A young couple with a tragic ending: Brian Laundrie, 23, and Gabby Petito, 22, were high school sweethearts who seemingly had a blossoming relationship with bright futures ahead.
They got engaged in July of 2020. Brian made a post on Instagram as well that stated, “Until death do us part. I’m so happy she said yes.”
December 2020, the young couple purchased a traveling van and posted to social media, “New van means new adventures.”
ABC News reported that according to the Petito family attorney, the pair had gotten engaged but postponed their wedding plans because of the pandemic and decided to take the trip instead.
Reaching Moab City, Utah, on August 12, the relationship took a turn as the couple had an altercation while driving, causing the van to hit the curb of the road causing police to pull the van over. Signs of a physical altercation were noted when police on the scene saw Brian’s scratches on his arms, face, and neck, as stated in the police camera.
Police separated them, having Brian stay in a hotel for the night and Gabby taking the van. A few days after the altercation, Brian headed home to Florida for a few days and then returned to reconnect with Gabby on August 23.
They were last seen together at a restaurant when a woman, Nina Celia Angelo, went to Instagram speaking of an argument that involved Brian and Gabby.
Angelo told ABC News. “It wasn’t necessarily between them, it was more so Gabby abruptly leaving the restaurant crying, and Brian was just evidently really upset, pissed off, I would say. I would say Gabby was upset, he was angry, and he was just being very temperamental towards the restaurant staff.”
On August 30, according to a warrant filed by the North Port Police Department weeks later, a detective wrote that Petito’s mother “received an ‘odd text’ from Gabby. The text message read, ‘Can you help Stan, I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls.’ The reference to ‘Stan,’ was regarding her grandfather, but per the mother, she never calls him ‘Stan.'”
This message worried Gabby’s mother, giving her the feeling that something was wrong because that was not a typical message that Gabby would send.
On September 1, Brain returned home again alone but this time with the traveling van. After no communication with Brian Laundrie’s family and no word from Gabby, the Petito family reported their daughter missing. Police went to the Laundrie home looking to get answers from Brian but were presented with a lawyer’s phone number.
By September 15, Brian was named a person of interest due to his silence and lack of contribution to finding where or what happened to Gabby.
His attorney issued the following statement on behalf of his client, addressing his silence and lack of participation in finding Gabby.
“Many people are wondering why Mr. Laundrie would not make a statement or speak with law enforcement in the face of Ms. Petito’s absence. In my experience, intimate partners are often the first-person law enforcement focuses their attention on in cases like this, and the warning that ‘any statement made will be used against you’ is true, regardless of whether my client had anything to do with Ms. Petito’s disappearance. As such, on the advice of counsel, Mr. Laundrie is not speaking on the matter.”
The next day, Gabby’s father spoke, begging for answers and asking the Laundrie’s to speak up, feeling that their silence was not benefiting the investigation. The family attorney also spoke, wishing Brian would come forth and speak to them.
After hearing the Petito family’s statement on Good Morning America, Brian’s older sister, Cassie Laundrie, broke her silence. “Obviously, me and my family want Gabby to be found safe,” she said. “She’s like a sister, and my children love her, and all I want is for her to come home safe and found, and this to be just a big misunderstanding.”
The following day, the Laundrie family reported that Brian Laundrie had gone missing. In a dual search, they were looking for Brian in a vast Florida wildlife reserve, and across the country looking for clues to find Gabby in a Wyoming national park.
Later after continuously searching, a body was found, and on September 21, an autopsy confirmed the body was Gabby Petito. It was determined her cause of death was from being strangled.
Still, with no signs of finding Brian Laundrie, his family plead for him to come home, and the family joined the police in the search of their lost family member.
On October 20, investigators discovered human remains at a Florida preserve near a backpack and notebook belonging to Brian Laundrie. On October 21, the remains were confirmed to be Brian.
The Petito family has requested that they be left to their privacy as they are not looking to do any interviews or make any statements. The Laundrie family has chosen to remain silent as well and do not plan to have a funeral, cremating the remains.