Van Life to Vanished: Gabby Petito Told By Her Family | Hashtag Homicide | Forensic Files

[audio logo] [upbeat music] Tiffanie Richards: Gabby really wanted to start a vlogging YouTube channel.
She wanted to show the world what it was like to travel. And, Brian, he was not so in love with the idea.
J.B. Biunno: She was a free spirit. Gabby was trying to build her social media following.
I think that she wanted to share her adventures with people. narrator: Online, they were the perfect couple.
But behind the posts, a very different reality unfolded. - She sent me a photo. There was blood on her face.
Jim Schmidt: The last couple text messages just didn't seem right at all. Joseph Petito: Hey, listen, it's
been almost a week since I haven't heard from Gabby. Have you heard from her? - Panicking and freaking out, having nightmares.
I put her up on Facebook, I blasted it out to everyone. And 24 hours later, the FBI was calling me
and she was almost worldwide. J.B. Biunno: She was so visible on social media until she just vanished.
I mean, she just disappeared. People just couldn't understand how that could happen.
I think people just wanted her to be found safe and sound. And every day that wore on, more and more awareness grew.
It was global. It was-- it was around the world. [theme music] ♪ ♪ sheriff's office: Grant County Sheriff's Office.
Witness: Hi. Can you hear me, sir? Sheriff's office: Yeah, I can hear you. Witness: We're driving by, and I'd like
to report a domestic dispute. Florida license plate, white van. Sheriff's office: What were they doing?
Witness: Well, we drove by, and the gentleman was slapping the girl. Sheriff's office: He was slapping her?
Witness: Yes. And then we stopped, they ran up and down the sidewalk. He proceeded to hit her, hopped in the car, and they drove off.
Sheriff's office: OK, you said it's a white van? [upbeat music] Nichole Schmidt: Gabby, she was such a character.
She came into this world full of light. She was loud. She was always a presence in the room.
Artistic from the moment she could pick up a pencil. [camera clicks] Joseph Petito: Photography, drawing, artwork, traveling.
We traveled a lot. She always loved to come with us and take pictures and just try to immerse yourself into whatever
cultures we were in. Jim Schmidt: She was just always going. She just liked to be out doing things.
She was very independent. When she got something in her mind, she wanted to do it.
Very gifted, very talented and very determined. Joseph Petito: She was very bubbly, easygoing,
and she wanted to see you smile. Let's make the most of today, because why not? Tara Petito: She was about a year and a half
when we first met. And she was just amazing because she was just a ball full of fun.
Tiffanie Richards: She was the only child for Nichole and Joe Petito. They actually split when she was six months old,
and they both ended up getting in other relationships. But all four of them played a huge role in Gabby's life.
Nichole Schmidt: She had a few different dreams in her early 20s. She grew up in Blue Point.
It's a cute little town, very, very close knit community. Gabby met Brian in high school, and they were friends.
I would say not best of friends, more like acquaintances. He was part of a friend group that she hung out with.
And I remember her referring to him as the weird friend. Tiffanie Richards: Brian graduated in 2016
and Gabby graduated in 2017. So it wasn't until 2019 when they actually start dating.
Nichole Schmidt: They ran into each other and just started chatting, hanging out pretty
frequently pretty quickly. I said, oh, are you guys like seeing each other? Are you dating? And she said, no.
She said, we're just friends. And then they went on the road trip in her car all the way to Portland, Oregon,
and back, and then they were dating. And I had a feeling. I was like, I knew that was going to happen.
You can't go on a road trip with someone and come back and you're not dating. But I liked him.
He was interesting, very artistic. They seemed to do well together. He was always around, and he was
kind of always giving her what she wanted, and that made her happy. And I didn't see too much of a problem with it.
Tara Petito: When she came home from that trip, her and Brian decided that they were moving down to Florida.
And that's when I saw a shift in Gabby's behavior. Tiffanie Richards: Brian wanted to move
to Florida because that's where his parents lived and his sister. He wanted to be closer to his nephews,
and he asked Gabby to move with him. Tara Petito: It was the perfect storm of isolation.
They were in Florida. We're in New York. We weren't seeing things that were happening day to day.
Tiffanie Richards: When Gabby moved to Tampa with Brian, she got along with his parents very well.
But it wasn't long after, she started to feel a little unwelcome by his mother, Roberta.
She was a little jealous of the time that they would spend together, and she thought that they spent too much time together,
which Gabby's parents thought was a little weird because, why would you be jealous of his girlfriend?
