The Unsettling Murder of Gabby Petito
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Gabby Petito - Instagram
More than a million people remember Gabby Petito's disappearance and the hectic investigation that followed. Her case went viral shortly after her disappearance, and her Instagram gained more than a million followers over the following months. There were 12,000 posts under the hashtag #gabbypetito. But what made this case different from the thousands of people going missing daily? There’s really no reason other than the wealth of videos, images, and the human urge to investigate.
Gabby Petito was a kind, joyful person who loved exploring nature. She had just started her vlogging channel, Nomadic Statik, with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, in the months before she disappeared. She and Laundrie set out on a cross-country road trip on July 4th, 2021. She dreamed of becoming a Van Life vlogger and capturing her life on the road. But the trip quickly turned into a nightmare as Petito and Laundries’ relationship took a turn for the worse.
The first sign of trouble was on August 12th, 2021, in Moab, Utah. A concerned witness reported seeing the man hit the woman before they ran up the street, where he hit her again, and then they drove off together. Police pulled the van over to find Petito sobbing, saying that the two were fighting and hitting each other. No charges were filed, and police separated the pair for the night.
Although the couple seemed to reconcile as they posted a cute video together on August 19th, the next few days would be the last time Petito was seen alive. Petito’s mother, Nicole Schmidt, recalled receiving a few strange texts that gave her pause but thought nothing of it at the time. One text allegedly said, “Can you help Stan, I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls.” Stan was her grandfather, but her mother said that Petito never referred to him by his first name.
Octavio jones - Getty images
Petito’s family only grew more concerned when Brian Laundrie returned home from Wyoming without Gabby on September 1st. He had the van, but there was no trace of his fiancé. Suspicion grew even more when Laundrie refused to talk about her or her whereabouts. By September 2nd, he had already lawyered up. He even went as far as to say Petito was just “gone.” Not suspicious at all, right?
Petito’s family felt betrayed by the Laundrie family with their refusal to cooperate or talk about Gabby. Heartbroken and scared, Petito’s mother reported Gabby missing on September 11th. By September 13th, the case went viral, with thousands of people posting on Twitter and Instagram demanding answers from the Laundrie family and the Florida Police. Brian Laundrie is promptly named a person of interest.
As if Laundrie couldn’t get any more suspicious, he went missing on September 13th. His parents claimed that he just “went for a walk”, however, he never returned. Police searched the 24,000 acres in the Carleton Reserve near the Laundrie home. He was not discovered until October 20th, 2021.
Sadly, Gabby Petito’s body was discovered discovered on September 19th in Grand Teton National Park, where she was last seen. Her father thanked everyone who helped search for her at at her funeral, saying, “So when you leave here today, be inspired by what she brought to the table.” She was only 22 years old. The FBI raided the Laundrie home on September 20th and then issued an arrest warrant for Brian Laundrie on September 23rd.
The autopsy findings were released a month later. Petito had died from blunt force trauma to the head and neck, and she had been strangled. Her friends and family spoke to news outlets about their outrage, saying that her killer deserved to burn in hell.
Gabby petito foundation
Brian Laundrie was found in the Carleton Reserve on October 20th with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. In a notebook near his body, he expressed his guilt and regret about killing Gabby. There was no funeral. Finally, on January 21st, 2022, the FBI named Laundrie as Gabby’s murderer.
Gabby Petito’s case touched thousands, if not millions, of people. Everyone came to Gabby’s defence by helping with the search, making petitions, and posting about the case to spread awareness. Her family founded the Gabby Petito Foundation, a foundation meant to give a helping hand to families of missing persons, either through funding for searches, guidance, and support. Despite the end of her story, Gabby Petito inspired many to live freely and escape the cycle of domestic violence.
Shannon Brownell is a student in the Professional Writing program at Algonquin College who lives in Ottawa, Ontario. She’s originally from Calgary, Alberta, and has her horticulture technician certification. She loves horror movies and writing about anything spooky. Her favourite horror movies are Scream, Midsommar, and The Others.
