Gabby Petito

[NotUrsula]

... And the searchers are back in Carlton Reserve, but this time the searchers are all law enforcement, and it apparently looks a lot more like a manhunt.

The reserve is mostly prairie and palmetto scrub, with some pines, but the Myakka River runs right through it. It connects to the Myakka River State Park, which is enormous, and the river itself runs out into Gasparilla Sound. Laundrie was by all accounts an avid outdoorsman, but it isn't clear to me just how much experience he has on water in that area. Given a kayak and motivation, an experienced waterman could easily get himself up to Port Manatee and onto a departing cargo ship in the time span between when his parents say he went out for his hike and when the police started actively looking for him. He could get a heck of a lot further than that if he got his hands on a powerboat big enough for open water, but the Gulf at this time of year is no place for amateurs in small craft. If it really is a run to leave the country, my money is on bribing his way onto a cargo ship crew.

I've thought since I first heard that he returned alone that going back to that part of Florida was a logical first step in trying to get out of the country; it's probably one of the easiest places in the US to deliberately disappear without having to deal with ICE.

The Associated Press has a very interesting story about the influence of social media on public interest in this case: https://apnews.com/article/gabby-pe...nvestigation-d2e9a5d627c2f39b5633174239c3beaf

 

[Marrila]

https://www.foxnews.com/us/gabby-petito-utah-fight-brian-laundrie-witness-statement
This is a witness statement, it doesn't say anything about him hitting her. He said it looked like he was trying to take her phone and leave her. He said she was punching him in the arm. He also saw them get in the car so he witnessed them the same time the caller did.

Your article omits what happened on the sidewalk before. The 911 call transcript is helpful to get a clearer picture.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Is a 911 call not considered official?

I'm not sure if it's considered official in the context we're talking about comparing to a police report.

There's multiple conversations here. If the call isn't considered official or at the very least an incomplete picture of what occurred it doesn't mean it won't be used for information. I think just like they are using her social media posts, her facetime, her text, other eyewitness reports, evidence from the home and the van, etc. But any one of those may not result or amount to something in terms of the result of the case.

One thing I was thinking of when talking about the 911 caller and what it contained is how sometimes a video pops up on social media and we know it's only a snippet of time. It's gives us an impression of what happened. I've seen some of our local police departments opt to release full body cam video due to social media posts and it's like a completely different story being told (just using this as an example). I am not really saying that's what happened here with the 911 caller I'm just saying he can only tell the 911 operator what he saw but that doesn't always give the full situation and it's not always what ends up being what happened. And for the police they have to get there and do their own investigating. The snippet of body cam footage from Gabby and Brian that I was able to see it sounded to me at least the police officer was at least trying to talk to Gabby in a calm supportive voice.

 

[Sinder]

Your article omits what happened on the sidewalk before. The 911 call transcript is helpful to get a clearer picture.

Thank you for pointing that out. Guess it shows that witnesses don't always see the whole story. I said it earlier in the thread that maybe the other witness that called in saw Brian defending himself when she was hitting him with her phone. That is a possibility.
This witness said he thinks he had her phone and they were fighting over it, he said he thinks he was trying to take her phone and leave her. Probably because she hit him with it, but this witness didn't appear to see that part of their exchange either. I don't think it's so black and white what happened at that store. YMMV.

 

[VandVsmama]

Disclaimer: I am NOT blaming the deceased for anything. Just making an observation.
</end disclaimer>

It's pretty turbo OCD and neurotic to have a compulsion to clean your camper van for hours every day. If you have those sorts of issues, maybe going on a months/year-long cross-country camping road trip isn't the wisest choice. Camping involves getting dirty. If your fiance/boyfriend getting into the van with dirty shoes sets you off into the stratosphere, it's probably time to go get some medical help and therapy to help you sort through that.

 

[Heigh-Ho]

it apparently looks a lot more like a manhunt.

I've thought since I first heard that he returned alone that going back to that part of Florida was a logical first step in trying to get out of the country; it's probably one of the easiest places in the US to deliberately disappear without having to deal with ICE.

Do you think he is hiding out there hoping they don't find him or that he's trying to escape the u.s. somehow. It's high profile now I don't know if he could escape undetected but I can see him trying to stick it out in the wilderness hoping to evade enforcement officers.

 

[tzolkin]

Even if he was getting his face smashed by a phone? Why?

Because isn't the definition of a one-sided attack that there's only one side participating? You may find it justified to hit someone back who has initiated a physical altercation with you, but once you have joined in it's no longer completely one sided.

