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Unraveling the Tragic Truth Behind Gabby Petito’s Final Days: What Really Happened?

BBG News

22-year-old Gabby Petito and her fiancé Brian Laundrie had planned an incredible journey across America last year, inspired by alluring social media posts showcasing life on the road. They bought a van in 2021 with the intention of traversing the nation’s breathtaking landscapes for four months. Gabby intended to document their adventure through a blog and YouTube channel as they visited numerous national parks throughout America.

However, the anticipated vacation turned into a heartbreaking event. After an alleged domestic argument between her and Laundrie – a situation that contrasted with her cheerful social media image – Petito vanished in 2021 and never returned home. Her remains were discovered on September 19, 2021.

Currently streaming on Netflix is a three-part documentary titled “American Murder: Gabby Petito“. This series offers an account of both the life and tragic demise of Gabby, using conversations with her friends and family. It also explores how the hunt for her became a topic of intense national focus.

How Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie became a part of #vanlife

Petito and Laundrie developed a friendship following their encounter at Bayport-Blue Point High School in Bayport, New York. Post graduation in 2017, they started dating in 2019, with Petito later moving to North Point, Florida to reside with Laundrie’s family. According to Davis in the series, Petito found living there uncomfortable due to strained relationships with Brian’s family, particularly his mother Roberta. This unease was intensified by Laundrie’s growing signs of control. An example of this control was when he allegedly took Petito’s wallet and ID so she couldn’t go out with Davis, as depicted in the documentary American Murder, which showcases their text messages. Sharing a passion for road trips, national parks, and traveling across the U.S., they embarked on a journey from New York to California in July 2020, and subsequently got engaged.

Preparing for a cross-country journey, Petito took on multiple jobs, such as working at a pharmacy and Taco Bell. She eventually bought a 2012 Ford Transit Connect and transformed it into a mobile home for their planned four-month trip to explore various National Parks. On July 2, 2021, exactly a year after their engagement, they embarked on their adventure from New York City. Petito intended to share their experiences through YouTube (Nomadic Statik) and Instagram (@traveling_the_world_in_our_tiny_van), where the hashtag #vanlife was prominently displayed.

Gabby Petito reported missing, prompting an investigation

On August 12, 2021, an emergency call was made in Moab, Utah, reporting a man allegedly attacking a woman in a passing van. The authorities located the vehicle, and upon intervention, they discovered it belonged to Petito. Given the conflicting accounts provided by Petito (who appeared distressed) and Laundrie (who seemed calm), it was concluded that Laundrie might have been a victim of domestic violence. Since no charges were filed, the couple was separated for the night – Laundrie was moved to a hotel while Petito stayed in the van. The following day, they resumed their journey. Exactly a week later, Petito uploaded her first YouTube video titled “Van Life | Building Our Van Life Journey,” filled with pictures of the couple looking happy, laughing, and kissing.

Even though their social media presented an optimistic image, things were in fact deteriorating for the couple. On August 25th, Petito’s last Instagram post was made. Around that time, Petito ceased responding to text messages. Her relatives and friends tried contacting her on numerous occasions, but she never replied. On August 27th, Petito’s mother received a peculiar text from Petito’s phone: “Can you help Stan, I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls.” This message mentioned Petito’s grandfather, but Petito rarely used his first name.

On September 11th, Petito’s mother submitted a missing persons report to the Suffolk County Police Department in New York. This action sparked an unexpected finding by law enforcement in Southwest Florida. Upon his return to his parents’ home, Laundrie was found with Petito’s van, but she was conspicuously absent from his side. The Laundrie family then retained a lawyer and declined cooperation with the ongoing police investigation.

The story about Petito garnered significant nationwide attention. On social media platforms like TikTok, enthusiastic detectives delved into every detail of her past posts and scrutinized each fresh update on the case. The search for her stretched across approximately 2000 miles as law enforcement attempted to follow her footsteps.

What happened to Gabby Petito? 

The investigation directed law enforcement to various locations, one of them being Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, where her phone’s last activity was detected. Spanning over 310,000 acres, this park was a significant focus point for the police. They solicited help from anyone who might have useful information to come forward. This appeal surprisingly led to another #vanlife blogger who scrutinized their footage and discovered images of Petito’s van at Spread Creek within Grand Teton. Three weeks into the search, on September 19th, 2021, Petito’s body was unearthed. The investigators speculated that the scene had been deliberately arranged. A subsequent autopsy concluded that Petito died as a result of being strangled.

Friends and family of Petito were deeply saddened by her passing. “I fell to the ground,” said Jim Schmidt, her stepfather, who traveled to Wyoming to aid in the search for Gabby. “I had to gather myself and call Niki, get Joe on the phone, and have a conference call with Tara from 2,000 miles away, to share from afar that our daughter was gone.” A former high school friend of Petito said in the series, “When it was announced they found her body…I wished I could turn it off or wake up, as if it were a horrible nightmare.

What happened to Brian Laundrie? 

As a follower, I’m shedding light on the details of Brian Laundrie’s efforts to establish an alibi. On August 29, I found myself making multiple calls to my parents, telling them that Gabby was “gone” and I required assistance. Shortly after, we contacted a lawyer. I managed to hitchhike twice, traveling separate times to move from the location where Petito’s body was hidden, back to our van. There, I orchestrated text conversations between Gabby and myself on both of our phones, attempting to give the impression that we weren’t physically together. Furthermore, I initiated a transaction on Zelle, transferring $700 from Petito’s account into my own, with a memo reading “Goodbye Brian, I’ll never ask you for anything again.

The finding of Petito’s body helped investigators reconstruct the final stages of her life. On August 27, 2021, Petito was observed with Laundrie around 1 p.m. at a restaurant called Mary Piglets; a bystander reported they were having an argument. The documentary “American Murder” discloses that Petito phoned her former boyfriend but he was unavailable as he was working. The couple was subsequently captured on the surveillance footage of a nearby Whole Foods at 2:13 p.m., which represented the last sighting of Petito while she was still alive. After leaving Whole Foods, they drove to Spread Creek, arriving approximately at 6 pm. Two hours later, at 8:32 pm, Petito was seen reorganizing files on her computer; the police presume these were her final moments before her death.

On September 20, 2021, a day after Petito’s remains were discovered, the police executed a search warrant at Laundrie’s home. However, Brian himself had disappeared, telling his parents a week prior that he was going on a hike. The parents didn’t report him missing as they believed he would return. He was last known to be in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, which covers approximately 20,000 acres. Thirty-seven days later, on October 20, Laundrie’s remains were found at Carlton Reserve, where his parents had located him.

A letter confessing to Gabby’s murder was discovered near Brian Laundrie’s remains. He claimed he ended her life because of a strange accident that left her in immense pain; however, this contradicts the autopsy findings. In 2022, the Petito-Schmidt family sued Brian’s parents, Roberta and Chris, for wrongful death, which was settled for $3 million without any criminal charges against the Laundrie family.

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2025-02-18 00:06

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