A new photo shows slain Long Island native Gabby Petito with blood smeared across her face, just weeks before she was found beaten to death on an ill-fated cross-country trip with her then-fiance and killer Brian Laundrie.
Petito, 22, is pictured with blood over her left eye and nose in Moab, Utah, on Aug. 12, 2021, while being questioned by local cops who responded to a 911 call about a domestic incident — and did nothing, Fox News reported.
The photo was released by attorneys for Petito’s family, according to the outlet.
Moab police later conceded that cops made “unintentional mistakes” when they questioned a distraught Petito near Arches National Park and let the pair go without any charges.
On Aug. 28, 2021, Petito was bludgeoned and strangled to death by Laundrie, with her remains found in a shallow grave at a Wyoming preserve on Sept. 18.
Laundrie, who drove home alone in Petito’s van to his parent’s home in North Port, Florida on Sept. 1, later went missing and was found dead in a nearby swamp on Oct. 20 with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Police also found a handwritten confession to killing Petito.
The saga of her disappearance captivated the nation — as did the lengthy manhunt for Laundrie before his body was found amid scattered reports of their allegedly abusive relationship.
Petito documented the trip on Instagram with a digital diary of the trek which concealed the tension that the couple was increasingly immersed in.
The new photo exposes the extent of Petito’s turmoil during the trip.
Petito’s parents are now suing Laundries’s parents in Florida, accusing them of knowingly withholding information about their daughter’s death.
Gabby, a Blue Point native, last spoke to her family on Aug. 25, 2021. A pair of YouTubers later spotted her 2021 Ford Transit van near Grand Teton two days later.
Her mother, Nichole Schmidt, reported her missing on Sept. 11, several days before Laundrie was identified as a person of interest.