Nichole Schmidt: I don't think Gabby was talking to many of her old friends. It was almost like she was just living a completely
different life down there. And she talked to me pretty regularly, but I don't know who else she kept in touch with.
Narrator: Tired of feeling isolated in Florida, Gabby takes to social media to make new connections.
Here, she met her friend Rose. - For Gabby, she's leaving everyone she knows and she's moving to Florida.
That's a big step, but it means she's isolated. She doesn't have family and friends around her.
Isolation is a high risk factor. And I heard from Rose say they met on Bumble because neither
of them had many friends. But Brian didn't want Gabby having friends, and that's what Rose said.
Rose said, we had this great time together, we had this real connection, and then there was Brian.
So even when she met Brian, she thought he was odd-- that they go to the beach and he sits up in the hammock, he's
like watching them and observing them. And he clearly is unhappy about Gabby spending time with her.
narrator: Despite their growing difficulties offline, Gabby was documenting her picture-perfect relationship
on social media. And almost six months after her move to Florida, she announces their engagement.
Nichole Schmidt: Brian did not ask for permission. He didn't ask any of the dads, and he didn't even have a ring.
He just-- they were camping and he just asked her. Joseph Petito: I found out through a Facebook post.
Tara Petito: I showed it to Joe and I was like, what's going on here? We didn't know anything about this.
And then you contacted Nicky, and Nicky didn't know anything either. Nichole Schmidt: It wasn't so much the age for me.
It was how quick it was. And I remember calling her and saying, you might want to tell the rest of the family.
Are you sure about this? And she seemed really happy. But I said, just remember you're young
and you do not have to settle down right now. Joseph Petito: I saw her happy, and that's what made me happy.
If she was happy, I was happy. Tara Petito: We actually took a trip down in 2021 to Florida to see her for Easter,
where something was off. It wasn't that she looked unhappy. She looked very, very happy.
Gabby was with us pretty much the entire trip. She stayed in the hotel with us. She spent a lot of time with her brothers,
but he was not there. And his parents never invited us over. His family didn't say, well, we'd love to meet you.
I'm not going to invite myself over to somebody's house. They did not invite us at all, and I felt that that
was very strange to me. - It really just speaks to the type of people, in my opinion,
that they were. Tara Petito: That trip that we were on, it was actually the deciding factor of why
we moved down to Florida. Joseph Petito: True. - We moved down to Florida in 2021 to be closer to Gabby.
Nichole Schmidt: I notice it now, looking back, how her attitude changed. She became very aggressive.
She was kind of confused, very angry, crying a lot. She would call me crying. I just thought because of COVID that she
was kind of stuck down in Florida, didn't have any friends. She was lonely. And I told her she could come home anytime she wanted.
But then she said she made friends and she met her friend Rose, and she was starting
to love being down there. But once she went on the trip, her attitude changed again.
narrator: Gabby decides to buy a van. Her plan is to convert it with Brian so that they can go
on a cross-country road trip. She hopes they can earn an income by becoming travel influencers.
- Gabby Petito never goes outside. [laughs] Tiffanie Richards: She wanted to travel the West.
She wanted people to be able to see it. She was hoping that this channel would take off,
and maybe that's what she could do for a career. And Brian, he was not so in love
with the idea of taping their entire trip, but he went along with it because it meant a lot to Gabby.
Nichole Schmidt: I asked the basic mom questions. How are you going to pay for it?
How are you guys going to do this? And she said, we have a plan. We're going to save up.
But it happened a lot faster than she said it would. So, the van came quickly, it got done quickly,
and then all of a sudden it was like, we're going. And I couldn't believe how fast it was.
And I said, are you sure you have-- I thought you needed like a year or two to plan this out.
And she said, no, no, we're ready. And then she planned it so she would come up to New York
and see her brother graduate, and then they would take off. We were in the driveway and she hugged me, and she was crying.
And she was, like, crying so hard. And I remember saying, Gabby, what-- why are you crying?
And she said, I don't know. And in that moment, I just thought she was excited and a little nervous.
Now I think I know that there was something else that she was crying about. I think she was scared.
She was probably scared of being alone with him all that time, and it makes me so angry
that we didn't know the signs and we didn't see it. - She was a free spirit. I think that Gabby was trying to build
her social media following. I think that she wanted to share her adventures with people.
I think Gabby really had a fun plan for what she wanted to do. She wanted to be a content creator.
