Found Deceased WY - Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito, 22, Grand Teton National Park, 25 Aug 2021 #66

[SMK777]

I think something absolutely terrible must have happened between them. I am wondering today whether BL had committed some kind of crime in his past that Gabby knew about and she threatened to tell someone about it during a fight. Some type of secret he could not allow to get out. It would have had to be something big.
I really don't think just arguing about money or their relationship status would make him murder her like that.

SBM
I agree. I don’t think anyone watching the Moab tape would believe Gabby would soon be murdered by BL, if they had no idea of what actually later occurred.

Within my own experience and in my own family and circle, there have been numerous DV relationships — some really extreme — that went on for years, and no one wound up dead. Of course they were awful and shouldn’t have taken place at all.

But how did BL escalate from slapping to murder? I still can’t believe how this all turned out, and I’m sure the Petitos can’t either.

 

[Krwiley60]

Correct. Now why wasn’t there a warrant?

Unfortunately, the search warrant and federal warrant were issued after he was gone.

 

[kittythehare]

From the posted links from kittythehare. Thank You

“The fear of outbursts from the abuser becomes a controlling factor in the victim's life. For survival, the goal becomes to anticipate anything that may result in an outburst for the controlling person and avoiding it at all costs. The abused person becomes preoccupied with the needs, desires, and habits of the abusive controlling person. The outcome of this survival mode or “freeze” reaction versus “fight” or “flight” reaction can result in a captive who experiences a loss of self-esteem, self-confidence, and psychological energy and who is “burned out” and too depressed to leave. Another possible outcome is a return to a childish infantile pattern of bonding with the aggressor.”

I think the evidence we saw o the moab stop shows that pattern was already entrenched.
This suggests to me that the abuse had been both longterm and ongoing.
It doesn't happen overnight, the bonding to the abuser, I mean.

It won't give us any ideas towards finding him sadly but his behaviour at that police stop does suggest he is a fast thinker, at least.
He can change quickly when required.
Gabby could not, she was utterly helpless in that situation.
She never stood a chance.
That's so sad.

 

[Keyedin]

Did anyone just watch the CNN special? I was only half listening and now I can't find if it was recorded anywhere. Maybe it takes a little bit. But the CNN reporter was speaking to a man (possibly FBI?) about BL taking off from his parents and she said something like "so if someone is a person of interest shouldn't you have surveillance on them?" And this man responded something like "maybe we did" or "nobody is saying we didn't". Then he went on to say something like "if a guy goes for a walk in the woods we can't just go hiding behind tree to tree looking for him" (these are my words, not his).

So after that big vague statement, (geez, sorry, hopefully I can find the video and I'll update this post) but I'm thinking they really were watching BL at his parents and they did follow him TO Carlton Reserve but didn't get out and follow him on foot but sat in their car waiting, and then night came and he didn't come out. This would make sense as to why they are still searching Carlton Reserve. It's likely the last time police/FBI had their eyes on him.

That would explain why they are so intent on searching that area. It would make more sense if one of their guys actually saw him enter the reserve and not just the parents.

It would also make sense as to why the abandon car notice was put on it. They knew it had been there for a couple of days because they watched it go in. Maybe one of these reporters should actually do a records request for the park and not just the Laundries.

Eta: Afterthought, maybe the abandon car notice was their way of keeping track of the car. With a report on file, they'd know how long it was sitting there, if it was moved, and possibly who moved it.

 

[Angels Advocate]

Evidence I believe exists:

Gabby and Brian visit national parks and monuments, arriving in Moab on or before August 12. Both are in town most of the day, while Gabby works on her youtube channel.

August 12 - 2 witnesses call in what appears to be a DV incident, with two people scratching, pinching and hitting. At least one other witness tells police their story of what happened (a friend of one of the people who called) There appear to be more witnesses to this event in downtown Moab.

