Jill McCluskey, the mother of the murdered University of Utah student-athlete Lauren McCluskey, has weighed in on the Gabby Petito case.
On Wednesday, Jill McCluskey said society needs to do better at protecting young women who might be in danger.
“Police didn’t think Lauren was in danger when she reported to them because she was stoic,” Jill McCluskey tweeted. “Police didn’t think #GabbyPetito was in danger because she was crying & her abuser said she was crazy. They were both murdered. We must do better.”
Police didn't think Lauren was in danger when she reported to them because she was stoic. Police didn't think #GabbyPetito was in danger because she was crying & her abuser said she was crazy. They were both murdered. We must do better. pic.twitter.com/2uGr9F4oPZ
— Jill McCluskey (@jjmccluskey) September 23, 2021
Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue confirmed Tuesday that Petito died from homicide. The official cause of death has not been determined yet. Petito’s body was found outside a Wyoming national park on Sunday.
Petito was first reported missing on Sept. 11 after a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie. The couple traveled across the country, visiting Wyoming, Idaho and parts of Utah, including Mystic Hot Springs and Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands and Arches national parks.
Jill McCluskey is drawing a comparison between what happened to Petito and what happened to her daughter, Lauren, who was shot to death by her ex-boyfriend. Before she was killed, Lauren had been abducted in the parking lot outside of her dorm on the University of Utah campus.
As the Deseret News reported, Lauren’s murder was not an isolated incident. It’s a bigger problem about safety for women and their dating partners.