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0:59

Welcome to this edition of Time Suck

1:01

Short Sucks. I'm Dan Cummins, and today

1:03

I'll be sharing the tale of van

1:05

life nightmare, the Gavi Petito story. On

1:08

July 2nd, 2021, 22-year-old Gavi Petito and her fiancé, 23-year-old

1:10

Brian Laundrie, left

1:14

the quaint hamlet of Blue Point, Long Island

1:16

to embark upon a cross-country adventure in a

1:18

white modified 2012 Ford Transit Connect van. Less

1:23

than two months later, on August 27th, Gavi

1:25

would be seen alive for the last time in

1:28

Jackson, Wyoming. Soon, a nationwide

1:30

search for Gavi would be launched, and

1:32

what followed would first captivate the online

1:34

world of social media, blogs, and vlogs,

1:37

and then the national mainstream media, unlike

1:40

any other missing persons case had

1:42

in years. Words

1:44

and ideas can change the world. I

1:47

hated her, but I wanted to love my

1:49

mother. I have a dream. I'll be not

1:51

guilty right now. Your only chance is to

1:53

leave with us. Digging

1:57

into the details of today's story gave me

2:00

a lot to think about. Some

2:02

things to keep in mind as I tell

2:04

this tale. What falls

2:06

inside the limits of responsibility regarding law

2:08

enforcement officers when it comes to responding

2:10

to a complaint of domestic violence? In

2:13

a situation where both members of a couple

2:15

have minor scratches on their faces, for example,

2:18

should you automatically assume that the bigger

2:20

and stronger looking person is the guilty

2:22

party? Even if the

2:24

smaller person quickly tells you that they struck

2:26

first. Is that fair? Do

2:29

you automatically assume in a male-female

2:31

domestic violence situation that the male

2:33

is the aggressor? Is that

2:35

rational or is that sexist? And

2:38

when someone is later murdered following a domestic

2:40

violence report, if officers got it wrong, if

2:42

they assumed based on victim testimony that the

2:44

person they thought was the abuser was actually

2:47

the victim in the initial report, should

2:50

they be blamed for somehow then allowing

2:52

the murderer to happen? Or

2:54

should only the actual murderer be

2:56

held responsible? Also today's

2:58

story made me think about how far I'd truly

3:00

be willing to go to protect my child if

3:03

they had done something horrible. Would I

3:05

help them escape justice just because they're

3:07

my kid? Or if my child was

3:09

the victim of a tragedy, what would I do

3:11

to honor their memory? Would I dedicate my

3:13

life to run into charity that raises money to

3:15

help other people from suffering the same fate? Would

3:18

I launch expensive lawsuits against anyone I thought

3:20

might be partially responsible for my child dying

3:22

like they did? Or would

3:24

I want to just put the whole thing behind me? Finally

3:27

today's story made me really think about how

3:30

just how fake our online lives can truly

3:32

be, how we can sure seem to be

3:34

living our best life to the rest of

3:37

the world who only sees Instagram and YouTube

3:39

highlights, but in reality we're suffering. A

3:42

young couple who seems to be perfectly in love

3:44

and post can in fact be in a dangerous

3:46

domestic violence situation. Gabrielle

3:49

Vanora Petito, who

3:51

would go by Gabby, was born on March 19th,

3:53

1999. She grew

3:55

up in Blue Point, a little census designated hamlet

3:57

on Long Island, New York. suburban

4:00

town of Brookhaven in a big family with

4:02

six younger siblings and half siblings. She

4:04

was born to Joe Petito and Nicole Schmidt, who

4:07

had already gotten divorced and remarried by

4:09

the time of the events of today's story. Gabby's

4:12

fiance was Brian Christopher Laundrie,

4:15

born a year and a half before her on November 18,

4:18

1997, to parents Christopher and Roberta Laundrie.

4:20

He had just one sister, Cassie. Brian

4:23

and Cassie both grew

4:25

up in Bayport, Long Island, another Long Island

4:27

hamlet in the neighboring town of Islip. He

4:30

and Gabby grew up less than two

4:32

miles from one another, and both attended

4:34

Bayport-Bluepoint High School. Brian

4:36

was a year ahead of Gabby, and when they first met, he was

4:38

a junior, she was a sophomore.

4:41

They wouldn't become romantically linked for several years at this point,

4:43

just friends. And a friend of

4:45

them both would say that the two liked each other because they

4:47

were both loners who didn't always fit in with the rest of

4:49

the kids around them. Gabby's mom, Nicole,

4:51

described her daughter as someone who was a free

4:54

spirit, but also someone who could

4:56

be very dependent and didn't like to be

4:58

on her own. Gabby

5:00

graduated high school in 2017. That

5:03

same year, Brian's parents left Long

5:05

Island, moved to North Port, North

5:07

Port, Florida, which lies on the

5:09

western side of the state, right between Sarasota and Fort

5:11

Myers. The Laundries ran

5:13

a juicing equipment business out of their new home. After

5:16

high school, Gabby moved to North Carolina, where from September of

5:18

2017 to January of 2019,

5:22

she worked as a hostess and kitchen aide at

5:24

Smoke on the Water, a restaurant

5:26

at Carolina Beach just south of Wilmington. Her

5:28

general manager, Laura Wichen, described

5:31

Gabby as a bright soul, a bright light. She was

5:33

always happy, always had a smile on her face, trying

5:35

to bring people up with her. At

5:37

some point while in North Carolina, she reconnected with Brian,

5:39

who had moved to Florida to live with his parents.

5:42

And she was living there with him and his parents as well by

5:44

March of 2019. Soon,

5:47

both Gabby and Brian were working at a

5:49

local public's grocery store, where Gabby was a

5:51

pharmacy tech and Brian worked in groceries. They

5:54

saved up some money at the end of 2019, rolling into early 2020.

5:58

They went on a cross-country drive to California. California and

6:00

loved it. Like really got the travel button.

6:03

Gavi would later say they immediately wanted to do

6:05

it again, but in something bigger than her tiny

6:07

car and you know, hopefully with more

6:09

time so they could explore a lot more places. Not

6:12

long after returning to Florida, at the start of the 2020

6:15

COVID pandemic, they both quit their jobs

6:17

at Publix with designs on working elsewhere

6:20

to save up more money to do a lot more

6:22

traveling. On May 27, 2020,

6:24

Gavi posted a picture on Instagram of she and

6:26

Brian hugging on a beach somewhere in California. I

6:30

can't wait to get back to days like this, traveling

6:32

the world with you and asking strangers to

6:34

take our picture. Never taking

6:36

moments like this for granted again. Love

6:38

you. Brian got a job at a

6:40

juice bar. Gavi found workers nutritionist on top

6:43

of putting around 50 hours a week at

6:45

Taco Bell and then later working at a

6:47

juice bar at some point. What

6:49

a funny combo, the Taco Bell and nutritionist.

6:52

What do you do? I'm a nutritionist. Oh, it's

6:54

awesome. What do you work? Taco Bell mostly. Feels

6:58

kind of like being a drug counselor who

7:00

also works at a cannabis dispensary. In

7:02

July of 2020, Brian proposed to Gavi

7:05

and she said yes. July 2nd, she posted a

7:07

pic of the two of them sharing some sushi

7:09

somewhere in Florida by the looks of it. Captain

7:12

reads, here's a picture from our first date because

7:15

I have so much love for you. Brian

7:17

asked me to marry him and I said yes.

