Gabby Petito documentary latest – Peacock examines Brian Laundrie relationship and murder as parents speak out

‘Tragic for two families’

Laundrie family attorney Steve Bertolino spoke of the loss suffered by both the Petito and Laundrie families.

“There are two young people that have now lost their lives,” Bertolino said. “These are parents that are suffering.

“Now, I understand that whatever happened or whatever didn’t happen,” he added. “This is tragic for two families.”

“And anybody with a child, and anybody with a sense of humanity can understand the frustration that both families feel on that point.”

Where to watch the new documentary

The Murder of Gabby Petito: Truth, Lies and Social Media premiered on December 17, through NBC’s streaming service Peacock.

The documentary reportedly “sheds new light on the tragic story, the unanswered questions and the shocking conclusion,” with exclusive interviews from her family.

“It was like every parent’s nightmare, just like in a flash of a second,” Petito’s stepfather Jim Schmidt said in the documentary’s trailer. “She’s gone, she’s missing.”

How did Gabby go missing?

Gabby Petito had quit her job and packed her life into a camper van for a cross-country adventure with Brian Laundrie, starting in July, documenting their journey in a stream of social media posts.

In images shared by the couple online, they are all smiles — barefoot in a canyon or surveying the ochre rocks of state and national parks.

In one YouTube video published during their trip, Petito and Laundrie are shown kissing tenderly, enjoying a sunset together, and strolling on a beach.

But the young woman’s family filed a missing person report on September 11 after the 22-year-old mysteriously vanished, and Laundrie returned home to Florida without her.

Where was Gabby’s body found?

On September 19, 2021, authorities in Wyoming announced a body was found in the area where the search for Petito had been underway.

The Petito lawyer later confirmed on September 21, that the body was identified as Gabby.

The remains were discovered in Grant Teton National Park, where she had been camping with her fiancé when she disappeared.

“I want to personally thank the press and news media for giving the Petito and Schmidt family time to grieve,” lawyer Richard Stafford said in a statement.

“We will be making a statement when Gabby is home. I will contact you to arrange a time and location.”

Gabby’s mom speaks of her daughter’s ‘magical’ presence

In the documentary, Gabby’s mom Nichole Schmidt said everyone who met their daughter instantly “fell in love with her.”

The devastated mother said: “People would meet her and just fall in love with her.

“She just had this presence. I don’t know what it was. It was just magical.”

“There are so many good memories over the years, but the one thing I hold dear to me is the hug that we had before she left for the trip in the driveway.”

“It’s still unbelievable. I still don’t understand it. It doesn’t make sense,” she added.

Rare photos of Gabby Petito shared in documentary

Rare photos of Gabby Petito were shared in a new documentary, prompting her heartbroken parents to say “this is all we have left now.”

Gabby‘s heartbroken parents, Nichole Schmidt and Joe Petito opened up about what made their daughter special in the new Peacock documentary, The Murder of Gabby Petito: Truth, Lies and Social Media.

“Man, that smile. That smile didn’t change. Those eyes didn’t change. Those eyes, they would get her out of so much trouble,” Joe said.

“No matter how old she got, she would still be my baby girl, you know, how much trouble she was in, it didn’t matter. She was still my baby girl, you know?

“These are all I have left now,” Joe said as he stared down at his daughter’s childhood photos.

Gabby’s last texts and post

Gabby Petito’s remains were found less than 1,000 feet (300m) from where, on the evening of August 27, another pair of travel bloggers caught video images of the couple’s 2012 white Ford Transit van parked along a dirt road.

Petito, who was documenting the couple’s “van life” road trip on social media, posted her final photo to Instagram on August 25, the same day that she last spoke to her mother by phone.

The family believes the couple was headed to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming at the time.

Schmidt received text messages from Petito’s phone on August 27 and August 30, but suspects that someone other than her daughter sent them, according to investigators.

Brian’s notebook is ‘key evidence’

Brian Laundrie’s notebook, which was found next to his remains at a Florida nature reserve, may reveal the truth about what happened between him and his late fiancée, Gabby Petito, an ex-prosecutor says.

