What Really Happened To Gabby Petito & How Her Body Was Found

Netflix's new true crime documentary, American Murder: Gabby Petito, explores what happened to Gabby Petito, including her disappearance and the discovery of her body. On September 11, 2021, Gabby Petito's mother, Nichole Schmidt, filed a missing persons report for her daughter, but the last time she heard from Petito was on August 27, 2021. American Murder: Gabby Petito covers the entire timeline of Petito's disappearance up until the tragic ending, when authorities discovered her body on September 19, 2021. Around the time Petito's body was found, the FBI determined that her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, had killed Petito.

Authorities found Brian Laundrie's body a month later, but the scope of their investigation changed the more they learned about the circumstances surrounding Gabby Petito's disappearance. Netflix's documentary also covers Petito and Laundrie's relationship from beginning to end to provide the appropriate framework for this tragedy. American Murder: Gabby Petito is arguably one of Netflix's scariest documentaries because of the realism it provides surrounding domestic violence and abusive relationships. It is Netflix's next installment of the American Murder series, with the previous documentary covering the true story of Laci Peterson's death.

Gabby Petito Was Reported Missing In September 2021

Gabby Petito Had Been Living In A Van With Her Fiancé

Although Gabby Petito's mother, Nichole Schmidt, only filed a missing persons report on her daughter's behalf on September 11, 2021, Schmidt had suspected her daughter was missing as early as September 1. The last time Schmidt heard from Petito was on the evening of August 27, 2021, through text, and the last time they spoke on FaceTime was on August 25, 2021. Gabby Petito had sold most of her belongings and downsized considerably to begin a travel blog based on living out of a van she had purchased. Petito was also traveling with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie.

A series of events led to Petito's disappearance. On August 12, 2021, an anonymous person called the police after seeing Brian Laundrie hit Gabby Petito in Moab, Utah. Officers stopped Laundrie and Petito while driving to find a distressed Petito in tears. However, they discerned Petito was the aggressor as a result of a mental breakdown. The police officers separated Petito and Laundrie for the night, but they met up together. Afterward, Laundrie flew home for a few days, but he returned, and the couple made their way to Jackson, Wyoming.

Gabby Petito's last known movements occurred on August 27, 2021. She stopped to eat at The Merry Piglets in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, before shopping at Whole Foods with Brian Laundrie. Afterward, the two drove to the Spread Creek Camping Area in the Bridger–Teton National Forest, arriving in the early evening. Gabby Petito's last signs of life included texting her mother at approximately 7:15 p.m. and sorting files on her computer at around 8:30 p.m. Afterward, there was no indication that Gabby Petito was still alive.

Brian Laundrie posed as Petito on August 30, 2021, while texting Nichole Schmidt, leading her mother to believe she was alive despite finding the text suspicious. On September 1, 2021, Schmidt began to worry because Petito had not contacted her for some time, but she dismissed it as overreacting as a concerned mother. However, over a week passed, and when she realized that none of Petito's parents or her friends had heard from her, Schmidt filed a missing persons report with the North Port police. During this time, Petito's family tried to contact Laundrie's parents, but they never responded.

Gabby Petito's Body Was Found Near A Campsite In Wyoming - How She Was Killed

The Autopsy Report Detailed Homicide By Strangulation

Gabby Petito's family did everything they could to ensure the news of their daughter's disappearance went viral across the United States. They contacted multiple media companies, and Petito's father flew to Florida for an official press conference. Gabby Petito's stepfather, Jim Schmidt, traveled to Jackson, Wyoming, to support the search for his stepdaughter. The FBI and local law enforcement worked tirelessly to find Gabby Petito. A breakthrough in the case occurred when another couple found Petito's van in their footage, which led law enforcement to discover Petito's body.

FBI agents and local police officers discovered Gabby Petito's body on September 19, 2021. They found her lying on her side in a fetal position, indicating Petito's killer had placed her in that position. An FBI agent notified Petito's family, and Jim Schmidt positively identified Petito due to recognizable markers on her body. After a thorough autopsy, the coroner reported that Gabby Petito's cause of death was homicide due to blunt force trauma and strangulation.

Brian Laundrie Went Missing After Being Considered The Top Suspect In Gabby Petito's Murder

Laundrie Went Hiking & Never Returned

Once authorities found Gabby Petito's body, they analyzed the evidence already collected to pinpoint a suspect. Beginning on August 28, 2021, the FBI tracked Brian Laundrie from his hiking trails to his phone calls to his car rides. During the last days of August 2021, Laundrie used Petito's phone to create a fake conversation between the two so that he could establish an alibi. The FBI was already involved in this case because it spans multiple states, but Brian Laundrie became a wanted fugitive by the FBI because Laundrie posed as Petito to send himself money from her bank account.

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Although the Laundries reported their son as a missing person on September 17, 2021, the FBI only created an official arrest warrant for Brian Laundrie on September 23, 2021. This arrest warrant led to the FBI receiving over 4000 tips from people across the United States who believed they had seen Laundrie. The FBI had to figure out where Brian had disappeared so that they could find him. On September 14, 2021, the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park reported an abandoned car, which belonged to the Laundries. Their son frequented this park because he loved their hiking trails.

On September 18, 2021, the FBI began looking for Brian Laundrie despite the arrest warrant not being officially released. Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park spans 40,000 square miles, so they had a lot of ground to cover. However, the FBI had difficulty locating Brian Laundrie because there had recently been weeks of extreme rain, resulting in flooding throughout the park. During this time, Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park was closed because of the flooding, but the park reopened on October 20, 2021, when Brian Laundrie's parents officially joined the search.

Brian Laundrie Took His Own Life Before He Was Found, But He Admitted To Killing GabbyPetito

Laundrie's Remains Were Found In October 2021 Along With A Confessional Note

Brian Laundrie's parents discovered their son's waterproof bag on October 20, 2021, the same day they joined the search. They found his decomposed remains only 45 minutes later. Authorities discovered Laundrie's remains approximately a mile away from where he had abandoned his parents' car. An autopsy was performed on Brian Laundrie, and the report concluded that he had committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. Brian Laundrie's waterproof bag contained evidence regarding Gabby Petito's death, including multiple photographs of Petito and a notebook.

The FBI took pictures of the evidence found in the waterproof bag on October 28, 2021. Brian Laundrie's notebook contained letters he had written to his family and another note where he admitted to killing Gabby Petito. However, Laundrie's version of how he killed Petito does not align with her autopsy report. In his notebook, Brian Laundrie claimed he "rushed back" to the van because he heard splashing and screaming. Laundrie wrote that he found Gabby Petito "barely breathing" and "freezing cold," noting that she was in considerable pain.

Laundrie claimed he killed her out of mercy, then took his own life because he could not live without her. However, Laundrie's recollection of Gabby Petito's death does not match with anything the coroner found through her autopsy. Netflix's American Murder: Gabby Petito also reveals that Laundrie also wrote other disturbing things, such as wanting to confront Petito's dad and stepdad so that they would hurt him.

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