7:20

You make life feel unreal and every day is

7:22

such a dream with you. Heart

7:24

emoji. They look so

7:26

completely in love. Very cute

7:28

couple with huge smiles on their faces. I

7:31

would share what Brian posted as well. He

7:33

was tagged in this post and many others,

7:35

but his account at bizarre underscore design no

7:38

longer has any posts. In

7:41

December, Gavi purchases a Ford Transit van and

7:43

she and Brian began converting it into a

7:45

camper to prepare for a much bigger cross

7:47

country journey. Were the two having any

7:50

problems by this point? Not according

7:52

to Instagram. January 11th, Gavi

7:54

posted another pic of her and Brian been

7:57

listening to morbid podcast all morning and

7:59

I'm obsessed. She will

8:01

later be talked about herself on this podcast

8:04

and not for reasons anyone would want to be talked about on

8:07

a true crime podcast. Gabby's

8:10

friend Rose Davis later told People Magazine that

8:12

she believed Brian was a jealous and controlling

8:14

boyfriend. She said that Brian was able to

8:16

watch Gabby when they worked at Publix and he didn't

8:18

like her working so much after they both quit their

8:20

jobs there. She felt that Brian rushed

8:23

into the van life trip so Gabby wouldn't be

8:25

able to work anymore. She also

8:27

said he was not supportive of Gabby's later

8:29

desire to become a van life influencer. I

8:32

will note that I find it strange that she said

8:35

that Brian rushed Gabby into this van life because it

8:37

seems from videos and content that Gabby was the one

8:39

pushing for the van life more than

8:41

Brian. But who knows? A

8:43

van life influencer is typically people who live in a

8:46

modified van full time traveling around creating

8:48

online content about their lifestyle and adventures you

8:50

know free from the trappings of a permanent

8:52

residence. I have two friends who

8:54

have both fantasized about this kind of life for years. A

8:57

couple of nomads who just aren't into material things

8:59

and would love to just live free and not be tied

9:01

to any singular place. Interestingly

9:04

Gabby's disappearance will later be solved by a family

9:06

living this kind of life but

9:08

in a 1983 vintage Silver Eagle bus instead of

9:10

a van. I think I get the

9:12

appeal of this kind of life but not

9:15

for me. I like my space. I love

9:17

Lindsay and we get along well enough to parent and work

9:19

together very closely but trapped in a van with her all

9:21

the time with anybody all the time. I

9:23

think my mesophonia alone would

9:26

make that hell on earth for me. I need

9:28

a few hours a day by myself to

9:31

at least eat alone not eat around other people and

9:33

hear their eating sounds and she feels the same

9:35

about me I assure you.

9:38

On July 2nd 2021 Gabby and Brian leave Blue Point New

9:40

York. They'd returned to Long Island

9:42

for Gabby's brother's graduation ceremony and then they

9:44

embarked on a planned four month cross-country road

9:46

trip in the Ford van. They

9:48

were going to visit and camp at a bunch of different national parks

9:51

all around the US planning to end

9:53

up on the Pacific Coast around Halloween. Why

9:56

did they do this? Just

9:58

for the adventure I guess not sure they had a real

10:00

concrete plan for what was supposed to happen

10:02

after the trip wrapped up based

10:04

on her post hashtags like adventure blogger

10:06

and van life. I think Abby

10:08

wanted to make a living. And just

10:10

from you know what her friend said and other sources

10:12

wanted to make a living as a traveling influencer

10:15

and keep the party going as long as possible. Not

10:18

sure if she wanted that from the get go or

10:20

as it went on. Not sure

10:22

Brian wanted that and not sure

10:24

either one of them you know just 22 and 23 years

10:26

old while they're doing this. We're thinking a whole

10:28

lot about the next stage of their life. So

10:30

just a fun little early adulthood adventure.

10:34

Before they left Brian posted that they were downsizing

10:36

our life into this itty bitty van. Gabby

10:38

posted regularly on Instagram during their trip to

10:41

document their travels. On July

10:43

4th she posted a picture

10:45

from the Monument Rocks National Landmark in

10:47

Scott City, Kansas. There's no

10:49

place like the tiny home we built. Again

10:52

she tags Brian. And like in

10:54

all her posts she seems super happy. Tan,

10:56

fit, very healthy looking enjoying the beauty

10:59

of the great outdoors and perfectly framed

11:01

pic after perfectly framed pic. On

11:04

July 10th Gabby posted a photo in Colorado

11:06

Springs, Colorado. After going on

11:08

our first road trip across the country in my tiny

11:10

car we felt like there was just so

11:12

much we missed. Turning this forward

11:14

transit essentially into a camper was such an adventure

11:16

in itself. But I couldn't love the way it turned

11:19

out more. All the places that brought

11:21

us so far have been amazing. As soon

11:23

as we got to the great sand dunes I didn't

11:25

want to leave. There's so much to hike. But

11:27

as soon as the campsites on the dunes opened

11:29

for summer they fill up instantly along with the

11:31

overnight parking permits. Lucky enough I called

11:34

at the right time when someone canceled and

11:36

was able to score a campsite for us for

11:38

two nights overlooking the dunes. I'm so

11:41

grateful we got such an awesome spot to spend the

11:43

night and serve the dunes. And

11:45

the night sky here was insane. Never

11:47

seen so many stars. Hashtag van

11:49

life and Brian against tags. She

11:52

posted a pic of her surfing down one of those sand dunes later

11:55

that same day. Looks like she's having the time of her life. Gabby

11:59

and Brian spent July 6th on July 16th to

12:01

the 22nd at Utah Zion National Park. On

12:04

July 26th, Gabby posted photos from the

12:06

Mystic Hot Springs in Monroe, Utah. One

12:09

is of her and Brian passionately kissing as they

12:11

stand in the water. Again, they

12:14

could not look happier. You know,

12:16

healthier, more in love. On

12:19

August 12th, Gabby posted a carousel of photos of

12:21

her sitting under an arch in the Arches National

12:23

Park near Moab, Utah. We

12:25

decided to take the path less traveled on the other side of

12:27

the arch. While Brian climbed

12:29

down some steep slopes with the camera, I

12:31

shimmied my way along a thin, flat, narrow

12:33

line that led directly to a big, flat

12:35

rock with the absolute most beautiful view from

12:37

directly underneath the arch. After

12:40

taking a few cool photos of each other,

12:42

Brian and I sat drawing and enjoying nature

12:44

without seeing anybody. It felt

12:46

like we had the entire delicate arch to ourselves.

12:49

Once again, could not seem happier, more in

12:51

love. But all was not what it seemed. After

12:54

that same day, Gabby and Brian are

12:56

pulled over in their van by the Moab, Utah

12:59

Police Department near the park entrance. The

13:01

officers were responding to a report of a domestic

13:03

problem. A

13:05

911 caller had reported seeing Brian slap Gabby in

13:08

the face and chase her down the sidewalk. Another

13:11

witness saw the couple talking aggressively

13:13

and noted that something seemed off.

13:16

They said they saw Brian take Gabby's phone, get in

13:18

the van and attempt to leave, but then Gabby climbed

13:20

over him and into the van. The

13:22

following quotes come from the 911 call. I'm

13:26

calling, I'm right in the corner of Main

13:28

Street by Moonflower and we're driving by and

13:30

I'd like to report a domestic dispute. Florida

13:33

license plate, number redacted. We

13:35

drove by and the gentleman was slapping the girl. Yes,

13:38

and then we stopped and they ran up and down

13:40

the sidewalk, hopped in the car and they drove off. The

13:44

caller also added that he feared the worst.

13:47

Soon afterwards, Brian, who was driving the van, is

13:49

pulled over by Officer Daniel Robbins, who was

13:51

later joined by his superior and two park Rangers.

13:55

Important to note that it does not seem as

13:57

if officer Robbins and the other officers on scene

13:59

were told. all of the details of

14:01

the domestic violence disturbance, you know, that was

14:03

called in. They just knew that there

14:06

was a domestic violence disturbance involving a

14:08

couple driving this van. Gabby

14:10

was, quote, crying uncontrollably in the passenger seat

14:12

when they were pulled over. In

14:14

police body cam footage, you can

14:17

see over an hour's worth of the

14:19

full unedited interaction on YouTube. I've watched it.

14:21

Both Brian and Gabby have light scratches on

14:23

their faces. While Gabby is taken to a police

14:25

SUV and sits in the back seat with the door

14:28

open, Brian has walked away and has

14:30

to sit on a curb a short distance down the

14:32

street so the officers can question each of them privately,

14:34

out of earshot of the other person. Both

14:37

speak of a verbal argument that escalated

14:39

outside the van back at the park

14:41

of, you know, tension building for days.

14:44

Brian says that he didn't have his phone on

14:46

him when they had this argument that Gabby tried

14:48

to get the keys to the van from him.

