The change in Brian Laundrie, from being Gabby Petito’s caring fiancé to becoming her killer, is a scary story. Recently found proof from the FBI investigation shows a disturbing side of Laundrie that was hidden before. This includes his private writings where he expressed wishes to kill and self-immolate himself; this happened many months prior when the couple planned their ill-fated journey across the country together.
The diary entries and drawings by Brian Laundrie show an intense interest in violence, along with a deep-rooted “mania” that predicted the sad events which later occurred. The finding of weapons, bullets and various other disturbing things with Laundrie shows his change from a seemingly regular young guy into someone who can manipulate situations and is potentially life-threatening to Gabby.
The Couple’s Troubled Past
In August 2021, Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie were in a house disagreement in Moab, Utah. This event was recorded on the body camera of police officers. According to Petito, this disagreement happened when Laundrie grabbed her face and caused a cut on her cheek.
However, this situation was described more like a “mental health break” rather than as an example of domestic violence. A picture by Petito, taken on the same day, shows blood spread across her face. This suggests that Laundrie might have blocked her breathing passages.
In a letter found by the FBI, Petito begged Laundrie to end his verbal abuse writing “Just please stop crying and stop calling me names because we’re a team and I’m here with you.”
Brian Laundrie’s Suspicious Behavior
Following Gabby Petito’s disappearance, Brian Laundrie’s activities sparked widespread suspicion. On September 1, 2021, Laundrie returned to his family’s Florida home alone, driving Petito’s van. This created immediate concerns because Petito was nowhere to be located.
Authorities eventually filed an arrest warrant for Laundrie, charging him with unlawful use of a debit card that he allegedly used following Petito’s death. However, Brian Laundrie then vanished into the Carlton Reserve in Florida, igniting a major manhunt that lasted weeks.
The FBI eventually recovered Laundrie’s bones in the reserve, as well as a journal in which he allegedly admitted to Petito’s murder.
The Discovery of Petito’s Remains
Authorities found a body “consistent with the description of” Gabby Petito in a remote section of Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest, near the Spread Creek Dispersed Campground, where she was last seen.
While a full forensic identification was being completed, Petito’s family was informed of the discovery. The Teton County Coroner later confirmed Petito’s body and determined that her death was a homicide by strangulation.
The coroner’s report offered critical proof that Petito’s untimely death was the product of a violent act rather than an accident or natural causes, emphasizing the gravity of the situation and the need for justice.
The Manhunt for Laundrie
In the weeks after Gabby Petito died, an intense hunt for Brian Laundrie began. The search concentrated on the Carlton Reserve in Sarasota County, Florida, where Laundrie’s parents said he went hiking on September 13, 2021. Law enforcement organizations, including the FBI, North Port Police, and the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, used a variety of resources, including K-9 units, drones, and the Sheriff’s Underwater Recovery Force, to scour the reserve’s wide and rugged terrain.
Despite extensive efforts, Laundrie remained elusive until his bones were located on October 20, 2021. The case sparked widespread media coverage and public interest, with the story dominating headlines and social media debates. The high-profile aspect of the case, along with the terrible circumstances and the public’s interest in true crime stories, aided widespread coverage and public fascination with the unfolding events.
Laundrie’s Confession and Suicide
On October 20, 2021, human remains were discovered in Florida’s Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, which had previously been the subject of the Brian Laundrie hunt. The remains were later identified as those of Laundrie.
Authorities discovered a notepad among the remains, which is thought to contain Laundrie’s written confession to Gabby Petito’s murder.
The autopsy indicated that Brian Laundrie died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, bringing the high-profile case to a devastating conclusion. The discovery of Laundrie’s bones and the notebook containing his claimed confession provided some closure, but it also generated new doubts about the events preceding Petito’s terrible death at the hands of her fiancé.
The Aftermath and Lawsuits
Gabby Petito’s family received $3 million in a wrongful death action brought against Brian Laundrie’s estate. The lawsuit claimed that Laundrie intentionally caused Petito’s death, causing financial loss and mental distress for her parents, Nichole Schmidt and Joseph Petito.
The settlement will benefit the Gabby Petito Foundation, which was founded by her family to advocate against domestic violence and locate missing people. Petito’s parents filed a separate case against Laundrie’s parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, and their attorney, Steven Bertolino, stating that they were aware Petito had died but continued to provide false signals of hope.
The Moab Police Department’s Negligence
Gabby Petito’s parents filed a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Moab Police Department, claiming that the police were negligent in how they handled a domestic argument between Petito and Brian Laundrie just weeks before her murder.
The lawsuit says that the cops neglected to properly investigate the event, despite evidence that Laundrie physically assaulted Petito. Petito was declared the “primary aggressor” by the authorities, and they separated the couple for the night rather than arresting Laundrie or conducting further investigation.
The lawsuit claims that the police overlooked obvious signals of danger and failed to follow their own rules for dealing with domestic violence incidents.
Petito’s family believes that if the officers had responded properly, Gabby’s tragic death may have been avoided. The Moab Police Department has rejected blame, claiming that the officers acted with “kindness, respect, and empathy” and that no one could have foretold the tragic events that occurred weeks later. The high-profile lawsuit aims to hold the agency accountable and push systemic changes that will better protect victims of domestic abuse.
The Lifetime TV Movie
The Lifetime television movie “The Gabby Petito Story” premiered on October 1, 2022, and delves into the terrible events surrounding Gabby Petito’s murder at the hands of her fiancé, Brian Laundrie.
The film attempted to depict Gabby and Brian’s tumultuous relationship, including the warning signs of domestic violence and the subsequent hunt for Gabby following her abduction. However, the film’s release was received with criticism because Gabby’s family did not provide consent for it and were not consulted throughout production.
The Unequal Media Coverage of Missing Persons Cases
The Gabby Petito case has sparked criticism for receiving disproportionate attention in comparison to other missing persons cases, particularly those involving people of color.
Advocates have noted that incidents involving missing Indigenous women, Black males, and other oppressed groups frequently go unreported and ignored by the media. The mother of Jelani Day, a 25-year-old Black man who went missing, was upset that her son’s case did not garner the same level of national attention as Petito’s.
This lopsided coverage reflects institutional biases in the media, which promote tales about young, white victims. The failure to pay attention to missing people of color can have terrible consequences, depriving their families of public pressure and resources that could help in the search.
The tragic case of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie has left an indelible imprint on the public consciousness, acting as a harsh reminder of the deadly repercussions of domestic violence and the critical need for institutional reform.
