February 25, 2025 • 50 mins
We're Back!
Welcome to Season 3, Episode 2!
New Episodes EVERY Tuesday & Thursday!
On today's episode Jen does a deep dive into the case of Gabby Petito. In Spring of 2021, 22-year-old Gabby Petito and her fiancé Brian Laundrie set out on a van life journey traveling across the US. Gabby had big dreams of becoming a travel influencer and she was well on her way to make that happen…
But in August of 2021, not long after a domestic dispute with Brian, Gabby would disappear. Her disappearance went viral which helped lead police to the truth about what really happened to Gabby…
The Gabby Petito Foundation:
https://gabbypetitofoundation.org/
Sources:
Netflix - An American Murder: Gabby Petito
The Gabby Petito Foundation
Fox News
ABC News
WFLA
News Nation
CNN
Don't forget to say hi to your hosts, Jules and Jen!
Instagram:
@yourhostjules
@jenriverainvestigates
Have a case you want us to cover?
Please email us:
outreach@fireeyesmedia.com
Jules: jules@fireeyesmedia.com
Jen: jen@fireeyesmedia.com
Help us keep telling cases by leaving a 5 star review and rating wherever you get podcasts.
True Crime and Headlines is a Fire Eyes Media LLC Network podcast and production.
you're wanted
you're loved
and you deserve to be here
Welcome to Season 3, Episode 2!
New Episodes EVERY Tuesday & Thursday!
On today's episode Jen does a deep dive into the case of Gabby Petito. In Spring of 2021, 22-year-old Gabby Petito and her fiancé Brian Laundrie set out on a van life journey traveling across the US. Gabby had big dreams of becoming a travel influencer and she was well on her way to make that happen…
But in August of 2021, not long after a domestic dispute with Brian, Gabby would disappear. Her disappearance went viral which helped lead police to the truth about what really happened to Gabby…
The Gabby Petito Foundation:
https://gabbypetitofoundation.org/
Sources:
Netflix - An American Murder: Gabby Petito
The Gabby Petito Foundation
Fox News
ABC News
WFLA
News Nation
CNN
Don't forget to say hi to your hosts, Jules and Jen!
Instagram:
@yourhostjules
@jenriverainvestigates
Have a case you want us to cover?
Please email us:
outreach@fireeyesmedia.com
Jules: jules@fireeyesmedia.com
Jen: jen@fireeyesmedia.com
Help us keep telling cases by leaving a 5 star review and rating wherever you get podcasts.
True Crime and Headlines is a Fire Eyes Media LLC Network podcast and production.
you're wanted
you're loved
and you deserve to be here
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey everyone, it's Jen and welcome back to True cremen
Headlines with Jewles and Jen. Thank you so much for
being here today. Jewels and I have missed you all
so much and we're excited to bring the podcast back
with low bnswer, more cases, and even more advocacy driven
and you all. We have some exciting things that we've
been working on behind the scenes. I cannot wait to
(00:22):
share what that is very soon, but what I can
share right now is that Jewels and I have decided
to not only bring you a new episode every week,
We've decided to bring you too. That's right. Starting next week,
we'll be releasing new episodes every Tuesdays and Thursdays. So
if you have any case requests, make sure to email
us at contact at Fireeyesmedia dot com. And if you
(00:45):
want to be a part of our VIP truecremetribe, make
sure to sign up for a monthly newsletter and get
the inside scoop on all things True Creme and Headlines,
including some behind the scenes sneak peeks and bonus content
from Jewels and I. To sign up is at our
website at Truecremeinheadlines dot com and scroll to the bottom
where it says subscribe to our newsletter. And just a
(01:06):
reminder that I'll be attending Advocacy con in Indianapolis, Indiana
the end of March. I'll have a booth and we'll
be speaking alongside other incredible creators and advocates, So make
sure to stop by and say hi if you're attending.
Now on to today's case you all. This is one
that has really stuck with me and one I followed
(01:27):
closely when it happened in twenty twenty one, a case
that went viral engaged the interest of millions in the
true crime community who ultimately assisted in solving this case.
And that's the story of Gabby Petito. Gabby's case has
left an indelible mark on all of us, and it's
a story that is far more than just a tragic headline.
(01:50):
It's a story of a young woman full of life,
dreams and boundless energy whose life was cut short far
too soon. Recently, Netflix released a new documentary about Gabby's
case called American Murder gebby Patito, and there was some
newly released information in it. I did personally watch it,
and it brought all of those feelings back from when
(02:11):
the case first started making the headlines in twenty twenty one, anger, sadness,
and disappointment. In today's episode, we'll walk through the timeline
of Gabby's life, the events leading up to her disappearance,
the investigation that followed, and the legacy she left behind.
Her story isn't just one of sadness. It's also one
(02:33):
of hope, love, and a fight for justice that would
ignite a movement for change. So let's go. Gabrielle Vanora
Petito was born on March nineteenth, nineteen ninety nine, in
(02:56):
Blue Point, New York, to Nicole Schmidt and Joe Patito.
Nicole was only twenty years old when she had Gabby,
and she and Joe stayed together until Gabby was about
six months old. At that time, they decided they weren't
suited to be together and decided to part ways amicably,
keeping Gabby's needs at the forefront of their co parenting relationship.
(03:17):
They stayed close throughout Gabby's childhood and continued raising Gabby
in a loving environment. This love only continued to expand
when both of her parents remarried and she gained a
bonus mom and dad. Her stepdad, Jim Schmidt, and her stepmom,
Tara Petito. Growing up, Gabby was a vibrant, energetic, and
creative little girl. Her love for art started in preschool,
(03:41):
and she would take any opportunity to draw the second
her mom gave her something to write with. She was
extremely talented and her artwork would be so meticulous and detailed.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
When Gabby was in pre school, as soon as I
gave her something to write with, she was drawing pictures.
Gabby used to spread all of her artwork on our
kitchen island and she would just sit there for hours.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Growing up, everything she did always had like such detail.
When she got older, it came so naturally without even
giving it any thought. She'd just be sitting there and
then you'd look down ten minutes later and she has
this amazing piece of art.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
As Gabby got older, her love for art only continued,
and when she got into high school, she thrived in
the art community. In twenty seventeen, she graduated from Bayport
Blue Point High School and she started working as a
hostess and saving her money. March twenty nineteen was a
turning point in Gabby's life. You see, Gabby had met
(04:45):
Brian Laundry and became friends with him in high school,
but it wasn't until after they graduated that they reconnected
and began dating. According to Gabby's family, it took some
time before Gabby admitted that her and Brian were dating,
and this was finally confirmed when Gabby started talking about
moving down to Florida with Brian and his parents. Brian's
(05:07):
parents were living in Northport, where he and Gebby ended
up moving not long after the conversation with her parents.
According to Gabby's mom, Nicole, the talk about the move
was very sudden and unexpected, and the next thing she knew,
Gabby was moving down to Florida. Gabby's parents believed that
this was a decision that was driven by Brian, especially
with how quickly it happened and knowing that Brian wanted
(05:29):
to be close to his family. When Gabby got down
to Florida, everything seemed to be going very well with
Brian and his family, at least it did for a while,
but it wasn't too long before Gabby started seeing another
side of Brian's family, especially his mother, Roberta. Roberta suddenly
started treating Gabby very poorly and was getting jealous of
(05:50):
all the time she and Brian were spending together. It
definitely raised some major red flags and seemed very odd.
According to Gabby's family, this is when Gabby starts to
feel really uncomfortable living with the laundries, and issues only
continued to escalate. There was even a situation where Gabby's
mail was forwarded back to her parents' home address in
(06:11):
New York. This of course prompted a conversation with her mom, Nicole,
about whether or not that was Gabby's doing and if
she had plans to actually move back home. But it
turns out it was Roberta who forwarded Gabby's mail, which
led to even more tension in the household. In twenty twenty,
Brian took Gabby out camping and proposed to her. The
(06:32):
proposal was a shock to Gabby's family because they had
no idea about the proposal. Brian never reached out to
her family to ask for her hand, like what her
family would expect and what is traditionally done out of
respect to her family's shock, they only learned about the
proposal through social media. According to her family, Gabby seemed happy,
(06:53):
but was hesitant to say anything to anyone about the proposal.
This to me stands out right away as a big
flag and makes me wonder if Gabby had some serious
doubts and hesitation about her relationship with Brian, but of
course this is just speculation. Not long after the proposal,
Gabby and Brian decide to postpone any wedding or baby
(07:15):
plans and start their new lives together with the plans
of getting married one day. So they decided to purchase
a white twenty twelve Ford Transit Connect. The plan was
to go on a road trip with Brian, documenting her
travels and starting a van lifelog. They worked hard to
design and convert the van into a mini camper that
(07:35):
would shelter them during their adventures. Gabby's goal was to
have a successful YouTube channel through this content that would
be her career and help provide for the couple's future.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
We bought a van, a twenty twelve Ford Transit Connect.
We are going to have so much fun designing and
building this van together, even though our plans got pushed
back like wedding slash baby plans.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Very happy, she decided that she wanted to take a
road trip with a van to start a van life flog.
She had this drive to have a legit YouTube channel
and a lot of followers.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
We decided to convert it into a little camper, downsizing
all of our belongings and moving our humble abode on wheels.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
To help pay for the expenses of the conversion and
to save for their upcoming road trip, Gebby started working
at Taco Bell. According to her friends and family, Gabby
loved her job and would work fifty hours a week
to continue saving for the trip. This is when Brian's
possessive and manipulative ways really started to peek to the surface.
(08:42):
Brian didn't like that Gabby was working so many hours
and spending time with coworkers and friends after work. There
are newly released text messages that show some of the
conversation that Gabby and Brian had during this time, and
they're disturbing, to say the least. To briefly summarize, Brian
tells it's Gabby that he doesn't like her working so
many hours or so late and not spending time with him.
(09:06):
He then tells her that she's hurting him and making
him cry, classic narcissistic behavior. Gabby then starts to feel
bad as though she's the one who's done something wrong,
and she apologizes to him. She also makes comments to
her friends that it's her fault and he's upset and
it's her that's in the wrong, not him. This is
(09:27):
just devastating to hear and is something we see in
abusive relationships where the abuser will manipulate their victim and
make them feel like they're terrible people, and they'll belittle them,
and they'll continue to do that. It's this vicious toxic cycle.
Then they'll turn around after lashing out and saying terrible
things and love bomb. Now, if you're not familiar with
(09:50):
the term love bombing, it's when the abuser will then
shower their victim with gifts and grand gestures of their
love to reel them back in and make them believe
that they really do love them. It's a twisted psychological
game that causes severe trauma and PTSD for victims. The
Netflix documentary shares a letter that Gaby wrote to Brian,
(10:10):
where she says, Brian, you know how much I love you.
Just please stop crying and stop calling me names. You
and pain is killing me. The documentary also shares some
text messages back and forth between Gabby and Brian, and
in one message, Gabby says, don't try to control me.