14:50

He would not give the keys to her because

14:52

with no van and no phone he would have

14:54

been totally stranded if she left him. He

14:57

does not say that he took Gabby's phone from

14:59

her per that witness report. He

15:01

said at this point after he refused to give Gabby the keys,

15:03

she began to get physical with him swinging her arms and while

15:05

he tries to keep her at arm's length, he hits him with

15:07

her phone in the face, also scratches him

15:09

with her nails and some rings that she has on her

15:12

fingers. Officers point out scratches on

15:14

his nose, both sides of his face and

15:16

on his neck. This does not match

15:18

up with what the 911 caller said but that's what

15:20

Brian said and he does definitely have marks

15:23

all over his face and neck. When

15:25

officers also point out he has more scratches on his

15:27

right arm and ask if he is okay, he

15:29

says he's fine, that he does not want Gabby

15:31

to get in any trouble, you know, he loves

15:34

her, yada, yada, yada, yada. Gabby

15:36

questions separately separately and is

15:38

asked if Brian hit her. An officer

15:40

says at one point, excuse me, we want

15:42

to know the truth if he hit you. She's

15:45

crying and pauses and

15:47

he tells her not to worry that it's okay to tell them,

15:49

you know, whatever happened. Eventually she says that

15:51

Brian did not hit her but

15:53

that he did grab her face. Now

15:55

the officer asks did he slap you in the face and

15:58

she says no, never. And

16:00

she explains how him grabbing her scratched her face.

16:03

He asked her if Brian had been drinking because when they

16:05

went to pull them over, he ran their van into a

16:07

curb and she explains that neither one of them drank. That

16:10

he only swerved because she hit him while

16:13

he was driving. She talks about

16:15

how she's been really stressed out lately, how

16:17

she's been working on building this website to make money

16:19

as an influencer and how she's frustrated that Brian doesn't

16:21

believe she can do it and that this upsets her

16:24

and stresses her out and she has a lot of

16:26

anxiety. And eventually she tells

16:28

officers that she struck Brian first, that she

16:30

slapped him in the face. When

16:32

asked why, she said she was mad that Brian would

16:34

not let her get into the van and that he

16:37

would not stop telling her that she needed to calm

16:39

down. Gabby and Brian

16:41

both tell the police that they're in love,

16:44

they're engaged, they desperately don't want to

16:46

see anyone charged with a crime. Eventually

16:49

to avoid pressing charges on Gabby,

16:51

not Brian, since she insisted

16:53

she hit Brian first and never wavered from that and

16:55

Brian had tested that this was also true, that she

16:57

did hit him but he did not want to press

16:59

charges. The officers after

17:01

privately convening decide that the episode

17:03

can be classified as a mental

17:06

slash emotional health break instead of

17:08

domestic violence, not an assault, which would

17:10

have meant they would

17:12

have had to arrest Gabby and she would have

17:14

had to stay overnight in jail. They

17:16

state that they were able to classify the crime as

17:19

such because Gabby did not intend to harm

17:21

Brian. In a summary written

17:23

later, the officer wrote, the driver of the van, a

17:26

male, had some sort of argument

17:28

with the female Gabby. The male

17:30

tried to create distance by telling Gabby to go take a

17:32

walk to calm down, she didn't want

17:34

to be separated from the male and began flapping

17:36

him. He grabbed her face and

17:38

pushed her back as she pressed upon him in

17:40

the van, he tried to lock her out and

17:42

succeeded except for his driver's door. She opened that

17:45

and forced her way over him and into the

17:47

vehicle before it drove off. Part

17:49

of the report also reads, it was

17:51

reported the male had been observed to

17:53

have assaulted the female. But

17:56

Brian was listed as the victim in the report based

17:58

on what he and Gabby both said. when

18:00

questioned by officers. Arrangements were

18:02

made for Brian to stay in a hotel. While

18:04

Gabby stayed in the van for the night, both were told

18:06

to stay away from each other for the night, that they

18:08

could not see each other until the next day. Gabby

18:11

was also asked by one officer if

18:13

she should maybe reevaluate their relationship. He

18:16

tells Gabby, not sure who he

18:18

is because this is all based on me just taking notes from

18:20

the body cam footage video, that

18:22

just because you love someone, that does not mean you need

18:24

to stay in a relationship with him. And that

18:26

two people who love each other can

18:28

still engage in an abusive, toxic, unhealthy

18:31

relationship. Gabby is also encouraged

18:33

to call her family and talk about all this. After

18:36

watching the entire video, I will say, it

18:38

doesn't seem, if you don't know anything

18:40

else about them, it doesn't

18:42

seem like Brian is the abuser and Gabby is

18:44

the victim. Not to me. If

18:47

anything, based on what Brian and Abby say

18:49

when they are questioned and how they hold

18:51

themselves, had I been there, I

18:54

could have easily assumed that Gabby was the aggressor,

18:56

the instigator. She may not

18:58

have been, but based only on this interaction when

19:00

they are pulled over, that's what

19:02

it seems like to me. Seven

19:04

days later, August 19, 2021,

19:07

Gabby posts an eight minute YouTube compilation

19:10

video titled, Van Life, Beginning Our Van

19:12

Life Journey. This is the only

19:14

video posted on her and Brian's channel, Nomadic

19:17

Static. It's a good name. The

19:19

channel has 180,000 subscribers and the

19:21

video has over 7 million views now based

19:24

on comments. I'm guessing pretty much all the

19:26

views and comments amassed after,

19:28

excuse me, after her disappearance. And

19:30

again, in this video, they seem so happy,

19:32

so in love, patient with

19:35

one another, gentle, too really sweet

19:37

kind, you know, hippy dippy, nomads,

19:39

doing yoga, enjoying nature,

19:42

eating organic food. They just seem like

19:45

really very nonviolent.

19:47

I would have never guessed this couple was

19:49

in a violent relationship. Just

19:51

very peaceful, gentle, patient, loving people is

19:53

how they come across. Here's a little

19:55

snippet. Gabby is

19:57

filming herself inside their tent on a sunny Utah morning.

19:59

morning at the start of the section here. Me and

20:04

Brian just got up and got ready.

20:07

Made the bed in the tent

20:11

set up. I

20:13

think our plan for today is

20:15

to just hang out here

20:18

in the tent. Beautiful

20:22

day. Brian stretching, doing

20:24

some morning yoga. She

20:36

has a little bench she can sit on and kind of like put food

20:38

together back there. Get some

20:40

yogurt. She's

20:43

putting together some some shobani

20:45

yogurt with granola, blueberries.

20:53

It looks like they're living the dream. Brian's

20:58

off camera. She's just smiling.

21:00

All the chocolate melted. It's

21:02

a river of chocolate. You

21:04

can't keep chocolate in Utah. Not

21:06

in July. They're both very thin. Or

21:09

in a clear plastic

21:11

container. That

21:16

is always in the

21:20

sun. Maybe

21:23

the story hits hard for so many people. I mean they just look

21:25

like, I don't know, they could be my

21:27

friend, you know, or you know, like some some friends,

21:30

kids, my my my son. Kyler

21:32

could be like, you know, him and a girlfriend,

21:35

him and a you know, a buddy. Yeah,

21:37

just nothing seems off. Absolutely

21:39

nothing. Gabby also posts

21:41

on Instagram on the 19th. Interestingly,

21:43

she does not post a pic that shows

21:45

either her face or Brian's face. Both

21:48

of which had marks at this point. I'm

21:50

sure this footage, you know, the video was

21:52

taken earlier. Four days later,

21:54

August 23rd, Nicole and Jim Schmidt, Gabby's mother

21:57

and stepfather, speak to Gabby on a FaceTime

21:59

call. Gabby said she and

22:01

Brian were leaving Utah, driving to Grand Teton National

22:03

Park in Wyoming. They did

22:05

not mention the domestic dispute, or Gabby did not.

22:07

Gabby texted her mother a few times after this

22:10

on both the 23rd and on the 24th. Based

22:13

on hotel records, we know that they checked out of

22:15

their hotel in Salt Lake City, August 24th. Then

22:18

Gabby made her final post on Instagram the following

22:20

day, August 25th. No

22:22

location is given for this little carousel of photos.

22:25

Picture all of just Gabby, all taken in

22:27

front of this cool mural. One

22:30

pic, she's holding some little crochet, little

22:32

pumpkin. The post just says, Happy Halloween,

22:34

little pumpkin emoji. And

22:37

before I reveal what happens after this final happy

22:39

post, time for today's MidShow

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I'm back. And we return to

26:17

late August 2021 following 22 year old van life traveler Gabby

26:21

Petito posting her final pics on Instagram.

26:25

On August 27th, Petito and

26:27

Laundrie are both captured by a CCTV

26:29

recording filmed at a Whole Foods in

26:31

Jackson, Wyoming. They still, from what

26:33

you can tell from the not exactly high def

26:36

well lit footage, are going to be happy and

26:38

healthy. They arrive to the parking

26:40

lot at 2.11pm and enter the store

26:42

at 2.14pm before exiting at 2.30pm

26:44

and heading back into the van. After

26:47

about 20 minutes of sitting in the

26:49

van, they eventually drive away and get

26:51

on Highway 89 the road north to

26:53

the Bridger-Teton National Forest Campsite at 2.56pm.