Gabby Petito: Hello, hello and good morning. It is really nice and sunny today. It's only 10 o'clock in the morning,
but it rained all afternoon yesterday. [raining] Oh my God. Tiffanie Richards: When she started her YouTube channel,
they named it Nomadic Static, and that was to be of all the places that they went.
She wanted this to be a full-time job. She loved it. It was creative works. Gabby was very creative, and this was just another way
that she wanted to do that. Nichole Schmidt: People can be YouTubers these days and make a pretty good living, so I think
that that's what's her goal. But she also really enjoyed the traveling and experiencing all the national parks
and seeing the beautiful places. I spoke to her a few times a week, we texted almost daily,
and we FaceTimed every couple of weeks. Yeah. She liked to show me where she was,
but I was also watching on social media. On August 12, I had gotten a phone call from Gabby,
and she was crying. And she said her and Brian had an argument, and she sent me a photo.
There was blood on her face. And I flipped out as a mother, and I was like, what the heck is going on?
Tell me what your location is. I actually called the police department there, and they said that somebody else had already called 911.
[police siren] [audio logo] [audio logo] narrator: August 12, 2021, 22-year-old Gabby Petito is
in a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie. In Moab, Utah, police receive a 911 call
about a domestic incident where a witness reports seeing a man hit a woman before they
drive off in a white van. Nichole Schmidt: The police pulled them over. I didn't talk to her until after.
She told me that it was just kind of a bad day. That she had had a rough morning and she
was stressed out, and she was the problem. I said, maybe you should think about ending the trip.
Maybe you guys are spending too much time together in a van and it's hard. And I felt like, as a mom, there was something more,
but she didn't open up about that. Joseph Petito: We were led to believe that everything was fine.
It was just a misunderstanding. So we were going by the word of Gabby, who was trying
to hide it at that time to us. Jim Schmidt: I know Nichole was definitely contacting her a lot more.
She was speaking with her more. But there would be times where they would be out and
about with no service, but then she would get into a town and then have cell service, and/or Wi-Fi,
and that's where she would upload a lot of her stuff too, and then that would be where we would speak to her often.
narrator: On August 26, Gabby posts a photo on Instagram. This is her last post before her social media goes quiet.
Then Nichole receives some odd messages from her daughter. Nichole Schmidt: I was texting with her on the 27th, but now
I don't believe it was her. Jim Schmidt: The last couple text messages that Nicki got, she just didn't seem right at all.
Nichole Schmidt: Tell Stan-- which is grandpa-- to please stop calling us. Tiffanie Richards: Stan was her grandfather
and Gabby never called him by his first name. This raised major concerns for Nichole.
Joseph Petito: About September 8 of 2021, Nicki had called me up. Hey, listen, it's been almost a week since I
haven't heard from Gabby. Have you heard from her? It's like, I don't think I have.
I tried calling her. I got no answer. I texted the parents, I texted Brian, I guess Brian's sister, no answer.
Nichole Schmidt: I sent-- before I reported her missing-- one single text to his phone
and I did not get a response. I sent two texts to his mom's phone, did not get a response.
The detectives, my friend who's a police officer, people tried to call her phone, she wouldn't answer.
It would go right to voicemail. She deleted me from Facebook. They were ignoring us, and I'm panicking and freaking out.
I'm having nightmares. I started making phone calls to all the parks. They said they could not report her missing.
I called Florida where she had an address. They said they could not report her missing,
and I didn't know what to do. So by September 11, I called her dad. I said, I'm going to the police station in New York, you know.
And this is on Long Island. I walk in, and I speak to a female detective, and she finally takes the report.
And I was so grateful for her because that's the moment when I was able to finally do something about it,
and put her picture out there, and say that she was missing. That detective, she called Northport, Florida,
and asked them to go to the house where Brian's parents live, where Gabby was living.
police officer 1: I have the detective on the phone. - I ain't talking to nobody.
police officer 1: You don't want to talk to us? OK, she's on the phone. You don't want to talk to her now?
Christopher Laundrie: No. police officer 1: OK. Is-- when was the last time that you saw Brian and Gabby?
- Well, well, Brian is here. police officer 1: Brian is here? - Yeah. And that's all I'm saying.
police officer 1: And that's all that you're saying? - Yeah. We have an attorney.
They've been calling. I don't know. Nichole Schmidt: That night, September 11, it was about 11:30.
