TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) -- Two companion bills filed in the Florida legislature, named after Gabby Petito, aim to strengthen police response to domestic violence.
The bills, collectively known as the Gabby Petito Act, would require law enforcement to complete a "lethality assessment form" when investigating suspected domestic violence.
The 22-year-old's disappearance and murder while on a cross-country road trip in August 2021 captured national attention. Body camera footage revealed that Utah police responded to a reported domestic disturbance between Petito and her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, shortly before her death.
Nothing came of the Utah investigation, as neither Petito nor Laundrie wanted to press charges. On Sept. 19, Petito's remains were discovered in a Wyoming national park, and her death was ruled a homicide. Laundrie took his own life at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in North Port, not far from where he and Petito lived with his parents.
"The goal is to help as many not end up with a story that's like Gabby's," said Joe Petito.
Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book and Rep. Robin Bartleman introduced the Gabby Petito Act in their respective chambers of the legislature on Wednesday. Petito's father, Joe Petito, brought the initiative to Sen. Book to help future victims of domestic violence.
"It's an 11 question questionnaire that a responding officer would ask to figure out if a person is in a lethal situation or not," Petito explained.
A 'yes' answer to some questions would trigger certain responses from an officer to help a person.
"Letting people know that there are resources and stuff available to them," Petito said. "That's the biggest key, you know, a lot of people don't know where to turn to."
According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, there were 106,615 reported domestic violence incidents in the state in 2020. Of those incidents, 198 were considered homicides. The new "lethality assessment" is described by the bill's sponsors as an evidence-based tool backed by the U.S. Department of Justice, emphasizing early intervention in suspected cases of domestic violence.
Rhonda Calahan said she could have used the Gabby Petito Act back in 2012, when she was stabbed 30 times by her boyfriend at the time.
"He got a knife out and he began to cut across my neck," Calahan recalled. "By me trying to put my hands under the knife, it cut all the tendons in my fingers."
He is in prison now for attempted murder. But Calahan said she called the police two months before the attack.
"The officer came up the driveway and he looked at me and he was like, 'Why you keep taking him back?'" Calahan said. "He kind of like, hurt my feelings a little bit and it's embarrassing when you going through stuff like that."
Five years ago, she started a nonprofit called Queens of Domestic Violence Awareness, helping others like her.
"I think this bill is very much needed," Calahan said. "It needs to be taken more seriously. Domestic violence is a serious situation."
The Gabby Petito Act was filed as part of the 2024 legislative session in January. Petito's parents were present when a similar bill passed the Utah legislature earlier this year.
"Domestic violence is a horrific crime hiding in plain sight, affecting 20 people in the United States every single minute of every single day - all too often, with deadly consequences. Each one of us knows victims and perpetrators of domestic violence, even if we do not realize it," Sen. Book said in a statement. "That's why we are working to honor Gabby Petito's life through meaningful action, protecting the lives of other victims and survivors before it's too late, so that we can keep people safe in ways Gabby was not. It is absolutely possible, and it begins with the Gabby Petito Act."
A civil trial against Laundrie’s parents and their attorney, Steven Bertolino, is expected to begin in May.
Calahan wrote a book about her experience titled, "30 Days of Domestic Violence" and has a book signing on December 16 from 5 to 8 p.m. at 734 Central Avenue in Sarasota.