The most shocking moments from Netflix's 'American Murder: Gabby Petito'
In 2021 Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie packed their 2012 white Ford Transit Connect van for a cross-country road trip. She posed photos of them with their arms wrapped around each other in The Narrows in Zion National Park and kissing at Utah's Mystic Hot Springs. But Laundrie shockingly returned to his parents' Florida home alone on Sept. 1. Authorities discovered Petito's body near Grand Teton National Park on Sept. 19 and a coroner ruled her death a homicide.
Netflix's new docuseries, 'American Murder: Gabby Petito' (now streaming), attempts to answer the question that often follows a tragedy: What went wrong? Laundrie died by suicide, and the story of what happened died with him.
Over three episodes, viewers see path Petito's life took. She's lovingly cuddled by her mom, Nichole Schmidt, in a hospital bed after being born on March 19, 1999. Schmidt also remembers the last time she saw her 22-year-old daughter, before Petito's road trip.
'She hugged me so tightly, and it was just the best hug ever that you could get from your kid,' Schmidt says in the docuseries. 'And I remember saying to Brian, 'You take care of her. Keep her safe.' And he looked at me, and he smiled, and he said, 'I will.''
But Laundrie had 'a very dark side' to him, a friend of Petito's reveals in 'American Murder,' evident in text messages detailed in the series. Here are the most shocking moments from the docuseries.
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'Gabby's gone, please call a lawyer':Brian Laundrie's parents detail 'frantic' conversations with son
Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie's text messages: 'Don't try to control me'
Petito and Laundrie began dating early in 2019 were engaged in July 2020. Throughout their relationship, Laundrie attempt to control Petito, her friend Rose Davis says. She remembers an evening when Laundrie snatched Petito's I.D. so she couldn't go out with Davis. He berated Petito for working at Taco bell and called her 'disgusting,' later explaining his objection stemmed from 'worry you'll leave. It's just that I couldn't have my life without you.'
Davis says Petito would blame herself for Laundrie being upset, thinking, ''I don't deserve him. I'm hurting his feelings. I'm a bad person,' and he wanted her to feel that way.' In a text shown, Petito pleaded to Laundrie, 'Don't try to control me because it only makes me mad. I love you so much but it's the way you speak to me that hurts me most.'
A 911 call reporting a domestic dispute
On Aug. 12, a person called 911 to report a domestic disturbance after seeing a man in a white van slapping a woman. But when police investigated, they determined Petito was the aggressor.
Laundrie told cops he'd pushed Petito away in self-defense and that her phone scratched his face. They two 'had a nice morning,' he said, while Petito said they'd spent the morning arguing and that Laundrie wouldn't let her into their van.
Petito said that she hit him first and officers decided to separate the couple for the evening and took Laundrie to a hotel. But the two got together that night, against law enforcement's wishes, and continued on their trip.
Gabby Petito's ex sheds light on a potential motive
Petito's former boyfriend, identified only as Jackson, says he and Petito chatted on Aug. 22, following a fight with Laundrie. Jackson viewed the call as 'a cry for help.'
Jackson says Petito said, 'I have a plan. I think I want to leave him. I'm going to do it. I have to figure out when to do it.''
'From the sound of her voice, and the way she was saying it,' he says, 'I think that she wasn't sure of what he would do or what he could do.'
What happened to Gabby Petito?
On Aug. 27, 2021 Petito and Laundrie visited a Whole Foods in Jackson, Wyoming. Security footage shows Laundrie slamming the door before entering the store. According to the docuseries, this is the last-known footage of Petito. Authorities believe Petito did some work on her computer around 8:30 that evening, but the next day, there is no evidence of Petito being alive.
Laundrie had a phone call with his mom that lasted about 55 minutes. Laundrie's father reached out to a lawyer.
On Aug. 30 Laundrie left Wyoming for Florida, using Petito's debit card to fuel their van. There was also an electronic payment made from Petito to Laundrie for $700, with a message reading 'Goodbye Brian, I'll never ask you for anything again.'
Petito's was found on Sept. 19. Her cause of death was determined to be strangulation.
Brian Laundriewrote in notebook that he killed fiancee Gabby Petito, FBI says
In a letter, Brian Laundrie's mom vowed to help him 'dispose of a body'
Filmmakers include a note from Laundrie's mother, Roberta Laundrie, which she directed him to 'burn after reading.' 'If you're in jail, I will bake a cake with a file in it,' she wrote her son in the undated letter. 'If you need to dispose of a body, I will show up with a shovel and garbage bags.' Roberta has denied that her words pertained to Petito's death.
Petito's parents said they reached out to Laundrie's parents and sister, but their messages went unanswered. When officers visited the Laundrie's residence on Sept. 11, body camera footage shows Laundrie's dad told the officer that Laundrie was home but referred the cop to an attorney for further questioning.
While Christopher and Roberta Laundrie have not faced criminal charges, they settled a civil suit with Petito's parents in 2024, which accused the Laundries of withholding knowledge of Petito's death.
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