I suppose I also just don't believe him to be 100% the victim because I have never seen someone grab someone else by the face and shove them up against a car/wall/whatever who was a completely innocent and abused individual. If she was hitting him, I could certainly see him putting his arms up defensively or pushing her off himself. But grabbing her by the face and witnesses stating that they saw him slapping her just gives me the impression that the physical violence was mutual and a "normal" part of a toxic relationship.

I just don't think it was a one-off one-sided incident. I think it's a pattern of behavior that they both participated in.

Is this speculative and making assumptions? of course. But I think that everyone's responses here are based on their own experiences. Personally, I cannot fathom ANY situation where my husband would grab me by my face and shove me up against the car. I think even if I had some sort of mental breakdown and was assaulting him or doing something dangerous that type of threatening response would not even enter his mind. He may need to use physical force but I think it would still be done in a loving and respectful manner.

If the above poster is correct, and I'm assuming they are, the police interviewed mor than just the two of them and that included the 911 caller. Am I reading Pea-n-Me's post incorrectly?

My reading of the police report sounded like they interviewed witnesses (one named Christopher), but that was not the same witness as the 911 caller. Officer Pratt states they stopped at the Moonflower to see if there were any witnesses still in the area.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

My reading of the police report sounded like they interviewed witnesses (one named Christopher), but that was not the same witness as the 911 caller. Officer Pratt states they stopped at the Moonflower to see if there were any witnesses still in the area.

It was, though. As I’ve said, Christopher changed what he said from the time of the call, to what he wrote in his official witness statement.

Directly from the article that was posted:

The 911 caller who reported the domestic incident between Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie in Moab, Utah, believed that the couple was fighting over a phone and that Laundrie may have been trying to ditch his fiancée, according to a witness statement obtained by Fox News.

"They were talking aggressively [at] each other [and] something definitely seemed off," the witness, identified only as Christopher, wrote. "At one point, they were sort of fighting over a phone – I think the male took the female’s phone. It appeared that he didn’t want her in the white van."

The male, believed to be Laundrie, got into the driver’s seat, according to Christopher, and the woman, believed to be Petito, followed. It happened outside the Moonflower Cooperative – an organic grocery store in downtown Moab.

I actually questioned whether there was a second caller/witness myself while reading the article. But on re-read, I don’t think so. The article posted just one hour ago is more like the original article that I read (which also perhaps came from the witness statement) in which Christopher seemed more to put into context what he’d seen once he knew more of their story (ie why he was grabbing her phone, because she’d hit him in the face with it, and why he was trying to get distance from her, etc.).

Also in the article

Christopher’s statement also reports that he "noticed another person had called this in." Authorities told Fox News that they had no record of a second call.

Definitely a little confusing.

 

[Sinder]

It was, though. As I’ve said, Christopher changed what he said from the time of the call, to what he wrote in his official witness statement.

Directly from the article that was posted:

The 911 caller who reported the domestic incident between Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie in Moab, Utah, believed that the couple was fighting over a phone and that Laundrie may have been trying to ditch his fiancée, according to a witness statement obtained by Fox News.

"They were talking aggressively [at] each other [and] something definitely seemed off," the witness, identified only as Christopher, wrote. "At one point, they were sort of fighting over a phone – I think the male took the female’s phone. It appeared that he didn’t want her in the white van."

The male, believed to be Laundrie, got into the driver’s seat, according to Christopher, and the woman, believed to be Petito, followed. It happened outside the Moonflower Cooperative – an organic grocery store in downtown Moab.

I actually questioned whether there was a second caller/witness myself while reading the article. But on re-read, I don’t think so. The article posted just one hour ago is more like the original article that I read (which also perhaps came from the witness statement) in which Christopher seemed more to put into context what he’d seen once he knew more of their story (ie why he was grabbing her phone, because she’d hit him in the face with it, and why he was trying to get distance from her, etc.).

Also in the article

Christopher’s statement also reports that he "noticed another person had called this in." Authorities told Fox News that they had no record of a second call.

Definitely a little confusing.

Wow, I read that as a different statement than the one that said he was slapping her.

So he called in and said he saw Brian slapping her but then changed his statement that didn't include that info?

 

[NotUrsula]

Do you think he is hiding out there hoping they don't find him or that he's trying to escape the u.s. somehow. It's high profile now I don't know if he could escape undetected but I can see him trying to stick it out in the wilderness hoping to evade enforcement officers.

It could be either one, or it could actually be a suicide situation as the family seems to believe, but the business of leaving the car and having the family retrieve it by means of leaving a note on it, looks an awful lot like an attempt to redirect attention long enough to buy time to get far away. He would not have needed a 4-day head start to melt into the swamp, but 4 days would have been plenty enough time to scrounge up enough cash and get out of the US undetected if he went by boat.