The detective was on my stoop. She said that Brian came home on September 1 with the van,
and Gabby was not with him. I dropped to my knees and I said, where's my daughter?
And she said, I don't know. And I could tell with her eyes that she knows something's really bad.
From that moment on, I sat down at my computer, I put her up on Facebook, I blasted it out to everyone.
And 24 hours later, the FBI was calling me. And she was all over Facebook, all over Instagram,
all over TikTok. Like, at that point, it was within a day or two that she had been almost worldwide.
J.B. Biunno: It came in to our local newsroom like any other missing persons case.
And then it was actually after a phone call that I had with one of our reporters
here when I found out a little bit more about the story. And the fact that Brian returned home
without his fiancée and that she was nowhere to be found, really, was what set off the most
alarm bells, for sure. Tiffanie Richards: Internet sleuths and podcast enthusiasts, true crime enthusiasts, everybody,
was on the hunt for Gabby. ♪ So #FindGabby was everywhere. You couldn't go anywhere without seeing
something on this case. Everyone was trying to solve it. - The first I heard about Gabby was the missing person picture.
"Can You Help?" was written above it. And I saw it on Instagram, and I then continued to track the case.
I had a sense that things were not going to end well. narrator: The story of the missing 22-year-old quickly
spreads across media and social networks, drawing international attention and widespread
suspicion toward Brian. - Their nationwide travels definitely helped in that. It started off as something in Long Island
because they lived here, but they traveled all over the country. They were in Florida, they were in California,
they were in Arizona. So I think once it started blowing up, these people in these other states that
started recognizing them, it just all started coming together. And then it all just started building up
into what it was, into this nationwide manhunt that all pointed in one direction.
J.B. Biunno: Gabby's case was so unique in that she was so visible on social media
until she just vanished. I think people just wanted her to be found safe and sound.
And every day that wore on, more and more people, not just in this country, but more and more
people around the world would be thinking, oh man, I wonder if they ever found that girl.
Tara Petito: Because they put so much coverage on her, they put so much out there that I
think it really put pressure on law enforcement to find her. Not every person gets that same coverage
where they put this pressure on law enforcement. Sometimes you have to do it yourself.
Joseph Petito: We were all strategically placed in the country. We were in Florida, I guess, where the investigation
was being run out of the Tampa office, but the investigation started in New York where Nicki was.
Jim's like, I can't stay in New York. I have to go to Wyoming. So he went to Wyoming to help out.
Jim Schmidt: She shared a lot of her apps with me for like hiking and camping and stuff.
So I started going through them feverishly. And for some reason I said, she's in Wyoming.
I knew she was going there, so I'm going to go find our daughter. I'm going to bring her home no matter what.
Maybe she's injured, maybe she's a Jane Doe in a hospital somewhere, maybe she's lost.
I got to have a meeting with the sheriffs out there. So it was the Teton County Sheriff's
Jackson Police Department. I got into, like, one of the ranger stations. I got a map of the area, and I asked the ranger, tell
me some stuff about the area? And she went through all the campgrounds in the park.
The one that she was describing, Spread Creek, she goes, oh, this is really nice.
It's kind of towards the middle. I circled that area and I said, if I know Gabby,
this is a place that she would camp. And so when I went to that meeting that day,
and I walked in and I said, I'm here to tell you about our daughter and her camping habits.
And if I had to guess, the Spread Creek area would be an area that she would like to camp.
They didn't say a word, but there was just kind of like glances at each other from the other side of the table.
They were kind of looking at each other. Unbeknownst to me at the time, they were already looking in that area with the information
they had. narrator: On September 16, body cam footage of Gabby and Brian's encounter with Moab Police is released to the media
and quickly goes viral. Nichole Schmidt: I saw it with the rest of the world, and that's when I realized that that day was a lot
worse than she had told me. Brandon Cruz: There were definitely tons of red flags throughout there.
Normal viewers at home that were watching it were able to catch the red flags that you would think that the police
would be able to as well. Tiffanie Richards: When the 911 call was made, it was from a passerby, and because he
saw Brian strike Gabby. But when they pulled them over, Gabby pretty much took all the blame.
She was looked at as the perpetrator. Laura Richards: So Officer Robbins is in his truck.
He's driving along, he's picked up the van. And then he says, oh, it's hit the curb.
The van's driving erratically. There might be alcohol. When he stops the van, you see Gabby
apologizing multiple times, but she's upset, she's dysregulated. And you see Brian very calm, also apologizing,
but Gabby getting more and more upset. - I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I hit the [muted] bump there.