(10:31):
It only makes me mad. I love you so much,
but it's the way you speak to me that hurts
me the most. From this communication, it's obvious that Gabby
really started to realize that Brian was being controlling and manipulative,
and this was before the couple left on the road trip,
just more red flags. Unfortunately, not everyone was seeing. This
(10:54):
is when Brian realized that he couldn't control Gabby as
much as he wanted to, especially the environment that they
were in. He needed to isolate her, remove her from
her job and her friends, and he did exactly that.
July second, twenty twenty one, one year after their engagement,
Gabby and Brian head out on the road to start
(11:15):
their van life journey. Gabby had big plans. This trip
wasn't just about seeing the country, it was about creating
a life she had dreamed of for herself. She started
Nomadic Static, her YouTube channel and Instagram account where she
would document the beauty she found on the open road,
the national park she visited, and her attempts at living
(11:37):
life to the fullest. Her Instagram was filled with stunning
photos of the places she'd visited and the beautiful moments
she captured. One of her first posts in twenty twenty
one showed her excitement for the trip, standing beside her van,
ready for the adventure to begin.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
Hi.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
I'm Brian and I'm Gabby, and this is our Fortrains
to connect.
Speaker 6 (11:58):
I've been living in and we thought it was finally
time to give you a tour. So we are currently
in the Saltwats. The ground here is so hard. Oh wait,
I just like totally cut my face out of that
entire shot. The ground here is so hard and crunchy.
(12:20):
It is so open and beautiful here. I Am going
to go and plug in the jaggery while Brian makes
us some dinner another water.
Speaker 7 (12:33):
It's nice that it's so sunny here.
Speaker 6 (12:35):
We have the Jackery charging. It's pulling like about sixty
watts right now, so that should be able to charge
all our devices.
Speaker 7 (12:43):
And we're starving, so I'm super excited to eat and
I think we're going to try and get some work
done on editing.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
This So Gabby. The van life journey was a way
to connect with the world, to capture the raw beauty
of nature, and to experience life on her terms. She
wanted to not only share the stunning landscapes, but also
the more personal parts of her journey, her thoughts, her
creative process, and the joy she found in the little moments. However,
(13:22):
Brian didn't have the same feelings about Gabby's dream of
becoming of logger. According to Gabby's friends, Brian didn't think
that Gabby would succeed and that the idea was, in
his words, stupid. While they continued on the road, Gabby
knew the amount of time and work it would take
to get her channel up and running, and she worked
really hard to accomplish that goal. In her content, Gabby
(13:44):
and Brian seemed like the perfect couple, young in love
and living the life so many people dream of. But
behind the camera, tensions were high, and Brian and Gabby
continued to get into arguments.
Speaker 6 (14:00):
You know what is my absolute favorite part about the
van the fact that we have this nice, big open
floor for you to keep your dirty feet.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Behind scenes, Gabby and Brian would get into arguments, no
turning back.
Speaker 8 (14:22):
Their mote.
Speaker 9 (14:28):
What else did I want to say?
Speaker 6 (14:30):
I was like making points before as I was I
going to cut that Well, if you even knew how
to edit on that movie at all, it'd be so
much it's.
Speaker 5 (14:40):
Dark, I can't see you take my leg or even
fighting over the light give it back.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
On August twelfth, twenty twenty one, after forty one days
on the road, things took a dark turn. While they
were in moab Utah, a domestic disturbance was reported to
the police. A nine to one one caller described seeing
a man's slap a woman, and when police arrived on
the scene, they encountered Gabby and Bryan outside the Moonflower
(15:06):
Community Cooperative.
Speaker 10 (15:07):
Hi, I'm calling. I'm right on the corner of Main
Street by Moonflower and we're driving by, and I'd like
to report a domestic dispute. The Florida with a white
van Florida license plate white Land gentleman six beared. They
just drove off. They're going down Main Street. They made
a right onto Main Street from Moonflower.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Or well were they doing operative?
Speaker 10 (15:31):
But what do you say?
Speaker 5 (15:33):
What were they doing?
Speaker 10 (15:35):
We drove by and the gentleman was slapping the girl
who was slapping her, Yes, and then we stopped. They
ran up and down the sidewalk. He proceeded to hit her,
popped in the car and they drove off.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Bodycam footage would later show Gabby in distress. She was crying, shaking,
and explaining that she had been dealing with stress and OCD,
which had led to her emotional breakdown. And you guys
this if you have not seen this body cam footage,
it is devastating. It is infuriating and sad. It's all
(16:11):
of these emotions in one. When asked about the physical altercation,
Gabby really downplayed it at first, explaining that it was
just a bad moment, a result of being on the
road for so long and dealing with the pressures of
her blog and the challenges of traveling in a van.
She said that she had been arguing with Brian, but
it wasn't anything more than a misunderstanding. Brian, for his part,
(16:33):
claimed that he was just trying to create distance and
calm her down, saying that he never intended to hurt her.
Despite Gabby's visible distress and the fact that Brian had
pushed her away during the altercation, neither party wanted to
press charges. The officers, instead of treating this as a
case of domestic violence, categorized it as a mental health
crisis and suggested that they both take a breather and
(16:56):
separate for the night.
Speaker 5 (17:00):
Brian, Okay, what's going on in my side? I'm just
tired in fighting this morning. Some personal issues.
Speaker 6 (17:10):
So much.
Speaker 5 (17:11):
Yeah, I don't know, it's just some days really bad OCD.
Speaker 9 (17:17):
And I just I was just cleaning and creating up
back before, and I was apologizing to him and saying
I'm sorry that I'm so mean, because sometimes I have
OCD and sometimes I just get really frustrated.
Speaker 6 (17:30):
Not like you mean beforce him, I just like, I guess.
Speaker 9 (17:35):
My vibe is like I hear, like in a bad mood.
Speaker 5 (17:39):
And I was just saying I'm sorry if I'm in
a bad mood. I just really says I had so.
Speaker 6 (17:43):
Much work I was doing on my computer this morning.
Speaker 5 (17:48):
Well yeh, I think we're getting or getting too star
but I just hit my not. I was a nutritionus
That's what I just my god.
Speaker 6 (17:57):
To travel across the country and I'm trying to start
a block, so I've been building my website.
Speaker 9 (18:05):
Been really stress and I didn't really believe that.
Speaker 7 (18:08):
I do any of Its kind of been like good.
Speaker 6 (18:11):
I don't know.
Speaker 5 (18:12):
He's like, I don't know, I don't know. We'd have
been fighting all.
Speaker 6 (18:15):
Morning and and he wouldn't let me in the car before,
and I wouldn't let you in the bar.
Speaker 5 (18:22):
Needed to calm down. Yes, I didn't give it. I
didn't get overtly physically. I was just trying to hook
her way and not get it. And then I got
really loud and like that's plays a catching.
Speaker 11 (18:39):
I was gone, back up, get away, just give me
a okay.
Speaker 5 (18:43):
So I said, you pushed her to create some distance. Obviously, right,
what happened after that? What got? What got the scratches
on your own? The phone? The phone? So you pushed
her and she hit you?
Speaker 10 (18:54):
She was it.
Speaker 5 (18:55):
I wasn't. I it wasn't like a push and she jumped.
I mean she was. She was already.
Speaker 10 (18:59):
She was already. I don't want to know.
Speaker 12 (19:02):
He's swinging and I was pushing a lot of hangings,
lot of nails, lot of things.
Speaker 8 (19:06):
Yeah, you got those crass at your neck, you got
one love side your you got one in your face here.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
And you've got four for leaving.
Speaker 8 (19:14):
Just try to names.
Speaker 5 (19:16):
Do you mind lifting up your right sleep for me?
I'm curious, quess on.
Speaker 8 (19:21):
Oh, okay, I suppose fingernails, But I'm not complain any
I'm not gonna play cruised or tender or anything like that. Okay,
I'm quiet, and I look at I hope he has
not too many complaints about me.
Speaker 5 (19:35):
I'm just uh yeah, I feel bad at that. I
think it's so pufflic. I was just trying to be
loud to list. This is no trying to make your
calm down and be like, look, everyone's watching. I'll say
Chris Cross Apple sauce just in the same I'm not talking.
I'll give me some ship. I'm good, all right, just
(19:55):
hang tyme for me. I've decided I am. I'm going
to say you or domestic violence better.
Speaker 8 (20:02):
Okay, it was only going to be a class be misdefeaner.
Speaker 5 (20:08):
However, the domestic violence a portion of it.
Speaker 8 (20:11):
Chances it makes like a major pain in the butt.
Especially you're twenty two, right, So I'm interesting not to
cite you today. I'm not gonna release you guys together.
I want you guys to stay away from each other tonight. Okay,
she's agreed to do it.
Speaker 5 (20:29):
Take some time to yourselves. You guys don't have the exact.
Speaker 8 (20:32):
Same story as to what led up to the incident,
So taking some time tonight, specifically taking tonight away from
each other is going to be the major in all this,
and I think that will help you guys, especially tomorrow.
Speaker 5 (20:46):
You guys beat up.
Speaker 8 (20:47):
Just try to not contact each other unless, like I said,
oh I'm first chattering.
Speaker 5 (20:51):
Something happens. You guys have to dump by the car
right now and drive back the floor something.
Speaker 8 (20:56):
Alrighty, Gabel, you want to step out for me. As
you can see, I have keys in my hand, which
is giving. Okay, So something that I do that I
emphasize to him, and I don't know if I emphasize
to you or not, don't text each other tonight. He
wants to pass on the same message you passed to him.
Speaker 5 (21:13):
He's really looking forward talking to you again.
Speaker 8 (21:14):
But I told him and you, unless there's earth chattering
emergency news, don't text tonight.
Speaker 5 (21:20):
Okay, even with the good nights, I love you. He's
saying good night now, he's saying he loves.
Speaker 8 (21:24):
You now, and you guys can talk tomorrow morning.
Speaker 12 (21:25):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
He's gonna go to the hotel. I'm gonna give you
the keys to the van. I'm gonna get to go
all right. So here's that. I'm giving him a ride
over to the hotel. Okay, so everything's gonna be okay.
Speaker 9 (21:40):
Will do you far drive for me again in the morning.
Speaker 8 (21:44):
I'm I'm not gonna tell you where he's gonna be
at tonight. So, like I said, I want you guys
to be separated, but I can't.
Speaker 5 (21:51):
Tell you that.
Speaker 6 (21:52):
I just don't usually drive the van, so I just
want to make here.
Speaker 5 (21:54):
It's not like far, no, no, no, it's.
Speaker 8 (21:59):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
It's basically from here to the flower. Okay, it's not
far at all.
Speaker 12 (22:05):
So let's get you in the vands.
Speaker 10 (22:07):
Get you on your way, all right?
Speaker 8 (22:10):
Do you want that gatory by the way, you got
enough water? Also something I want you to know there
to stand over your real passport. If you go over
to City Market. They have a list of places where
you can get yourself a shower for like four.
Speaker 5 (22:30):
Or five bucks something like that. But they're pretty cheap.
Place where you can shower, decompress, distress a little bit.
Alrighty okay, I just showered yesterday.
Speaker 8 (22:38):
One of those well you didn't have today happened yesterday,
So it wanders. When she gets stressed out, it's like,
get in the shower, get the shower, go take a shower, relax,
take some time to yourself and like I said, don't
text each other tonight, text each other tomorrow morning after
your eyes open.
