Gabby Petito. A name that will go down in history as one of the most televised and earth-shattering American murders to date. Survived by her mom and dad, Nichole Schmidt and Joe Petito, and stepparents, Tara Petitio and Jim Schmidt; family, friends, and other witnesses came together to recount the events that led up to the tragedy in the tell-all Netflix docuseries, American Murder: Gabby Petito.
Gabby Petito was a 22-year-old woman from Long Island, New York. She dreamed of living on the road in a van and documenting her adventures through social media. In high school, Petito met Brian Laundrie, a man who shared her aspirations. Although they began their relationship as acquaintances, by March 2019, they had begun dating. Shortly after in 2020, they became engaged.
At the beginning of the docuseries, an anonymous friend of Laundrie and Petito recounts her time with Laundrie before he was close with Petito. He was living with her temporarily as he figured out his life because he didn’t plan to attend college and was working to make ends meet. In the docuseries, she reflects that the dwindling of their friendship began when he admitted feelings for her, to which she didn’t feel the same.
Later in the docuseries, the couple’s meeting is recalled as love at first sight. The pair became inseparable and, to the naked eye, appeared to be a loving couple. Behind the scenes, however, Petito was struggling between her love for her relationship and her well-being.
Petito moved to North Port, Florida, alongside Laundrie in December 2019, where the pair stayed with his parents, preparing for their van trip across Western America. Petito worked a part-time job at Taco Bell to save money, while Laundrie worked on constructing the van that would house the pair.
In this timeframe, Petito met Rose Davis on Bumble For Friends and the pair became inseparable. In the docuseries, Davis recalls several times how Laundrie acted friendly in public, but through Petito, she was told about the arguments and manipulation that characterized their relationship.
Davis detailed how Laundrie would get frustrated at Petito for spending too much time with friends and regularly guilted her for not giving him enough attention. Davis shared how, in one instance, Laundrie went so far as to steal Petito’s wallet so she wouldn’t be able to see Davis. However, despite Davis’s attempts to help Petito escape the relationship, she continued to stay.
On July 2, 2021, Laundrie and Petito set out on their cross-country trip, starting in Blue Point, New York. The pair planned to travel West and intended to explore national parks along the way. Later the same month, they visited Monument Rocks, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Mystic Hot Springs, and Canyonlands National Park.
Throughout the trip, Petito took several videos and photos, excited to share her journey on social media with the world. Several video clips appear throughout the docuseries taken from her vlog and personal camera, showing a play-by-play of all the destinations they visited.
All seemed fine until Aug. 12, 2021, when a witness in Moab, Utah, called 911, stating they’d seen a man repeatedly slapping a female and getting into a white van. When police pulled over the alleged van, it was none other than Petito and Laundrie. Police body cam footage showed Petito crying with an injury on her face and Laundrie appearing to have scratches.
After speaking with both Gabby and Brian, the officers deemed Petito to be the primary aggressor and separated the two for the night, leaving her with the van and taking Laundrie to a domestic abuse hotel. The pair later reconnected and continued their journey.
Shortly after, on Aug. 24, Petito called her mother to inform her she was leaving Utah and heading to the Teton Mountain Range in Wyoming. Allegedly, in this time frame, there were two calls made to Petito’s ex-boyfriend. The first regarded catching up, and the second, a few days later, detailed her plan to leave Laundrie. Allegedly, Petito made a third phone call to the same ex-boyfriend but didn’t get through because he was at work.
The docu-series shares the timeline of Petito’s final days. On Aug. 27, Petito and Laundrie were seen arguing at a restaurant in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Later that same day was the last known recorded footage of Petito walking through Whole Foods with Laundrie. On that same day was the last known communication from her to her family. She sent a text message to her mother addressing her grandfather by his name, Stan. Petito’s mother found it odd that she addressed him as Stan because she always called him “grandpa,” which is when suspicions began to arise.
A couple of weeks passed, and both family and friends repeatedly reached out to Petito with no response. Her family reported her missing on Sept. 11, 2021. Laundrie had returned home, and the van was parked in his driveway. Police allegedly made several attempts to speak with the Laundrie family with little to no cooperation. They also claimed that Brian Laundrie didn’t want to speak to the police or the press and had already contacted lawyers.
Petito’s family spread posters everywhere, even attending press conferences to draw attention to the situation at hand. The FBI got involved, and the public was a massive help in spreading the news and sharing information, even as far as key witnesses coming forward and sharing how they picked up or spotted Brian as he was hitchhiking from camping grounds. On Sept. 17, Laundrie’s parents reported him missing, claiming they hadn’t seen their son since the Sept. 14. This momentarily shifted public attention away from Petito’s search to how law enforcement let Laundrie go under their radar.
On Sept. 19, 2021, Petito’s remains were found in Wyoming’s Bridgestone National Forest. On Sept. 21, an autopsy report confirmed it was Petito’s body, ruling her death a homicide. Two days later, on Sept. 23, an arrest warrant was issued for Laundrie, who was still nowhere to be found. Nearly a month later, on Oct. 20, 2021, Laundrie was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, Florida. Near his body, a notebook was found where he had confessed to killing Gabby Petito.
Petito’s family has turned her tragedy into a story of hope, creating the Gabby Petito Foundation. The foundation serves to reunite people with missing persons as well as offer support and resources for domestic violence victims. Today, Petito’s family hopes that her tragedy will help save others and bring light to such important issues.
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