Found Deceased WY - Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito, 22, Grand Teton National Park, 25 Aug 2021 #82

Status
Not open for further replies.
BBM

That's an excellent point. You're right! That hadn't crossed my mind until now but you're right: Why would LE issue a warrant for his arrest for the use of unauthorised devices (or WTTE) but not one for theft of a vehicle?

That leads me to believe that LE know he hadn't stolen the vehicle.

MOO
There's the added complication that the vehicle was in its registered driveway. How is a vehicle "stolen" if it is parked right in the driveway where it belongs? For all police knew at the time, Gabby parked it there then left for somewhere else.

Theft is generally taking property with the intent to not return it. Since the van was parked right where it was registered I think the best they could do is maybe a charge of unauthorized use of a vehicle. Which I believe is a simple misdemeanor.

And LE had much, much bigger fish to fry at that time. jmo

ETA: I was wrong. Unauthorized use of a vehicle is indeed a felony; just not as bad a felony as grand theft auto.
 
Last edited:
ETA - I think this is why a warrant for vehcile theft was not issed against BL.

This is just my twisted opinion. The bank fraud charges seemed to be merely an excuse to pursue BL and eventually charge him with Gabby's murder. I thought that perhaps the fraud charges allowed the FBI to become involved and investigate more easily because those transactions happened in several states. LE also had the car in custody at the time the warrant was filed, so that might have been a bit of a dead-end for them.
 
You seem certain that data will be released.

There's no guarantee of this though, right?

LE are not obliged to release anything to the public, unless I'm mistaken..

MOO
No I am not certain
I said "if" we get them.
I said I hope we would.
I hadn't read this before---has anyone else?

"In a TV interview, the lawyer for Laundrie's family said "conversations were had with respect to certain charges..."

This is from the link up above.
 
No I am not certain
I said "if" we get them.
I said I hope we would.

I hadn't read this before---has anyone else?

"In a TV interview, the lawyer for Laundrie's family said "conversations were had with respect to certain charges..."

This is from the link up above.


I wonder if this is the same "close friend" as the one who said he thought BL would flee to NZ?

IMO, he has about as much credibility as a dead dandelion.

Also, the article is in The Sun, a tabloid who pay for stories. Make of that what you will.

MOO
 
My frustration leaves me asking..."will we ever get answers?" Will we ever know what was in that notebook? Feeling like things are going cold and dark and that nothing or anyone will be accountable, even possibly Brian's last words.

I don't think we're going to hear anything for weeks due to the anthropologist needing time to do their examination.

I also feel the same as you - will we ever get answers? A part of me highly doubts it. And while I don't matter, Gabby's family does and they deserve the answers.
 
RSBM

Transcript of Joe Petito’s comments in his 28.46 min. interview with Dr Phil.

It’s not even his van. … First of all you [BL] came home without her and you had the van 10 days in your driveway. So now I’ve got:

What happened with the van? Did you clean it? Did your parents help you clean it?

Did they help cover up a crime, you know, after the fact? ...

You stole a car over, over – across how many states? You know, can you be arrested for that?

The problem with that is, that van was Gabby’s. So he could leave that van right there. I’m jumping on a plane. Tell me where she’s at. I’ll be there in a few hours. If I’ve got to get a private plane, I will do that right this second. I don’t care what it takes. So he better walk his little behind over to somewhere else and figure out how he’s gonna get home to his parents, ‘cause that van is in her name, not the other way around."

If various posters proposed 1-4 in your quote, they're only speculating. The only way the Ls could believe they both owned the van was if either/both told them so, and that is completely contrary to what JP said above.
Excellent post! Touche'!!
 
I don't think we're going to hear anything for weeks due to the anthropologist needing time to do their examination.

I also feel the same as you - will we ever get answers? A part of me highly doubts it. And while I don't matter, Gabby's family does and they deserve the answers.

