Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito was reported missing on September 11, 2021, 10 days after her fiancé
and traveling companion, Brian Laundrie returned home to Florida from the couple's road trip
— alone.
On September 19, her remains were found in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming.
The story garnered national media attention in part because Laundrie — who quickly became
the top suspect — refused to talk to investigators about his missing fiancée's whereabouts,
then went missing himself, which set off the case's second search.
Another compelling aspect of the story is that it had an almost made-for-TV component.
The couple had been documenting their trip on social media, selling themselves as a young
couple in love with nature, each other, and travel.
Then, something went terribly wrong.
As the case unfolded, it was YouTubers whose tip led to the discovery of the missing woman's
body.
Kyle and Jenn Bethune were filming as they were driving through the Spread Creek dispersed
camping area looking for a spot to settle and happened to capture video of Petito's
parked van and its location on August 27, 2021.
Three and a half weeks later, Petito's remains were discovered on those same campgrounds.
When Brian Laundrie first refused to talk to investigators, there was much speculation
about what happened to Gabby Petito – and great suspicion about Laundrie.
He was the last person known to be with her; the only person known to be traveling with
her; and his evasive behavior after her disappearance only increased those suspicions, especially
when an autopsy conducted on September 21 confirmed that Petito's death was a homicide.
One clue that there may have been trouble in the couple's relationship was a body cam
video released by police in Moab, Utah.
The couple was pulled over on August 12 for erratic driving, apparently during the middle
of a physical domestic dispute while Laundrie was driving the van.
Petito told police that she was the one hitting Laundrie, but a 911 caller who reported a
couple in a white van with Florida plates said otherwise.
"We drove by, and the gentleman was slapping the girl."
On September 20 — the day After Gabby Petito's remains were found — the FBI searched Brian
Laundrie's parents' home in North Port, Florida, where the couple had been living prior to
their trip.
Yet weeks went by with no more information from the Teton County coroner on how Gabby
Petito was murdered.
Renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden told Fox News that the fact that no
new information about the cause of death was being released was "unusual."
Baden speculated that the delay could have been because the authorities wanted to make
sure they weren't missing anything or making any mistakes.
"I think the FBI are being super careful, which just delays releasing a lot of information
that was known immediately."
On October 12 — a month to the day after the interaction with Moab Police — Teton
County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue announced that the cause of Gabby Petito's death was strangulation.
When asked about the condition of her body, Blue would not elaborate and only said that
she had been left "in the wilderness" for three or four weeks.
Nor would he explain how he concluded that the 22-year-old had been strangled.
He also would not clarify whether he thought Petito was strangled by someone's hands or
with an object, saying that by Wyoming state statute, only the cause and manner of death
are released.
Blue also pointed out the nationwide media attention the Petito case garnered, saying,
"Unfortunately, this is only one of the many deaths around the country of people who are
involved in domestic violence, and it's unfortunate that these other deaths did not get as much
coverage as this one."
According to FBI Denver, authorities were looking to search Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental
Park north of Fort Myers, Florida, in early October 2021.
The search didn't turn up anything conclusive until later that month when on October 20,
an area that had been underwater during previous searches was reexamined.
Brian Laundrie's parents found an item that had belonged to him.
Authorities continued searching the area and eventually discovered human remains — later
confirmed to be Laundrie's — as well as a notebook, a backpack, and a revolver.
The next month it was revealed by the family's attorney that Laundrie had died via a self-inflicted
gunshot wound.
On January 21, 2022, the FBI provided a final update on the case as a review of the notebook
found among Laundrie's possessions contained written confessions in which he admitted to
killing Gabby Petito.
FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider said in a written statement included
with the final report,
"All logical investigative steps have been concluded in this case.
The investigation did not identify any other individuals other than Brian Laundrie directly
involved in the tragic death of Gabby Petito."
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National
Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233.
You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.