Speaker 5 (22:54):
Up and new fully awake, were with your morning win. Okay,
you have good night.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Gabby was instructed by the officers to leave with the
van and Brian went to a nearby motel. The officers
decided not to make any arrests and instead to let
the couple go on their way. But separately, the police
even suggested that Gabby could benefit from speaking to a
mental health professional, but no further action was taken. This
(23:21):
moment would come to be seen as a turning point
when the opportunity to intervene in the abuse that was
taking place slipped through the cracks. Now, this is part
of Gabby's story that really infuriates people. Some people believe
that the officers did everything they could, while others think
that they made the wrong decision. I will have to say,
just from my perspective, I do not understand why Gabby
(23:44):
wasn't the one put up in a hotel. It really
doesn't make sense to me that Brian was considered the
victim in this entire situation, especially with Gabby in distress
and visible marks on her But not only that, the
main reason the police pulled them over was because someone
had called nine one one because they saw Brian slapping Gabby,
(24:08):
not the other way around. After the incident in Moab,
Gabby and Brian continued their journey, traveling two hundred and
thirty miles to Salt Lake City, Utah. Around that same time,
Gabby contacts her mother, Nicole and says that Brian is
going to be flying back home to empty out a
storage unit. While Brian flew home, Gabby stayed at a
hotel in Utah working on editing her YouTube video. Now,
(24:31):
one thing I want to note here is that we
don't really have any additional context around why Brian flew
home and what the reason of clearing that storage unit
out was, especially doing it in the midst of their trip.
But we can only speculate here that perhaps things clearly
weren't going well as we can see, and there was
(24:51):
already arrangements being made. Possibly, but again this is all speculation.
Seven days after the incident, on August nineteenth, Gabby posts
her van life video on YouTube. On August twenty second,
Gabby sends a text message to her ex boyfriend Jackson
and says Hi, I'm sure I'm the last person on
(25:12):
the planet that you want to hear from. I'd really
love to talk to you. I'm only alone until tomorrow.
Jackson ends up responding and decides he's just going to
call Gabby and they catch up on life and what
they've both been doing since they last spoke. They also
briefly talked about Gabby and Brian fighting, and Gabby made
a comment to him saying that she had a plan
(25:33):
and she thinks she wants to leave him. She said
she had to figure out how and when to do it,
and according to Jackson, he felt like the call was
a cry for help and that Gabby wanted to get
away but really wasn't sure how to do it safely.
She wasn't sure of what Brian would do or what
he could do now. Jackson plays an important role in
(25:56):
this timeline because he was clearly someone that Gabby trusts
enough to reach out to during this time. To give
some backstory on their relationship, Jackson and Gabby had dated
for a year and he describes Gabby being his first love.
He said he was shocked when he saw on social
media that she and Brian had been traveling around the
country in a van because this was something that they
(26:18):
had talked about doing when they were together. But he
says he saw how happy Gabby looked, and he was
genuinely happy for her now. On August twenty seventh, a
few things happened throughout the day. First, Gabby texts Jackson
to say that she's in Jackson Hole and that it
reminded her of him. At around one pm, Gabby and
Brian go have lunch at Mary Piglet's, and she records
(26:41):
footage during their time there. Later that same day, Jackson
misses a phone call from Gabby, but he was at
work and was unable to answer it. At around two pm,
Gabby and Brian visit the Whole Foods in Jackson, which
is the last known footage of Gabby alive. Gabby's mom
reached out to her around this time, attacks to check
in and see how she was doing, since she had
(27:02):
been concerned about Gabby since the Moab incident. Gabby responded
back saying, I'm fine. I convinced Brian to go camp
out in the woods so I can have the van
to myself. It's what he wants to do anyway, I
don't care. He said I could have the van if
I paid him.
Speaker 10 (27:19):
So.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
Nicole then asked Gabby if they were breaking up naturally,
and Gabby replied no, I just said I could make
more money as a solo female van lifer with a
laughing face, then proceeded to say that she was on
her way to a campsite. On August twenty ninth, a
Wyoming resident that was visiting Grand Teton National Park noticed
a young man walking along hitchhiking near the entrance of
(27:42):
the park. Turns out this young man was Brian. She
said she proceeded to pick him up and offered to
give him a ride. He asked if she could take
him to Jackson, but she said she wasn't going that way.
She was going north, so he asked if she could
take him to the Spread Creek campsite. He said his
fiance was working on their vlog in their van, and
so she agreed. August thirtieth is when Gabby's text messages
(28:06):
to her mother started to become really concerning. A text
was sent from Gabby's phone that day saying, can you
help Stan? I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls.
My phone doesn't even ring there's no service here. But
what stood out to Gabby's mom about that text was
that it says Stan. Now Stan was Gabby's grandpa, and
(28:30):
she never referred to him by his first name. She
always called him Grandpa. But Nicole thought maybe Gabby was driving,
and she had Brian send the message, but after that
all communication from Gabby would completely stop. Her last post
on social media was on August twenty fifth, which was
(28:50):
the last time Gabby and her mom spoke via FaceTime
when they were on their way to grant Tetah National Park.
From September one up until September ninth, Nicole continued to
try and reach out to Gabby with no response, and
finally decided to reach out to Gabby's dad, Joe, to
see if he had heard from her. He said he hadn't,
and everyone started to become really worried. The concern immediately
(29:14):
was that Brian and Gabby may have gotten lost or
were hurt while out camping. On September tenth, Nicole reached
out to Brian's mom, Roberta, asking if she had heard
from either of them, but got no response. A few
hours later, Nicole reached out again to say she hoped
she had the right number, and suddenly her texts were
turning green. Now, if you're an Apple user, you know
(29:37):
with iPhones your text messages are blue, especially if you're
communicating back and forth with another person who has an iPhone.
When a text message turns green, it only indicates two things.
One either if the phone is turned off, or two
you're being blocked. So seems very suspicious right now. Gabby's dad, Joe,
(29:58):
also reached out to Brian's parent, parents, and his sister,
but no one ever responded. He then said he was
going to call the police, and they immediately started their
search for Gabby, hosting on social media and making phone
calls to all the parks police, but they were told
they needed to contact the police department where Gabby lived
in order to file a missing person's report, so they
(30:21):
contacted the Northport Police department. On the evening of September eleventh,
Northport police showed up at the laundry's home and when
they got there, Bryan's parents were very uncooperative.
Speaker 13 (30:32):
Hi, and sure, I apologize for bothering you. I have
to detect them on the phone. You don't want to
talk to us, Okay, she's on the phone. You don't
want to talk to her now, Okay, it's what was
the last time that you saw Brian and Gabriel.
Speaker 5 (30:52):
Well, Brian is here. Brian is here. Yeah, And that's
how I'm saying. And that's why you're saying. Yeah, they've
been calling.
Speaker 8 (31:01):
I don't know them.
Speaker 5 (31:03):
That's the only want to sound on White when the
terns of where Okay the coin? So and give you
his number?
Speaker 13 (31:11):
Who's number?
Speaker 5 (31:11):
The attorney's number?
Speaker 13 (31:12):
Okay, I would like that police, so I can give
it to the detective.
Speaker 7 (31:14):
Thank you.
Speaker 12 (31:16):
Chris is Sergeant Seals are with the police department. Hey, look,
I hate to bother you. I know you've already said
you don't want to speak or don't want to help us.
I'm trying to figure out something for parents. You guys,
as parents, you know, all they want is their daughter
to know that she's safe. So I don't know where
it all started before. I don't know what's transpired. I
(31:40):
don't know anything about that.
Speaker 5 (31:42):
I'm here to know.
Speaker 12 (31:44):
If you guys know anything, it would let the parents
at ease and go from there. We don't know anything, okay,
I mean anything that you guys would be able to
give them, is any type of help last time your
son saw her or anything like that?
Speaker 5 (32:02):
Am I able to talk to your son? The other
officer said, he's not gonna talk an, Okay, we're.
Speaker 12 (32:08):
Not gonna talk.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
An.
Speaker 1 (32:10):
They told police that Brian was there at home with them,
but they didn't know where Gabby was, and they refused
to talk, stating that the officer could contact their attorney.
Can we just take a moment to pause for a second.
How insane does that sound? And suspicious? You're refusing to speak,
your parents are refusing to speak, and they're directing the
(32:33):
police to your lawyer. The only information that the Laundries
provided was that Brian and Gabby had a fight, Brian
flew home and left Gabby at a hotel in Utah.
Side note, we should immediately recognize that this is a
red flag because we know that timeline doesn't add up
(32:53):
and that had already happened prior to the couple visiting
Grand Teetan National Park. Now, as I mentioned, Gabby's van
was in the and obviously is registered in her name,
so the police department was able to have the van toad.
The police were very suspicious and concerned with the Laundry's
behavior naturally right and immediately suspected that they were hiding something.
(33:15):
At this point, no one had heard from Gabby, and
Brian's refusal to cooperate with the police made her family's
worst fears come true. The investigation would soon turn into
a nation wide search, as Brian Laundry was named a
person of interest in Gabby's disappearance.
Speaker 5 (33:33):
I don't know about you, but their child's home.
Speaker 11 (33:36):
My child somewhere in the continental United States, with gill phone,
no car, no not as that it's not as hard
on them.
Speaker 5 (33:46):
As on us tonight. Angry words from a father desperate
to find his.
Speaker 8 (33:51):
Daughter who disappeared on a cross country road trip with
her boyfriend. That boyfriend came home to Northboort. Gabby Potito
did not.
Speaker 3 (34:00):
Last spoke with her mother last month while and Wyoming,
and now the FBI and agencies across the country are
trying to find her.
Speaker 14 (34:06):
Every viewer that's watching this, you know, look at every
picture that you're going to see on this screen, watch
the video. Let her face burn it into your memory.
Your heart is somewhere and we don't know where it is.
Speaker 5 (34:18):
The waiting is just just horrible.
Speaker 12 (34:22):
It's just the worst feeling.
Speaker 15 (34:24):
It's an agonizing wait for Potato and Gabby's stepmother, Terra,
more than three weeks since the last time he facetimed
with his only daughter. He says that call was on
August twenty first. Well, she was in Utah.
Speaker 5 (34:35):
There were no red flags that popped out.
Speaker 14 (34:37):
You know, listen, I'm trying to rack my brain Monday
morning quarterback and you know what I mean, And it's
still nothing's stopping in my head.
Speaker 5 (34:44):
You know, nothing stands out.
Speaker 14 (34:45):
If you want to help somebody, you help somebody.
Speaker 12 (34:49):
We have people across the country helping us, trying to
give any tips, anything that they you know, maybe they
saw hard.
Speaker 15 (34:57):
Potito says he knows missing persons stories don't all way.
He's in well, but he's grateful for everyone helping with
the search, and he's hopeful Gabby will come home soon.
Speaker 14 (35:06):
In my head right now, phones dead, broke, lost, taken, whatever.
Speaker 5 (35:12):
She's wandering the woods.
Speaker 14 (35:14):
She can't find a bearings habits all the time.