- I was distracting him from driving. I'm sorry. I was just saying I'm sorry if I'm in a bad mood.
I'm just really stressed. I've had so much work I was doing on my computer this morning, building my website.
I've been really stressed, and he doesn't really believe that I could do any of it.
I don't know. We've just been fighting all morning and-- - She was attributing things that I
felt were things that Brian had been saying to her, and saying that it was all her.
And that he didn't believe she could do her website. What she was telling the officer
was that he was putting her down and belittling her. - And he wouldn't let me in the car before.
police officer 2: Why wouldn't he let you in the car? Because of the OCD? - He told me I needed to calm down.
- She says that he locked her out the van and wouldn't let her go in the van. It was actually Gabby's van.
So I'm like, OK, hang on a minute. This guy was controlling her time, space, and movement.
That's coercive control. And then when I started to see how he interacted with law enforcement,
he threw her under the bus immediately. He said that she got worked up and he had to distance himself.
And she was swinging at him. - She just gets worked up sometimes and I try and really distance myself from her.
So I lock the car and I walked away from her. police officer 2: You want to tell me about those scratches
on your face? - I know I shouldn't push her. I was trying to push her away to go,
let's just take a minute, step back and breathe. And, see, she got me with her phone.
narrator: Despite both Gabby and Brian having scratches indicating a physical confrontation,
it's Gabby who officers contemplate arresting for domestic assault. police officer 2: So of the witnesses saying-- the witness
says I never saw him hit her. I saw him shove her, but I couldn't tell if it was an aggression against her
or a defense against her. Sounds to me like she is a primary aggressor. We can't treat this differently than if it was
a male and female violence. And we're going to have to charge her. Laura Richards: It was incredibly disappointing to see
them grappling with things, even though Gabby was being clear about what happened, and in particular when she
says to Officer Pratt, he put his hand-- and she acted it out-- around my face and neck.
And Officer Pratt is listening to her, doesn't ask her to get out the vehicle so he can examine her face.
He just changed the subject. police officer 2: Did he slap your face or what? - Well, he, like, grabbed me, like, with his nail,
and I guess that's why it hurts. I definitely have a cut. I can feel it. police officer 2: Yeah.
- It hurts, but-- police officer 2: Go ahead. Ma'am, so have you been drinking? - No, we didn't drink. - OK.
What was up with his driving? He wouldn't stop? He said he hit a curb? Laura Richards: If you've been trained,
you would never change the subject at that point. You would ask about strangulation and suffocation,
because we know that correlates with high risk. We know that increases the risk sevenfold to homicide.
narrator: They decide not to charge Gabby with domestic assault, instead opting to separate the couple in accordance
with the domestic assault code. police officer 2: Tomorrow-- - I don't want to be separated and--
police officer 2: You have anxiety? - Yeah, yeah. No, we're a team, please. police officer 2: There's no what?
What is it? - Gabby's saying I don't want to be separated from him. That's her default because she feels so dependent on him
because he's made her feel dependent on him. police officer 2: She was the primary aggressor,
and that she was striking you and you have received injuries. You haven't admitted to striking her,
she has not admitted you striking her. The witness did not see you strike her. So at this point, you're the victim of a domestic assault.
Even if you-- --even if you didn't want to pursue this, we don't have a choice. - In 30 years, I've never seen a bona fide victim laugh
at the point an officer declares them a victim of domestic abuse. - I wanted to jump through the screen--
I say this all the time-- and rescue her. And I couldn't believe that there were so many adults there, supposed
to be trained adults that could have helped her that day, and they failed her. Narrator: Gabby is given the keys to the van.
Meanwhile, Brian is taken to a hotel for victims of domestic assault, where he is allowed
to stay free of charge. [audio logo] [audio logo] [ominous music] September 17, 2021, 22-year-old Gabby Petito has
now been missing for six days. The body cam footage of the Moab Police Department
has sparked public outrage, and the case has gained global attention via social media.
Brandon Cruz: I mean, at that point, everybody thinks the same thing when the news says that they
went on a vacation together or this road trip together, and he comes home by himself without her
and has no real explanation for where she is. J.B. Biunno: We were live streaming for hours,
hours a day without a break. The biggest difference is that I can actually communicate with our audience.
There were so many people online that had theories and questions, and it just grew.