The notebook and remains were found by police next to a backpack belonging to Laundrie at Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, near the Carlton Reserve.

Neama Rahmani, a former assistant US Attorney and the current president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told The Sun the notebook and bag will be “crucial evidence” in helping to solve Gabby’s murder.

“Law enforcement found a backpack and notebook, that’s key evidence,” Rahmani said.

Moab police refund licensing fees

Officers in the Utah city where Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie had an explosive domestic dispute have been accused of illegally collecting nearly $3,000 in fees for the distressing police bodycam footage of the incident.

The Moab Police Department are planning to return the fees collected from multiple media organizations featuring footage of the officers pulling over Gabby and her ex-fiancé Brian outside of Arches National Park.

The thousands of dollars in fees charged by Moab police the dissemination of the footage – which grabbed national spotlight – cost three times more than what the department had expected to take in for the entire fiscal year of fee revenues, the Salt Lake Tribune reported citing a city budget document.

Moab Police Department charged 30 entities – mostly news organizations – $98 to provide the footage totaling $2,940,  according to a document The Tribune obtained through an open records request.

The law enforcement agency has since agreed to refund the fees which may have violated Utah law.

What does the Gabby Petito Foundation do?

On October 3, 2021, Gabby’s family announced that they had launched the Gabby Petito Foundation in honor of their late daughter.

According to the website, the organization’s mission is “to address the needs of organizations that support locating missing persons and to provide aid to organizations that assist victims of domestic violence situations, through education, awareness, and prevention strategies.

“We wish to turn our personal tragedy into a positive,” the mission statement reads.

“It is our hope that Gabby’s foundation will bring these important issues into the forefront of the public eye to the benefit of all our communities.”

The foundation’s tagline is a phrase coined by Gabby’s dad in an Instagram post after her remains were found at a Wyoming campsite on September 19: “She touched the world.”

Why did Gabby visit Grand Teton?

Petito had quit her job and packed her life into a camper van for a cross-country adventure with Brian Laundrie, starting in July, documenting their journey in a stream of social media posts.

In images shared by the couple online they are all smiles — barefoot in a canyon or surveying the ochre rocks of state and national parks.

In one YouTube video published during their trip, Petito and Laundrie are shown kissing tenderly, enjoying a sunset together and strolling on a beach.

But the young woman’s family filed a missing person report on September 11 after the 22-year-old mysteriously vanished, and Laundrie returned home to Florida without her.

Gabby Petito’s dad at her funeral, continued

“And she’s inspired a lot of women and a lot of men to do what’s best for them first. Put yourself first and do it now while you have the time. I couldn’t be more proud as a father,” he added.

Joe also warned women in toxic relationships to “leave now” so that way this tragedy does not happen to them.

Just days after, the family then held a press conference, where Nicole showed off matching tattoos that were designed by Gabby prior to her death.

On October 3, 2021, Gabby’s family announced that they had launched the Gabby Petito Foundation in honor of their late daughter.

Gabby Petito’s dad at her funeral

On September 26, the Petito family held a memorial service for Gabby to lay her to rest following the autopsy results.

At the service, her father Joe said that he wanted people to be “inspired” by the life she embodied.

“So when you leave here today, be inspired by what she brought to the table because the entire planet knows this woman’s name now,” he said.

The Gabby Petito Foundation

On October 3, 2021, Gabby’s family announced that they had launched the Gabby Petito Foundation in honor of their late daughter.

“The Gabby Petito Foundation is up and running!,” a post on the foundation’s Twitter page read. “We have a lot of work to do, website is just starting out so be patient with us, we will get there. Thank you for all the support and love!”

‘I hope she did not suffer’

In a heartbreaking interview with 60 minutes, Gabby’s distraught mom Nichole said: “I hope she did not suffer and she was not in any pain.

“That she was in a place she wanted to be, looking at the beautiful mountains.”

She added: “You never, ever think it is going to be yours. It is surreal.”