Speaker 5 (35:17):
And That's what I'm going with until I'm told otherwise.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
Search efforts were conducted at nearly two thousand miles coast
to coast, including the Grand Teetan National Park, and the
word of Gabby's disappearance spread like wildfire. Gabby's stepfather, Jim,
flew out to Wyoming to assist in the search. The
FBI were brought up to Jackson to help with the investigation.
(35:41):
At this time, they were pulling Gabby's cell phone data
to see if they could locate her last known location.
They had drones, horse teams, and other agencies assisting in
the search, utilizing every resource they could to find Gabby.
In the meantime, the Northport Police Department had surveillance on
the laundry watching their every move. The Laundry residents became
(36:04):
a chaotic scene as protesters constantly stood in front of
their house demanding answers about Gabby's whereabouts. The Laundries, however,
continued to carry on with her everyday life, being completely
uncooperative in the search for Gabby. They even took a
family camping trip with Brian and his sister Cassie to
Fort to Soto. Obviously, this raised even more questions in
(36:26):
speculation about what the Laundry family really knew. Cassie, Brian's sister,
claims that they visited Fort to Soto on September sixth,
and that it was a normal family camping trip. She
claims that she knew nothing and she didn't know what
happened to Gabby. She also said she had no idea
what her parents did or did not know. On September seventeenth,
(36:50):
in a twisted turn of events, the Northport Police Department
got a tip from a caller asking to do a
welfare check on Brian, stating that he's concerned that Brian
is not well and may have overdosed and be dead
in the house. When the police show up at the
laundry residence, they learned that Brian's parents haven't seen him
in days and decide to report him missing. Brian's house
(37:14):
was thoroughly searched by police and evidence was collected. The
most shocking piece of evidence, though, that was found, was
a letter to Brian from his mother, Roberta, that was
titled burn After reading the letter reads, you are my boy.
Nothing can make me stop loving you. Nothing will or
(37:35):
could ever divide us no matter what we do. If
you're in jail, I will bake a cake with a
file in it. If you need to dispose of a body,
I will show up with a shovel and garbage bags.
How vile and disgusting is that? And what a way
to showcase possible involvement right allegedly, But because there was
(37:57):
no proof that a crime was committed at this point,
the police could not make any arrests, so their focus
was back to Gabby and now searching for Brian, police
started reaching out to the public for their help to
see if they could get any potential leads. That's when
a girl named Miranda Baker had posted on TikTok stating
that she and her boyfriend picked up Brian laundry on
(38:19):
August twenty ninth at Grand Teton National Park. This prompted
the other woman who picked up Brian that same day
and drove him to Spread Creek campsite to reach out
to the police and tell them what she knew. This
was important information because police were trying to determine the
exact last known location of the van. If they were
(38:39):
able to track Brian's movements, they would get closer to
confirming that and hopefully find Gabby. It wasn't until fellow
van lifeloggers Jen and Kyle Bethune came forth with a
piece of information that was needed to locate the exact
location of Gabby's van. You see, Jen and Kyle were
visiting the Spread Creek campsite on August twenty seventh. When
(39:01):
Jen was reviewing video footage they took for their YouTube channel,
she realized she had footage of Gabby's van. This allowed
the police to corroborate the information they received from the
phone companies in order to narrow their search. On September nineteenth,
the second day of the full search, police were focusing
on the river bottoms near where Gabby and Brian had
(39:22):
been camping. It was then that the unthinkable happened. One
of the team members spotted human remains. They appeared to
be a young woman. She was lying on her side
and was wrapped up in a sweater. The FBI confirmed
that the remains were Gabby's, and an autopsy later revealed
that she had been strangled and suffered blunt force trauma
(39:44):
to her head and neck. Gabby had been dead for
several weeks before her body was discovered. The last confirmed
date that Gabby was alive was August twenty seventh, and
she wasn't found until September nineteenth. The discovery of Gabby's
body they shifted the investigation into full homicide mode and
they started piecing together all the details of the exact
(40:06):
timeline leading up to Gabby's death. They know that the
last day Gabby was seen alive was on August twenty seventh,
around one pm. Brian and Gabby were at a restaurant
in Jackson called Mary Piglets. While they were there, a
female witnessed Gabby and Brian having an argument. They left abruptly.
Gabby was crying and Brian seemed very angry. At one
(40:31):
forty five pm is when Jackson received the miscall from Gabby.
After that, around two thirteen PM, Gabby and Brian were
seen on camera at Whole Foods, where you can visibly
see Brian slamming the van door in the parking lot
before they proceed inside the store. Once they leave Whole Foods,
they begin the drive up to the Spread Creek area
from Jackson between six pm and six thirty pm. The
(40:54):
video taken by the Bethunes show the van on the
side of the road. At seven fifty fifteen PM, Gabby
sends the last known text message to her mom, where
she stated that she could make more money as a
solo female van Lifer. The police were able to look
back on the usage of Gabby's computer, and at around
eight thirty PM, Gabby was moving computer files around on
(41:16):
her hard drive. So the belief is that she was
alive during that time because the files were video files
and this was consistent with the pattern she had done prior.
By the next day, there was no movement on any
of the devices and no information indicating that Gabby was alive.
The investigation found that Brian killed Gabby that night and
(41:37):
moved her body to where it was found, ultimately staging
the scene. On August twenty eighth, Brian left the Spread
Creek area and hiked up north towards the Culture Bay
camping area. Along the way, he was taking photos. Some
were scenic, but others were disturbing. They were bones of
dead animals. On the twenty ninth, there was cell phone
(42:00):
tower data that showed at one twenty pm, Brian has
a fifty five minute call with his mom, Roberta. His father,
then contacts an attorney. Interesting right. The laundries continue to
communicate back and forth, and cell phone data shows that
while Brian is hiking, he's sending text messages to Gabby's
phone one, saying hey, honey, just calling to let you
(42:23):
know I made it to Colter Bay. I think the
campground is still a little ways up the road. I'm
gonna go check it out. Let me know when you're
on your way. No rush. At five fifty five PM
on the twenty ninth is when Miranda Baker picks up
Brian from Grand Teeton National Park towards Jackson around six
point thirty to six forty five. Brian was then picked
(42:44):
up by resident Norma Jean, and she gave him a
ride to the entrance of the Spread Creek camping area
where he had left the van. The text messages to
Gabby's phone are not read until Brian gets back to
the Spread Creek area where Gabby's phone was left. The
activity between the two phones was almost instantaneous, so Brian
(43:05):
was basically holding both phones and talking directly to himself,
which was apparent that he was trying to create an alibi.
On August thirtieth, Brian departed from Wyoming to travel back
to Florida. This is when a text message is sent
from Gabby's phone to her mother's phone, requesting that she
speaks to Gabby's grandpa because he'd been trying to contact her.
(43:27):
On his way to Florida, he steps at multiple gas stations,
and through bank records, the police can confirm that he
uses Gabby's debit card. There's also a Zell transaction that
takes place around this same time from Gabby to Brian.
There's also a Zel transaction that takes place around the
same time from Gabby to Brian in the amount of
(43:47):
seven hundred dollars, and in the memo of this transaction
it says, goodbye, Brian, I'll never ask you for anything again.
By September twenty third, the FBI had issued an arrest
warrant for Brian Laundry after learning that he had used
Gabby's debit card. The search became extensive, and even Dog
(44:08):
the Bounty Hunter got involved.
Speaker 2 (44:10):
Dog the Bounty Hunter joined this search for Brian Laundry.
Speaker 7 (44:15):
I know the kid knows me.
Speaker 8 (44:17):
Probably one of my vans.
Speaker 5 (44:19):
We get a scent of a trail, we get a cent.
Speaker 9 (44:22):
He's done.
Speaker 1 (44:24):
On September fourteenth, three days before Brian was reported missing
by his parents, police learned that somebody had left their
car at the Mayacahatchie Environmental Park for a substantial amount
of time they ran those plates and it was the
laundry's car. The laundries then pick up the car and
drive it home. They also tell the police that this
(44:46):
spot was a favorite of Brian's to go hiking. Brian
apparently told his parents that he was going for a
hike to release some pressure from the protesters and all
the media about Gabby. He had taken a backpack of
supplies and had planned to be out there for few days.
It was for this reason that the laundries didn't contact
the police about the car, because they believed he would
(45:07):
be returning home on September eighteenth. The search for Brian
officially began in the park where the Mustang was found.
On October twentieth, twenty twenty one. After an extensive search,
Brian's remains were discovered in the park, about a mile
from where his car was parked. Because of the condition
of the park and the extensive flooding that had occurred,
(45:28):
Brian's remains were decomposed down to the bone. A waterproof
bag was found near his remains that contained some photos
of Gabby and a waterproof notebook that Brian had written in.
He wrote multiple letters to his family saying goodbye and
that he loved them. There was also a story in
there leading up to the events of what happened to Gabby.
(45:48):
Brian claims that in a rush to get back to
the van, trying to cross the streams, Gabby had fallen.
He claims that he found Gabby barely breathing and gasping,
and was freezing cold because the temperature had dropped. He
says he pulled Gabby out of the water and that
she couldn't verbialize what was hurting, and continued to make
sounds of pain, violently shaking and begging for an end
(46:12):
to her pain. He then admits he ended her life
and thought it was merciful, but then realized after he
killed her that he couldn't go on without her. Clearly,
the version of Brian's account of what happened is completely
false because we know what the findings of Gabby's autopsy say.
Her main cause of death was manual strangulation. He also
(46:34):
stated in letters that he was sorry to Gabby's family
and mentioned wanting to go to New York to confront
Gabby's stepfather and let him kill him. He also mentions
a request to leave his parents out of this, they
did nothing wrong, but clearly there was a lot that
they did wrong allegedly as we know based on the
timeline of events, and let's not forget the burn after
(46:57):
reading letter that Raperter wrote to Brian. Brian Laundry's death
was ruled a suicide by self inflicted gunshot wound and
the case was officially closed by the FBI, but the
impact of Gabby's death and the subsequent media storm left
a lasting mark on her family and the public. One
year after Gabby's death, her family traveled to spread Craig
(47:20):
to visit the place that Gabby was found. It was
a very emotional and healing trip for everyone that went.
They spread her ashes around the park and felt very
close to Gabby. That day, Gabby's family made the hard
decision to dispose of the van and have it crushed,
but they did keep portions of the van that they
(47:41):
cut out of, certain bumper stickers and areas that they
really wanted to keep, and now they have them on
display in Gabby's mom's house. This story is just so sad,
it really is, and it's a tragic one, one of
a young woman full of life, someone who was just
beginning to live out her dreams. Gabby's case has sparked
(48:03):
conversations about domestic violence, media coverage, and the importance of
missing persons awareness, especially minority groups who are underrepresented in
the media. Her family also supported the passing of Bill
one point seventeen, which is a domestic violence bill that
requires police to ask eleven questions to determine if an
(48:24):
intimate partner is at risk of being hurt or killed.
And on top of that, her family also started the
Gabby Petito Foundation, which works to help other families of
missing persons and raise awareness about domestic violence. Although Gabby's
life was tragically cut short, her legacy lives on and
it's one of love, strength, and inspiration. She truly was
(48:48):
a free spirit who loved nature, art and adventure, and
her story has inspired so many to be more aware
of the warning signs of domestic violence and the importance
of being there for one another. Gabby's case has ignited
a movement, and we all owe it to her memory
to continue fighting for justice and raising awareness about these issues.
