Details of Gabby Petito's Utah fight with fiancé Brian Laundrie revealed in witness statement to police
Gabby Petito autopsy: Cause of death to be revealed
An autopsy is expected to be completed today on the body found believed to be Gabby Petito, as officials work to determine how the 22-year-old was killed. Joseph Scott Morgan, scholar of applied forensics at Jacksonville State University, joins LiveNOW to discuss what to expect from the autopsy results and the crucial forensic evidence that investigators are looking for.
The 911 caller who reported the domestic incident between Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie in Moab, Utah, believed that the couple was fighting over a phone and that Laundrie may have been trying to ditch his fiancée, according to a witness statement obtained by Fox News.
"They were talking aggressively [at] each other [and] something definitely seemed off," the witness, identified only as Christopher, wrote. "At one point, they were sort of fighting over a phone – I think the male took the female’s phone. It appeared that he didn’t want her in the white van."
The male, believed to be Laundrie, got into the driver’s seat, according to Christopher, and the woman, believed to be Petito, followed. It happened outside the Moonflower Cooperative – an organic grocery store in downtown Moab.
"I heard her say, ‘Why do you have to be so mean?’" the witness wrote.
RELATED: Gabby Petito case: Timeline of 22-year-old woman's disappearance
He said that at one point, he saw Petito allegedly "punching him in the arm" and trying to get inside the vehicle – which was registered in her name.
"From my point of view, something definitely didn’t seem right," Christopher wrote. "It was as if the guy was trying to leave her, and maybe take her phone? Not sure but wanted to help out."
RELATED: FBI concludes search of Laundrie family home in connection with Gabby Petito's disappearance
Fox News Digital first reported the Aug. 12 domestic incident – which led to no arrests. A police report and bodycam video previously obtained by Fox News each concluded that Petito appeared to have been the aggressor.
However the 911 call for the incident stated that the caller said he witnessed "the gentleman slapping the girl."
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Search resumes for Gabby Petito's fiance Brian Laundrie after FBI warrant
Authorities have resumed searching for Gabby Petito's fiance Brian Laundrie at a Florida park after the FBI executed a search warrant on his home. Laundrie is a person of interest and has not cooperated with law enforcement investigating Petito's disappearance. He has been missing for a week and officials are frantically looking for him.
"He was slapping her?" the dispatcher asked.
"Yes, and then we stopped," the caller, whose name was redacted in the recording, said. "They ran up and down the sidewalk. He proceeded to hit her, hopped in the car and they drove off."
RELATED: 'Nothing to report' after two days of searching for Brian Laundrie in Florida preserve
The 911 caller stated that Petito and Laundrie left in the van headed north – toward Arches National Park just outside town. That’s where police bodycam video shows officers pulled over Laundrie, who was speeding, driving erratically and hit the curb, and encountered a sobbing Petito.
Christopher’s statement also reports that he "noticed another person had called this in."
Laundrie is believed to have returned to his parents’ home in North Port, Florida, with the van on Sept. 1, just days after Petito was last heard from. The FBI said Sunday that search teams found remains that are likely those of Petito near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
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Federal and local law enforcement were searching for Laundrie in Florida Tuesday – a day after the FBI served search warrants on the home he shared with his parents and Petito in North Port.