Gabby and Brian’s bodies identified exactly one month apart

Brian Laundrie’s  remains were identified to be his on October 21, 2021.

The fugitive’s remains were found after an extensive search at Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park

On September 21, 2021, the Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue confirmed that the body foun in Wyoming was that of Gabby Petito.

Petito died as a result of a homicide.

Where did the Gabby Petito documentary air?

The documentary, The Murder of Gabby Petito: Truth, Lies and Social Media, was released on Friday.

It aired on NBC’s streaming service, Peacock, and is available to stream.

Did Brian Laundrie have a funeral?

Through their attorney, the Laundrie family revealed that they would be cremating their son’s ashes and forgoing a funeral.

His family left their homes in North Port on October 24 to grieve together in an undisclosed location in Florida.

Chris and Roberta Laundrie returned to their home on October 26.

Was Brian Laundrie ever charged?

Although Brian was not charged with any crime in relation to Gabby’s murder, the FBI issued a warrant for his arrest for the unauthorized use of Gabby’s debit card.

Bank records show that from August 31 to September 1, four days after the couple was spotted at the Merry Piglets restaurant, Brian swiped Gabby’s Capital One card, running up a balance of $1,000.

Mysteries surrounding the case, continued

Six days later, on Sept. 19, Gabby’s remains were found at a campsite near Grand Teton National Park.

A five-week nationwide search for Laundrie then ensued. While he wasn’t named as a suspect in her death a warrant was issued for his arrest on allegations of bank fraud.

That search came to an end on October 20 after skeletal remains were found in Myakkahatchee Creek Park, which is adjacent to the Carlton Reserve, in Sarasota County, Florida.

Mysteries surrounding the case

Brian quietly returned home to Florida alone on September 1, failing to alert police or Gabby’s family that she was missing.

Gabby was eventually reported missing by her mother in New York on September 11. That came after 10 days of allegedly being stonewalled by Brian and his parents about where her daughter was.

Brian then vanished himself on September 13, telling his parents he was going hiking in the Carlton Reserve. They described him as being “upset” and “out of sorts” when he left their home for the last time.

Gabby was killed by ‘throttling’

While Dr. Blue’s initial remarks lacked specificity, he later appeared on CNN and elaborated on Gabby’s cause of death, insisting she had been killed by “strangulation via a throttling.”

Professor Joseph Scott Morgan, a forensic expert and former medical examiner teaching at Jacksonville State University in Alabama said Brent’s comments are significant, as “that really narrows the field down because throttling is so very specific.

“He went to great lengths to even say that this was not mechanical, which essentially means that there wasn’t a ligature involved,” Morgan said. “When they say throttling, they’re talking about the application of two hands on this young woman’s throat.”

Morgan called the manner of death “intimate”, adding that throttling can either happen anteriorly — from the front — or posteriorly — from behind, and is often driven by a component of passion.

How did Gabby go missing?

Gabby Petito had quit her job and packed her life into a camper van for a cross-country adventure with Brian Laundrie, starting in July, documenting their journey in a stream of social media posts.

In images shared by the couple online, they are all smiles — barefoot in a canyon or surveying the ochre rocks of state and national parks.

In one YouTube video published during their trip, Petito and Laundrie are shown kissing tenderly, enjoying a sunset together, and strolling on a beach.

But the young woman’s family filed a missing person report on September 11 after the 22-year-old mysteriously vanished, and Laundrie returned home to Florida without her.

How to get help

If you are being abused in a relationship, anonymous and confidential help is available.

For help, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or  1-800-787-3224 (TTY).

However, if you are actively in danger, call 911.

‘It appears as if the story is over’

Brian Laundrie’s friend also told The Sun: “It appears as if this story is over.”

The friend alluded to Laundrie’s notebook as showcasing an important look into Laundrie’s private life and his potential last days with Petito.

“Hopefully his notebook can detail what it is we all want to know,” the friend said, alluding to Petito’s cause of death that was determined to be by strangulation.