Found Deceased WY - Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito, 22, Grand Teton National Park, 25 Aug 2021 #48

[nocommoncents]

I'm just wondering if it's possible someone picked the van up and left a vehicle at another location for future use.

Sorry, I still don't understand

 

[cady]

dbm

 

[CharlestonGal]

Regarding hiding along the AT and the comparison to Eric Robert Rudolph.

It is believed that Rudolph was able to hide for 5 years because he had a lot of help. That area of N.C. was his home turf. It is likely that he was living under someone's roof and being supplied with food and clothing.

BL isn't likely to have that kind of support.

Agreed. We definitely cannot compare BL with ERR. ERR had a whole network of anti-abortion activists, family, friends and acquaintances in the area that helped and shielded him every step of the way. A whole network of people. BL has nothing like that. Nothing even close.

I imagine he wishes he did. But he simply does not have that kind of support. All he has is mommy and daddy who LE and FBI are sitting on at the moment.

 

[dacjess]

But, IMO, unlike a lot of cases, here we have a name, and a face, and information, and flight, and a potential family assistance dynamic, and this is why I think there is so much interest - because we know more than we do about others. And, this was not a result of media alone, it was a result of Brian himself, by his actions. MOO

Agree. I also feel like there’s a liability issue at play here. If BL is on the run and injures/harms/murders anyone else and LE already knew he was dangerous, there would be huge public blowback. If there’s a missing weapon (don’t think it has been confirmed), he’s technically armed. I don’t think anyone can take a chance at this point. JMO.

Personally, I don’t want anything scaled back, I just wish every single missing person could get this type of response because every family deserves answers and justice. IMO.

 

[captdj]

Quote RSBM.
Despite what appears to be a lack of empathy and heart from them toward Gabby and her family, I have no doubt if BL is ever located deceased, his parents will be grieving severely, as much as any parent.

I also think they are trying to "save" him from prison.
I feel they believe the only way "out" of this nightmare for them would be if he's not charged with a violent crime or is acquitted. If he dies, they'll suffer.
(I don't have to like them to believe they love their children as much as the rest of us..)

Geez If his parents told him to run and he died in the woods. That's really the same as a death penalty. Maybe they are waiting on the manner of death before bringing him in...

 

[ZoriahNZ]

this was my question as well. as someone pointed out, he'd basically would have had to drive a solid 24 hours for multiple days to get back from the 29th hitchiking in WY to his sept 1 arrival in FL. Not that it isn't possible, but that's a whole lot of nonstop driving for someone who had just been off wondering around for a few days alone after presumably the 27th. Anyway its definitely something I had thought of and that was brought up. I think there wasn't anything conclusive about it other than it could have been possible he met and pick up someone to share in driving responsibilities. but also he could have just been that manic....

It doesn't require non stop driving. If we go from say 11pm 29th to Sept 1st 10:30am, that's roughly 60 hours of time to make the journey. It is claimed that driving all the way back would take approx 33-36 hours. That still leaves 24 hours (or more) to make food/potty/gas stops, even book a few motel room stays on the way.

edited: Removed some snippiness. Sorry.

 

[Mamamerced]

Erm...if he planned it all this far ahead, why drive to FL? Why not have purchased plane tickets to multiple remote locations worldwide, taken one of them and gone from there? I've spent time in South America. In one country I flew in a local plane from a fair-sized town to a river port, then took a long boat 8 hours up the river to an eco-camp with no electricity other than a solar-powered light that was on in the food space for 1-2 hours/night. From there took another boat further up the river and camped between the river and the jungle. In another country, after taking a boat in the ocean from country a to country b, I then took a series of busses and boats and trains back into country a to arrive at my destination (a very nice resort town, not exactly hard living, even if outside). I stayed there at a high-end resort, but there were countless other options. And a lot of them don't require much in the way of internationally-reported ID checking. I mean - if you're going to be a master premeditated murderer, would you not be a little more clever than showing up to mom & dad's house a couple days after the last time you were in a public place with the person you murdered?

Really, seems to me that if you were plotting something out in advance, you'd either try to make it so you "disappeared" in the world, or you'd try to protect your life at home enough to keep living it.

I don't think his thoughts are that organized. Didn't one of Gabby's friends say he had trouble sleeping and heard voices?

 

[LRinCA]

https://twitter.com/WFLAJosh/status/1444429899658366981

DOG. A lot of you asking if Dog the Bounty Hunter is still searching. Just talked w/him on FT and he says yes. Terrible service. I plan to speak to him again when service improves. Post your questions below and I'll ask him a few on cam when we chat. #BrianLaundrie #GabbyPetito

Edited by me.

