Years later, the tragic story of Gabby Petito's murder is still fresh in everyone's mind. Here's how it all unfolded—and how her family is still fighting for justice.
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00:00Years later, the tragic story of Gabby Petito's murder is still fresh in everyone's mind.
00:06Here's how it all unfolded, and how her family is still fighting for justice.
00:10Although Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie seemed like a strong, happy couple,
00:14the reality turned out to be quite different. This became more than apparent on August 12,
00:192021, when the duo had a physical altercation in Moab, Utah. It was bad enough that a witness
00:25was compelled to call 911, reporting that they saw Laundrie slapping Petito.
00:29According to CNN, another witness told the police,
00:32"[He was trying to grab her phone, and then it seems like he had sort of walked to one
00:36side of the van and sort of wasn't letting her in. I remember she sort of hit him a few times,
00:40and it wasn't like, slugs in the face, but just kind of like two kids fighting."
00:44Moab police eventually conducted a traffic stop and had lengthy conversations with the couple,
00:49which the entire world was eventually able to see, thanks to body cam footage that was
00:53released after Petito was reported missing. As shown in one piece of footage, both Petito
00:57and Laundrie had small injuries on their faces. When confronted by police officers, Petito said,
01:03"'You didn't, like, hit me in the face. Like, you didn't,
01:05like, pinch me in the face or anything.'"
01:07When asked to elaborate, she added,
01:09"'He, like, grabbed me, like, with his nail, and I guess that's why it was — I definitely
01:13have a cut right here, but I could feel it, especially the burns.'"
01:16At Petito's request, the police officers refrained from pressing charges against Laundrie,
01:21but instructed the duo not to spend the night together. The couple complied,
01:24and police brought Laundrie to a hotel.
01:27On August 17th, Laundrie took a flight from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Tampa, Florida,
01:31leaving Petito behind. He flew back to Utah six days later to resume the trip.
01:36Steve Bertolino, the attorney that was eventually hired by Laundrie's family,
01:40later explained to Business Insider,
01:41"[Laundrie visited Tampa to obtain some items and empty and close the storage unit to save money,
01:46as Petito and Laundrie contemplated extending the road trip."
01:49On August 25th, Petito spoke to her mother over FaceTime for the very last time,
01:54and the two exchanged messages the next day. On August 27th, Petito's mother received another
01:59text message from her daughter, but she wasn't convinced it was actually Gabby who had typed it.
02:03It read,
02:04"'Can you help Stan? I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls.'"
02:07Why did this seem weird to Petito's mother? Because Stan was Petito's grandfather,
02:11and she never called him by his first name. It was on this day that a crying Petito and
02:16an enraged Laundrie were seen at a Jackson, Wyoming restaurant called the Mary Piglet's
02:19Tex-Mex. Also on this same day, the duo was recorded stopping by and shopping at a Whole
02:24Foods in Wyoming. This was the very last time Petito was seen alive. It's crucial to note that,
02:29on the evening of August 27th, the couple's van was spotted isolated in Wyoming's Spread
02:34Creek Dispersed Camping Area — the very same place Petito's body was recovered from a few
02:38weeks later. Two days after Petito was last seen alive, Laundrie spoke to his mother over the
02:44phone. Finding Laundrie a bit distraught, his mother asked his father to talk to him.
02:48When his father reached out to him over the phone, Laundrie reportedly told him Petito was gone,
02:52and that he needed to find an attorney, without providing further explanations for his statements.
02:57On September 1st, Laundrie drove the Ford van back to his parents' Florida home, without Petito.
03:02Five days after his return, Laundrie and his parents went on a two-day camping trip to
03:06Tierra Verde, Florida, which was undoubtedly surprising and suspicious, given the circumstances.
03:12After relentlessly trying to track Petito down for over two weeks, Petito's family ultimately
03:17reported her missing on September 11th. Four days later, Laundrie, who refused to help the police
03:22with Petito's whereabouts, was flagged as a person of interest by the authorities.
03:26Subsequently, his parents' home was inundated with media attention.
03:30Arrest Brian! Arrest Brian! Arrest Brian! Bring Gabby home!
03:35The situation became even more complicated on September 17th,
03:38when Laundrie's parents reported him missing, claiming he had disappeared on September 14th.
03:44Eventually, the body of a young woman matching the description of Petito was recovered from
03:48the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area in Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming,
03:52on September 19th. Two days later, the body was identified as that of Petito,
03:57and it was declared that she was murdered.
03:59On October 12th, the findings of her autopsy report were made public. It was revealed that
04:04she died by strangulation, and her remains were discovered three to four weeks after her demise.
04:08On October 20th, skeletal remains of a human were discovered in Florida's Myakkahatchee
04:13Creek Environmental Park, which had been submerged with water for days due to
04:16heavy rainfall before the remains were found.
04:18We're talking about water levels up above almost the chest area. Rattlesnakes, moccasins, alligators."
04:26A day later, the remains were confirmed to be Brian Laundrie's. On November 23rd, 2021,
04:32the disclosure of Laundrie's autopsy results revealed that he committed
04:35suicide by shooting himself in the head. A handful of Laundrie's personal belongings
04:39were recovered alongside his remains, including a backpack and a notebook.
04:44Attorney Steve Bertolino made the contents of the notebook public in June 2022 in an
04:48attempt to purify the Laundrie family's reputation. It contained not only a confession to Petito's
04:53murder, but also a suicide note. According to his confession, Petito had sustained severe
04:58injuries from a fall, prompting him to end her life and thus her suffering. Laundrie wrote,
05:03"...I don't know the extent of Gabby's injuries, only that she was in extreme pain.
05:07I ended her life. I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted.
05:10But now I see all the mistakes I made."
05:13In his suicide note, he wrote,
05:14"...I am ending my life, not because of fear of punishment,
05:17but rather because I can't stand to live another day without her."
05:20Multiple experts were quick to weigh in on the matter, and the general consensus was
05:24that Laundrie's confession was anything but convincing. For instance, former NYPD detective
05:29Michael Alcazar said Laundrie was fearful of the aftermath of Petito's death and wrote the
05:33justification to somewhat avoid being held responsible for the murder. In another statement,
05:38forensics expert Lawrence Kobulinski noted that Petito's death can be deemed anything but merciful.
05:44In March 2022, Petito's parents filed a bombshell civil lawsuit against Laundrie's parents,
05:49alleging they refused to cooperate with the police when Petito's disappearance was being
05:53investigated. They also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against them in May of that same year.
05:57The wrongful death lawsuit was settled after the Laundries paid Petito's family $3 million
06:02in damages in November 2022, while the civil lawsuit was mutually resolved on confidential
06:07terms in February 2024. Back in 2022, Petito's family also filed a $50 million wrongful death
06:13lawsuit against Moab, Utah's police department, claiming they could have prevented Petito's murder
06:18by acting with due diligence when they pulled Petito and Laundrie's van over in Moab.
06:22But we feel we need to bring justice because she could have been protected that day."
06:28Two years later, a Utah judge dismissed the case on grounds of the Government Immunity Act of Utah,
06:33saying the Moab police were in no way responsible for Petito's death. Petito's parents and attorney
06:38have said they will challenge the dismissal and take their case to the Utah Supreme Court
06:42to seek justice. If you or anyone you know is dealing with domestic abuse or is struggling
06:47or in crisis, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
06:54You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
06:58Call or text 988 or chat 988Lifeline.org.