Gabby Petito

[MakiraMarlena]

Living in a tiny van for a month is probably nowhere near as much fun as bloggers can make it look.

 

[Wendy31]

The #VanLife social media life style is really popular right now & very “vogue” among a lot of young-mid twenties. The successful vanlifers on social media paint a very glamorous, appealing life… living freely & traveling from one gorgeous, adventurous spot to the next.

But the reality is a lot different, & some social media van life personalities have even posted “this is the reality” type vlogs to let people know that the reality of living in your van 24/7 isn’t all fun & games. There are downsides to the lifestyle. It’s often messy & uncertain, & things can even get scary. And if you’re going to make it your “career” & earn enough money off it to survive, keeping up w/ the social media aspect - the filming, the editing, the endless posts, the communication w/ fans - is not only difficult, I’m sure it can get tiresome very quickly too.

One popular vanlifer just recently committed suicide.

I think the lifestyle is probably attractive for different reasons to those who may already tend to have anxious or depressive-type personalities.

And, if both partners aren’t into #vanlife & everything it entails, I could see it being really difficult & really isolating.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Yes, and it's frequently done when the family doesn't like the official result. Pathologists will often perform a second autopsy pro bono in order to get publicity.

But a second autopsy is nothing like the first because organs have been removed, fluids have been removed, and the body has been cleaned and embalmed.

Assuming there IS an intact body… heartbreaking

 

[Lumpy1106]

The #VanLife social media life style is really popular right now & very “vogue” among a lot of young-mid twenties. The successful vanlifers on social media paint a very glamorous, appealing life… living freely & traveling from one gorgeous, adventurous spot to the next.

But the reality is a lot different, & some social media van life personalities have even posted “this is the reality” type vlogs to let people know that the reality of living in your van 24/7 isn’t all fun & games. There are downsides to the lifestyle. It’s often messy & uncertain, & things can even get scary. And if you’re going to make it your “career” & earn enough money off it to survive, keeping up w/ the social media aspect - the filming, the editing, the endless posts, the communication w/ fans - is not only difficult, I’m sure it can get tiresome very quickly too.

One popular vanlifer just recently committed suicide.

I think the lifestyle is probably attractive for different reasons to those who may already tend to have anxious or depressive-type personalities.

And, if both partners aren’t into #vanlife & everything it entails, I could see it being really difficult & really isolating.

Yeah, Kara and Nate in particular make it look so easy (and fun) but if you search back through their LONG library or videos you'll find at least one where they talk at length about how they struggled to make it work. Spoiler alert: they thought it through - A LOT, and stayed realistic. If it looks like they will run out of money they head home. Not only that, but the van life came after a lot of lessons learned with the global travel.

 

[NotUrsula]

This is a really interesting memoir about the stresses of the #vanlife lifestyle. Note that the author and his GF deliberately did NOT do the social media aspect: https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/exploration-survival/van-life-difficulties/

 

[penn19]

They were high school sweethearts, they lived together with his parents, I don’t understand why folks are judging their relationship on one incident. If their relationship was unhealthy I can’t imagine his parents would continue to allow them to live together in their home, or why Gabby’s parents wouldn’t have mentioned it when talking to the media or police.

A friend of hers said there were red flags in the relationship and he tried to keep her from friends/family. I will see if I can find the article I read.

 

[mom2rtk]

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.

A major part of the reason for the overwhelming response is BECAUSE he clammed up, lawyered up and ran off.

I've missed a lot, but I'm not sure anyone here thinks he's unquestionably guilty of premeditated murder. My own guess is that he killed her, or there was an accident of some sort, but I personally don't think it was premeditated.

 

[VandVsmama]

The #VanLife social media life style is really popular right now & very “vogue” among a lot of young-mid twenties. The successful vanlifers on social media paint a very glamorous, appealing life… living freely & traveling from one gorgeous, adventurous spot to the next.

But the reality is a lot different, & some social media van life personalities have even posted “this is the reality” type vlogs to let people know that the reality of living in your van 24/7 isn’t all fun & games. There are downsides to the lifestyle. It’s often messy & uncertain, & things can even get scary. And if you’re going to make it your “career” & earn enough money off it to survive, keeping up w/ the social media aspect - the filming, the editing, the endless posts, the communication w/ fans - is not only difficult, I’m sure it can get tiresome very quickly too.

One popular vanlifer just recently committed suicide.

I think the lifestyle is probably attractive for different reasons to those who may already tend to have anxious or depressive-type personalities.

And, if both partners aren’t into #vanlife & everything it entails, I could see it being really difficult & really isolating.

Very valid points!

The constant comparing oneself to other people's seemingly glamorous Instagram lives certainly has the potential to lead one down a darker mental health path. A friend of a friend has a 25 yr old son who's been hospitalized a couple of times for suicidal ideation (he's bipolar) and the son's psychiatrist has specifically told him to stay off of social media because it's such a huge trigger for him.

