Duane “Dog The Bounty Hunter” Chapman believes he has new information regarding the Gabby Petito case. Chapman said he got the information to shed more light on Petito’s relationship with Brian Laundrie.
Petition Was Heard Yelling By Nearby Vacationers
In an interview with The Sun, he claimed that some nearby vacationers heard Petito yelling. Chapman added that Petito became very verbal during an altercation with Laundrie, her fiancé, and the latter tried to keep her quiet by covering her mouth physically. It is unclear, however, who the vacationers are and which argument Chapman was referring to.
Chapman has been helping with the search for Laundrie. He had to return to Colorado after he injured his ankle while searching for Laundrie, and he said he left his team to continue with the search.
Police Officers Tracked Down Petito, Laundrie
One of the known arguments between Petito and Laundrie was the one on Aug. 12 in Moab, Utah, where onlookers had to call the cops to respond to a domestic abuse report after they saw Laundrie reportedly hit Petito while out in the streets. When police tracked them down, the body came footage from the Moab police department showed Petito telling them Laundrie grabbed her mouth to keep her quiet. She added that they were fighting that morning because of personal issues. The officers who responded to the two have since been under fire because people believe they failed to do more to protect the 22-year-old hiker, who is now dead.
The Sun further reports that during the Aug. 12 argument, when officers were talking to Petito, she said she was crying because she had been apologizing to Laundrie for her OCD and that she was in a bad mood. One of the officers asked Petito if Laundrie hit her, and The Sun quoted her saying, “Well, he like grabbed me, like, with his nail, and I guess that’s why it hurts. I definitely have a cut. Like, I can feel it.” Officers also reported seeing red marks and bruises on Petito’s arm.
Later, Petito admitted she hit him first. Laundrie also said during the conversation with one of the officers that she hit him first, but he is fine and that he loves Petito.
Several days after the talk with the officers, Laundrie flew back to Florida without Petito. He also cleared out a storage locker and left Petito’s possessions at his parent’s house. Petito’s family reported her missing on Sept. 11 after learning Laundrie returned to Florida with her van and he secured a lawyer. Laundrie has not spoken to officials and was reported missing by his family on Sept. 17.
Authorities later found Petito’s remains in Wyoming on Sept. 19. Her death was ruled as a homicide as her cause of death was revealed as manual strangulation. A judge had already issued a warrant for Laundrie’s arrest based on credit card fraud. Laundrie is a person of interest in Petito’s death but was not named as a suspect.