 

[EvieIvyOver]

Is the FBI telling Gabby's family things that aren't being made public relating to evidence?

 

[Balthazar]

Yes, I get all of this - but why not just come straight out with it and issue an arrest warrant for murder? I get that this maybe some sort of 'strategy' - but either they have the evidence that points to B as the killer, or they don't. And seeing as B is still a POI and the only arrest warrant is for fraud, I am guessing they are missing a piece of the jigsaw.

I am sure some savvy defence attorney would come up with a way to play this manhunt for fraud charges as prejudicial in any forthcoming murder trial. Or is that not a thing in the US?

A prosecutor cannot issue an arrest warrant for murder unless and until the autopsy is complete and there is a complete analysis of the crime scene to figure out what evidence there is and what took place and by whom and at that point, the prosecutor has to figure out what specific crimes to charge the person with. First degree, Aggravated First degree, Second degree, Aggravated Second degree, rape, abuse of a corpse, fleeing from justice, are among only a few of the various types charges that the prosecutor will have to decide among based on the evidence BEFORE the case is taken before a Grand Jury and an arrest warrant is issued IF the Grand Jury decides there is probable cause. In some cases the prosecutor may read the evidence and realize that there is not enough evidence to warrant taking the case to the Grand Jury and the case may sit in limbo unless and until new evidence is found.

Why and where? Is there some sort of resource you can point me to in order to understand? TIA!

Here is a basic outline of the difference between Federal and State laws in the United States: Federal vs State Law - Difference and Comparison | Diffen
This explains how Grand Teton National Park was established by an act of the US Congress:
https://www.nps.gov/grte/learn/management/upload/Grand-Teton-NP-enabling-legislation_9-14-1950.pdf
Here is the Code of Federal Regulations:
eCFR :: Home
This is also helpful in understanding US laws in regards to National Parks:
https://scholarship.law.uwyo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1039&context=land_water

Basically, because Grand Teton National Park was established by the Federal Government, the Federal Government has exclusive jurisdiction over National Parks and therefore crimes committed in a National Park cannot be prosecuted under state laws. This especially makes sense as some national parks span multiple states.

 

[pizzaman12]

Yep, let's face it if the Youtuber didn't drive by at that time, we could still be looking for Gabby, not much longer there will be snow. Makes you wonder was he working towards his quickly thrown together plans, then here comes the family in the RV. It could have been the impetus for him to bail.

BBM- This is something I've been incredibly curious about because we simply don't know what ultimately led LE to her body. It came out at a time when they stated they now had phone location data. It would be truly amazing if the YouTubers did in fact fully lead to her discovery and I can't wait to find out how big/small of a role that video was.

 

[Trooper]

Something in that clip at Moab inched it's way forward ...

Why , and how, is Gabby 'locked out of the van'...? doesn't she have her own set of keys? Considering it's her van, legally, and probably fiscally, too. How come Brian holds the only set of keys? to her van?

Why hasn't she had a set of keys cut for herself at some stage, unless it's strictly on Brian's say-so...?

I have shared cars with various members of my family, at various times ( once with a daughter, instead of two average cars , we bought one unaverage one, it worked out ok ) .. I had my own set of keys, it was essential , I cannot understand how they managed that trip with only one set of car keys. Ive had a set keys to every car that ever lived in my garage...

Even for Brian's convenience, two sets would be required... unless it had a deeper significance to him and he was prepared to put up with the inconvenience with the payoff being the power he could wield.. .

And where the bloody hell is Brian ??

 

[priyaya]

IMO, If someone else besides BL and Gabby drove that van... LE would have found evidence when they seized it.

agree, but I mean if they found say the parents DNA on it... and the van was on their property/they could have moved it? I dunno its definitely a reach. apparently the drive according to google is 36 hours... so if he left at 7:00pm. 30 min after dropped off at site on 29th, then arrived vis plate reader in Florida home area around 10pm on sept 1
that's doable, but exhausts me to think about.

 

[Trooper]

double post.. maybe even triple..

 

[MsJosie]

They had plenty of time to run the plates, as they drove 6 miles north before they stopped him (LE is trained to use the first available offramp, and to try not to use the roadside of large highway - because it has resulted in many accidental deaths of LEO's).

So they already knew that (and doing it before a stop is now firmly part of community police protocol where I live, barring only circumstances where probable cause is established by the actions of the car/driver itself/themselves).

Their reservations were a few miles ahead, in Arches, and I do believe LE had that information at some point. I believe it's in one of the bodycam videos. At any rate, Gabby has been reported to have made reservations there.

She was the owner of the van.