26:55

This is the final footage of Petito while she was

26:58

still alive. Later a witness

27:00

will say that before the couple made it to Whole

27:02

Foods, between 1 and 2pm that day, they saw, or

27:04

she saw, Laundrie and Petito

27:06

together at the Mary Piglets Tex-Mex restaurant

27:08

in Jackson Hole. Per

27:11

this witness, Laundrie was aggressive and had

27:13

an argument regarding money with the manager,

27:16

waitress, and hostess. The

27:18

witness said she later saw Petito

27:20

return to the restaurant crying and

27:22

apologizing for Laundrie's behavior. It seems

27:24

that Brian had a side to him that did

27:26

not show up on social media

27:28

posts or in YouTube videos. On

27:31

August 27th, Gabby's mom Nicole received an odd

27:33

text from Gabby that said, Can

27:36

you help Stan? I just keep getting his voicemails

27:38

and missed calls. Stan

27:40

is Gabby's grandfather, but she

27:42

had never before referred to him by just his first name

27:44

like that to Nicole's knowledge. Already

27:47

Nicole is suspicious, thinks that something might be wrong, but she

27:49

can't get a hold of Nicole to confirm anything, which

27:52

is not totally unusual for this trip, since

27:54

the couple often is finding themselves in remote

27:56

locations with no cell service. Three

27:59

days later, August 27th, 30th, Nicole Schmidt receives a

28:01

text from Gabby's phone that just reads, no

28:03

service in Yosemite. No,

28:05

Nicole did not believe Gabby sent this text

28:07

grows more suspicious. You know, if it was

28:09

Gabby, you know, felt like she would give

28:11

more details. September 1st,

28:13

Brian returned to his parents home in North Port,

28:16

Florida in the couples van alone.

28:19

He said that Gabby was in Oregon, where he would

28:21

soon join her. They were going to work on

28:23

a pumpkin farm. Not sure

28:26

what he does to address Nicole's suspicion other than

28:28

just lie and tell her if he told her

28:30

anything if she's, you know, talking to him, that

28:33

she was in an area with no cell phone

28:35

service. However, he also told his parents that she

28:37

was working on a website for their travels. And

28:40

if she was able to work on a website, she would

28:42

also be able to communicate with her family. Now this is

28:44

making sense. Why Gabby's family does

28:46

not freak out long before they did. It's something

28:50

I don't understand. September 6th

28:52

and 7th, Brian and his family go camping

28:54

together in Fort DeSoto Park, just an

28:56

hour's drive north of North Port. Gabby's

28:59

family finally report her missing on September

29:01

11th. They had not heard from her in

29:03

almost two weeks by this point. Over

29:06

the ensuing days, more and more people began

29:08

to worry that Gabby is definitely not in

29:10

Oregon waiting to pick pumpkins and

29:12

working on a website. Three days later, September

29:14

14, the Laundrie family issued a statement that

29:16

they intend to remain in the background during

29:19

the ongoing search now for Gabby. The

29:21

same day, Gabby's family issues a public statement accusing

29:23

Brian of refusing to tell them where

29:26

he last saw her. And can you

29:28

imagine? Your daughter has been dating

29:30

someone for over two years, living with him

29:32

and his family for most of that time. And

29:35

after spending two months with your daughter

29:37

in a van touring the country and then driving

29:39

that van home alone, he won't

29:41

tell you what the fuck happened to her.

29:44

Why she's not, you know, you know,

29:46

answering calls. Why she's not texting. I'm

29:49

always so surprised in situations like this that

29:51

someone, frankly, just doesn't get their ass beat.

29:53

If Gabby was your daughter, wouldn't you

29:56

want to fly to Florida immediately? Get

29:58

in Brian's face and demand. and

30:00

answers. Next day

30:02

September 15th authorities named Brian as

30:05

a person of interest say he is

30:07

the last person to have been with Gabby before she went

30:09

missing. The story has already gone viral

30:11

now on social media. A good friend of Lindsay's

30:13

and I's looking at you Lids became

30:16

obsessed with this story like many people

30:18

checking for you know news throughout the

30:20

day updates digging into reddit threads a

30:23

lot of people were obsessed. Lindsay got really

30:25

curious. I remember thinking that pretty

30:27

much everyone believed by this point if not

30:29

earlier that Brian had killed Gabby. Northport

30:33

Police Chief Todd Garrison posted on Twitter

30:35

addressing Brian's lawyer what

30:37

a strange sign of the time is that you reach out on Twitter to

30:39

somebody's lawyer Steven Bertolino asking him

30:41

to arrange a conversation with Brian. Bertolino

30:44

said he advised Brian not to talk to

30:46

the police. Shady.

30:49

Meanwhile officials at Grand Teton National Park said

30:51

their park rangers were working with the National

30:53

Park Service the FBI and local authorities to

30:55

try and find Gabby. Following

30:58

day September 16th Northport Police

31:00

Chief Todd Garrison holds a news conference and

31:02

announces that Brian was exercising his right to

31:04

not speak to the authorities. He

31:06

said they were still treating the search for Gabby as

31:08

a missing person's case but also

31:11

even he clearly thinks that Brian has done something

31:13

to her. Everyone is thinking that now. Gabby's

31:16

father Joseph Petito appeared at the news

31:18

conference to ask for tips and help from the community. On September

31:22

17th Brian's parents called the police to

31:24

report that Brian is now also missing.

31:27

They say they hadn't seen him in

31:29

three days and

31:31

they just think to call authorities now

31:33

seems almost like they were helping him. That

31:35

they knew he did something fucking terrible and

31:38

they helped get their son a few days head

31:41

start to go on the run. Back

31:44

on the 14th Brian had left their home to go hiking

31:46

alone in the Carlton Reserve a 25,000 acre park 13 miles

31:48

from Northport. I

31:51

mean totally why not? That's what

31:53

an innocent guy does 100% you know. Well

31:55

his fiance is missing and people around the country are

31:58

convinced that he's you know killed her. Authorities

32:00

are looking all over the damn place. You know, you

32:02

definitely don't want to just help join the search at

32:04

that point No way, you don't want to work with

32:06

authorities to try and locate her You don't want to

32:08

dress the media and talk about how you're helping No,

32:11

you you want to refuse to talk to her parents

32:13

refuse to talk to authorities and then just go on

32:15

a hike alone That

32:18

same day a woman named Miranda Baker posted video

32:20

on tick-tock Claiming that she

32:22

had picked up Brian Laundrie while he was hitchhiking

32:24

alone back in Wyoming right around the time Gabby

32:26

went missing Miranda said that

32:28

she and her boyfriend picked up Brian August 29th 2021

32:31

at Colter Bay in the Grand Teton National Park And

32:34

that they reached out to authorities after hearing about

32:36

Gabby's case. She said that Brian approached the couple

32:39

at 5 44 p.m Asked

32:41

for a ride to Jackson, Wyoming offer them

32:43

200 bucks for a 10-mile drive little

32:46

suspicious Also very specific

32:48

time that she remembers 544 While

32:51

they were chatting he mentioned that he had been camping

32:53

for multiple days without his fiance He

32:55

said she was working on their social media page back

32:57

at the van more suspicious

33:01

When Miranda mentioned their plans to go to

33:03

Jackson Hole Brian freaked out quote Quote

33:06

unquote freaked out and insisted he get out of the car.

33:08

She dropped him off at the Jackson Dam at 609 p.m Even

33:12

more suspicious. He said he was going to

33:14

find someone else to hitchhike with So

33:16

strange. He is a clearly freaking out probably

33:19

trying to figure out how to fix a problem

33:21

that is unfixable You cannot

33:23

unmurder someone Back

33:25

in Florida on September 18th The North Port Police

33:27

announced that they were searching for Brian in the

33:29

Carlton Reserve Meanwhile, the FBI still searching the Grand

33:32

Teton National Park for Gabby and then the

33:34

next day September 19th They find her

33:36

they discovered human female remains believed to

33:39

belong to Gabby Petito The

33:41

remains were found in the Spread Creek dispersed camping

33:43

area in the Bridger Teton National Forest Which is

33:45

on the east boundary of the Grand Teton National

33:47

Park Two fellow travel

33:50

content creators some bus life folks

33:52

told them where to look Kyle and

33:55

Jen Bethune have been living

33:57

in a bus with their three kids and four dogs since 2019

34:00

They travel around the US making content for YouTube

34:02

and Instagram. At Bean

34:04

Batoons is their handle if you are

34:07

curious. And in September

34:09

of 2021, they were watching the coverage of the Gabby Petito case

34:11

along with the rest of the country. Just

34:13

before midnight on September 18th, a friend contacted

34:15

Jen, told her that Gabby and Brian

34:17

might have been in the Bridger Teton National Forest at

34:19

the same time they were. So now,

34:22

you know, Jen starts to review

34:24

videos she had taken during their time in Wyoming.