(49:11):
To learn more about the Gabby Potito Foundation and how
you can support their work, Lise, visit their website at
gabbypotitofoundation dot org. I'll also leave the link in the
show notes below, and if you or someone you love
is a victim of domestic violence, please contact the Domestic
Violence Hotline at one eight hundred seven nine to nine
(49:32):
seven two three three. Thank you all so much for
joining me for today's episode of True cremin Headlines and
for listening to Gabby's story. If you'd like to hear
more stories like Gabby's, we recently released season two of
our podcasters Give Back collaboration You Should be Here called
or No. Every podcaster donated their time, their research, and
(49:55):
their voices to help advocate for victims of domestic violence
in all fi un raised go to organizations that stand
against domestic violence and help those who have been impacted
by it. There's a total of sixteen episodes available to
listen now wherever you get your podcasts, and make sure
to tune in next week for two new episodes of
(50:16):
True Kremen Headlines. And remember, You're loved, you matter, and
you deserve to be here. I'll catch you in the
next episode. Bye, guys. Fire Eyes Media
Hey everyone, it's Jen and welcome back to True cremen
Headlines with Jewles and Jen. Thank you so much for
being here today. Jewels and I have missed you all
so much and we're excited to bring the podcast back
with low bnswer, more cases, and even more advocacy driven
and you all. We have some exciting things that we've
been working on behind the scenes. I cannot wait to
(00:22):
share what that is very soon, but what I can
share right now is that Jewels and I have decided
to not only bring you a new episode every week,
We've decided to bring you too. That's right. Starting next week,
we'll be releasing new episodes every Tuesdays and Thursdays. So
if you have any case requests, make sure to email
us at contact at Fireeyesmedia dot com. And if you
(00:45):
want to be a part of our VIP truecremetribe, make
sure to sign up for a monthly newsletter and get
the inside scoop on all things True Creme and Headlines,
including some behind the scenes sneak peeks and bonus content
from Jewels and I. To sign up is at our
website at Truecremeinheadlines dot com and scroll to the bottom
where it says subscribe to our newsletter. And just a
(01:06):
reminder that I'll be attending Advocacy con in Indianapolis, Indiana
the end of March. I'll have a booth and we'll
be speaking alongside other incredible creators and advocates, So make
sure to stop by and say hi if you're attending.
Now on to today's case you all. This is one
that has really stuck with me and one I followed
(01:27):
closely when it happened in twenty twenty one, a case
that went viral engaged the interest of millions in the
true crime community who ultimately assisted in solving this case.
And that's the story of Gabby Petito. Gabby's case has
left an indelible mark on all of us, and it's
a story that is far more than just a tragic headline.
(01:50):
It's a story of a young woman full of life,
dreams and boundless energy whose life was cut short far
too soon. Recently, Netflix released a new documentary about Gabby's
case called American Murder gebby Patito, and there was some
newly released information in it. I did personally watch it,
and it brought all of those feelings back from when
(02:11):
the case first started making the headlines in twenty twenty one, anger, sadness,
and disappointment. In today's episode, we'll walk through the timeline
of Gabby's life, the events leading up to her disappearance,
the investigation that followed, and the legacy she left behind.
Her story isn't just one of sadness. It's also one
(02:33):
of hope, love, and a fight for justice that would
ignite a movement for change. So let's go. Gabrielle Vanora
Petito was born on March nineteenth, nineteen ninety nine, in
(02:56):
Blue Point, New York, to Nicole Schmidt and Joe Patito.
Nicole was only twenty years old when she had Gabby,
and she and Joe stayed together until Gabby was about
six months old. At that time, they decided they weren't
suited to be together and decided to part ways amicably,
keeping Gabby's needs at the forefront of their co parenting relationship.
(03:17):
They stayed close throughout Gabby's childhood and continued raising Gabby
in a loving environment. This love only continued to expand
when both of her parents remarried and she gained a
bonus mom and dad. Her stepdad, Jim Schmidt, and her stepmom,
Tara Petito. Growing up, Gabby was a vibrant, energetic, and
creative little girl. Her love for art started in preschool,
(03:41):
and she would take any opportunity to draw the second
her mom gave her something to write with. She was
extremely talented and her artwork would be so meticulous and detailed.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
When Gabby was in pre school, as soon as I
gave her something to write with, she was drawing pictures.
Gabby used to spread all of her artwork on our
kitchen island and she would just sit there for hours.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Growing up, everything she did always had like such detail.
When she got older, it came so naturally without even
giving it any thought. She'd just be sitting there and
then you'd look down ten minutes later and she has
this amazing piece of art.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
As Gabby got older, her love for art only continued,
and when she got into high school, she thrived in
the art community. In twenty seventeen, she graduated from Bayport
Blue Point High School and she started working as a
hostess and saving her money. March twenty nineteen was a
turning point in Gabby's life. You see, Gabby had met
(04:45):
Brian Laundry and became friends with him in high school,
but it wasn't until after they graduated that they reconnected
and began dating. According to Gabby's family, it took some
time before Gabby admitted that her and Brian were dating,
and this was finally confirmed when Gabby started talking about
moving down to Florida with Brian and his parents. Brian's
(05:07):
parents were living in Northport, where he and Gebby ended
up moving not long after the conversation with her parents.
According to Gabby's mom, Nicole, the talk about the move
was very sudden and unexpected, and the next thing she knew,
Gabby was moving down to Florida. Gabby's parents believed that
this was a decision that was driven by Brian, especially
with how quickly it happened and knowing that Brian wanted
(05:29):
to be close to his family. When Gabby got down
to Florida, everything seemed to be going very well with
Brian and his family, at least it did for a while,
but it wasn't too long before Gabby started seeing another
side of Brian's family, especially his mother, Roberta. Roberta suddenly
started treating Gabby very poorly and was getting jealous of
(05:50):
all the time she and Brian were spending together. It
definitely raised some major red flags and seemed very odd.
According to Gabby's family, this is when Gabby starts to
feel really uncomfortable living with the laundries, and issues only
continued to escalate. There was even a situation where Gabby's
mail was forwarded back to her parents' home address in
(06:11):
New York. This of course prompted a conversation with her mom, Nicole,
about whether or not that was Gabby's doing and if
she had plans to actually move back home. But it
turns out it was Roberta who forwarded Gabby's mail, which
led to even more tension in the household. In twenty twenty,
Brian took Gabby out camping and proposed to her. The
(06:32):
proposal was a shock to Gabby's family because they had
no idea about the proposal. Brian never reached out to
her family to ask for her hand, like what her
family would expect and what is traditionally done out of
respect to her family's shock, they only learned about the
proposal through social media. According to her family, Gabby seemed happy,
(06:53):
but was hesitant to say anything to anyone about the proposal.
This to me stands out right away as a big
flag and makes me wonder if Gabby had some serious
doubts and hesitation about her relationship with Brian, but of
course this is just speculation. Not long after the proposal,
Gabby and Brian decide to postpone any wedding or baby
(07:15):
plans and start their new lives together with the plans
of getting married one day. So they decided to purchase
a white twenty twelve Ford Transit Connect. The plan was
to go on a road trip with Brian, documenting her
travels and starting a van lifelog. They worked hard to
design and convert the van into a mini camper that
(07:35):
would shelter them during their adventures. Gabby's goal was to
have a successful YouTube channel through this content that would
be her career and help provide for the couple's future.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
We bought a van, a twenty twelve Ford Transit Connect.
We are going to have so much fun designing and
building this van together, even though our plans got pushed
back like wedding slash baby plans.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Very happy, she decided that she wanted to take a
road trip with a van to start a van life flog.
She had this drive to have a legit YouTube channel
and a lot of followers.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
We decided to convert it into a little camper, downsizing
all of our belongings and moving our humble abode on wheels.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
To help pay for the expenses of the conversion and
to save for their upcoming road trip, Gebby started working
at Taco Bell. According to her friends and family, Gabby
loved her job and would work fifty hours a week
to continue saving for the trip. This is when Brian's
possessive and manipulative ways really started to peek to the surface.
(08:42):
Brian didn't like that Gabby was working so many hours
and spending time with coworkers and friends after work. There
are newly released text messages that show some of the
conversation that Gabby and Brian had during this time, and
they're disturbing, to say the least. To briefly summarize, Brian
tells it's Gabby that he doesn't like her working so
many hours or so late and not spending time with him.
(09:06):
He then tells her that she's hurting him and making
him cry, classic narcissistic behavior. Gabby then starts to feel
bad as though she's the one who's done something wrong,
and she apologizes to him. She also makes comments to
her friends that it's her fault and he's upset and
it's her that's in the wrong, not him. This is
(09:27):
just devastating to hear and is something we see in
abusive relationships where the abuser will manipulate their victim and
make them feel like they're terrible people, and they'll belittle them,
and they'll continue to do that. It's this vicious toxic cycle.
Then they'll turn around after lashing out and saying terrible
things and love bomb. Now, if you're not familiar with
(09:50):
the term love bombing, it's when the abuser will then
shower their victim with gifts and grand gestures of their
love to reel them back in and make them believe
that they really do love them. It's a twisted psychological
game that causes severe trauma and PTSD for victims. The
Netflix documentary shares a letter that Gaby wrote to Brian,
(10:10):
where she says, Brian, you know how much I love you.
Just please stop crying and stop calling me names. You
and pain is killing me. The documentary also shares some
text messages back and forth between Gabby and Brian, and
in one message, Gabby says, don't try to control me.
(10:31):
It only makes me mad. I love you so much,
but it's the way you speak to me that hurts
me the most. From this communication, it's obvious that Gabby
really started to realize that Brian was being controlling and manipulative,
and this was before the couple left on the road trip,
just more red flags. Unfortunately, not everyone was seeing. This
(10:54):
is when Brian realized that he couldn't control Gabby as
much as he wanted to, especially the environment that they
were in. He needed to isolate her, remove her from
her job and her friends, and he did exactly that.
July second, twenty twenty one, one year after their engagement,
Gabby and Brian head out on the road to start
(11:15):
their van life journey. Gabby had big plans. This trip
wasn't just about seeing the country, it was about creating
a life she had dreamed of for herself. She started
Nomadic Static, her YouTube channel and Instagram account where she
would document the beauty she found on the open road,
the national park she visited, and her attempts at living
(11:37):
life to the fullest. Her Instagram was filled with stunning
photos of the places she'd visited and the beautiful moments
she captured. One of her first posts in twenty twenty
one showed her excitement for the trip, standing beside her van,
ready for the adventure to begin.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
Hi.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
I'm Brian and I'm Gabby, and this is our Fortrains
to connect.
Speaker 6 (11:58):
I've been living in and we thought it was finally
time to give you a tour. So we are currently
in the Saltwats. The ground here is so hard. Oh wait,
I just like totally cut my face out of that
entire shot. The ground here is so hard and crunchy.
(12:20):
It is so open and beautiful here. I Am going
to go and plug in the jaggery while Brian makes
us some dinner another water.
