This article discusses murder, suicide, and domestic violence.
Netflix’s true-crime documentary, Gabby Petito: American Murder, features some shocking reveals about the events that occurred before and after the death of the 22-year-old woman. Told through interviews with the police, video footage, Gabby’s friends, and family, her diary, and an unnerving AI recreation of Gabby Petito’s voice, the docuseries delves into Gabby and Brian Laundrie’s complex relationship and its tragic ending. Gabby’s disappearance in 2021 made headlines and grabbed the attention of several Americans who were wondering what had happened to her.
Gabby and Brian began their relationship in March 2019, and while it looked like they were a happy couple online, the Netflix docuseries reveals that there were darker things happening behind the scenes. An aspiring travel blogger, Petito’s life was cut short at an early age before she could realize her dreams. Her disappearance and subsequent murder not only became a media sensation, but prompted documentaries that delved into who she was, her relationship with her fiancé, and her tragic death.
8.Roberta Laundrie And Gabby Petito Had A Contentious Relationship
From The Start, Their Relationship Was Troubled
A few months after Petito and Laundrie began dating, they decided to move to Florida with Laundrie’s parents. At first, Gabby and Roberta Laundrie seemed to get along and his parents were happy to have her living with them. However, things took a dark turn when Roberta began to show that she didn’t really care for Gabby or her relationship with her son. Although Roberta didn’t outright state her dislike for Petito, she did a few things that made it clear she didn’t want her in her home.
There were times when Roberta refused to cook dinner for Petito, leaving her with no choice but to find somewhere else to eat. Petito complained to Laundrie about his mother’s behavior, and to his credit, he believed her because that was not the first time that Roberta had acted that way. The 22-year-old woman also let her mother know what was happening in the Laundrie home, who in turn encouraged her daughter to leave and go back to Long Island.
7.Brian Laundrie Was Reportedly Possessive
A Friend Claimed Laundrie Was Trying To Isolate Petito
Following Laundrie and Petito’s move to Florida, the latter found herself lonely with no friends and family. While on Bumble, she made a friend, Rose Davis, who is featured in the Netflix documentary. Petito and Davis quickly became close, causing Laundrie to become jealous of their relationship. According to Davis, Laundrie wanted Petito all to himself and didn’t like it when she had other people to depend on.
According to Davis, Laundrie wanted Petito all to himself and didn’t like it when she had other people to depend on.
Petito confided in Davis about certain things that were happening between her and Laundrie, but she didn’t really delve into how explosive their arguments could get. A few months into Petito and Davis’s relationship, the former decided to go on a cross-country road trip with her fiancé, a move that Davis thinks was meant to separate them. The two did keep in touch while Petito was away from Florida, but they were not as close as they were before.
6.Brian Laundrie Allegedly Abused Petito
A Witness Reported A Domestic Altercation In Arches National Park
Although it was clear that Laundrie and Petito didn’t have a perfect relationship, the extent to which dark things could get between them was something that outsiders weren’t privy to. On August 12, 2021, a few days before Petito went missing, a witness reported that they saw Laundrie “slapping Petito” while they were on their way to Arches National Park. The police stopped the couple and proceeded to question them separately in order to find out what was going on between them.
Following Petito’s death, a new law, the 12 Questions Bill or Gabby Petito Act, was passed in Florida, in order for law enforcement to change how they handle domestic violence cases.
The police body-cam footage used in the Netflix docuseries reveals that Petito and Laundrie had gotten into a fight. Petito, who was dealing with anxiety at the time of the incident, had scratched Laundrie during their altercation, prompting the police to see her as the aggressor and dismissing the case as a “mental health crisis” after encouraging the couple to spend the night apart. Law enforcement’s handling of the situation was scrutinized and criticized in the wake of Petito’s murder.
5.Gabby Contacted Her Ex-Boyfriend A Few Hours Before She Went Missing
He Didn’t Pick Up The Second Time, Sadly
During most of her relationship with Laundrie after they left Florida, Petito was focused on getting her YouTube channel and travel blog off the ground, so she only kept in touch with a few people. However, Petito contacted an ex-boyfriend, Jackson, a few days prior to her death. According to Jackson, he and Petito spent most of the time catching up about what was going on in their lives.
