Found Deceased WY - Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito, 22, Grand Teton National Park, 25 Aug 2021 #4

[Arkay]

It’s 2:30 on the East Coast and I’m watching the news. They are talking about this case but as yet I don’t see the family making any new statements.

I know we've all commented endlessly about why BL won’t talk, and we often mention the default advice of lawyers to never talk to the police even if innocent, as well as the 5th amendment and our constitutional rights to a presumption of innocence.

If I loved someone and they were missing, and I was innocent but advised not to talk, a new amendment would have to be created to shut me up. I genuinely would not care what the lawyers advised me if I were innocent. I would be begging, pleading and telling every single detail that I could remember in an effort to save my loved one’s life. No, I wouldn’t want to be misinterpreted and considered guilty as a lawyer would advise, but I mean it. I know myself. I would talk to all law enforcement until they were sick of me and then I’d continue anyway. Maybe one tiny detail that I thought was insignificant would break the case.

The callousness of BL and his whole family toward a girl who lived with them. Why why why. I don’t think my parents would protect me if they think I did something and I wouldn’t protect my adult child either. I really wouldn’t.

 

[Windsorite]

I think judging by what the mother and step-father wouldn't say about BL during the first press conference that they did know about the Moab incident. I'm not trying to bash her family here, but as a Mom of 3 twentysomethings if I knew about something similar with one of my kids
and didn't hear from them, I would be calling the police by day 3. But I'm a WS member. MOO

 

[Shellinaya]

It's been impossible to catch up for 2 days now but I agree with you, I think this is all pretty normal stuff, IMO.
What is NOT normal is him clamming up when his fiance/girlfriend is missing.
I cannot for the life of me come up with a single (innocent) reason he'd do that.

jmo

I can't catch up either, but I was watching the video of the interview with BL and did anyone else hear him say this - he told the cop he didn't have a phone.

At the other altercation site in the evening, he reportedly did tell the police he had a phone. So he lied one of the times, but which one is the lie?

If BL didn't have a phone, that means he was using hers, so where is it now, if he was using it to post to Instagram etc. for his last few posts before he drove back to FL? Does he have her phone now?

Still have a lot of video to watch, but my impression of this video is that the police were trying really HARD to make it seem like BL was a chill dude and was attacked by his "crazed" girlfriend, an impression that Brian did not try to dissuade them of. I get a very creepy vibe from this guy.

He also lied about speeding - doing 45 mph in a 15 mph zone - by blaming it on Gabby "distracting" him. The cops tried to correct him and say no you've been speeding all through the entrance to Arches here, and being caught in that lie he said, oh sorry. Gabby in contrast was apologizing up and down and all over the place for herself being upset.

The general impression I get is she is annoyed with BL and he's admitting how dirty he is and how upset she is by that and he messed up her food and that makes her "OCD". And he thinks that's trivial. That's the impression he gives the police. IMO

If you're a larger guy and you're trying to hurt someone you punch them in the face, or shove them to the ground and kick them.

If you're a larger guy and you're suddenly getting attacked by your 5'5" 110lb girlfriend who is flailing around with her nails and a phone - you do your best to block and keep her at distance... and that might include grabbing her face or shoulder or arm or whatever you can get. It's not a sign he was trying to hurt her or that he abuses her.

And, that is also completely different than a guy grabbing his girlfriend by the face and saying "you better do what I say," or something along those lines.

One of the first things out of BL's mouth during the traffic stop was him saying to the officer that he loved GP.

Did you see her in the police car demonstrating to the police how BL grabbed her face? She did it twice. It looked like a pretty powerful jaw grab where he's pushing her whole head back. It looked violent to my eyes, the way she talked about it. It did not look like a "shh honey calm down" thing. It looked violent and painful, in the way she demonstrated it.

 

[Rocky1]

bbm
Yep.
I give Gabby a bit of leeway for the LE episode and her fight with BL.
If he'd driven off and left her stranded before, she had reasons for freaking out.
Imo.

When did he drive off and leave her stranded? I missed that part.

 

[bizaleth]

1.) Explains the facts soo far. He drove back because she told him to. He did not contact law enforcement because she was willing separated from him. He is lawyered up because no information could be given to them that will help find her. He can not prove his innocence to them and they can only use anything he says against him. You yourself is getting ready to pounce on this one saying how wrong I am. The police would be the same way. First thing anyone would say with this story is "do you really think I am going to believe that." So, if this was true, the only way to get around it is to lawyer up.

I'm with you on your three possibilities. What I cannot reconcile, however, is if she willingly separated from him, why he and his parents did not respond to her mother contacting them BEFORE the police even got involved (according to her mother). I completely understand lawyering up, but I cannot understand why before police involvement he couldn't send a simple explanation with where he last saw Gabby to her obviously worried mother (someone who he at one time believed would be his mother-in-law). This does not make sense to me at all.