If he is choosing to hide he could potentially manage it for years as long as he has left his family out of the loop. (They would be the weak point, with communication lines easy to watch.) I grew up in that kind of terrain with a father who was a waterman; if you really want to go off-grid it's a fairly easy place to do it, and the reason for that is natural abundance. I'm sure a lot of people might ask why go off the grid in more-populated Florida vs. the wide-open spaces in the West? The answer to that is that it is much harder to live off the land and avoid air surveillance in a desert than it is in wetlands, and boats (especially really small boats) are much harder to track than land vehicles. Even working is possible; there is a lot of cash work to be had in the agricultural and marine sectors in that area. There is plenty of fresh water and wild food available, and plenty of abandoned property and even caves that can be used as shelter.

Still, I think that leaving the country entirely (last week) would be the better option for a full escape, particularly running to somewhere that has wilderness where he can work on a cash basis.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Wow, I read that as a different statement than the one that said he was slapping her.

So he called in and said he saw Brian slapping her but then changed his statement that didn't include that info?

I think so, unless someone else has a different read on it and I am misunderstanding.

 

[Sinder]

I think so, unless someone else has a different read on it.

That is confusing, why would he leave that info out of his written statement?
I guess that explains why the cops never got that info then though.

 

[Wendy31]

Because isn't the definition of a one-sided attack that there's only one side participating? You may find it justified to hit someone back who has initiated a physical altercation with you, but once you have joined in it's no longer completely one sided.

I suppose I also just don't believe him to be 100% the victim because I have never seen someone grab someone else by the face and shove them up against a car/wall/whatever who was a completely innocent and abused individual. If she was hitting him, I could certainly see him putting his arms up defensively or pushing her off himself. But grabbing her by the face and witnesses stating that they saw him slapping her just gives me the impression that the physical violence was mutual and a "normal" part of a toxic relationship.

I just don't think it was a one-off one-sided incident. I think it's a pattern of behavior that they both participated in.

Is this speculative and making assumptions? of course. But I think that everyone's responses here are based on their own experiences. Personally, I cannot fathom ANY situation where my husband would grab me by my face and shove me up against the car. I think even if I had some sort of mental breakdown and was assaulting him or doing something dangerous that type of threatening response would not even enter his mind. He may need to use physical force but I think it would still be done in a loving and respectful manner.


My reading of the police report sounded like they interviewed witnesses (one named Christopher), but that was not the same witness as the 911 caller. Officer Pratt states they stopped at the Moonflower to see if there were any witnesses still in the area.

I agree.

From what I’ve seen & read, both Gabby & Brian appear to have been emotionally immature with different mental issues complicating what looks like to have been a toxic, volatile relationship - on both sides. I mean, we’ve all known couples like this - most, thankfully, don’t end in tragedy.

I’d be interested in knowing whether, at any point, in their relationship, any friends or family members had seen troubling signs, or if most people in their “circle” were like Brian’s sister. I read an interview w/ her where she said they all loved Gabby, & she thought of her as a sister… she painted a happy, family picture.

Gabby & Brian were apparently high school sweethearts, & she lived w/ Brian & his parents. Were her parents okay w/ the arrangement? Did they ever see anything concerning?

For me, as a mother, if I saw anything at all, even the least little thing, before my daughter went traveling cross-country in a van w/ a guy, I’d voice my concerns to her. And, actually, in thinking about it, even if I didn’t necessarily see any troubling signs in my daughter’s relationship w/ her boyfriend, if I knew my daughter had OCD & anxiety & her boyfriend had issues as well, I would have cautioned my daughter & urged her to really think things through before making the kind of trip they were planning. But, apparently, her parents didn’t see anything worrying because, if they did, I‘d think that, in the days when they were begging Brian & his parents to talk, they would have said that that they had warned Gabby or had had misgivings from the beginning. It doesn’t seem like Gabby’s mom was worried until she received the Yosemite text. (And I’m not blaming Gabby’s parents. To me, it would just be interesting to know how Gabby & BrIan’s relationship played out in front of their family & friends before this trip.)

Did being on the road 24/7 w/ each other in a cramped van trigger something or did it escalate an already toxic relationship that they had hidden from family & friends?

I originally thought that, maybe, after they got back together after the police separated them that possibly they had another fight & he either left her or she left him & he went back to Florida. And, then, being scared & feeling guilty/embarrassed at leaving her by herself, he stayed silent - w/ the help of his parents, afraid that whatever he said would make himself look guilty once she was officially “missing.“

However, now I’m thinking he probably did kill her - maybe accidentally or maybe a fight got way out of hand & things escalated into a very tragic consequence, but I don’t think it was probably intentional or premeditated on his part. And he fled home to his parents, who are covering from him & maybe even assisting him in getting out of the country.