34:26

She takes a lot of videos. Her

34:29

and her husband have posted over 1,200 videos

34:32

since their first video on January 30th, 2019. She

34:35

remembered seeing a white Ford camper van and

34:37

she went back and good for her. This is,

34:39

you know, awesome, bounded in the footage. Jen

34:43

called the FBI, told them about her video, where

34:45

exactly they had seen the van. Now

34:47

the NPS, local authorities and the FBI launch a

34:49

search the next day and they find human remains

34:52

near the van's location in the video. Being

34:55

poetic, darkly poetic maybe, about

34:58

Gabby wanting to build a career, taking travel

35:00

videos and then after she disappears, having her

35:02

body found thanks to a travel video. Would

35:05

have been much better obviously if she had been found alive.

35:08

Meanwhile the search for Brian continues in Florida with no

35:10

new updates. September 20th, the FBI

35:12

executes a search warrant at the laundry home

35:14

in Northport. Agents seize

35:16

Brian's car and a hard drive that was thought to contain,

35:19

quote, evidence that a felony has

35:21

been committed. In their

35:23

application for the search warrant, it was written that

35:25

text between Gabby and her mother showed an increasing

35:27

level of tension between Gabby and Brian as the

35:29

trip progressed. On September 21st,

35:32

the FBI confirmed that the remains found in Wyoming

35:34

were indeed the remains of Gabby Petito. The

35:37

manner of death was listed as homicide. Meanwhile

35:40

the Northport police resumed their search of the

35:42

Carlton Reserve. A spokesman for the Northport

35:44

police said about the search for Brian, it

35:47

is currently waist deep in water in many areas. This

35:50

is dangerous work for the search crews

35:52

as they are wading through gator and

35:54

snake infested swamps and flooded

35:56

hiking and biking trails. Nope.

36:00

Uh, would you work on a search and

36:02

rescue team if you had to wade through

36:04

gator and snake-infested floodwaters? Unless

36:06

it was to track down who killed my own kid? Ah,

36:09

I'm not sure I would. If I was looking for a

36:11

missing victim, and there was a chance they were still alive,

36:14

okay? I'd like to think I'd, you know, be

36:16

able to try and man up. But in this case,

36:18

looking for a fucking piece of shit murderer? Nope!

36:22

Let the Gators get him! Better him than

36:24

me. Uh, September 23rd,

36:26

a federal arrest warrant, uh, is unsealed in Wyoming,

36:28

charging Brian with one felony count of debit card

36:30

fraud for using Gabby's debit card

36:32

after she had died. This

36:35

warrant would allow federal agents to arrest Brian if

36:37

they found him alive and give investigators time to

36:39

gather enough evidence to convict him, uh, you know,

36:41

to charge him with murder and, you know, convict

36:43

him later. September 27th, Brian's

36:45

family issued the following statement. Chris

36:48

and Roberta Laundrie. I always want to see Landry.

36:50

I've never seen Laundrie other than as a family.

36:52

I've seen a lot of Landries. Chris

36:55

and Roberta Laundrie do

36:57

not know where Brian is. They are concerned

36:59

about Brian and hope the FBI can locate

37:01

him. The speculation by the public

37:03

and some in the press that the parents

37:05

assisted Brian in leaving the family home or

37:07

in avoiding arrest on a warrant that was

37:09

issued after Brian had already been missing for

37:12

several days is just wrong. I

37:15

remember people real into this, uh, case assuming that

37:17

Brian was dead at this point, that he had

37:19

killed Gabby and then himself. Uh,

37:22

Gabby's parents and step-parents hold a press conference

37:24

September 28th, where they thank the public for

37:26

their support and announced the creation of the

37:28

Gabby Petito Foundation, which supports efforts

37:30

to locate missing persons and helps

37:32

organizations that assist victims of domestic

37:35

violence. You can check out their website, gabbypetitofoundation.org.

37:40

From the About Us section, with

37:42

a mission to turn our tragedy into purpose, the

37:45

Gabby Petito Foundation was born. We

37:47

wish to address the needs of organizations

37:49

that support locating missing persons and to

37:51

provide aid to organizations that assist survivors

37:53

of domestic violence through education awareness and

37:55

prevention strategies. And part of

37:58

the statement, Gabby Petito said, social media has been amazing. and

38:00

very influential and to be honest it should continue

38:02

for other people too. The same

38:04

type of heightened awareness should be continued for

38:06

everyone. Everyone it's not just Gabby that

38:08

deserves that. It is cool

38:11

to think about how social media can be used

38:13

to help locate missing persons and solve crimes. On

38:16

October 12th, Teton County Corner Brent

38:19

Blue announced that Gabby had died from quote

38:21

homicide by blunt force injuries to the

38:24

head and neck with manual

38:26

strangulation. Her body had

38:28

been found, her body had been outside for

38:30

three to four weeks when she was found

38:32

and due to decomposition the exact date

38:34

of her death was unknown. Dr.

38:37

Blue also quashed some rumors floating around online

38:39

by confirming that Gabby was not pregnant when

38:41

she died. On October

38:43

20th, another set of human remains

38:45

is found in a wooded area of the

38:47

Carlton Reserve adjoining the Mayakahatchee

38:52

Creek Park thanks to the help of the cadaver

38:54

dog. Mayakahatchee is a heavily

38:56

wooded 160 acre park in Northport that

38:58

connects to the Carlton Reserve. A

39:01

notebook and backpack belonging to Brian were found near the

39:03

remains. The items were found

39:05

in an area that had been underwater during the earlier searches.

39:07

The previous day on the evening of October 19th, Brian's

39:10

parents had informed the FBI and the police that they

39:12

were going to come to the park the following morning

39:14

to conduct a search. The family

39:16

briefly searched an area off a trail that Brian

39:18

frequented and found some of his items and

39:21

that prompted a more thorough investigation of the area.

39:24

On October 21st, dental records confirmed that the

39:26

remains were Brian Laundrie. On

39:28

November 23rd, the medical examiner's office in

39:30

Sarasota announced that Brian had died of

39:32

suicide via a gunshot wound to the

39:34

head. January

39:37

22nd, 2022, the FBI

39:40

Denver office provided a final investigative update

39:42

before the case was closed. Special

39:45

Agent in Charge Michael Schneider said, all

39:47

logical investigative steps had been concluded in

39:49

this case. The investigation did not

39:52

identify any other individuals other than Brian

39:54

Laundrie directly involved in the tragic death

39:56

of Gabby Petito. The FBI's primary

39:58

focus throughout the investigation was to bring justice

40:00

to Gabby and her family. The

40:02

public's role in helping us in this endeavor

40:05

was invaluable as the investigation was covered in

40:07

the media around the world. On

40:09

behalf of the FBI, I want to express

40:11

my deepest appreciation to the public for the

40:13

thousands of tips that were provided during the

40:16

investigation and to our local, state, and federal

40:18

law enforcement partners for their work throughout the

40:20

investigation. The update confirmed again that

40:22

Gabby died of blunt force injuries to the

40:24

head and neck with manual strangulation.

40:27

It's so violent. Clearly, another fight broke out.

