On March 19, 1999, a beautiful new soul was brought into the world. A new person who lived their life to the fullest and enjoyed every minute of it until she couldn’t anymore. In Aug. of 2021, just about 22 years later, that same soul had their entire existence ripped away from them. That was Gabby Petitio, a 22-year-old girl who loved her life and found happiness in all of the little things. It seemed that her life was perfect. The perfect friends, the perfect family, and the perfect fiance. Until the day that nothing was perfect for her ever again. On Feb. 17, a new documentary, “American Murder: Gabby Petitio,” was released on Netflix and showed the truth behind this disturbing story. 

     Gabby Petitio, born in Blue Point, New York, was a very happy and bright girl who had so much to live for. She had a wonderful relationship with her family and had many friends who she was extremely close to throughout high school and beyond. She had been described as creative, friendly, kind, and overall a bright person. Gabby had met the love of her life, Brian Laundrie, in high school, and described it as “love at first sight.” Brian had grown up in the same town as Gabby, however, their romantic spark came later. He was liked by Gabby’s family. He was a little quiet and reserved, but he always seemed kind and the right fit for Gabby. He seemed to love Gabby unconditionally and became a huge part of her life for the rest of it. In 2021, the two had planned to travel cross-country in their van. Gabby’s new favorite thing was vlogging, and she was extremely excited to record their entire trip on camera for her new YouTube channel. It was her goal to become a full-time YouTuber and make videos documenting her adventurous life with Brian. The two took off on July 2 to start their long trip on the road, and here began the chaos she would have never thought to happen. 

     Gabby had quit her job and barely told her family about her and Brian’s road trip, which was odd to her parents. It seemed that she didn’t have much control over the decision and just went along with what her fiancè was saying. Gabby began to document almost every day throughout their van life trip, and it all seemed amazing and fun until Aug. 12, when police in Moab, Utah, got a call regarding a domestic abuse report. A couple was seen fighting and a girl being slapped in the face while on the road. We soon find out that the couple is Brian and Gabby. Officers pulled the van over and found a young girl crying anxiously in the passenger seat, while her partner was in the driver’s seat acting quite calm. The officers asked Gabby what the problem was, and she put all the blame on herself, saying it was all her fault, that she gets very anxious and has severe OCD. Brian said the same thing to the other officers, even though Gabby was the one seen being abused by Brian. The interaction seemed very strange, and police decided to separate the two for the night, giving Brian a hotel room and leaving Gabby alone with the van. The police officers didn’t seem to catch that she was in danger and that she was possibly being manipulated and stuck in a situation. If anyone had to get a hotel room and be fully away from the other, it should have been Gabby. The next day, the two reunited and continued their journey together like nothing had happened.

     A full week went by, and Gabby’s very first YouTube video documenting the first part of her trip was released. During this time, Gabby’s family members were not hearing from her as often as they were comfortable with. Daily texts were sent to Gabby from family and friends, and it seemed she hardly responded or was very brief. Her mother had known about the incident in Utah, so her concern started to grow about what was actually going on in that van. Days go by, and an ex-boyfriend of Gabby’s received a text from her asking to talk and asking for advice. Gabby explained her concerns for Brian and how she knows that she needs to get out of the relationship but doesn’t know how to yet. The two talk a few times within a couple of days, but then, after reaching out again, her ex-boyfriend, Jackson, is not able to get a hold of her. On Aug. 27, video footage of Gabby was found on a surveillance camera in a Whole Foods in Jackson, Wyoming. Little did she know that this was going to be the last known footage of her while she was alive. At this point, Gabby’s entire family has reached out to her and Brian multiple times but just can’t reach them. It seemed like hundreds of texts and phone calls were made but no answer appeared for days, which turned to never again. Gabby was then pronounced missing, and police officers and her whole family tried everything to find her. They also do not know where her fiance Brian was. The Petitos decided to reach out to the Laundries and ask if they knew anything or if they had any idea of where Gabby or Brian could be. Absolutely no response was heard from Brian’s parents; even when police show up at their house, they refuse to open up about anything and are severely suspicious. Brian’s mother had even gone out of her way to block the Petitio family so they were unable to reach out further. 

     The search for Gabby continued. The Petito family went down to Wyoming, where she was last found, searching everywhere they could. At this point in early Sep., Brian had also been pronounced missing by his parents. Police officers searched the Laundrie’s house to investigate Brian’s case and Gabby’s. While searching, officers found a disturbing note written to Brian from his mother Roberta titled, “Burn after Reading.” This sparked extreme suspicion because, inside the note, it states, “If you need to dispose of a body, I will show up with a shovel and garbage bags.” This sick letter written to Brian had opened the eyes of officers and family members of Gabby, as they realized that they could be in it together and that his parents could potentially be hiding him from his crime. On Sep. 19, 2021, Gaby Petito’s body was found at the Spread Creek campground in Wyoming. Her death is ruled a homicide, and Brian is the number one suspect. She was just left there in the wild like a piece of trash by someone who was supposed to love her. Days later, Brian’s remains were also found by his own parents with a note of what he said happened the night of her death. He admits to murdering Gabby but says he was putting her out of the misery she was already in from a different accident. However, the autopsy had zero correlation with Brian’s letter, and it was obvious that he was completely lying. Brian’s death was assumed to be suicide, as he wrote in the note as well, however, the weirdest part is that his own parents found his remains. The same parents who were sneaky and suspicious throughout the entire case. Who knows if Brian is still alive being hidden by them, or if the whole story is actually something entirely different? 

     “When you’re watching a documentary like this, remember that it’s not just a story, it’s not just entertainment for you, it’s not just true crime. Remember that there are always real lives involved and that these things can happen to anyone, so choose empathy and kindness every day because everyone is going through something; that’s how Gabby lived her life.” Those words were from Nicole Schmidt, her mother regarding the new documentary about the horrible case of Gabby Petito. Every day, someone is affected by domestic abuse, and it can’t continue. Everyone has a story, just like Gabby.