Speaker 7 (12:33):
It's nice that it's so sunny here.
Speaker 6 (12:35):
We have the Jackery charging. It's pulling like about sixty
watts right now, so that should be able to charge
all our devices.
Speaker 7 (12:43):
And we're starving, so I'm super excited to eat and
I think we're going to try and get some work
done on editing.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
This So Gabby. The van life journey was a way
to connect with the world, to capture the raw beauty
of nature, and to experience life on her terms. She
wanted to not only share the stunning landscapes, but also
the more personal parts of her journey, her thoughts, her
creative process, and the joy she found in the little moments. However,
(13:22):
Brian didn't have the same feelings about Gabby's dream of
becoming of logger. According to Gabby's friends, Brian didn't think
that Gabby would succeed and that the idea was, in
his words, stupid. While they continued on the road, Gabby
knew the amount of time and work it would take
to get her channel up and running, and she worked
really hard to accomplish that goal. In her content, Gabby
(13:44):
and Brian seemed like the perfect couple, young in love
and living the life so many people dream of. But
behind the camera, tensions were high, and Brian and Gabby
continued to get into arguments.
Speaker 6 (14:00):
You know what is my absolute favorite part about the
van the fact that we have this nice, big open
floor for you to keep your dirty feet.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Behind scenes, Gabby and Brian would get into arguments, no
turning back.
Speaker 8 (14:22):
Their mote.
Speaker 9 (14:28):
What else did I want to say?
Speaker 6 (14:30):
I was like making points before as I was I
going to cut that Well, if you even knew how
to edit on that movie at all, it'd be so
much it's.
Speaker 5 (14:40):
Dark, I can't see you take my leg or even
fighting over the light give it back.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
On August twelfth, twenty twenty one, after forty one days
on the road, things took a dark turn. While they
were in moab Utah, a domestic disturbance was reported to
the police. A nine to one one caller described seeing
a man's slap a woman, and when police arrived on
the scene, they encountered Gabby and Bryan outside the Moonflower
(15:06):
Community Cooperative.
Speaker 10 (15:07):
Hi, I'm calling. I'm right on the corner of Main
Street by Moonflower and we're driving by, and I'd like
to report a domestic dispute. The Florida with a white
van Florida license plate white Land gentleman six beared. They
just drove off. They're going down Main Street. They made
a right onto Main Street from Moonflower.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Or well were they doing operative?
Speaker 10 (15:31):
But what do you say?
Speaker 5 (15:33):
What were they doing?
Speaker 10 (15:35):
We drove by and the gentleman was slapping the girl
who was slapping her, Yes, and then we stopped. They
ran up and down the sidewalk. He proceeded to hit her,
popped in the car and they drove off.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Bodycam footage would later show Gabby in distress. She was crying, shaking,
and explaining that she had been dealing with stress and OCD,
which had led to her emotional breakdown. And you guys
this if you have not seen this body cam footage,
it is devastating. It is infuriating and sad. It's all
(16:11):
of these emotions in one. When asked about the physical altercation,
Gabby really downplayed it at first, explaining that it was
just a bad moment, a result of being on the
road for so long and dealing with the pressures of
her blog and the challenges of traveling in a van.
She said that she had been arguing with Brian, but
it wasn't anything more than a misunderstanding. Brian, for his part,
(16:33):
claimed that he was just trying to create distance and
calm her down, saying that he never intended to hurt her.
Despite Gabby's visible distress and the fact that Brian had
pushed her away during the altercation, neither party wanted to
press charges. The officers, instead of treating this as a
case of domestic violence, categorized it as a mental health
crisis and suggested that they both take a breather and
(16:56):
separate for the night.
Speaker 5 (17:00):
Brian, Okay, what's going on in my side? I'm just
tired in fighting this morning. Some personal issues.
Speaker 6 (17:10):
So much.
Speaker 5 (17:11):
Yeah, I don't know, it's just some days really bad OCD.
Speaker 9 (17:17):
And I just I was just cleaning and creating up
back before, and I was apologizing to him and saying
I'm sorry that I'm so mean, because sometimes I have
OCD and sometimes I just get really frustrated.
Speaker 6 (17:30):
Not like you mean beforce him, I just like, I guess.
Speaker 9 (17:35):
My vibe is like I hear, like in a bad mood.
Speaker 5 (17:39):
And I was just saying I'm sorry if I'm in
a bad mood. I just really says I had so.
Speaker 6 (17:43):
Much work I was doing on my computer this morning.
Speaker 5 (17:48):
Well yeh, I think we're getting or getting too star
but I just hit my not. I was a nutritionus
That's what I just my god.
Speaker 6 (17:57):
To travel across the country and I'm trying to start
a block, so I've been building my website.
Speaker 9 (18:05):
Been really stress and I didn't really believe that.
Speaker 7 (18:08):
I do any of Its kind of been like good.
Speaker 6 (18:11):
I don't know.
Speaker 5 (18:12):
He's like, I don't know, I don't know. We'd have
been fighting all.
Speaker 6 (18:15):
Morning and and he wouldn't let me in the car before,
and I wouldn't let you in the bar.
Speaker 5 (18:22):
Needed to calm down. Yes, I didn't give it. I
didn't get overtly physically. I was just trying to hook
her way and not get it. And then I got
really loud and like that's plays a catching.
Speaker 11 (18:39):
I was gone, back up, get away, just give me
a okay.
Speaker 5 (18:43):
So I said, you pushed her to create some distance. Obviously, right,
what happened after that? What got? What got the scratches
on your own? The phone? The phone? So you pushed
her and she hit you?
Speaker 10 (18:54):
She was it.
Speaker 5 (18:55):
I wasn't. I it wasn't like a push and she jumped.
I mean she was. She was already.
Speaker 10 (18:59):
She was already. I don't want to know.
Speaker 12 (19:02):
He's swinging and I was pushing a lot of hangings,
lot of nails, lot of things.
Speaker 8 (19:06):
Yeah, you got those crass at your neck, you got
one love side your you got one in your face here.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
And you've got four for leaving.
Speaker 8 (19:14):
Just try to names.
Speaker 5 (19:16):
Do you mind lifting up your right sleep for me?
I'm curious, quess on.
Speaker 8 (19:21):
Oh, okay, I suppose fingernails, But I'm not complain any
I'm not gonna play cruised or tender or anything like that. Okay,
I'm quiet, and I look at I hope he has
not too many complaints about me.
Speaker 5 (19:35):
I'm just uh yeah, I feel bad at that. I
think it's so pufflic. I was just trying to be
loud to list. This is no trying to make your
calm down and be like, look, everyone's watching. I'll say
Chris Cross Apple sauce just in the same I'm not talking.
I'll give me some ship. I'm good, all right, just
(19:55):
hang tyme for me. I've decided I am. I'm going
to say you or domestic violence better.
Speaker 8 (20:02):
Okay, it was only going to be a class be misdefeaner.
Speaker 5 (20:08):
However, the domestic violence a portion of it.
Speaker 8 (20:11):
Chances it makes like a major pain in the butt.
Especially you're twenty two, right, So I'm interesting not to
cite you today. I'm not gonna release you guys together.
I want you guys to stay away from each other tonight. Okay,
she's agreed to do it.
Speaker 5 (20:29):
Take some time to yourselves. You guys don't have the exact.
Speaker 8 (20:32):
Same story as to what led up to the incident,
So taking some time tonight, specifically taking tonight away from
each other is going to be the major in all this,
and I think that will help you guys, especially tomorrow.
Speaker 5 (20:46):
You guys beat up.
Speaker 8 (20:47):
Just try to not contact each other unless, like I said,
oh I'm first chattering.
Speaker 5 (20:51):
Something happens. You guys have to dump by the car
right now and drive back the floor something.
Speaker 8 (20:56):
Alrighty, Gabel, you want to step out for me. As
you can see, I have keys in my hand, which
is giving. Okay, So something that I do that I
emphasize to him, and I don't know if I emphasize
to you or not, don't text each other tonight. He
wants to pass on the same message you passed to him.
Speaker 5 (21:13):
He's really looking forward talking to you again.
Speaker 8 (21:14):
But I told him and you, unless there's earth chattering
emergency news, don't text tonight.
Speaker 5 (21:20):
Okay, even with the good nights, I love you. He's
saying good night now, he's saying he loves.
Speaker 8 (21:24):
You now, and you guys can talk tomorrow morning.
Speaker 12 (21:25):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
He's gonna go to the hotel. I'm gonna give you
the keys to the van. I'm gonna get to go
all right. So here's that. I'm giving him a ride
over to the hotel. Okay, so everything's gonna be okay.
Speaker 9 (21:40):
Will do you far drive for me again in the morning.
Speaker 8 (21:44):
I'm I'm not gonna tell you where he's gonna be
at tonight. So, like I said, I want you guys
to be separated, but I can't.
Speaker 5 (21:51):
Tell you that.
Speaker 6 (21:52):
I just don't usually drive the van, so I just
want to make here.
Speaker 5 (21:54):
It's not like far, no, no, no, it's.
Speaker 8 (21:59):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
It's basically from here to the flower. Okay, it's not
far at all.
Speaker 12 (22:05):
So let's get you in the vands.
Speaker 10 (22:07):
Get you on your way, all right?
Speaker 8 (22:10):
Do you want that gatory by the way, you got
enough water? Also something I want you to know there
to stand over your real passport. If you go over
to City Market. They have a list of places where
you can get yourself a shower for like four.
Speaker 5 (22:30):
Or five bucks something like that. But they're pretty cheap.
Place where you can shower, decompress, distress a little bit.
Alrighty okay, I just showered yesterday.
Speaker 8 (22:38):
One of those well you didn't have today happened yesterday,
So it wanders. When she gets stressed out, it's like,
get in the shower, get the shower, go take a shower, relax,
take some time to yourself and like I said, don't
text each other tonight, text each other tomorrow morning after
your eyes open.
Speaker 5 (22:54):
Up and new fully awake, were with your morning win. Okay,
you have good night.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Gabby was instructed by the officers to leave with the
van and Brian went to a nearby motel. The officers
decided not to make any arrests and instead to let
the couple go on their way. But separately, the police
even suggested that Gabby could benefit from speaking to a
mental health professional, but no further action was taken. This
(23:21):
moment would come to be seen as a turning point
when the opportunity to intervene in the abuse that was
taking place slipped through the cracks. Now, this is part
of Gabby's story that really infuriates people. Some people believe
that the officers did everything they could, while others think
that they made the wrong decision. I will have to say,
just from my perspective, I do not understand why Gabby
(23:44):
wasn't the one put up in a hotel. It really
doesn't make sense to me that Brian was considered the
victim in this entire situation, especially with Gabby in distress
and visible marks on her But not only that, the
main reason the police pulled them over was because someone
had called nine one one because they saw Brian slapping Gabby,
(24:08):
not the other way around. After the incident in Moab,
Gabby and Brian continued their journey, traveling two hundred and
thirty miles to Salt Lake City, Utah. Around that same time,
Gabby contacts her mother, Nicole and says that Brian is
going to be flying back home to empty out a
storage unit. While Brian flew home, Gabby stayed at a
hotel in Utah working on editing her YouTube video. Now,
(24:31):
one thing I want to note here is that we
don't really have any additional context around why Brian flew
home and what the reason of clearing that storage unit
out was, especially doing it in the midst of their trip.