Quite awhile ago (don't know how many years ago), Adam the Woo had a series of videos on Youtube where he posted a daily Youtube video on his van excursions. But his videos were of him basically rambling and talking for 15-20 min in one location. He'd talk about all sorts of different topics. Then the next day, his video of the day would be from wherever he was on that day.

He talked in a couple of his videos about how time consuming it was to do the daily uploads...how he'd basically have to find a spot with free Wifi and then camp out at a table in the McDonalds or something while the video uploaded. He touched upon potential safety issues once or twice and pretty much discouraged people from considering it as a way to earn money, become Internet-famous, develop an online following, etc.

 

[a1tinkfans]

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.

Knock off ur partner? Imho….
here’s my ….guess/opinion
They pulled off, likely where the van was seen parked.
he tookher phone and left her.. to cool off, decompress to just get away from her /punish her, whatever.
she was in no state to handle any of that. Got disoriented further and was then lost. He likely went back and could not find her. Called home and said she Left Him, and the parents said come home.
he likely felt guilty shame and panicked,
I too do not believe he murdered her. I’m making no excuses but the media hype is ridiculous at best and at worst wrong. Toxic relationship? I too question that. Saying he slapped her
Could have easily been pushing her away after she actually hit him and used her phone. She was likely on her phone all the time and he just had enough. They both appear to be young, immature adults that lived with mom n dad, clearly had some type of help .. both with those vehicles and part time Publix work.. doesn’t add up. They have been together for years, with no documented prior calls/police/other issues known.
sounds like they were both Overwhelmed by the Entire trip/blog etc atop obvious medical/mental health issues. It is sad and now turned Tragic!
as far as the parents… they were/are protecting their son who they likely believe truly didn’t harm her but is caught up in the entire
Tragedy and Leaving her. I think he left well before the Tuesday they claim tho. I also think they have Some Type of Law enforcement “ heads up” as to what was happening.

I hope they do find him, I truly hope that he didn’t murder her, I hope her parents can somehow, someway Live with their Own perceived/actual guilt… trying harder to reach her earlier, calling the Police earlier, regardless if Any of that would have helped. I’m also hoping that there is no finding of a murder but rather death from the elements.. I hope he is found alive so perhaps he Could provide some Answers for Both Families. . All their lives are Irrevocably changed. it’s Tragic all around. RIP

 

[a1tinkfans]

A major part of the reason for the overwhelming response is BECAUSE he clammed up, lawyered up and ran off.

I've missed a lot, but I'm not sure anyone here thinks he's unquestionably guilty of premeditated murder. My own guess is that he killed her, or there was an accident of some sort, but I personally don't think it was premeditated.

Premeditated? If you thought about it for minutes First, then there’s death it IS premeditated. It’s not like it has to be All pre planned etc. I believe that’s accurate. At least.

 

[penn19]

It’s the Daily Mail so do with this interview what you will….

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...laims-Brian-Laundrie-jealous-controlling.html

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I’m also hoping that there is no finding of a murder but rather death from the elements..

I'm conflicted on this part. I don't want him to have killed her as that is just awful but I also can't stomach the thought of her dying from the elements as that sounds so terrible too like dehydration, heat stroke you name it. But then there's did she happen to do something herself in which case I would feel like was there something that over time could have prevented that just by paying closer attention to mental health and then there's accidental death which in that case it's like why oh why Brian did you put everyone through all this.

 

[AppleDumpling]

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?

I haven’t read this full thread, but have been following news updates on the case. Last night, I happened to catch part of an interview Dr. Phil did with Gabby’s father, Joe Petito (that was done prior to the body being found in Wyoming). He talks about his impressions of Brian and mentions a previous cross-country trip the young couple took in a small car. Videos can be found on YouTube.

 

[Carol_]

I think he knew she was dead when he took her car back to Florida.
That’s all I got.

 

[Kms943]

Premeditated? If you thought about it for minutes First, then there’s death it IS premeditated. It’s not like it has to be All pre planned etc. I believe that’s accurate. At least.

If it is determined to be a homicide that occurred outside of Federal jurisdiction in the state of Wyoming, then you are correct about premeditation. His is the Wyoming legal statute for murder:

Wyoming Statutes
TITLE 6 - CRIMES AND OFFENSES
CHAPTER 2 - OFFENSES AGAINST THE PERSON
ARTICLE 1 - HOMICIDE
6-2-101. Murder in the first degree; penalty.

Universal Citation: WY Stat § 6-2-101 (2014)
6-2-101. Murder in the first degree; penalty.