40:30

This one escalated and went to a place that you cannot

40:32

come back from. The update

40:34

continued after Ms. Petito's death. There

40:36

were several text messages identifiable between

40:39

Mr. Laundrie's telephone and Ms. Petito's

40:41

telephone. The timing and content

40:43

of these messages are indicative of Mr. Laundrie

40:45

attempting to deceive law enforcement by giving

40:48

the impression that Ms. Petito was still alive. When

40:51

investigators found Brian's remains, they also found

40:53

a note he wrote claiming responsibility for

40:55

Gabby's death. I'll share some of that note here

40:57

in a bit. On March

40:59

11, 2022, Gabby's family sued Brian's parents, claiming

41:01

that Brian told his parents he had killed

41:03

Gabby on August 28 before

41:05

he returned home alone from the

41:07

trip. The lawsuit saw damages

41:10

of at least $30,000 and alleged that

41:12

the Laundrie's concealed Brian's confession from investigators

41:14

and from Gabby's parents. The

41:16

Laundrie's move to dismiss the motion on

41:19

March 30, but a judge denied that motion June

41:22

30. On August

41:24

8, 2022, Gabby's family filed a $50 million

41:26

wrongful death suit against the police department

41:29

in Moab, Utah, as well

41:31

as three officers and 10 unnamed defendants.

41:33

The suit alleged negligent failure in the

41:35

department's investigation into the alleged assault on

41:37

August 12, 2021. The suit

41:40

accuses the defendants of wrongful death, saying

41:42

Gabby's death was caused by

41:44

their wrongful acts or neglect. I would

41:47

say was caused by Brian and Brian alone. Back

41:50

on January 12, 2022, the city of Moab released an

41:53

investigative report on a review of the incident.

41:56

And the report stated that independent agencies

41:58

investigative report finds that the officers

42:01

who responded to the incident made several

42:03

unintentional mistakes that stem from

42:05

the fact that officers failed to cite

42:07

Ms. Petito for domestic violence. The

42:10

city acknowledges that this finding may raise questions

42:12

and the issue is examined extensively in the

42:14

investigative report. The lawsuit claimed

42:17

that Gabby showed the classic hallmarks of

42:19

an abused partner by trying to take

42:21

the blame for the incident and asking to stay with Brian.

42:24

The Petito family conducted an independent investigation and

42:26

found that the officers made several mistakes and

42:28

could not rule out that Gabby's murder might

42:30

have been prevented if the officers

42:32

had handled the situation properly. I'll

42:35

address my thoughts on this lawsuit before we

42:37

wrap up. June

42:39

24, 2022, Steven Bertolino released

42:41

images of Brian's suicide note

42:44

where Brian explained why he killed Gabby and why he

42:46

chose to end his life. This is

42:48

ridiculous. Brian wrote that Gabby had fallen

42:51

and was in extreme pain. He

42:53

wrote, quote, I don't know the

42:55

extent of Gabby's injuries, only that she

42:57

was in extreme pain. I ended her

42:59

life. I thought it was merciful.

43:01

Get the fuck out of here.

43:04

That it was what she wanted. But

43:06

I see now all the mistakes I made.

43:09

I panicked. I was in shock. But

43:11

from the moment I decided, took away her

43:14

pain, I knew I couldn't go on without

43:16

her. Brian

43:18

wrote that he rushed home to spend my time I had left

43:20

with my family. He said he wanted to

43:22

drive north and let James or TJ kill me, but I

43:24

wouldn't want them to spend

43:27

time in jail over my mistake, even though I'm

43:29

sure they would have something

43:32

too. It's an

43:34

unknown word. Brian wrote that he was ending my life not

43:36

because of a fear of punishment, bullshit,

43:39

but rather because I can't stand to live another day

43:41

without her. Gabby. I'm

43:44

sorry for everyone's loss. Please do not make life harder for

43:46

my family. They lost a son and a daughter. The

43:49

wonderful girl in the world. Gabby, I'm sorry.

43:52

I have killed myself by this creek in the hopes

43:54

that animals may tear me apart, that it may make

43:56

some of her family happy. Please

43:58

pick up all of my things, Gabby. people who litter. Holy

44:02

shit, that's a weird suicide note. Why

44:04

would you lie, as he obviously

44:06

did, in a suicide litter to try and make yourself look better?

44:08

You're gonna be fucking dead! When anyone

44:10

reads it, wouldn't you want to get the truth off your chest?

44:13

He's so full of shit! I

44:15

thought it was merciful? Somebody falls down, you're like, I

44:17

better fucking kill him! So they're not

44:19

in pain? That's fucking crazy talk! The

44:21

Autophish report that said that she died from blunt force

44:24

injuries to the head and neck with manual strangulation. It

44:26

doesn't say anything about a fall, and

44:28

that she also had blunt force injuries, right?

44:30

It says she was strangled. Let's say,

44:33

hypothetically, she received those injuries in a fall.