While I agree that we the public may not ever hear much more from the FBI, I can only hope that they will share more information with GP's family. MOO
 
bbm
Hmmm......
Wonder if his sister was threatened not to talk ?
If she knew nothing-- why wouldn't she answer her phone ?
She said iirc, that her kids called Gabby, "Aunt Gabby" ? :(
That would indicate a closeness between them, that would make answering a phone call to be a normal habit.
Imo.

CL(sister) said she looked through her phone and there was no calls, texts or voice mails to her from the Petito parents at all. IMO they didn't have her number. They may have left messages on an old number she used to have.
 
I felt that BL should have been arrested for theft of property, over a certain $ amount, as soon as LE knew that wasn't his van, and the owner was a Missing person! BAM
M00

It could be that the fraud/theft charges were federal and allowed a nationwide BOLO, more scrutiny at border crossings, etc. I don't know if the stolen van would qualify for federal charges
 
I felt that BL should have been arrested for theft of property, over a certain $ amount, as soon as LE knew that wasn't his van, and the owner was a Missing person! BAM
M00
Well it.was.not.reported.stolen afaik and if its registered.to that address what can they do? The car was.returned to the address.on registration by the time thy started.looking!
Do t know how that works!
Jmo
 
I think once the phones calls started abs hearing the messages left they knew Brian was in trouble! If they called B first he then told his family not to answer them abd maybe blurted out the entire thing! Then they got the lawyer!
I dont think they knew she was dead till this time! Then Brian leaves and kills himself!

my god what a tragedy.

I honestly don't think the L's were in on a scheme. Now knowing as much as we do, it's likely BL lied about Gabby's absence when returning home. He most likely lied to his parent's all the time, jmo.

Would you really think this immature guy would come clean and tell his parent's he just killed his girlfriend? If I killed someone, I'd keep my mouth shut.

Based on where Gabby's body was found, I think BL was hoping it would never be found, so discussing it with anyone wouldn't be in his best interest.

Technically he would have been suspect #1 one for his entire life without ever being charged because there was no body and little to no evidence for a charge of murder. Gabby could have become a missing person never to be found.

BL at the very least could live with that and he certainly wouldn't have been telling his parent's he was a killer. He really had to have had complete faith he could trust his parents and in his state of mind, I doubt he had that kind of faith.

Turns out the parent's were telling the truth about where BL was, just because they remained silent on all matters to do with Gabby being missing, they weren't silent when it came to their own child. JMO
 
I asked a similar question in another forum and it was explained by a purported lawyer that it was probably much simpler to indict for the unauthorized use of the bank card because BL was unambiguously unauthorized to use her card after her death (and they must have had good evidence she was dead when it was used.) But it is a grayer area to prove he was unauthorized to use a vehicle that he had up to then been able to use. My understanding is that it was just a surer bet to get the bank fraud indictment so that is probably why they went with that. IANAL - this is just my recollection of the explanation. MOO

EDIT - this is how I thought of it at the time that made sense to me: my father's car is registered in his name alone and he owns it himself. However, he lets my daughter use his car. If he were to die, but my daughter were still driving the car, it would not be considered theft or even necessarily unauthorized use. It would have to be proven that he revoked permission for her to use the car before his death. And this is why it is a gray area.
Hmm... you're right. How did they know for sure she was dead already by the 30th when he used her card? I mean, it all seems pretty obvious with her body location and his travel days, but she was only found 3 days before that attest warrant was filed. Do they need more than circumstantial evidence to get an arrest warrant?
 
RSBM

Transcript of Joe Petito’s comments in his 28.46 min. interview with Dr Phil.

It’s not even his van. … First of all you [BL] came home without her and you had the van 10 days in your driveway. So now I’ve got:

What happened with the van? Did you clean it? Did your parents help you clean it?

Did they help cover up a crime, you know, after the fact? ...

You stole a car over, over – across how many states? You know, can you be arrested for that?

The problem with that is, that van was Gabby’s. So he could leave that van right there. I’m jumping on a plane. Tell me where she’s at. I’ll be there in a few hours. If I’ve got to get a private plane, I will do that right this second. I don’t care what it takes. So he better walk his little behind over to somewhere else and figure out how he’s gonna get home to his parents, ‘cause that van is in her name, not the other way around."