If she had not considered herself fit to drive, that would have been quite a problem and had she said that, they wouldn't have let her drive. But I don't think they would have let BL drive her van in any case. That's why they handled it as they did - she had a short distance to go, the Park Ranger had an eye on her, speed limits are low in the park, and she never said she didn't want that as a solution,

If LE put up every person in that "state of mind," well, I know the local budgets in my county could not and would not handle that (we have very community oriented policing, but it's paid for by local taxpayers and the budget is already very strained...most people want the money to go to solve the backlog of unprocessed crimes, not to pay for hotel stays for travelers who are crying by the side of a freeway or offramp somewhere in L.A.

Moab is actually not a rich area, in terms of taxes...

IMO, she knew how to drive the van and drove it frequently. I feel Brian was the one telling her she did not know how to drive the van and did not like driving the van. This way she began to believe him and he made her dependent on him as if he was the only one who knew how to drive the van. IMO he was an abuser and manipulative person. I wish Gabby could have gotten away from him. His parents are a disgrace like the Anthony’s.

 

[Hyway]

The writer is wrong, but I don't doubt the interviewees words at this point in time. Real name is there, she said what she said.

I didn't cite it for the rest of the article.

But if you want to doubt the interview ever took place because the reporter has some things wrong, we'll be short on links to share here.

my first sentence was stating that the "quotes" (interviews) were probably correct. Everything I have seen says they dated off and on since high school. I've seen interviews where someone who knows them said that both have dated other people in between. I was just saying that I wouldn't trust anything that wasn't actually in quotes. MOO but I think the writer did a good job interviewing people who knew them, but hasn't really spent much time following the rest of the story. Thus, when they filled out their interview article they were a bit slack with their due diligence.

 

[PIUK]

Is the FBI telling Gabby's family things that aren't being made public relating to evidence?

the sudden flurry on Twitter leads me to think they have confirmation he is still alive.

Or it’s a way of trying to get someone in the L family to break. MOO.

 

[10ofRods]

Maybe..............he had 10 days to scrub it, though. jmo

I don't think 10 days would be enough to remove all products of decomp from a van. You'd need to change the headliner, the visors, the bedding, the wood paneling, the fabric - everything. And that would have been really obvious.

He could not have done this in his driveway, I don't think.

The FBI charged Brian with “unauthorized use of a debit card/PIN”, so why didn’t they also charge him with “unauthorized use of a vehicle”?

There is no known history of Brian driving the van alone without Gabby. When BL returned to Florida from August 17-23, he didn’t take the van with him, he got on an airplane to get home while the van was parked outside the hotel where Gabby was staying at.

That's not a federal crime, so far as I know. He could still be charged in the future, but they had him dead to rights on the ATM/card use (no doubt with video).

Yes, I get all of this - but why not just come straight out with it and issue an arrest warrant for murder? I get that this maybe some sort of 'strategy' - but either they have the evidence that points to B as the killer, or they don't. And seeing as B is still a POI and the only arrest warrant is for fraud, I am guessing they are missing a piece of the jigsaw.

I am sure some savvy defence attorney would come up with a way to play this manhunt for fraud charges as prejudicial in any forthcoming murder trial. Or is that not a thing in the US?

I guess there's just no way to explain to you. Perhaps it's cultural.

It's simply how the Feds (and many other major LE agencies in North America) handle things. Take a look at how RCMP operate - it's the same.

The evidence has not been fully processed. We simply do not act legally without regard for the preponderance of evidence - which is not yet stated by the Coroner (and as I said, it's common for it to take a month to get toxicology reports).

That savvy defense lawyer is not going before a regular judge or jury - this is a whole different ball game. It's a federal case, and it will not be your average judge, jury, prosecutor - but it may involve a decidedly average defense attorney...

Take a look at any of the major cases in the "Waiting for Trial" section here on Websleuths and you'll see a pattern - and you can watch those same cases move foward, most of them with convictions. Once they charge someone, the FBI and the major state bureaus have very high conviction rates...

Perhaps the FBI actually understands our legal system pretty well?

 

[autumnal]

And, he happens to have pointed ears, crooked front teeth, finger tattoos. MOO. I should have said that in the post.

Add “duck-like-walk” & walking with toes facing outwards to the list.

Geez, this guy was quite the prize, eh?
Gabby could have done so much better imo.

 

[Balthazar]

How important is it to establish a motive for a homicide case?

Motive is not a criminal element. The prosecution doesn't have to prove that the defendant had a motive, however, establishing a motive at trial is helpful in gaining a conviction. Instead the prosecutor must demonstrate that the defendant intended to commit a criminal act or that the defendant didn't commit the act intentionally but was reckless or criminally negligent. Intention is important and a criminal element of nearly any trial.