Eerie detail in Gabby Petito selfie emerges after cops slammed for pic showing vlogger’s bloody face
A SELFIE taken by Gabby Petito minutes before cops stopped her and her partner Brian Laundrie has emerged, revealing an eerie detail in the background.
Gabby reportedly took the photo two minutes before a bystander called 911 to report the domestic violence incident between her and Brian, 23.
While the most alarming part of the photo is Gabby's face which is bloodied and scratched, there also appears to be a map of the United States National Parks in the background.
The only part of the map that's visible is the West Coast - a heartbreaking reminder of the places that Gabby didn't get a chance to explore.
Gabby and Brian left New York on July 2, 2021, to go on a cross-country road trip in Gabby's white Ford van.
Police say the couple planned to reach the West Coast to visit state and national parks across the western US.
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However, the trip was cut short when Gabby went missing after being last seen in Utah at a Salt Lake City hotel.
Gabby and Brian planned to go to Yellowstone National Park but Gabby didn't make it.
The map in the background of Gabby's selfie also showed other national parks that the 22-year-old never got to visit.
These parks included North Cascades, Olympic, and Mount Ranier in Washington.
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As well as Crater Lake in Oregon, and Rewood and Lassen Volcanic in California.
TRAFFIC STOP
According to the Petito family attorney Brian Stewart, at the law firm of Parker & McConkie, police pulled the young couple over at around 4.55pm on August 12, 2021, about 15 minutes after Gabby snapped the selfie.
The attorney said that the photo demonstrates cuts to Gabby's left cheek, and blood smeared on her forehead, across her left eye, cheek, and nose.
The 911 caller who witnessed the incident reportedly told police that he saw Brian slapping and punching Gabby in a parking lot in Moab, Utah.
"Gabby pointed out the injury to Officer [Eric] Pratt, but he ignored her and did nothing more to investigate or document the injury," the attorney said.
The Petitos' legal team claims Gabby was likely "strangled and/or suffocated" by Brian before their traffic stop, adding that the 22-year-old was not the "predominant aggressor."
Stewart told The U.S Sun exclusively: “Seeing Gabby like this is heartbreaking.
"Gabby clearly told the Moab Police how Brian had grabbed her face and cut her, but they ignored her and the serious danger she was in.”
The 22-year-old was reported missing by her family on September 11, 2021 and her body was found in Wyoming eight days later.
DISTURBING BODY-CAM FOOTAGE
In previously released body-cam footage, one of the officers concluded Gabby was the "primary aggressor," with another directly telling Brian he was a "victim of domestic assault."
Body-cam footage of the encounter shows a visibly distressed Gabby telling officers she and Brian had been "fighting all morning."
Through floods of tears, she also described how Brian had pushed her, grabbed her face and neck, and left her with a cut on the side of her cheek.
In their report, officers acknowledged that she had scratches and red marks on her face and arms.
A smiling Brian, meanwhile, issued officers a series of inconsistent statements and told them Gabby "gets worked up sometimes" and that he had been trying to calm her down.
He admitted to pushing her and claimed she struck him and scratched his face.
After more than an hour, one of the officers is heard concluding that Gabby was the "primary aggressor" of the dispute, with another directly telling Brian he is a "victim of domestic assault."
No charges were filed, and at officers' instructions, the couple separated for the night.
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Gabby stayed in their van and Brian was escorted to a nearby motel frequently used for domestic abuse survivors.
Just over two weeks later, Gabby was strangled to death by Brian at a campsite near Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park.