 

[thunderstormdancer]

Is BL on the spectrum? In the bodycam video his uncomfortable mannerisms and disaffected speech feel very much like an autistic person. It would also help to explain the friction around her social media aspirations, as many on the spectrum (myself included) can come across as cold or mean unintentionally. With so many young people trying to become a social media hit, I can imagine saying something like "the odds of this working out with so much competition are incredibly low; you'll get more value out of this trip if you spend your time enjoying it instead of trying to make it look like you are enjoying it" and that being taken as an insult. She seems to have some emotional issues of her own, so this combination could be highly volatile.

This of course is not to defend him. His actions seem impossible to justify at this point, and being autistic does not make one more or less likely to kill one's girlfriend, nor does it serve as an excuse for anything he may have done. However, I don't see a cold and manipulative psychopath in the bodycam video as much as I see an awkward and uncomfortable person.

That's an interesting point. There's really no way to tell unless someone he knows shares about an official diagnosis.

I've had two previous romantic partners that were on the spectrum, the first of which was the partner who was emotionally and physically abusive that I mentioned earlier who I was reminded of by BP's mannerisms. Being autistic wouldn't be the reason he was abusive (if he is, this is still speculation) of course, but if he does have an ASD diagnosis it may explain why his behavior seems cold or off putting to some. My last partner who was on the spectrum, once responded to my good news of a business opportunity by sharing some dismal statistic on how often businesses fail. He wasn't meaning to be rude or a downer, he was just trying to share related and practical information. I took it super emotionally at first and could see how GP could have done the same about a comment about her media/website plans.

In general I'd really love to hear more about BL as a person. If we knew more about his behavior and mannerisms outside of this relationship, it would be easier to interpret his behaviors within it.

 

[pittie_mcclure]

We have a large 5th wheel. I have no idea how to drive it so I would be really panicked if I was left with that. And I've driven a school bus for a living and have no problem doing that. Also sometimes it's just common that the guy drives. My husband usually drives everywhere we go even though I'm completely capable of driving a car. Also on long trips he hates sitting and gets bored. I can have my head in my phone for hours or a book with no issue. It doesn't surprise me that he usually drives the van.

my husband gets nauseous if he isn’t driving so he drives a lot. My one friend is a great driver but gets anxiety with other people in the car so her husband always drives. My aunt drives all the time except in new places like national parks and mountain areas where her anxiety kicks in and she has panic attacks if she’s behind the wheel. Just doesn’t seem weird to me she never drove and makes sense she wouldn’t want to drive it alone back across the country. Doesn’t explain anything else but her not wanting to drive means nothing to me. Lots of people have driving anxiety through mountains and national parks .

 

[Inobu]

AUG 25: Petito’s family spoke to her for the last time over the phone and she said she was in Grand Teton National Park
Last phone call between Gabby & her mom, Nicole Schmidt. Last Instagram post from Monarch Wall in Ogden, Utah.
AUG 27 - Gabby's uncle posts there was a snapchat Gabby sent a friend -heading to Yellowstone (in Dailymail article)
AUG 27 & 30: text messages from Gabby’s phone sent to mom
After August 30th, Gabby’s parents weren’t able to get in contact with Gabby or her fiance. Her fiance’s mother also was not responding to any phone calls.”
AUG 30: Text from Gabby to Mom - No service in Yosemite
August 31: A new list titled “Self-Consumption” appeared on the couple’s Spotify
SEP 1: BL returns home to FL alone, retains an attorney & is uncooperative with the investigation

Aug 26 is the Day..........Grand Teton National Park to Yellowstone is 31 miles
Yellowstone is a milestone worth noting.....Gabby should/would have noted that arrival. Which should have been on the
26th........

Aug 30 text would mean 2 days in Yellowstone........You need service to text and if the "No service text" went out a brief
update could have went out especially if there has been no communication in 3 days.

There are a few cell towers.

Aug 26 is the hole in the timeline.......

Inobu

 

[Deleted member 121463]

Surely that's not really Brian posting in the WFLA chat, right?

 

[Harvath]

You got some bad information.

Obstruction of justice applies when a juror is threatened, or false information is provided that impedes an investigation. In this case, saying nothing is not obstruction.

Aiding and abetting a crime? There is no crime as of yet however, if there was, the "aiding and abetting would have to happen before the crime was complete. In other words, whoever's charged with that crime would have had to know the crime was about to happen before, or during the crime.

Accessory after the fact? Still no crime, but if there was, someone would have to be hindering BL, preventing his apprehension. To the best of my knowledge, LE knows where BL is.

Agreed. For the time being(unless there is some evidence LE has/is building) there is not a lot LE can do in regards to a POI holding back…at least from a legal(charges) stand point. Pressure and strategy is a whole other topic. I’ll also add….Missing person cases are the ones that fascinate me the most(as well as pull at my heartstrings the most). As I personally feel the laws and ability to help these situations are far far inadequate. It’s a complicated topic. Where adults have the right to disappear etc. Right to privacy. I completely understand and agree with that. However….in my life time I hope to see more tools and legal ability for LE to search for people right off the batt…..just to make sure they are safe. To give a bigger voice to Missing Persons and or vastly improve the system and abilities to locate individuals. It’s sad we live in 2021 and LE basically has to sit on their hands unless they uncover reasonable suspicion of a crime. Time is a ticking(and not on our side) and everyone….especially the family of the missing have red flags and alarms are screaming in their heads.

