Even though he locked her out of her own van, making her believe he’d leave her behind. According to him, this was a one-sided event. She blamed herself the most for the call that summoned the cops. A look that was torn about something she knew wasn’t right, but clinging to the allegiance she felt to him. He was even asked if he wanted to press charges.īut it was more than that. His statement about how she gets crazy and lashed out at him. Her statement about her OCD, her mood, her stress. His ultra calm demeanor while she was hysterical. She’s hysterical, he maintains a patient composure. The cops separated the two, and then questioned them.įrom a transcript of the traffic stop, Gabby shared all the ways she messed up, and Brian shared all the ways he tried to diffuse the situation. Brian, her boyfriend, was incredibly calm. I sensed 22-year-old Gabby Petito was abused when I saw the police cam footage of their traffic stop.

And any time I did fly off the handle, all he had to do was give a shrug, keep his reactions light.Īn abuse victim can see other victims a mile away.

No one knew what happened behind closed doors because he gave them no reason to suspect it. But in public, he was calm, poised, everyone’s friend. And each past assault, verbal or physical, packs the punch behind each present one. After all, that’s how their abuser does it. When they are constantly taunted and there’s no escape, they will strike to put an end to it. If someone is hit enough times, they will attempt to protect themselves when things get violent. It was a game he played, to see if I would strike first so that I could take the blame. He’d corner me, scream an inch from my face, lunge at me without contact. He accused me of cheating on him or plotting against him. He said he’d kill my family if I left him. I winced whenever my family hugged me, and then tried to hide it.īut it went deeper than what his hands could do. “You could have been arrested,” my boyfriend told me. Funny, because years later, my nose still has a strange hump to it. But the injury wasn’t apparent when the cops questioned us. When he hit me in the face, it was hard enough I saw stars. All I had was a bloody tissue and a sore nose. “They asked me about the scratches, and I didn’t tell them it was you,” he said. Since then, they can if there’s sufficient evidence.Īfter they left, my boyfriend told me how lucky I was that he didn’t press charges.

In those days, cops couldn’t press charges when neither party was willing. The cops finally left, even though they probably knew the truth.

Where is my video cam