I remember there was a point where I was looking down and we were getting, on average, 800 to 1,200 questions per minute,
per minute. I remember there was one point where the comments were scrolling so fast on my screen,
I couldn't keep up. I actually had to screenshot my monitor just to isolate some comments.
I have to try to give people as much hope as possible because I want her to be found safe and sound.
But every day that went on, I knew in my gut that the odds were going against us.
narrator: Brian Laundrie is believed to be hiding at his parents' home. But on September 17, 2021, they report him
missing, claiming he left for a hike three days earlier and hasn't been seen since.
The next day, a full-scale search for Brian in Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park
in Florida begins. - The amount of hatred that existed for Brian was so palpable in our comment section,
really, universally across social media, it just became about, where is Brian? narrator: With both searches well underway,
police are now analyzing the couple's cell phone usage in an effort to aid their investigation
and piece together what may have happened. Tiffanie Richards: It became very clear that on August 28,
Brian had both phones. They were both pinging off the same tower right next to each other.
Brian sent Gabby a message saying, "Hey honey, I'm just letting you know I made it to Colter Bay."
Another one also said, "I can't wait for you to see the mountains across the water."
When he was sending these texts, he was actually at another place in the park. And it wasn't until when he got back
to the van is when Gabby's phone started responding to his. On Brian's way home, he sent himself $700
from Gabby's Zelle account. In the memo for the Zelle payment, he said, goodbye, Brian.
I'll never ask you for anything again. J.B. Biunno: You do have a general idea as to where Gabby might be.
It's a large area, but you have an idea, a starting place of where Gabby might be.
But at the same time, it's so vast of an area. You talk to people who were looking out there,
it was just wilderness. There were tips coming in every minute of every day when this story really hit a fever pitch.
Jim Schmidt: The area that she was in is so transient. There's so many vacationers and travelers
coming through that place that I don't think if it wasn't for a lot of that social media,
it wouldn't have gotten into the hands of a lot of those people. And a lot of those people ended up going back and said, hey,
I was in Jenny Lake at that time. Tiffanie Richards: One person actually even picked Brian up.
He was hitchhiking, and they were headed to another Jefferson. He wanted to go back to Jefferson, Wyoming,
and they were going somewhere else. And they said that he kind of panicked in the car
and was like, just let me out here. There was a YouTube channel of another couple that was
also vlogging their travels. And in that video, their white van is seen. So that YouTube video did show Brian's movements
on August 27, 2021. Jenn Bethune: We came across a white van that had Florida plates, a small white van.
We were going to stop and say hi because we're from Florida too, but the van was completely dark.
There was nobody there, so we decided to continue on our way. Kyle Bethune: Kind of freaky, but we
just kind of had a brain fart. Oh my god, there's that van. So if you think anybody can help,
I know the FBI is looking for all the help they can get on the case. Joseph Petito: The FBI really had a good indication of where
she was, but the Bethunes were able to really pinpoint an exact location of where her van was,
and they were able to then take it from there. Jim Schmidt: I mean, I can tell you
every waking moment of that day, I could see out the front window. And I saw the two SUVs pulling up, lights and sirens.
And I saw Rita and Charlie Jones, one of the FBI agents, getting out. And they came in.
And that's when they said they found remains consistent with our daughter, Gabby.
[somber music] Nichole Schmidt: I knew the phone call was going to come eventually, but it was definitely
the worst moment for me. I was home, my husband was in Wyoming, but he called. He got me, Joe and Tara on the phone,
and he identified her, positively identified her based on what she was wearing, from a photograph.
He didn't have to, thankfully, identify her in person. Even worse than that was having to tell my kids.
It was just a nightmare. And then we had to have a very public service, which because of social media and everybody's support,
we felt like we needed to do. It was an amazing moment to see people come together for just Gabby.
I just can't believe still today, the power that she has and how her light blesses so many people to this day.
narrator: The autopsy reveals that Gabby was most likely murdered around the 28th of August.
The cause of death is ruled as a combination of blunt force trauma and manual strangulation.
Tiffanie Richards: I believe that Brian snapped. It was later found that he had flown back
to Tampa for a short period of time, and Gabby was staying in a hotel room. And she was actually communicating
with an ex-boyfriend. I honestly believe he might have found that out, and because he was so controlling and jealous,
that's what ended up happening. Gabby was speaking with her ex-boyfriend because she was having difficulty in her relationship,
and she needed someone to turn to, and she trusted him. She was looking for advice.