 

[sasywtch]

I think the police in Utah did all they could. They tracked them down after they left the co-op, separated them to interview, had a female officer present to talk to Gabby, took Brian somewhere to cool off for the night (a lot is made of the police leaving Gabby with the van, but she may not have wanted him to have the van if she thought he would drive off with it.) If only they had decided to pack it in and go home. must be difficult with hindsight, since the young lady has apparently turned up dead and the guy turned tail and ran.

From what the audio of the 911 call says, it does sound like he slapped her first.

Having dealt with similar while working at the Sheriff's Dept, I believe the van was registered to Gabby. If so, the officer's could not turn the van over to Laundrie. We had male/female situation. The house was in the male's name. The female had to find somewhere else to stay that night even though we thought the male should have to find somewhere else to stay.

 

[Stratman50th]

So, since everyone is speculating, I'll have a go.
I think they pulled off on the side of the road. One of them got out and the other followed in an attempt to keep the other from walking away. It doesn't matter who did what. There was pushing and shoving. She tripped and fell, or was pushed away or down. As a result she was fatally injured. He panicked and fled.
He doesn't seem the type to be a stone cold killer. I think if he was involved whatever happened was an accident. A very unfortunate one to be sure.
I don't know how much the parents knew, if anything. Why did they lawyer up. Pretty easy to figure evidenced by the overwhelming response I've read here claiming that the kid is completely and unquestionably guilty of gruesome and premeditated murder.
My guess is he fled from his home and is possibly gator chow by now. I think he truly cared for her and might simply have gone off and taken his own life.
Will we ever know what happened? Unless my guess is correct and he left a note explaining what happened, we just may never know. Don't expect a CSI type wrap up from the autopsy either. There might not be enough left of her to come up with a finding.
Time will tell.
One thing I do know for sure from experience, things are frequently not as they seem to be and news reports a lot of times can be way off from reality.
I haven't been following events as closely as the rest of you, and won't be. I've had enough in real life to last me. I'll wait till the official reports are out.

 

[PinkPixel]

Disclaimer: I am NOT blaming the deceased for anything. Just making an observation.
</end disclaimer>

It's pretty turbo OCD and neurotic to have a compulsion to clean your camper van for hours every day. If you have those sorts of issues, maybe going on a months/year-long cross-country camping road trip isn't the wisest choice. Camping involves getting dirty. If your fiance/boyfriend getting into the van with dirty shoes sets you off into the stratosphere, it's probably time to go get some medical help and therapy to help you sort through that.

It wasn’t just a vacation/trip for them. They were attempting to build a social media following/brand. There’s a video on her Instagram of a perfectly clean camping tent interior that they have stylized like a minimalist form of what used to be called “glamping”. If they were using the van as set for their videos and posts and he was going barefoot and not cleaning his feet before getting in, that sounds like the makings of a toxic argument. He even went in depth with posts showing restaurant style presentation fish that he was cooking in the camper.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

ABC News posted Brian's sister's images of postcards that Gabby sent apparently to Brian's nephews. She sent them all, not him.

It is seeming as though the travel blogger van living lifestyle was her dream, and he went along with it, and they fully intended that they would live in the van and travel all the time, but to make any money off a blog or YouTube you need to update frequently, curate photos, write text, assemble and edit videos and all he really wanted to do was hike. She was doing all the work. He may have gotten so he didn't like it. But when that happens, you go home. You don't knock off your partner and run. It's also still possible there was an accident and he couldn't handle it, although it looks worse than that. More evidence will be forthcoming.

 

[JimMIA]

One thing I do know for sure from experience, things are frequently not as they seem to be and news reports a lot of times can be way off from reality.

I haven't been following events as closely as the rest of you, and won't be. I've had enough in real life to last me. I'll wait till the official reports are out.

Agree. I have no idea what happened to either one of them.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

ABC News posted Brian's sister's images of postcards that Gabby sent apparently to Brian's nephews. She sent them all, not him.

It is seeming as though the travel blogger van living lifestyle was her dream, and he went along with it but all he really wanted to do was hike. She was doing all the work. He may have gotten so he didn't like it. But when that happens, you go home. You don't knock off your partner and run.

Yeah I mentioned this pages back about the postcards. She seemed like she was having a good time at least and excited about the different places. You may be right about him just going along with it or maybe it seemed more like it would be a fun trip but actually being there for all that time was not what he had pictured (of course that could be her too feeling that way).

 

[TheIncredibles!]

As a person with OCD and Anxiety I wonder if she somehow unintentionally hurt herself during a "flight" episode. If she was triggered, it's possible she went to run off somewhere, escape etc and the situation ended up fatal. We may never know.

I'd also like to know where his parents though she was when he came home alone with the car. *** was on their minds those 10 days until her family reported Gabby missing? Jerks.