But we can only speculate here that perhaps things clearly
weren't going well as we can see, and there was
(24:51):
already arrangements being made. Possibly, but again this is all speculation.
Seven days after the incident, on August nineteenth, Gabby posts
her van life video on YouTube. On August twenty second,
Gabby sends a text message to her ex boyfriend Jackson
and says Hi, I'm sure I'm the last person on
(25:12):
the planet that you want to hear from. I'd really
love to talk to you. I'm only alone until tomorrow.
Jackson ends up responding and decides he's just going to
call Gabby and they catch up on life and what
they've both been doing since they last spoke. They also
briefly talked about Gabby and Brian fighting, and Gabby made
a comment to him saying that she had a plan
(25:33):
and she thinks she wants to leave him. She said
she had to figure out how and when to do it,
and according to Jackson, he felt like the call was
a cry for help and that Gabby wanted to get
away but really wasn't sure how to do it safely.
She wasn't sure of what Brian would do or what
he could do now. Jackson plays an important role in
(25:56):
this timeline because he was clearly someone that Gabby trusts
enough to reach out to during this time. To give
some backstory on their relationship, Jackson and Gabby had dated
for a year and he describes Gabby being his first love.
He said he was shocked when he saw on social
media that she and Brian had been traveling around the
country in a van because this was something that they
(26:18):
had talked about doing when they were together. But he
says he saw how happy Gabby looked, and he was
genuinely happy for her now. On August twenty seventh, a
few things happened throughout the day. First, Gabby texts Jackson
to say that she's in Jackson Hole and that it
reminded her of him. At around one pm, Gabby and
Brian go have lunch at Mary Piglet's, and she records
(26:41):
footage during their time there. Later that same day, Jackson
misses a phone call from Gabby, but he was at
work and was unable to answer it. At around two pm,
Gabby and Brian visit the Whole Foods in Jackson, which
is the last known footage of Gabby alive. Gabby's mom
reached out to her around this time, attacks to check
in and see how she was doing, since she had
(27:02):
been concerned about Gabby since the Moab incident. Gabby responded
back saying, I'm fine. I convinced Brian to go camp
out in the woods so I can have the van
to myself. It's what he wants to do anyway, I
don't care. He said I could have the van if
I paid him.
Speaker 10 (27:19):
So.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
Nicole then asked Gabby if they were breaking up naturally,
and Gabby replied no, I just said I could make
more money as a solo female van lifer with a
laughing face, then proceeded to say that she was on
her way to a campsite. On August twenty ninth, a
Wyoming resident that was visiting Grand Teton National Park noticed
a young man walking along hitchhiking near the entrance of
(27:42):
the park. Turns out this young man was Brian. She
said she proceeded to pick him up and offered to
give him a ride. He asked if she could take
him to Jackson, but she said she wasn't going that way.
She was going north, so he asked if she could
take him to the Spread Creek campsite. He said his
fiance was working on their vlog in their van, and
so she agreed. August thirtieth is when Gabby's text messages
(28:06):
to her mother started to become really concerning. A text
was sent from Gabby's phone that day saying, can you
help Stan? I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls.
My phone doesn't even ring there's no service here. But
what stood out to Gabby's mom about that text was
that it says Stan. Now Stan was Gabby's grandpa, and
(28:30):
she never referred to him by his first name. She
always called him Grandpa. But Nicole thought maybe Gabby was driving,
and she had Brian send the message, but after that
all communication from Gabby would completely stop. Her last post
on social media was on August twenty fifth, which was
(28:50):
the last time Gabby and her mom spoke via FaceTime
when they were on their way to grant Tetah National Park.
From September one up until September ninth, Nicole continued to
try and reach out to Gabby with no response, and
finally decided to reach out to Gabby's dad, Joe, to
see if he had heard from her. He said he hadn't,
and everyone started to become really worried. The concern immediately
(29:14):
was that Brian and Gabby may have gotten lost or
were hurt while out camping. On September tenth, Nicole reached
out to Brian's mom, Roberta, asking if she had heard
from either of them, but got no response. A few
hours later, Nicole reached out again to say she hoped
she had the right number, and suddenly her texts were
turning green. Now, if you're an Apple user, you know
(29:37):
with iPhones your text messages are blue, especially if you're
communicating back and forth with another person who has an iPhone.
When a text message turns green, it only indicates two things.
One either if the phone is turned off, or two
you're being blocked. So seems very suspicious right now. Gabby's dad, Joe,
(29:58):
also reached out to Brian's parent, parents, and his sister,
but no one ever responded. He then said he was
going to call the police, and they immediately started their
search for Gabby, hosting on social media and making phone
calls to all the parks police, but they were told
they needed to contact the police department where Gabby lived
in order to file a missing person's report, so they
(30:21):
contacted the Northport Police department. On the evening of September eleventh,
Northport police showed up at the laundry's home and when
they got there, Bryan's parents were very uncooperative.
Speaker 13 (30:32):
Hi, and sure, I apologize for bothering you. I have
to detect them on the phone. You don't want to
talk to us, Okay, she's on the phone. You don't
want to talk to her now, Okay, it's what was
the last time that you saw Brian and Gabriel.
Speaker 5 (30:52):
Well, Brian is here. Brian is here. Yeah, And that's
how I'm saying. And that's why you're saying. Yeah, they've
been calling.
Speaker 8 (31:01):
I don't know them.
Speaker 5 (31:03):
That's the only want to sound on White when the
terns of where Okay the coin? So and give you
his number?
Speaker 13 (31:11):
Who's number?
Speaker 5 (31:11):
The attorney's number?
Speaker 13 (31:12):
Okay, I would like that police, so I can give
it to the detective.
Speaker 7 (31:14):
Thank you.
Speaker 12 (31:16):
Chris is Sergeant Seals are with the police department. Hey, look,
I hate to bother you. I know you've already said
you don't want to speak or don't want to help us.
I'm trying to figure out something for parents. You guys,
as parents, you know, all they want is their daughter
to know that she's safe. So I don't know where
it all started before. I don't know what's transpired. I
(31:40):
don't know anything about that.
Speaker 5 (31:42):
I'm here to know.
Speaker 12 (31:44):
If you guys know anything, it would let the parents
at ease and go from there. We don't know anything, okay,
I mean anything that you guys would be able to
give them, is any type of help last time your
son saw her or anything like that?
Speaker 5 (32:02):
Am I able to talk to your son? The other
officer said, he's not gonna talk an, Okay, we're.
Speaker 12 (32:08):
Not gonna talk.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
An.
Speaker 1 (32:10):
They told police that Brian was there at home with them,
but they didn't know where Gabby was, and they refused
to talk, stating that the officer could contact their attorney.
Can we just take a moment to pause for a second.
How insane does that sound? And suspicious? You're refusing to speak,
your parents are refusing to speak, and they're directing the
(32:33):
police to your lawyer. The only information that the Laundries
provided was that Brian and Gabby had a fight, Brian
flew home and left Gabby at a hotel in Utah.
Side note, we should immediately recognize that this is a
red flag because we know that timeline doesn't add up
(32:53):
and that had already happened prior to the couple visiting
Grand Teetan National Park. Now, as I mentioned, Gabby's van
was in the and obviously is registered in her name,
so the police department was able to have the van toad.
The police were very suspicious and concerned with the Laundry's
behavior naturally right and immediately suspected that they were hiding something.
(33:15):
At this point, no one had heard from Gabby, and
Brian's refusal to cooperate with the police made her family's
worst fears come true. The investigation would soon turn into
a nation wide search, as Brian Laundry was named a
person of interest in Gabby's disappearance.
Speaker 5 (33:33):
I don't know about you, but their child's home.
Speaker 11 (33:36):
My child somewhere in the continental United States, with gill phone,
no car, no not as that it's not as hard
on them.
Speaker 5 (33:46):
As on us tonight. Angry words from a father desperate
to find his.
Speaker 8 (33:51):
Daughter who disappeared on a cross country road trip with
her boyfriend. That boyfriend came home to Northboort. Gabby Potito
did not.
Speaker 3 (34:00):
Last spoke with her mother last month while and Wyoming,
and now the FBI and agencies across the country are
trying to find her.
Speaker 14 (34:06):
Every viewer that's watching this, you know, look at every
picture that you're going to see on this screen, watch
the video. Let her face burn it into your memory.
Your heart is somewhere and we don't know where it is.
Speaker 5 (34:18):
The waiting is just just horrible.
Speaker 12 (34:22):
It's just the worst feeling.
Speaker 15 (34:24):
It's an agonizing wait for Potato and Gabby's stepmother, Terra,
more than three weeks since the last time he facetimed
with his only daughter. He says that call was on
August twenty first. Well, she was in Utah.
Speaker 5 (34:35):
There were no red flags that popped out.
Speaker 14 (34:37):
You know, listen, I'm trying to rack my brain Monday
morning quarterback and you know what I mean, And it's
still nothing's stopping in my head.
Speaker 5 (34:44):
You know, nothing stands out.
Speaker 14 (34:45):
If you want to help somebody, you help somebody.
Speaker 12 (34:49):
We have people across the country helping us, trying to
give any tips, anything that they you know, maybe they
saw hard.
Speaker 15 (34:57):
Potito says he knows missing persons stories don't all way.
He's in well, but he's grateful for everyone helping with
the search, and he's hopeful Gabby will come home soon.
Speaker 14 (35:06):
In my head right now, phones dead, broke, lost, taken, whatever.
Speaker 5 (35:12):
She's wandering the woods.
Speaker 14 (35:14):
She can't find a bearings habits all the time.
Speaker 5 (35:17):
And That's what I'm going with until I'm told otherwise.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
Search efforts were conducted at nearly two thousand miles coast
to coast, including the Grand Teetan National Park, and the
word of Gabby's disappearance spread like wildfire. Gabby's stepfather, Jim,
flew out to Wyoming to assist in the search. The
FBI were brought up to Jackson to help with the investigation.
(35:41):
At this time, they were pulling Gabby's cell phone data
to see if they could locate her last known location.
They had drones, horse teams, and other agencies assisting in
the search, utilizing every resource they could to find Gabby.
In the meantime, the Northport Police Department had surveillance on
the laundry watching their every move. The Laundry residents became
(36:04):
a chaotic scene as protesters constantly stood in front of
their house demanding answers about Gabby's whereabouts. The Laundries, however,
continued to carry on with her everyday life, being completely
uncooperative in the search for Gabby. They even took a
family camping trip with Brian and his sister Cassie to
Fort to Soto. Obviously, this raised even more questions in
(36:26):
speculation about what the Laundry family really knew. Cassie, Brian's sister,
claims that they visited Fort to Soto on September sixth,
and that it was a normal family camping trip. She
claims that she knew nothing and she didn't know what
happened to Gabby. She also said she had no idea
what her parents did or did not know. On September seventeenth,
(36:50):
in a twisted turn of events, the Northport Police Department
got a tip from a caller asking to do a
welfare check on Brian, stating that he's concerned that Brian
is not well and may have overdosed and be dead
in the house. When the police show up at the
laundry residence, they learned that Brian's parents haven't seen him
in days and decide to report him missing. Brian's house
(37:14):
was thoroughly searched by police and evidence was collected. The
most shocking piece of evidence, though, that was found, was
a letter to Brian from his mother, Roberta, that was
titled burn After reading the letter reads, you are my boy.
