Petito Foundation Plans Scholarships On Long Island
• Be Inspired': Gabby Petito's Dad At Long Island Memorial Service
• 'Not Just Gabby Petito' Case Deserves Media Attention: Dad
• Suffolk Detective Who Opened Gabby Petito's Case An 'Angel': Mom