Tara Petito
Appearances
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
I want to clarify something. So they hired an attorney in Long Island. They sent him the check. And then that attorney actually got the attorney out in Wyoming. Their attorney in Long Island was looking for an attorney. So And their attorney in Long Island is actually the one that signed the retainer in the one for Wyoming.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
Because I felt like they were hiding.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
How did they know to hire an attorney in Wyoming if Gabby just ran off and she was gone? Because that's what they said in the deposition, that Gabby just ran off, she was gone, but he needed an attorney. So if they were breaking up, why would they need an attorney specifically in Wyoming?
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
Last year? Last year, maybe. I don't really recall when we actually saw it, but we did not see that video right away.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
So the night of September 11th, when we finally got Gabby reported missing... We got a call from Nikki. She's the one who got her reported missing up in New York because we were having a difficult time getting her reported missing. We were calling North Port Police. We were calling Utah because that was our last known location where Gabby was. So we were having a difficult time.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
But when Nikki finally was able to report her missing, she had called us immediately after and told us that... Gabby is not there. Brian is home. And they lawyered up. And that's all we knew at that point in time. That was the most chilling feeling. It was a nightmare that we were like, wait, what do you mean? Because at first we really thought that they were still together.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
And maybe they just were off the grid for a little while and we just couldn't get in touch. I mean, we were looking for both of them. We wanted to know where both of them were. So getting that phone call was the second worst phone call I've ever received in my life.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
No. No, not at all.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
Yeah. We like to try to focus. I try to erase them out of my memory. I don't want to think about Brian. I don't want to think about the parents. I just want to think about Gabby. I want to move forward and try to do good in the world. I want to use her legacy and try to help as many other people as possible.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
Again, that's why we did the documentary to shed light on an awareness on domestic violence and also missing people. that's really our main, main goal.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
I haven't. No, we haven't.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
I just want to reach out to her and hug her and be there for her and help her. So it's really it's really difficult to watch. But then it makes us want to fight harder. I mean, we are all about backing the blue and getting the resources to police officers, making sure that they know what domestic violence looks like. There are amazing.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
I wish they had the right training and tools to know about strangulation. If they knew about strangulation, I think they could have helped Gabby. If they knew about the red flags, I believe that they would have been able to help her and connect her to the resources necessary for her to get out of the relationship. Like what? Anything in particular?
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
There's a few things.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
Yeah. I mean, well, so when she puts her hand here, that's an indicator that she was that she's been strangled before.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
Yeah.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
She covers here. So even if they cover here, here or here, it's an indicator that they've strangled before. Yeah.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
The markings on him could be an indicator that she was trying to get his arms off of her. A lot of times with strangulation, the defensive wounds are on the perpetrator, not the victim, because they're trying to claw out. There's actually a video here in Florida that a police officer, because there's the sunshine laws that all of their body cam is, you can see it.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
So there's a video where a victim bit the perpetrator's arm right here. And the cops were not aware of the fact that that could be an indicator of strangulation as well, even though the woman kept saying that she choked him out. So the defensive wounds can wind up on on the perpetrator and not the victim.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
Exactly. Exactly. So that's one thing. Sorry, I'm just drawing a... No, that's okay. It's very difficult.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
And this is why the lethality assessment is so important, because stranglers are the most dangerous people to walk this earth. If a man ever puts their hand around your neck, the chances of them killing you increases to 750%. And so these questions are not just about the safety of the victim. It's also about the safety of the officers, because, again, they are the most dangerous.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
It's the most lethal form of domestic abuse.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
And that's why we did the documentary. Trust me, I did not want to sit down and interview all day. Um, cause it just opens up wounds. It just opens up. It just re it's re-traumatizing. It's re-triggering. It's, it's so emotionally hard and exhausting.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
That's not why, but the reason that's not why we did it, we did it so it could be used as a learning tool so that other young women can look at it and see the red flags and see themselves in that same situation and be like, okay, if it can happen to this beautiful blonde woman, blue-eyed girl. It can happen to me. Because domestic violence doesn't see a color. It doesn't see a financial status.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
It can happen to anybody at any point in time. It doesn't know where you live. And I think that's the important part of it. And that's the reason why we did it, just to create more awareness. And that's what it did. We've had so many more emails coming into our foundation website. We've had
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
requests for us to go out and speak we've had requests on tools and resources i think we've had around 200 000 people since the documentary come out um looking at the website trying to find trying to find resources so that was the one thing that was to your point
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
It's not just about the education portion is not just about teaching the red flags. It's also teaching how not to be an abuser. I mean, it's a, it's a cycle. So if it was, if they've grown up with it, um, They're not always, but if they grew up with it, they might become abusers. They might think that that's the norm. So it's not just about teaching the red flags to individuals.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
It's more about both ends.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
Um, so at first we really liked Brian. He came into our home and he was kind and he was just, he was very quiet. He could be a little awkward, but he was, but he was kind. So we didn't see any of that.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
So, but I think for me, I guess right before they went on this trip, I saw a change in Gabby's behavior, um, And I thought it was her. And I think I was just blaming the wrong person. I didn't understand certain things, why things were happening. Now, we lived in New York at the time. They lived in Florida. It's a perfect storm of isolation. So there was a shift.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
where I was like, there's something not right here. And I don't think the other parents agreed with me at that point. It was only me who felt that way. Even my kids still were like, no, we really like Brian. He's such a good guy. And I was like, no, something's not right to me. There's something off.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
That's the bigger bathroom.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
Gabby loved adventure. So yes, this was something that she wanted to do. She loved to take pictures. She loved to take videos. So that was all her. She wanted to be a video blogger and show the country. She wanted to show her going on these adventures and how amazing the U.S. is and all these national parks. And I think she did that. The pictures that she took were absolutely beautiful.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
The videos that she took, I mean... They were amazing. And that was her. That was all her. That was her talent.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
It's hard to hear. We have so many videos of her voice, so it's slightly off. So it was kind of weird to hear it for the first time. Again, we have so many videos, it's always hard to watch her, but I love seeing her. So I'm glad we have those memories. I'm glad we have all those videos of her.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
Again, it was just weird to hear her voice in AI because it's, again, it's slightly off, but it does sound a lot like her. Yeah.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
Well, abuse is a process. It's not just one event. And it normally starts with them charming you, love bombing you. And then it slightly turns. And they'll only show that behavior. And every relationship is different, but they'll start showing those behaviors after the relationship has been going on for quite a while.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
And that's when you start seeing, because you always believe that they're going to go back to that love of bombing. And you always believe that they are, you try to see the good in them. So that's part of the manipulation. And Brian definitely was doing that to Gabby. And it doesn't always start physical either. It could start again with the manipulation of financial. And it can be a slow process.
The Megyn Kelly Show
Petitos Speak Out About New Doc, and "Snow White" Controversies and Baldwins Red Carpet Drama, with Link Lauren and Christian Toto | Ep. 1031
It can be a faster process. But once they have you, that's when I feel like it will shift.