I think Gabby was very lonely. And I think a part of her was scared. I think a part of her probably just wanted to go home.
narrator: On September 20, a search warrant is issued for the Laundrie family home.
In this search, the FBI uncover a letter written to Brian from his mother, Roberta.
Laura Richards: It blew my mind reading that letter from Roberta Laundrie saying, effectively,
it doesn't matter what you do. You could kill someone, I'll be there to help you with garbage bags and a spade to hide the body.
And I will always love you no matter what. Do I believe the family knew? I find it highly suspicious if they didn't.
Come on, you're in close confines in a house. You're not leaving the house. I mean, Brian, people didn't see him leaving the house,
as in going about his business once there was the whole siege of people outside their home.
That's how strongly people felt about it. Did they have a conversation about what would happen next?
Most likely. narrator: Brian Laundrie is no longer just a missing person. He's now a federal fugitive wanted for homicide.
A nationwide manhunt unfolds, fueled by internet sleuths sharing tips and theories in real time.
Could finding Brian be the key to uncovering the truth about Gabby's final days?
[audio logo] [audio logo] [gentle music] On September 19, 2021, the body of 22-year-old
Gabby Petito was found in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. She had been traveling cross country in a van
with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, who was now missing. The cause of death was ruled a homicide by blunt force
trauma and strangulation. And investigators believe Brian is responsible. The case has sparked a global media frenzy, with,
"Find Brian," trending across multiple social media platforms. J.B. Biunno: It was an all-out manhunt.
To see local, state, and federal teams pursuing one person with that much vigor,
I've never seen anything like it. Every tool was at the disposal of law enforcement
to find Brian Laundrie, wherever he may be. A majority of people were of the opinion
that he had left Florida. People thought he was gone. People thought that he had slipped
past the police perimeter and that he had found a way to escape Florida. There were-- theories abound.
I remember thinking, as a reporter, there's no way they are pooling this amount of resources
on Myakkahatchee if they weren't pretty darn confident that he was in there. What really complicated matters is just how swampy it was.
We had showers, rain that fell on Myakkahatchee for weeks that made the search so much more difficult.
I've seen pictures of deputies and officers in waist-deep water. We get the news that day that Roberta and Chris--
Brian's parents-- are going to go to Myakkahatchee to check out some of the spots
that they knew that Brian liked to visit. No one really thought that there was any chance whatsoever
after they had spent weeks canvassing every square foot of Myakkahatchee that Chris and Roberta were just
going to happen to wander in there and find their son, find Brian. And then, lo and behold, that's exactly what happened.
Chris and Roberta go into Myakkahatchee, and to the shock and awe of just about everybody,
they find Brian. They find his remains. A confirmation that Brian Laundrie is dead.
Gabby Petito is dead. It all, of course, now comes back to the Justice for Gabby
calls online, the Justice for Gabby calls that you heard yesterday at the conclusion--
Tiffanie Richards: Brian was killed by a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. His body was pretty badly decomposed
by the time they found him, so they used dental records to confirm that it was him.
They also found a notebook where he had written that he did, in fact, kill Gabby,
and that he could no longer go on living. It wasn't because he was scared to face prosecution,
but it was more that he just could not live without her. - It was a total shock.
And there was anger. There was resentment. There was disbelief. People didn't want to acknowledge
that it was really him. People wanted justice for Gabby so desperately. And so for Brian's remains just to be
found there so unceremoniously after all those weeks of searching, people didn't want to believe it.
And it just wasn't the result that people wanted. narrator: Despite the crushing realization that Brian will not
face justice for Gabby's murder, her family are comforted that they were at least
able to find their daughter. Joseph Petito: Yeah, we say it all the time that it could have been worse.
People ask us how, and we're like, we could have not have brought her home. For us, I think we're very fortunate, believe it or not.
Nichole Schmidt: I wish that every missing person would be able to have what Gabby had because it really
does put pressure on law enforcement to solve the case, to find the person. I don't know if things would have
moved as quickly without that. If I didn't post her on Facebook and blast it out that night, I don't
think we would have found her. Jim Schmidt: When you go back and you look at major missing persons cases
in the United States, there tends to be a focus on a certain type of a person as well.
And they tend to look like Gabby. And I think that also had a lot to do with it.
And missing white woman syndrome is definitely a term that is-- we heard and we're like, you know what?
No, you're right. There is all these people that get this type of attention over here.
But then if you look like this, or you come from here, or maybe you might have some mental health issues or
substance abuse issues, they're not getting it the same, and yet that's still somebody's loved one.