Nothing can make me stop loving you. Nothing will or
(37:35):
could ever divide us no matter what we do. If
you're in jail, I will bake a cake with a
file in it. If you need to dispose of a body,
I will show up with a shovel and garbage bags.
How vile and disgusting is that? And what a way
to showcase possible involvement right allegedly, But because there was
(37:57):
no proof that a crime was committed at this point,
the police could not make any arrests, so their focus
was back to Gabby and now searching for Brian, police
started reaching out to the public for their help to
see if they could get any potential leads. That's when
a girl named Miranda Baker had posted on TikTok stating
that she and her boyfriend picked up Brian laundry on
(38:19):
August twenty ninth at Grand Teton National Park. This prompted
the other woman who picked up Brian that same day
and drove him to Spread Creek campsite to reach out
to the police and tell them what she knew. This
was important information because police were trying to determine the
exact last known location of the van. If they were
(38:39):
able to track Brian's movements, they would get closer to
confirming that and hopefully find Gabby. It wasn't until fellow
van lifeloggers Jen and Kyle Bethune came forth with a
piece of information that was needed to locate the exact
location of Gabby's van. You see, Jen and Kyle were
visiting the Spread Creek campsite on August twenty seventh. When
(39:01):
Jen was reviewing video footage they took for their YouTube channel,
she realized she had footage of Gabby's van. This allowed
the police to corroborate the information they received from the
phone companies in order to narrow their search. On September nineteenth,
the second day of the full search, police were focusing
on the river bottoms near where Gabby and Brian had
(39:22):
been camping. It was then that the unthinkable happened. One
of the team members spotted human remains. They appeared to
be a young woman. She was lying on her side
and was wrapped up in a sweater. The FBI confirmed
that the remains were Gabby's, and an autopsy later revealed
that she had been strangled and suffered blunt force trauma
(39:44):
to her head and neck. Gabby had been dead for
several weeks before her body was discovered. The last confirmed
date that Gabby was alive was August twenty seventh, and
she wasn't found until September nineteenth. The discovery of Gabby's
body they shifted the investigation into full homicide mode and
they started piecing together all the details of the exact
(40:06):
timeline leading up to Gabby's death. They know that the
last day Gabby was seen alive was on August twenty seventh,
around one pm. Brian and Gabby were at a restaurant
in Jackson called Mary Piglets. While they were there, a
female witnessed Gabby and Brian having an argument. They left abruptly.
Gabby was crying and Brian seemed very angry. At one
(40:31):
forty five pm is when Jackson received the miscall from Gabby.
After that, around two thirteen PM, Gabby and Brian were
seen on camera at Whole Foods, where you can visibly
see Brian slamming the van door in the parking lot
before they proceed inside the store. Once they leave Whole Foods,
they begin the drive up to the Spread Creek area
from Jackson between six pm and six thirty pm. The
(40:54):
video taken by the Bethunes show the van on the
side of the road. At seven fifty fifteen PM, Gabby
sends the last known text message to her mom, where
she stated that she could make more money as a
solo female van Lifer. The police were able to look
back on the usage of Gabby's computer, and at around
eight thirty PM, Gabby was moving computer files around on
(41:16):
her hard drive. So the belief is that she was
alive during that time because the files were video files
and this was consistent with the pattern she had done prior.
By the next day, there was no movement on any
of the devices and no information indicating that Gabby was alive.
The investigation found that Brian killed Gabby that night and
(41:37):
moved her body to where it was found, ultimately staging
the scene. On August twenty eighth, Brian left the Spread
Creek area and hiked up north towards the Culture Bay
camping area. Along the way, he was taking photos. Some
were scenic, but others were disturbing. They were bones of
dead animals. On the twenty ninth, there was cell phone
(42:00):
tower data that showed at one twenty pm, Brian has
a fifty five minute call with his mom, Roberta. His father,
then contacts an attorney. Interesting right. The laundries continue to
communicate back and forth, and cell phone data shows that
while Brian is hiking, he's sending text messages to Gabby's
phone one, saying hey, honey, just calling to let you
(42:23):
know I made it to Colter Bay. I think the
campground is still a little ways up the road. I'm
gonna go check it out. Let me know when you're
on your way. No rush. At five fifty five PM
on the twenty ninth is when Miranda Baker picks up
Brian from Grand Teeton National Park towards Jackson around six
point thirty to six forty five. Brian was then picked
(42:44):
up by resident Norma Jean, and she gave him a
ride to the entrance of the Spread Creek camping area
where he had left the van. The text messages to
Gabby's phone are not read until Brian gets back to
the Spread Creek area where Gabby's phone was left. The
activity between the two phones was almost instantaneous, so Brian
(43:05):
was basically holding both phones and talking directly to himself,
which was apparent that he was trying to create an alibi.
On August thirtieth, Brian departed from Wyoming to travel back
to Florida. This is when a text message is sent
from Gabby's phone to her mother's phone, requesting that she
speaks to Gabby's grandpa because he'd been trying to contact her.
(43:27):
On his way to Florida, he steps at multiple gas stations,
and through bank records, the police can confirm that he
uses Gabby's debit card. There's also a Zell transaction that
takes place around this same time from Gabby to Brian.
There's also a Zel transaction that takes place around the
same time from Gabby to Brian in the amount of
(43:47):
seven hundred dollars, and in the memo of this transaction
it says, goodbye, Brian, I'll never ask you for anything again.
By September twenty third, the FBI had issued an arrest
warrant for Brian Laundry after learning that he had used
Gabby's debit card. The search became extensive, and even Dog
(44:08):
the Bounty Hunter got involved.
Speaker 2 (44:10):
Dog the Bounty Hunter joined this search for Brian Laundry.
Speaker 7 (44:15):
I know the kid knows me.
Speaker 8 (44:17):
Probably one of my vans.
Speaker 5 (44:19):
We get a scent of a trail, we get a cent.
Speaker 9 (44:22):
He's done.
Speaker 1 (44:24):
On September fourteenth, three days before Brian was reported missing
by his parents, police learned that somebody had left their
car at the Mayacahatchie Environmental Park for a substantial amount
of time they ran those plates and it was the
laundry's car. The laundries then pick up the car and
drive it home. They also tell the police that this
(44:46):
spot was a favorite of Brian's to go hiking. Brian
apparently told his parents that he was going for a
hike to release some pressure from the protesters and all
the media about Gabby. He had taken a backpack of
supplies and had planned to be out there for few days.
It was for this reason that the laundries didn't contact
the police about the car, because they believed he would
(45:07):
be returning home on September eighteenth. The search for Brian
officially began in the park where the Mustang was found.
On October twentieth, twenty twenty one. After an extensive search,
Brian's remains were discovered in the park, about a mile
from where his car was parked. Because of the condition
of the park and the extensive flooding that had occurred,
(45:28):
Brian's remains were decomposed down to the bone. A waterproof
bag was found near his remains that contained some photos
of Gabby and a waterproof notebook that Brian had written in.
He wrote multiple letters to his family saying goodbye and
that he loved them. There was also a story in
there leading up to the events of what happened to Gabby.
(45:48):
Brian claims that in a rush to get back to
the van, trying to cross the streams, Gabby had fallen.
He claims that he found Gabby barely breathing and gasping,
and was freezing cold because the temperature had dropped. He
says he pulled Gabby out of the water and that
she couldn't verbialize what was hurting, and continued to make
sounds of pain, violently shaking and begging for an end
(46:12):
to her pain. He then admits he ended her life
and thought it was merciful, but then realized after he
killed her that he couldn't go on without her. Clearly,
the version of Brian's account of what happened is completely
false because we know what the findings of Gabby's autopsy say.
Her main cause of death was manual strangulation. He also
(46:34):
stated in letters that he was sorry to Gabby's family
and mentioned wanting to go to New York to confront
Gabby's stepfather and let him kill him. He also mentions
a request to leave his parents out of this, they
did nothing wrong, but clearly there was a lot that
they did wrong allegedly as we know based on the
timeline of events, and let's not forget the burn after
(46:57):
reading letter that Raperter wrote to Brian. Brian Laundry's death
was ruled a suicide by self inflicted gunshot wound and
the case was officially closed by the FBI, but the
impact of Gabby's death and the subsequent media storm left
a lasting mark on her family and the public. One
year after Gabby's death, her family traveled to spread Craig
(47:20):
to visit the place that Gabby was found. It was
a very emotional and healing trip for everyone that went.
They spread her ashes around the park and felt very
close to Gabby. That day, Gabby's family made the hard
decision to dispose of the van and have it crushed,
but they did keep portions of the van that they
(47:41):
cut out of, certain bumper stickers and areas that they
really wanted to keep, and now they have them on
display in Gabby's mom's house. This story is just so sad,
it really is, and it's a tragic one, one of
a young woman full of life, someone who was just
beginning to live out her dreams. Gabby's case has sparked
(48:03):
conversations about domestic violence, media coverage, and the importance of
missing persons awareness, especially minority groups who are underrepresented in
the media. Her family also supported the passing of Bill
one point seventeen, which is a domestic violence bill that
requires police to ask eleven questions to determine if an
(48:24):
intimate partner is at risk of being hurt or killed.
And on top of that, her family also started the
Gabby Petito Foundation, which works to help other families of
missing persons and raise awareness about domestic violence. Although Gabby's
life was tragically cut short, her legacy lives on and
it's one of love, strength, and inspiration. She truly was
(48:48):
a free spirit who loved nature, art and adventure, and
her story has inspired so many to be more aware
of the warning signs of domestic violence and the importance
of being there for one another. Gabby's case has ignited
a movement, and we all owe it to her memory
to continue fighting for justice and raising awareness about these issues.
(49:11):
To learn more about the Gabby Potito Foundation and how
you can support their work, Lise, visit their website at
gabbypotitofoundation dot org. I'll also leave the link in the
show notes below, and if you or someone you love
is a victim of domestic violence, please contact the Domestic
Violence Hotline at one eight hundred seven nine to nine
(49:32):
seven two three three. Thank you all so much for
joining me for today's episode of True cremin Headlines and
for listening to Gabby's story. If you'd like to hear
more stories like Gabby's, we recently released season two of
our podcasters Give Back collaboration You Should be Here called
or No. Every podcaster donated their time, their research, and
(49:55):
their voices to help advocate for victims of domestic violence
in all fi un raised go to organizations that stand
against domestic violence and help those who have been impacted
by it. There's a total of sixteen episodes available to
listen now wherever you get your podcasts, and make sure
to tune in next week for two new episodes of
(50:16):
True Kremen Headlines. And remember, You're loved, you matter, and
you deserve to be here. I'll catch you in the
next episode. Bye, guys. Fire Eyes Media
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