Let me begin with just a brief opening statement to a set to stage.

Gabby Petito's parents have asked the law firms of Parker and Maconkey

and Zimmerman Bauer to represent them in a lawsuit against the Moab police

for their negligent failure to first understand the law and enforce it

and second for the wrongful death of their daughter.

In this regard, this morning we have filed a notice of claim which is the first step in initiating future litigation.

Gabby's parents are bringing this lawsuit to honor Gabby's legacy

by working to save the lives of victims of domestic violence throughout the United States and the world.

This lawsuit is only one part of a broader effort to raise awareness of intimate partner violence and its potential dangers.

They have set up the Gabby Petito Foundation.

This foundation has already donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to groups focusing on intimate and domestic violence,

including a $100,000 donation last week to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, which I'm sure you're aware of.

They hope their efforts to help will save lives and give meaning to the senseless, avoidable and tragic murder of their daughter.

Good morning and thank you for being here.

As my partner Jim said, my name is Brian Stewart and I'm grateful to be with you today and grateful for your attention to this important case.

I will just say that at the outset that the purpose of this lawsuit is just one part of the family's broader effort to raise awareness and education

for to protect victims of domestic violence and to help make sure that our governmental institutions are held to account and that they are given the resources and training that they need to do their jobs in the effective way that they would want to

and to do it in a way that protects the most vulnerable members of our society and will prevent tragedies such as this one from happening again.

Our purpose in filing the lawsuit and the family wants to be clear about this is not to punish individual officers but is to honor the efforts of dedicated police officers

and while it is tough to do we feel a responsibility to support them by demanding that changes needed to help them do their job better will be accomplished.

We believe that the only effective way to correct these problems is to hold their institutions accountable for their failures including law enforcement.

But as we said this is just part of a larger effort to help other people and other victims of domestic violence understand that there are resources and that there are helps available and that they can rely on those and rely on the response of law enforcement.

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