And so that's one of the things we try to focus on now for the foundation is trying to bring
attention to all cases. Nichole Schmidt: We started the Gabby Petito Foundation.
And we did that not only to honor Gabby's legacy, but because we had to do something
to prevent this from happening to other families. And we believe that that's how we keep her memory alive.
I very much enjoy teaching people, and so I took a strangulation training course.
I've taken domestic violence 101. I'm out there trying to tell people about the warning signs and the red flags, the things
that I didn't know that I wish I had known. Tara Petito: There's no closure. There's never going to be closure.
We're never bringing her back. It's not something that we can ever do. But through the foundation, we can try to help others.
Joseph Petito: Tara and Nicki literally travel the country when it comes to prevention and education and awareness to domestic violence.
Jim does a lot of the training when it comes to the first responders and stuff. I do a lot of the legislative work.
We also, we all help when it comes to missing people and raising awareness for those stories.
But those are the things that we really tend to focus on-- education, awareness,
prevention, legislation. Nichole Schmidt: I believe-- and we all do-- if the police were trained better
and were able to use the lethality assessment and connect Gabby to an advocate that day,
if there was someone that knew domestic violence could talk to her, she'd be here today.
I truly believe that. Tara Petito: There are signs that police officers might miss, and that's why we fight so
hard to try to get laws changed, that they have to utilize this lethality assessment protocol.
- It is an 11-question questionnaire that when there is a 911 call or when police are called to a domestic
violence situation, they will come and they will ask a series of questions. And based on how you answer, will
help them determine if you are in a lethal situation or not. And if you are, what they would do
is they will either get you in contact or give you the information to speak with advocates and resources that you have at your disposal.
Because that's the number one thing that we find is that most people don't even know
where to go when they're in a domestic violence situation. Nichole Schmidt: People contact us pretty frequently,
letting us know that because of the work we do or because of Gabby's story, that they are safe
or their loved one is safe. And that really-- that really gives us so much hope that we're doing the right thing.
I hope Gabby's proud. I know she is. She gives us a lot of signs, whether it be through feathers or numbers or rainbows, butterflies.
When we need it the most, she always lets us know she's there and to keep going.
So, yeah, I'm-- I think she's proud of us, yeah. Joseph Petito: Eventually, I'll get to see her again.
And I'm going to ask her, did I make you proud? So that's why I do the work that I do.
Tara Petito: She gave us this platform to reach other individuals and try to help other individuals that are going
through similar situations. Jim Schmidt: She was always smiling. She was always happy.
She was always just a lot of fun. And she was just full of life. And she was fearless and adventurous, doing things
that most adults only hope they can do when they-- maybe when they retire. She was doing it when she was young and able.
And I just think maybe that story is just some inspiration to others, like, don't wait.
Like, live in the moment, be in the moment, be happy, and live your life. Live your life to the fullest.
[cheerful music] ♪ ♪ [theme music] ♪ ♪

In 2021, Gabby Petito vanished on a cross-country road trip with her fiance, Brian Laundrie. Social media was used to track her last movements. She was later found murdered, and Brian was the sole person of interest. Her family set up a foundation.

This true crime series delves into real cases in the digital age, tracing social media clues throughout investigations to reveal how online footprints expose murder and reshape the pursuit of truth.

For More FilmRise Check Out Our Other Channels: FilmRise Television: https://www.youtube.com/⁨@UCVVXDVee0JZ2dlPYtpdTZVg FilmRise Movies: https://www.youtube.com/@FilmRiseMovies Highway to Heaven - Full Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@HighwaytoHeavenFullEpisodes

Brief Summary

Gabby Petito's tragic story reveals domestic violence and social media's role in her disappearance and murder.

Key points

Gabby's Social Media Dream. Gabby wanted to share her adventures through vlogging, but Brian wasn't supportive.
The Domestic Dispute Call. Witnesses report a domestic dispute involving Gabby and Brian, raising alarms.
The Engagement Announcement. Gabby announces her engagement to Brian, surprising her family.
The Missing Person Report. Gabby's family reports her missing after not hearing from her for days.
The Nationwide Manhunt. Gabby's case captures international attention, leading to a massive search effort.
Gabby's Camping Habits. A mother discusses her daughter's love for camping, hinting at her adventurous spirit.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

She was a free spirit.

Describing Gabby's personality.

0:23WatchMar 23, 2026

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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