Two decades ago, leading researchers in the field of domestic violence developed a powerful tool known as the Lethality Assessment Program-Maryland Model (LAP). The LAP involves a series of questions that law enforcement officers can use to identify those who are at serious risk of experiencing a lethal assault at the hands of an intimate partner. When the program indicates a high level of risk, the potential victim is warned and connected with an organization that can help them.
The LAP is the type of program that could have saved the life of Gabby Petito, who was murdered in August 2021. Her strangled body was found in Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming. Two months later, Brian Laundrie, Petito’s fiancé, committed suicide after confessing in a notebook found by his body that he had been the one who killed Petito.
New revelations show what could have surfaced if the police officers who engaged with Petito in the days leading up to her murder had utilized the LAP. As reported by the New York Post on June 3, 2024, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found a number of disturbing items when it raided Laundrie’s home, including writings in a private journal about Laundrie’s desire to kill himself. The FBI also found weapons, bullets, and the receipts and handbooks for two pistols.
Taking steps to disrupt the cycle of violence
The LAP is designed to disrupt the cycle of violence in which victims become trapped. When administered effectively, it helps a victim of violence understand the serious risks they face, facilitates a separation of the victim and the person posing the threat, and introduces an objective perspective from which one can perceive the current situation.
The LAP is something the police who saw Petito days before her murder were expected to administer. For someone like Petito, the LAP might have allowed her to see Laundrie in a different light. The writings and weapons found by the FBI tell us Laundrie dealt with mental health issues, was clearly a narcissist and manipulator, and was capable of violence.
It’s possible Petito had seen similar things and didn’t understand their significance. Regardless, the LAP would have made the significance of Laundrie’s behavior clear.
Ignoring a duty to administer the LAP
In 2018, the Moab Police Department agreed to use the LAP for a year. In 2019, the department renewed the agreement that established the LAP protocol for three years. When Moab police officers interacted with Petito and Laundrie in August 2021, the agreement was in place, but according to a lawsuit filed against the Moab City Police Department, “the LAP was Moab’s policy on paper, but not in practice.”
The impetus to initiate the LAP seems clear from the reports provided by the Moab police. According to CNN, officers saw cuts on Petito’s face and arms and noted that Petito “demonstrated how Brian had violently grabbed her face.”
Understanding the value of the LAP
Part of the value of the LAP is that it helps authorities, as well as the potential victim, to understand the seriousness of the situation. One police officer who had contact with Petito and Laundrie later said Laundrie was “an emotional threat” and “a mental threat” to Petito, though he apparently did not see Laundrie as a lethal threat to Petito.
Had officers administered the LAP, the lethality of the threat could have become clear to both law enforcement and Petito and put everyone on notice that the situation was dangerous and could turn deadly.
While the questions asked during the LAP vary slightly depending on the jurisdiction, they generally focus on assessing if the perceived assailant is controlling, threatening, or violent. For instance, they seek to determine if the victim has ever been threatened with a weapon, verify if the assailant has a gun (or can easily get one), and ask if the assailant seeks to control most of the victim’s daily activities.
If Petito had expressed during the LAP that she thought Laundrie might try to kill her, it would have automatically triggered a high-danger assessment. However, Petito wasn’t given the opportunity to hear the questions, offer responses, and think about their significance.
The LAP also introduces a victim of domestic violence to a third party who is in a position to help, as it is common for those suffering from domestic abuse to feel they don’t have an option other than to stay with their abuser and hope things get better. The LAP provides other options, with law enforcement officials or other public servants providing a pathway to safety. It provides hope.
Since Petito’s tragic murder, her family has successfully supported legislation in Utah and Florida to make the LAP a mandatory part of how law enforcement responds to domestic violence issues, which they believe is saving lives. In Florida, this legislation has been named the “Gabby Petito Act” in honor of her memory.
For those like Petito who are trapped in a volatile situation, the information provided by the LAP is desperately needed. Had it been provided to her, there is a high likelihood she would be alive today.
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