Jackson, who had never spoken out publicly about Petito’s brutal murder, stated that she didn’t seem happy and was planning on leaving Laundrie. Because of this, Petito’a ex-boyfriend concluded that Laundrie got wind of the fact that they were talking and murdered her for it. The Netflix true crime documentary also reveals that Petito had called Jackson a few hours before she disappeared, but he didn’t pick up.
4.Roberta & Christopher Laundrie Refused To Talk To The Police
The Actions Of Laundrie’s Parents Has Been Heavily Scrutinized In The Aftermath
When Petito disappeared, Laundrie was the one person that could point the police to her whereabouts seeing as they were together before she went missing. At the time, law enforcement tried to get in contact with his parents, Roberta and Christopher Laundrie, hoping that they could tell them where the son was. However, the Laundries refused to say anything about Petito’s disappearance and told law enforcement to get in contact with their lawyer.
The Laundries’ refusal to cooperate with the police not only sparked public outrage, but also raised questions about their involvement in Petito’s disappearance.
The Laundries’ refusal to cooperate with the police not only sparked public outrage, but also raised questions about their involvement in Petito’s disappearance. Petito’s parents also tried to contact Roberta and Christopher Laundrie, but their messages went unanswered, even when her parents said they would involve the police. When Petito’s father traveled to Florida to search for his daughter, the Laundries didn’t want to see him, either.
3.Brian Returned Home Without Gabby
There Were Inconsistencies In Laundrie’s Story
Two people went on a cross-country road trip, but only one of them returned. Before Petito disappeared, her mother tried to get in contact with her but didn’t get a response. Days of radio silence from Petito went on, and her mother, who was starting to worry at that point, asked her father if he had heard from her, to which he responded in the negative.
The Netflix documentary reveals that Petito and Laundrie had parted ways before she was reported missing. He had taken a flight back to Florida while she remained camping in their van. However, there were some inconsistencies in Laundrie’s story, seeing as the van was found at his parents’ house, although he had claimed to have flown to Florida. The fact that he was there and Petito wasn’t, made him a person of interest.
2.Roberta Wrote Brian A Letter Before He Went Missing
The Letter Was Incredibly Incriminating But Not Enough To Act As Evidence
One of the most interesting reveals from Gabby Petito: American Murder was the letter that Roberta Laundrie wrote to Brian Laundrie. When the police impounded the van, they found a letter from Roberta to her son that made them suspect his parents to have played a role in what happened to Petito. In the letter, Roberta stated that she would “bake a cake with a file” inside if he “were in jail,” and she would also “show up with a shovel and garbage bags” if he needed to bury a body.
Roberta’s letter was incredibly incriminating, more so because she said Laudire should burn it after reading it.
Roberta’s letter was incredibly incriminating, more so because she said Laudire should burn it after reading it. The letter goes on to say that she would “get new guts” if her son hated hers, further showing that there was nothing she wasn’t willing to do for him. Although she has denied saying that the contents of her letter had anything to do with Petito, it’s still suspicious because it was discovered after the 22-year-old went missing.
1.Brian Laundrie Took His Own Life Before The Police Found Him
He Confessed To Her Murder In His Suicide Note
After Laundrie returned to his parents’ home in Florida, he too went missing, with his father and mother claiming that he had gone camping. Meanwhile, the police were looking for Laundrie, who was a person of interest in Petito’s disappearance. Unfortunately, Laundrie’s body was discovered in Florida’s Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park two months after he had returned home to Florida without Gabby.
Gabby Petito: American Murder sheds light on what happened during the young woman’s final moments. According to Laundrie’s handwritten note, he had heard “a gasp and a scream” and found his fianceé “freezing.” He goes on to state that she asked him to take her pain away, and so he proceeded to end her life. At the time, Laundrie thought it was merciful to end her life, but he instantly regretted his decision. Although Laundrie returned home without Petito, he ended his own life after realizing he “couldn’t go on without her”.