 

[Poedelini]

it is starting

 

[Cloudydiamond]

Did you see her in the police car demonstrating to the police how BL grabbed her face? She did it twice. It looked like a pretty powerful jaw grab where he's pushing her whole head back. It looked violent to my eyes, the way she talked about it. It did not look like a "shh honey calm down" thing. It looked violent and painful, in the way she demonstrated it.

<snip>
Yea, some abusers can make you very crazy. They call it crazy making.

 

[robinmay]

I don't have any reason to believe that's true.

Then again, in the vacuum of silence & details, it's impossible to know what is true, or what isn't.

Or maybe she is in a safe place, rehab, mental health institu, where they will not release information of her whereabouts

 

[Deleted member 121463]

Roberta and Christopher are in deep now...

 

[goarmy11]

re: the timeline ... if he arrived back in Florida on the 1st, he would have had to drive at least 35 hours (I mapquested it). Add a few hours for a rest, bathroom break, traffic and you're looking at closer to 48 hours I would think. So he had to have left on the 30th - possibly earlier?

 

[NuttMegg]

I can't catch up either, but I was watching the video of the interview with BL and did anyone else hear him say this - he told the cop he didn't have a phone.

At the other altercation site in the evening, he reportedly did tell the police he had a phone. So he lied one of the times, but which one is the lie?

If BL didn't have a phone, that means he was using hers, so where is it now, if he was using it to post to Instagram etc. for his last few posts before he drove back to FL? Does he have her phone now?

Still have a lot of video to watch, but my impression of this video is that the police were trying really HARD to make it seem like BL was a chill dude and was attacked by his "crazed" girlfriend, an impression that Brian did not try to dissuade them of. I get a very creepy vibe from this guy.

He also lied about speeding - doing 45 mph in a 15 mph zone - by blaming it on Gabby "distracting" him. The cops tried to correct him and say no you've been speeding all through the entrance to Arches here, and being caught in that lie he said, oh sorry. Gabby in contrast was apologizing up and down and all over the place for herself being upset.

The general impression I get is she is annoyed with BL and he's admitting how dirty he is and how upset she is by that and he messed up her food and that makes her "OCD". And he thinks that's trivial. That's the impression he gives the police. IMO

I agree with that. Although yes, the cops were "nice", they clearly took his side. Especially the cop who sympathized with him because his own wife was also unbalanced and the measures he took to placate her. ("unbalanced" is not the exact word, but the impression he gave).

He was speeding, he blamed that on her. He said she grabbed the wheel to cause his hitting the curb at high speed, she looked puzzled when the cop asked her if she grabbed the wheel, and said No, several times. The whole spiel is how they were being so nice to not arrest her, when he clearly broke the law in speeding. I've seen people speed in order to INTENTIONALLY provoke anxiety in the passenger.

 

[bellyup]

Moab police sent two officers to this incident. One stayed over an hour and did his best to get the couple into a better place (instead of arresting someone). They did run the plates, which is likely why it was clearcut that Gabby should be the one driving the van onward that night, while Brian (the "victim" - as he had visible marks on his body and Gabby was observed by the witness who called in...slapping and scratching Brian, which she did not deny and which two other witnesses said they saw, as well).
How is this sloppy police work? This type of community policing (they actually went after the van!) is what we all want. This is what most communities do not have. I'm actually amazed that Moab police took the amount of time they did on this minor incident. They couldn't have known that she was going to disappear, nor were there any grounds to do more (except possibly an arrest for DV - which some of you are saying they should have done, but really? a few scratches on a larger, stronger 23-year-old male who was clearly trying to drive away from his traveling partner - and the van owner - near the Co-op). No priors.
Bodycams record what they record - how can police change that??

I wouldn't say it's sloppy policing and I agree with you that they took more time than I would expect for this incident. I also admired that they took the situation seriously. I personally don't blame LE. They aren't trauma trained nor given the mental health support they should have.

You say this type of community policing is what we want, I respectfully disagree. I want police that are trauma informed and/or co-responders who are. If we want to stop escalation of domestic violence - it's really the only way. The current models of "24 hour breaks" and an hour of conversation with the partners only feet away from each other (with neither knowing if they are going to be back in the van together shortly) doesn't bring out what is bubbling under the surface and very often contributes to a sudden escalation of violence.

 

[DizzyB]

Is it possible that BL kicked her out of the van, without water or shelter in the desert, and drove away? I could see it happening. Maybe he went back later, and didn’t see her anywhere. Maybe he hung around whatever town they were in for a day or so, waiting to see if she turned up. When she didn’t, maybe he just took her van and headed home. So he thinks he didn’t kill her directly, but would certainly be complicit in her death. So he clammed up and refused to speak.

 

[Sillybilly]

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[Deleted member 121463]

If anyone here thinks for one second that he simply 'left' her somewhere in an argument, and she subsequently met with foul play, THINK AGAIN. That didn't happen. IMO