44:35

The Brian had nothing to do with the fall. What kind

44:38

of psychopath decides to then strangle

44:40

the person instead of calling for help

44:42

or running off to go get help, driving

44:44

to get help something? The fuck

44:47

out of here? He murdered her, he got into a

44:49

fight, he snapped, he killed her, and

44:51

then he couldn't live with himself. And he

44:53

couldn't even fucking bring himself to tell the truth in

44:55

his own suicide note. So pathetic. November

44:58

3rd, 2022, Gabby's parents filed

45:00

another lawsuit against the Moab City Police

45:02

Department for failures and negligence that

45:05

led to Gabby's death. The

45:07

lawsuit alleges that negligent hiring and failure to properly

45:09

train led to Gabby's death, and this is actually

45:11

part of the same $50 million lawsuit. It's

45:15

just, I don't know why it's like a refiling. Despite

45:18

the witness's report, the officers treated Brian as

45:20

if he were the victim of domestic abuse

45:22

rather than the perpetrator. The officers egregiously misinterpreted

45:24

Gabby's extreme emotional distress, seeing it

45:27

as the cause of the domestic violence rather than

45:29

its result. Officer Pratt in particular was fundamentally biased

45:31

in his approach to the investigation, choosing

45:33

to believe Gabby's abuser, ignoring evidence that

45:35

Gabby was the victim, and intentionally looking

45:37

for loopholes to get around the requirements

45:39

of Utah law and a duty to

45:41

protect Gabby. Ah,

45:43

okay. November 17th, 2022, the Petito and

45:47

Laundrie families reached a $3 million settlement in

45:49

the $50 million wrongful death suit. Why

45:52

was the Laundrie family part of this? Why

45:54

were they getting money from this? That is insane. Let's

45:56

say the Moab Police Department was negligent and should have

45:58

arrested Brian. Why would

46:00

when Brian later kills Gabby Brian's family get

46:03

money? That's absurd Hey, man, if

46:05

you guys would have done your fucking jobs, right my

46:07

sweet baby boy Wouldn't have a chance to

46:09

kill anybody and then feeling

46:11

bad about killing somebody because you

46:14

didn't stop him earlier He killed himself and

46:16

that's also on you now. Where's my money? I Truly

46:20

hate how litigious our

46:22

society has become how like people just

46:24

don't want to assign proper responsibility That's

46:27

a nine Gabby's family said

46:30

any money they received would go to the Gabby Petito

46:32

Foundation laundry family that I

46:34

didn't say shit Now check this out a

46:37

letter was shared in court May 24th

46:39

2023 revealing what Roberta laundry offered

46:42

Revealing that Roberta laundry offered Brian a

46:44

shovel and garbage bags if

46:47

he ever needed to dispose of a body You

46:49

heard that right? Gabby's family requested a

46:51

copy the letter months earlier. It was released to them after

46:54

a judge determined it could be relevant to their lawsuit Roberta

46:57

wrote burn after reading on the outside of

46:59

the letter. She wrote that nothing could make

47:01

her stop loving Brian One

47:03

part of the letter she she says I just

47:06

want you to remember I will always love you and I know

47:08

you will always love me. You are my boy Nothing

47:10

can make me stop loving you Nothing will or

47:12

ever could divide us no matter what we do

47:15

or where we go or what we say We will

47:17

always love each other if you're in jail I will

47:19

bake a cake with a file in it if you

47:21

need to dispose of a body I will

47:24

show up with a shovel and garbage bags if

47:27

you fly to the moon I will be watching this guys for

47:29

your reentry if you say you hate my guts. I'll get new

47:31

guts Okay,

47:33

the letter ends with nothing can separate us

47:35

not hatred not hunger not homelessness not threats

47:38

Not even sin not the thinkable or unthinkable

47:40

can get between us not time not miles

47:42

and miles and miles Roberta's

47:45

attorney filed for a protective order on the letter

47:47

March 2023 saying that you know, she wrote it

47:49

months before Gabby died

47:51

bullshit Roberta claimed in an affidavit

47:54

that she wrote the letter to Brian when their relationship was

47:56

trained She didn't know the exact date, but she knew

47:58

she gave it to him for sure before he

48:00

left for the road trip because if she doesn't say that, she

48:02

looks like a fucking monster. She explained that

48:04

Gabby had once given Brian a book titled Burn After Writing

48:06

that they joked about, and that's why she wrote Burn After

48:08

Reading on the cover. Roberta

48:11

added, while I used words that seemed to

48:13

have a connection with Brian's actions and his

48:15

taking of Gabby's life, I never would have

48:17

fathomed the events that unfolded months later between

48:19

Brian and Gabby. Now, how did they reflect

48:21

the words of my letter? Roberta noted

48:24

that the letter was not found in Brian's backpack, which was

48:26

found near his remains. The FBI had the letter and questioned

48:28

the family about it before Brian was found. The

48:31

Petito family responded, the letter is

48:33

undated, and while Roberta Laundrie has suggested

48:35

it was written before Brian Laundrie and

48:37

Gabby Petito left on their trip, a

48:40

reasonable inference, or

48:42

inferent? Inferent. Oh man,

48:45

sometimes these words escape. Is that it

48:47

was a reasonable inference? Is that it

48:49

was written after Gabby Petito was murdered,

48:51

and is evidence that the Laundries and

48:53

attorney Bertolino were aware of Gabby Petito's demise

48:56

when the statement at issue was released on

48:58

September 14, 2021? We

49:01

look forward to having a jury determine when the letter was

49:03

written at the time of the trial. In

49:06

an amended complaint filed November 30, 2023, Gabby's

49:08

family alleged that Brian told his parents in

49:10

a frantic phone call on

49:13

August 29 that Gabby was gone, and

49:15

he needed a lawyer, but he didn't give any more

49:17

details. This was first revealed

49:19

during depositions in October. The complaint also

49:21

stated that August 30, Brian sent a text from

49:23

Gabby's phone to her mom in an effort to

49:25

trick Nicole into believing Gabby was still alive. The

49:28

lawsuit was based on the Laundrie's September 14 statement,

49:32

on behalf of the family, it is our hope that the

49:34

search for Miss Petito is successful, and that

49:36

Miss Petito was reunited with her family, and

49:38

the suit alleges that they knew she was dead,

49:40

that Brian had killed her at that time. In

49:43

his deposition, Christopher Laundrie described August 29, 2021, as the

49:45

day everything hit the fan. Laundrie

49:50

said in his deposition, he, Brian,

49:53

was not calm, and he got very excited, and

49:55

he told me things had, you know, Gabby's

49:58

gone, and he got very frantic. Everything

50:00

was frantic and quick. He was very panicked

50:02

and he said he didn't know what to do. He said,

50:04

you know, can you help me? You know, and

50:06

he said he might need a lawyer. Laundry

50:09

further testified and I would, I

50:11

asked him why he wouldn't tell me. He was very

50:13

frantic. Everything was frantic. He's

50:16

like, he's getting extra points for saying frantic and

50:18

I started to not really comprehend and then he

50:20

said, you know, can you help me? And I

50:22

said, okay, I'll help you. And

50:24

I calmed down and I said, I don't know. It

50:26

was, it was all mumbled and I still don't remember

50:29

everything that happened. But you know, he said

50:31

he needed help and to get an attorney and I

50:33

told him, yeah, I'll help you. I'll

50:35

call Steve Bertolino and just stay put. And

50:37

then I asked him again and he said, just help me. And

50:40

I said, yeah, I'm going to. So stay calm, stay put.

50:42

And he hung up. That's

50:44

all he knows. Christopher described this

50:47

conversation as a five minute scattered phone call. When asked

50:49

what he thought Brian met by gone, Christopher

50:51

said, yeah, he had no idea. Get the

50:53

fuck out of here. Your son goes on

50:56

a trip with a girl who lived with you for almost two

50:58

years. She's like family to you. And now

51:00

he says she's gone. And then

51:02

the same frantic call says he needs a lawyer and you

51:04

don't think to maybe ask, hey, does something bad happen to

51:06

her? Is she okay? Also

51:09

Christopher and Roberta, they had to have had her cell

51:11

phone number. That would be so weird if

51:13

they didn't have her number. You can't text her. You can't

51:15

call her, check on her. You don't think that's maybe a

51:18

good thing to do. You can't call

51:20

her parents, ask them if she's okay. Christopher

51:23

just like his son is full of shit. And then he

51:25

goes camping with Brian after this phone call. Hang out for

51:27

a week. Get the fuck out of here. I'm

51:30

with Gabby's family. The laundries are dirtbags. They are

51:32

100% knew Gabby was dead and that Brian killed

51:34

her long before the public and law enforcement did.

51:37

Chris explained he didn't call Gabby's parents because he

51:40

had no reason to think anything was going on

51:42

because Gabby took off and

51:44

did things that I, you know, she on

51:46

her own free will so I had no

51:48

idea what, where she was. He's

51:51

rambling. He's stammering. He's

51:53

flustered. He's trying to remember what his lawyer coached him to

51:55

say so he won't get in trouble. According

51:58

to the depositions, Brian moved all of his belongings. the

52:00

family home into a storage unit before he left with

52:02

Gabby, but never said why. When he came home on

52:04

August 17th, he moved his things out of the storage

52:06

unit back into the house. Parents offered to do it

52:08

for him, but Brian wanted to come home, do it

52:10

himself. I guess he didn't question why. Chris

52:13

claimed he didn't notice anything about Brian that caused concern

52:15

other than his girlfriend's fucking missing and he won't say why.

52:18

Brian didn't tell him

52:20

about the August 12th police incident. Christopher

52:22

said Brian told him that Gabby just wasn't with him because

52:24

he wanted to work on her website.

52:27

That doesn't make any sense. You can work on a website

52:30

from any place that has Wi-Fi or a cell phone signal.

52:33

Right? Guessing that Laundry Home had better Wi-Fi than

52:35

some random campground or some fucking pumpkin patch in

52:37

Oregon. It doesn't take that long

52:39

to build a website anymore for as little as 10 bucks a month.

52:41

I just looked this up. You can use

52:43

a free WordPress template and have your

52:45

website hosted for $10 a month. You

52:48

can build out a travel website in less than a

52:50

day even if you don't know shit about building websites

52:53

about coding. You just have to know how

52:55

to type, I want to build a website and

52:57

then follow the instructions on the fucking website

52:59

building website. In her deposition,

53:01

Roberta spoke further about the letter she wrote to Brian.

53:03

She testified that she wrote the letter before the trip.

53:06

She said about the timing, yeah, like right before they

53:08

left, like just a few days. She continued,

53:10

I thought he might be concerned since

53:13

I was disappointed that he might think, yeah, I don't love him,

53:15

but no. I mean, I really didn't

53:17

think he, I just wanted to reassure him that

53:19

I loved him no matter what, no

53:21

matter if he moved away, if he decided

53:24

to stay out west, if he decided to

53:26

murder Gabby, I added that. If

53:28

he, whatever he did, if he didn't buy a house

53:30

and decided to do something else, I don't know. Whenever

53:32

he did, I would always love him.

53:35

She said about the letter, yeah, it was embarrassing

53:38

and I didn't want, you know, yeah, it's a

53:40

silly letter. I didn't want, he's a grown

53:42

boy and it was a joke, really. He

53:44

didn't have to destroy it and now I think it's

53:46

sweet that he saved it. It was just a little

53:48

joke. The

53:50

whole family's full of shit. You

53:52

don't send that letter to your kid who tells you that

53:55

Gabby's gone and he's a lawyer, that's still a little joke.

53:57

I just joke around, you know,

53:59

because he's a lawyer. He's heading out on a road trip. Hey,

54:01

you're heading on a road trip. I'm going to miss you. Yeah.

54:03

If you, Hey, if you kill anybody, I'll be there with the

54:05

garbage bag of the shuttle or shovel got

54:07

Josh. Yeah. Christopher

54:09

Roberta, Brian, they're all terrible liars. The

54:12

two families reluctantly reached the settlement, February 21st, 2024

54:16

to avoid a civil trial that was scheduled for May of 2024.

54:19

The terms of how much the Landry's laundries change

54:22

your fucking dumb name. Laundries, uh, paid the Gabby's

54:24

mom and stepped at her confidential. I

54:27

bet they settled. They knew their bullshit ramblings weren't going to

54:29

hold up in court. Okay.

