Gabby Petito’s father urges NY lawmakers to pass lethality‑assessment bill
In 2021, Gabby and her partner, Brian Laundrie, were pulled over by police in Moab, Utah not long after the two decided to hit the road in her van and document their lives.
More Stories
The father of Gabby Petito, now an advocate for families touched by domestic violence and missing people, visited Poughkeepsie Thursday with legislative goals in mind.
In 2021, Gabby and her partner, Brian Laundrie, were pulled over by police in Moab, Utah not long after the two decided to hit the road in her van and document their lives. The officers interviewed both Gabby and Brian separately, eventually believing Gabby may have been the aggressor of a domestic violence incident.
They put up Brian in a hotel and left Gabby with the van. The couple later reunited.
“I think you know the rest from there," Joseph Petito said.
Petito, 22-year-old from Blue Point, Long Island vanished, triggering a massive manhunt. Her fiancé later confessed to killing her before taking his own life, a tragedy that sparked national conversations about intimate partner violence.
Petito's foundation is pushing the proposed law that would require police to ask 11 questions, known as a “lethality assessment” when at a scene of a potential domestic violence incident. Depending on the answers, police may then connect a potential victim to local crisis services.
The bill easily passed the New York state Senate last year. It stalled in the Assembly. It passed the Senate again this year. The Assembly has not yet voted on it.
"Today's actually Gabby's birthday," Stephen said, choking up. "This is a day when I don't usually do work, but this was too important.”
Dutchess County government has required police to use the lethality assessment for the last 10 years, drawing praise from top county officials, all of whom said the requirement works.
"We urge all of our representatives to really think critically and consider this bill seriously," Dutchess County Family Services CEO Leah Feldman said.
Assemblywoman Sarah Clark, of Rochester, the bill’s co-sponsor, told News 12 Thursday that the outlook for bill is much better this year than last, and has already moved one step further this year than it did all of last year.
"There are a few more quick reviews that need to happen," Clark said, "but I feel very confident that we will be able move it through the Assembly this year."