(a) Whoever purposely and with premeditated malice, or in the perpetration of, or attempt to perpetrate, any sexual assault, sexual abuse of a minor, arson, robbery, burglary, escape, resisting arrest, kidnapping or abuse of a child under the age of sixteen (16) years, kills any human being is guilty of murder in the first degree.

(b) A person convicted of murder in the first degree shall be punished by death, life imprisonment without parole or life imprisonment according to law, except that a person convicted of murder in the first degree who was under the age of eighteen (18) years at the time of the offense shall be punished by life imprisonment.

(c) A person convicted of murder in the first degree in a case in which the state seeks the death penalty shall be sentenced in accordance with the provisions of W.S. 6-2-102. In all other cases, including any case in which the state has determined not to seek the death penalty at any stage of the proceeding, the judge shall determine the sentence of life imprisonment without parole or life imprisonment taking into consideration any negotiated plea agreement and any evidence relevant to a determination of sentence which the court deems to have probative value.

And here are definitions of premeditatio:

The second element also requires the actor to have killed with “premeditation.” Premeditation is the “thinking over, deliberating upon, weighing in the mind beforehand, resulting in a deliberate intention to kill which constitutes the killing murder in the first degree.” Parker v. State, 161 P. 552, 555 (Wyo. 1916). “Premeditation need not have existed for any given length of time before the act, it being sufficient that it existed at the time of the act; and the intent and the act may be as instantaneous as successive thoughts.” Mattern v. State, 151 P.3d 1116, 1129-1130 (Wyo. 2007).

I believe this requirement for and definition of premeditation would be the same or similar under federal law if they take the case. My experience is on the enforcement side, so if we have any lawyers here, please feel free to correct me.

 

[sasywtch]

Yeah, Kara and Nate in particular make it look so easy (and fun) but if you search back through their LONG library or videos you'll find at least one where they talk at length about how they struggled to make it work. Spoiler alert: they thought it through - A LOT, and stayed realistic. If it looks like they will run out of money they head home. Not only that, but the van life came after a lot of lessons learned with the global travel.

Kara and Nate are my favorite. The difference with them is they respect each other and van life isn't their fulltime gig but necessary to keep their youtube going during the pandemic. However, their traveling together 24/7 over the past 5 years and van life would be equivalent I think.

I have debated for a few days about posting this but it may help someone. I had my first severe panic attack at work in 86. My manager at the State tried driving me to the ER but I was breathing so badly, she pulled into the local CHP office as there were CHPs standing outside. I've had severe panic attacks since. (it turned into agoraphobia where I couldn't leave my house, couldn't eat etc). I never correlated my "blowing my top" with panic or anxiety. I have my moments where things fester. I could see myself just cleaning up the dirt in the van for days and be okay but then one day, it would fester and I'd start yelling. The worst thing someone could say is to calm down or why are you being crazy. That would be a trigger. My exh was a master at pushing my buttons and he knew exactly what he was doing. We could get into a slap type situation. If we would be interviewed, it probably would have gone the same as the video shown in Utah. He had me believing everything was my fault. If you met him (and still today), he comes across as this wonderful person but he's like a used car salesman (sorry to those who sell cars) He could sell you a brick thinking it's gold. In reality, he use to whip my kids with a belt. And yes, I kicked him out of the house. He would tell people he did it because of me. Just yesterday, my DIL and I were talking about this case and I said something about my exh (her fil) beating the kids (her husband) and she said, yeah but I've only seen him as a great person. So before they found her body and after I watched the hour long video, I was quite sure they'd find a body. My personal opinion is that she was having the anxiety blowing the top over something, they got into a fight, he grabbed her to get her to shut up (maybe grabbing her neck) and pushed her where she fell and hit a rock? I think he freaked, hid her body and ran. I could be completely wrong. The thing where I knew he did it was when they said the mother got a text message there was no cel service in Yosemite. They were only due to go to Oregon. The only time Yosemite was mentioned was in the car with the officer taking Laundie to the motel. The officer told him they had to go to Yosemite.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

the Yosemite thing could be as simple as someone mixing up Yosemite and Yellowstone, or an autocorrect. No way to know. It is pretty much certain that neither made it as far as Yellowstone.

 

[DLgal]

So, death was ruled a homicide, so now they need to determine the official cause of death, but it was ruled out as suicide or natural causes.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

So, death was ruled a homicide, so now they need to determine the official cause of death, but it was ruled out as suicide or natural causes.

*sigh* well that's something at least

 

[JimMIA]

So, death was ruled a homicide, so now they need to determine the official cause of death, but it was ruled out as suicide or natural causes.

I think that's right. I haven't seen the statements by either the coroner or FBI. But they did confirm that the body IS Gabby Petito.

Keep in mind that homicide does NOT mean murder -- it just means one human killed another human. So it could be accidental, could be manslaughter, could be murder of some degree.

It's a sad case. Now we need to find Brian and find out what happened.