The couple had a seemingly picture-perfect life together, as documented on their Instagram pages. Life wasn't as great as it appeared though, and things began to fall apart during a traffic stop on August 12th in Moab, Utah. Police received calls that the duo were fighting, and that Brian hit Gabby.
Police spoke with the couple for over an hour, as recorded by body cam footage that would later be released to the public. Gabby was visibly distraught and constantly apologizing for everything, while Brian seemed to make light of the domestic situation to officers. The situation concluded with them being separated for the evening, and a finding that Gabby was the aggressor.
After the domestic situation in Moab, Brian flies back home to Florida on August 17th. He stays with his parents through August 23rd, as he was supposedly cleaning out and closing the couple's storage unit to save money. During this time, Gabby was alone back in Utah.
On September 1st, Brian Laundrie returned home to North Port alone with the van. No Gabby, just Brian and the van the two had been traveling in together. This is where things get weird and information gets limited and possibly sketchy.
Somewhere between the time Brian comes back to Florida, and September 11th, Gabby's family tries getting in contact with Chris and Roberta Laundrie, Brian's parents about the whereabouts of their daughter and Brian. Their calls and text messages go unanswered. There is a visit to the AT&T store to purchase a new phone during this time frame, as well as a Laundrie family camping trip to Fort deSoto Park. Cassie Laundrie, Brian's sister and her family also join in on the Fort deSoto trip.
On September 11th, Gabby's parents call the Suffolk County Police in New York at 6:55pm to report their daughter missing. Police in Florida are informed of the report, and North Port officers arrive at the Laundrie residence later that evening. When they attempt to speak to Chris and Roberta Laundrie, they are handed the phone number to their lawyer, refusing to say a word. The van was in the Laundries driveway, so it was taken in by law enforcement for evidence processing. It was then that the search for the missing Gabby Petito was on.
Four days later, on September 15th, Brian Laundrie was officially named a person of interest in Gabby's disappearance. He had yet to make himself available to investigators for an interview, or be helpful in any way. The Laundrie family had decided to remain silent.
Meanwhile, Gabby's family was desperate for any information about the whereabouts of their daughter. On September 16th, Joe Petito, Gabby's biological father pleaded during a press conference for his daughter's safe return and for Brian to speak up.
A massive search was now underway for both Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie. the FBI and officials searching Wyoming for Petito, and the North Port Police now searching Carlton Reserve for Laundrie.
After a tip from YouTuber, Red White & Bethune after discovering video of the missing couple's van on their Go Pro footage from August 27th, authorities were aided in their discovery of the body of Gabby Petito. Her remains were found a short distance from where the van was parked as seen in the aforementioned video.
Two days later, the Teton County Coroner, Dr Brent Blue released his initial determination of Gabby Petito's death being a homicide.
During this time, Brian Laundrie remained missing, and the search for him continued in the Carlton Reserve. FBI swarmed the Laundrie family home to collect evidence, and towed the Mustang back to their garage to be searched.
Authorities searched the Carlton Reserve for weeks, and Dog the Bounty Hunter joined the search for Brian Laundrie, taking his investigation out to Fort deSoto Park. There were many leads all over to law enforcement, Dog, as well as to John Walsh's confidental line, but nothing was leading to much.
FBI put out a federal arrest warrant for Brian Laundrie on September 22nd for intent to defraud after using Gabby's debit card after her death. This made Brian more than a person of interest, allowing authorities to take him into custody once they located him.
We finally learned on October 12th, the cause of death in the homicide of Gabby Petito. The Teton County Coroner stated she was killed by manual strangulation/throttling. Further, she had been deceased for 3-4 weeks by the time her body was discovered back on September 19th.
Eight days later, on October 20th, Chris & Roberta Laundrie decided they wanted to go out to the Carlton Reserve to search for their son, Brian. The park had just been opened the day before to the public again. It was during their short search of about 30 minutes, that Chris Laundrie found a dry bag and notebook as well as other articles belonging to his son. Soon after, partial human remains were discovered nearby, and the medical examiner was called to the scene.
On October 21st, the Laundrie family attorney, Steven Bertolino released a statement informing that the remains found the previous day in the Carlton Reserve were in fact that of Brian Laundrie. We later learned that the medical examiner used dental records to make the identification.
So... where do we go from here? For those following this case, there are many questions that remain.
What happened to Gabby in late August? I believe that Brian killed her, but why? Was it out of a fit of rage? Did they have an argument that went too far?
When Brian returned home on September 1st, what did he tell his parents about Gabby? Did he make up a story about them breaking up? Did he tell them he killed her?
Was that family camping trip on September 6th through 7th a sort of good-bye? Was there not talk of Gabby being missing?
What do his parents and his sister know?
When did Brian die? I suspect that he somehow committed suicide, making this another sad murder/suicide "love story." Did he do it within the first few days of being gone? Considering the authorities have only found bones, he must have been dead for some time.
We can only hope that Brian's notebook has some answers, and that his parents, Chris and Roberta will come forward and say what they do know. Only time will tell....
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