54:31

And now that this story has been

54:33

laid out here to circle back to the beginning

54:35

of this episode, I asked him

54:37

questions to start, right? Beginning with what

54:40

falls inside the limits of responsibility regarding

54:42

law enforcement officers when it comes

54:44

to responding to a complaint of domestic violence

54:47

in a situation where both members of a couple

54:49

have minor scratches on their faces, should you automatically

54:52

assume that the bigger, stronger looking person is a

54:54

guilty party, even if the smaller

54:56

person quickly tells them that they struck first, excuse

54:59

me, is that fair? You automatically assume

55:01

in a male, female domestic violence situation that

55:03

the male's your catcher. Right? Is

55:05

that fair? And when someone is

55:07

later murdered following a domestic violence report, if officers

55:09

got it wrong, if they assume based on victim

55:11

testimony, that the person they thought was the abuser

55:13

was the victim in the initial report,

55:16

should they be blamed for somehow causing

55:18

the deaths, allowing the murder to happen?

55:21

Or should only the actual murderer be held

55:23

responsible? I think that the answer

55:25

to all of this, you know, it is tricky. I

55:28

think that Brian likely was the abuser in this relationship

55:30

before he killed Gabby probably was the whole time. I

55:32

don't know that I wasn't there, but I think

55:34

that, and I think that the officer sure, uh,

55:37

could have done a better job asking Gabby more questions

55:39

like, do you feel safe? I

55:41

also think we could likely, uh, you know,

55:44

all be a little better at our jobs, damn near every day.

55:46

And that Gabby would have likely said that she

55:48

did feel safe. Had she been asked that question

55:51

from what I saw, officers did ask repeatedly

55:54

if Brian hit her and she

55:56

didn't ever tell them that he did. She stated that

55:58

she was the one who started things that. She

56:00

was the one who got the most physical. She

56:02

was the only one to hit the other person,

56:04

to hit Brian in the face. Do

56:08

victims often lie to protect their abusers? Yes,

56:11

they do. Is that beyond tragic? Yes,

56:13

it is. But officers can only

56:15

respond to evidence, to what people say, to

56:18

what they see, to what gets reported. Melissa

56:20

Holes, a park ranger who was at the scene at

56:22

the time of the arrest, noted

56:24

that it's easy to scrutinize the body camera

56:27

footage versus being in the

56:29

moment where we saw minor injuries

56:31

and two people that were apologetic.

56:34

Also easy to come up with a strong opinion of

56:36

what the officer should have done now that we

56:38

know that Brian killed Gabby,

56:40

right? Hindsight 2020, easy to play

56:42

armchair quarterback, but they didn't know that back

56:44

then. I feel terrible for Gabby's

56:47

family, but I don't agree with the lawsuit or settlement.

56:49

Officers like the rest of us, not

56:51

mind readers. You know,

56:53

they can't all be experts either in subtle domestic

56:55

violence cues. They're not psychologists, they're not specialists. They're

56:57

men and women writing traffic tickets one minute, looking

56:59

for a missing person the next, trying to find

57:02

out who's cooking up fucking meth in the neighborhood

57:04

the next and on and on. They

57:06

have to be versatile, especially in a rural

57:08

area like Moab. I'm not

57:10

trying to make excuses, just trying to be realistic and

57:13

not hold people to inhuman

57:15

standards. I think it's unfair

57:17

to expect them to be perfect, but clearly people

57:19

would disagree and do disagree because

57:22

they did pay out a settlement and based on comments

57:24

I see online. I'm sure a lot of

57:26

you will disagree with me and that is fine. I

57:28

just don't want to bullshit you regarding what I think. I

57:31

also asked how far would I truly be willing to

57:33

go to protect my child if they had done something

57:35

horrible, would I help them escape justice just

57:37

because they're my kid? I do

57:40

not think you can know the answer to that question until you

57:42

are put in that exact situation, but

57:44

if I knew my kid had killed her

57:46

partner in cold blood, I would hope

57:49

I would be brave and strong enough to do the right thing

57:51

and turn them in. Be so

57:53

fucking hard, be hell on earth, but

57:55

I don't think that long-term I could live with myself

57:58

if I didn't do that. about

58:00

also like what's going to happen now to the next person.

58:02

Are they going to kill again? Hope

58:04

I never have to find out. I hope

58:07

you never have to find out either. Another

58:09

question up top of my child was the victim of

58:11

a tragedy. What would I do to

58:13

honor their memory? Would I dedicate my

58:15

life to running a charity that raises money to help other

58:17

people from suffering the same fate? Right?

58:19

Would I launch expensive lawsuits against anyone I thought might

58:21

be partially responsible for my child dying like they did?

58:24

Or would I want to just put the whole thing behind me? Again,

58:27

I don't think you can ever know. But until

58:30

it happens. But while I'm not sure on the lawsuit

58:32

part, I sure hope I would be as strong as

58:34

Gabby stepped at in mom and

58:36

do something to honor their memory like founding

58:38

running a charity that helps others avoid that

58:40

fate. Last thing I said

58:43

that today's story made me think about how fake

58:45

our online lives can truly be. I

58:47

cannot tell you how many comics I've known over the years.

58:50

Some of whom very, very successful well

58:53

known comics. And if you

58:55

just look at their social media posts, you

58:57

would assume that their life is perfect.

58:59

They are living the dream. They couldn't

59:01

be happier. But the truth

59:03

is, they're fucking miserable. They're

59:06

exhausted. They're lonely. They're frustrated about

59:08

something or the other. They're trying to fill

59:10

a hole they can't fix through more shows.

59:12

They're tired of the road, whatever. Not all

59:14

of them. Some seem to truly

59:16

be you know, overjoyed, you know, they're found they're calling but

59:18

but a lot of them. There's a huge

59:21

disconnect oftentimes between someone's Instagram posts and their

59:23

real life. That's very, very common. So if

59:25

you find yourself doom scrolling and you're getting

59:27

depressed, which studies have shown people do because

59:29

you think that your life doesn't match up

59:31

to the lives you're looking at not as

59:33

cool as the lives of the people you

59:35

follow. If you think you're not as happy as

59:37

they seem to be, remember that they

59:39

also are probably not as happy as they seem to be.

59:42

For damn near everyone, life is beautiful in

59:44

moments and dogshit and others. The grass is

59:46

not always greener. Often is not

59:49

always greener. Even if

59:51

you know, an Instagram filter makes it look that

59:53

way. So try not to be jealous. Try

59:55

to remember that few people post pics of their

59:57

worst days. Almost everybody post pics of their best day.

1:00:01

And finally, rest in peace, Gabby Petito. She

1:00:03

truly seemed like a gentle, beautiful soul. And

1:00:06

if you think someone you know is a victim

1:00:08

of domestic violence or you are yourself, please

1:00:10

say something. Make it

1:00:12

clear to law enforcement officers, to counselors,

1:00:15

so they can help you. In

1:00:17

the U.S., call 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788 or

1:00:19

go to thehotline.org where you can chat with a specialist

1:00:21

online anonymously 24-7, 365 days a year. In

1:00:33

other countries, search domestic violence help. On

1:00:35

the web, a variety of top results

1:00:37

will point you to both nonprofit and

1:00:39

governmental organizations for assistance. Do

1:00:41

not wait. In domestic violence

1:00:43

situations, the abuse almost always

1:00:46

escalates. And the escalation is

1:00:48

not always gradual. It is sadly

1:00:50

not that uncommon for it to jump from

1:00:52

a light altercation to murder. And that

1:00:56

is the story of Van Life Nightmare,

1:00:58

the Gabby Petito story. Thanks for

1:01:00

listening to this edition of Time Suck Short Sucks.

1:01:03

Check out the rest of the Bad Magic catalog, bigger,

1:01:05

beefier episodes of Time Suck every Monday at noon Pacific

1:01:07

time. New episodes of the

1:01:10

now long-running paranormal podcast, Scared to Death,

1:01:12

every Tuesday at midnight and on some

1:01:14

Fridays, the new fiction horror series within

1:01:16

the Scared to Death podcast feed called

1:01:18

Nightmare Fuel. Thank you to

1:01:20

Olivia Lee again for the initial research. Thanks to

1:01:23

Logan Keith for recording and uploading today's episode. Please

1:01:26

go to badmagicproductions.com for all your

1:01:28

bad magic needs, including merch. Stay

1:01:31

safe and have a great weekend. Time

1:01:57

for a quick break to talk about McDonald's. Wake

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