If various posters proposed 1-4 in your quote, they're only speculating. The only way the Ls could believe they both owned the van was if either/both told them so, and that is completely contrary to what JP said above.
The problem here is it was.ok for him.to.drive the van before all this happened! Dads very angry I can understand
Brian probably explained.to his parents he drove the.van home.she. was.taking a.flight!
Back.to.NY they broke up
They believed that because.for.what 11 days no one was looking for her or the van! He was trying to act.as.normal.as.possible! Then the sheet hit the fan!

Jmo
 
Last edited:
I honestly don't think the L's were in on a scheme. Now knowing as much as we do, it's likely BL lied about Gabby's absence when returning home. He most likely lied to his parent's all the time, jmo.

Would you really think this immature guy would come clean and tell his parent's he just killed his girlfriend? If I killed someone, I'd keep my mouth shut.

Based on where Gabby's body was found, I think BL was hoping it would never be found, so discussing it with anyone wouldn't be in his best interest.

Technically he would have been suspect #1 one for his entire life without ever being charged because there was no body and little to no evidence for a charge of murder. Gabby could have become a missing person never to be found.

BL at the very least could live with that and he certainly wouldn't have been telling his parent's he was a killer. He really had to have had complete faith he could trust his parents and in his state of mind, I doubt he had that kind of faith.

Turns out the parent's were telling the truth about where BL was, just because they remained silent on all matters to do with Gabby being missing, they weren't silent when it came to their own child. JMO

Agreed - I don't think someone capable of killing another person would draw the line at lying to their parents! MOO
 
Hmm... you're right. How did they know for sure she was dead already by the 30th when he used her card? I mean, it all seems pretty obvious with her body location and his travel days, but she was only found 3 days before that attest warrant was filed. Do they need more than circumstantial evidence to get an arrest warrant?

But it doesn't really matter if she was dead re: the accts. If he wasn't an account co-owner, he could not legally access those even with her permission (at least that's the way it is at most banks.)
JMO
 
It depends on the state. Like so many other legal issues there is not one law for the US. In some states the borrower gets the title but the lender is listed as a lienholder. When the loan is paid off, a new title is issued with the lienholder removed.

It appears in Florida the lender actually holds the title for the life of the loan.

Who Holds A Car Title In Florida?.

While GP was a missing person, it surprises me if no warrant was obtained for the van. It might not have been needed since the van was "registered" to her, but I'd still have thought one would have been obtained just in case. But I've not seen a warrant published.
JMO
I haven't not seen a warrant for the van either, though it is mentioned in the search warrant for the hard drive. I would be curious to read the earlier warrant to see what basis they had for said warrant.
 
Hmm... you're right. How did they know for sure she was dead already by the 30th when he used her card? I mean, it all seems pretty obvious with her body location and his travel days, but she was only found 3 days before that attest warrant was filed. Do they need more than circumstantial evidence to get an arrest warrant?

I doubt we'll ever know for sure, but my amateur suspicion is that they already knew when the cards had been used by tracking them during the missing person investigation, and so they basically had the case ready to go to the grand jury as soon as the body was found. Possibly the condition the body was in made it clear she had been dead for quite some time? There evidently was something compelling enough to cause the grand jury to indict. JMO
 
I wonder if this is the same "close friend" as the one who said he thought BL would flee to NZ?

IMO, he has about as much credibility as a dead dandelion.

Also, the article is in The Sun, a tabloid who pay for stories. Make of that what you will.

MOO
That does not negate the fact that it was said on public television.

"I can tell you conversations were had several weeks ago with the FBI with respect to certain charges."

Criminal Charges for Brian Laundrie’s Parents? Family Lawyer Says FBI Had ‘Conversations’ About It
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
125
Guests online
3,649
Total visitors
3,774

Forum statistics

Threads
592,499
Messages
17,969,935
Members
228,788
Latest member
Soccergirl500
Back
Top