Early evening August 12. The 911 call results in 2-3 local police cars following GP/BL out of town toward the. entrance of Arches NP. The police put on blue lights near the turn-off to Arches, which is where GP/BL were going to spend the night (per what the ranger says later in the traffic stop)

Evening August 12. Gabby is told it "isn't far" to her campsite and that Brian will be hosted by a charity that aids DV victims. LE takes him to a hotel in Moab, about 13 miles from where Gabby is staying. The police advise them to spend the night apart. We have no evidence that they went against LE advice. Police ensure that both members of the couple have their phones and Gabby asks them to make sure BL has his charger, as she thinks his phone needs charging. Gabby appears to talk to someone on the phone.

August 13. Trip resumes. Gabby's SM shows they intended 3-4 nights in Arches.

August 17. BL flies to FL. Gabby goes to a hotel in central SLC, presumably with the van.

August 21. The coroner's window for Gabby's death has opened. (4 weeks out)

August 23. BL flies back to SLC.

August 24. Photo of Gabby in Ogden, UT. Posted to Instagram as usual.

August 25. Gabby texts her mom that she is in Grand Tetons NP.

August 27. Gabby and BL at Merry Piglets in Jackson, south of GTNP. BL goes in and out of the restaurant, speaking in a low voice to various employees. Gabby cries on the sidewalk, goes inside to apologize for him. Cause of BL's irritation is unknown.

August 27, 6:30 pm. Youtubers (Bethunes) capture their van at an unnumbered, illegal campsite near the main NF campground at Spread Creek. Rules had been made about where people could camp, due to overcrowding. (I believe that LE has been able to find more campers with dash cams and more information about their stay there.) Gabby was dead for 3-4 weeks per ME, when she was found on Sept 19. This is 23 days out from the Coroner's date for Gabby's death. Within the window.

August 29. Brian catches two rides, near Colter Bay/Dam area. He becomes somewhat agitated when he learns he's going back to Jackson and not toward Moran Junction, which is the way to Spread Creek. There is no evidence that the van had been moved during this period. Brian has a backpack, but not much stuff in it. (I believe by now LE has more pictures of the van, due to campground hosts having noticed and due to several people having dashcams, be surprised if not - van is very likely still in the same place and Brian goes back to it). Gabby is either hanging out by herself without being seen or is already dead. No. one in Spread Creek has said they saw Gabby out socializing. This is the 3 weeks out - ME's window for Gabby's death has closed.

At some point during this time, Brian uses Gabby's ATM or Credit Card or Apple WALLET to take more than $1000 from her account.

August 30. Gabby's mom gets a text she believes is not from Gabby. No voice contact. No pictures.

Sept 1. 10:36 am - The van, without Gabby in it, crosses the FL state border.

Great summary. We need to add the Stan texts.

 

[borndem]

I can't imagine that BL was not authorized to use the cards. If those were solely GP's cards and BL was not aware or they didn't have an agreement to mutually use them, where were his cards? Did she totally control the money? Who paid for meals, gas, etc. I'm sure they didn't carry cash. That she paid for everything does not fit the profile.

IMO, they both probably had money. Her parents probably wanted to make sure she had enuff to get by comfortably. And with both Gabby and BL at his folks' house, they probably had little or no rent. And I hope his parents funded him as well. BL probably decided to use her money first -- maybe she had more than he did -- or, maybe they decided that one would pay for gas, and one would pay for food and supplies, etc. JMO

 

[RickshawFan]

While we wait for news, I thought y'all might be interested in the discussion by this guy who teaches human tracking to LE and SAR.
I can't remember exactly, but didn't LE remove shoes from BL's house? Pardon me if I misremembered. Anyway, that's the first topic in this interview. And I thought it was fascinating to hear what LE does to keep their own footprints differentiated from the person they're tracking.
I'll bet some of this has to be going on in the swamp parks.
Search and Rescue Tracking

 

[Claire182]

Just thinking out loud, let’s say BL thought GP’s body wouldn’t be found for ages or ever, he drove home and has the epiphany if I use her cards on the journey home it leaves a trail, e.g she came home with me but we broke up I’ve not seen her since, I assumed she went back to her parents (cctv gone by the time he expects her to be found) could do this with the phone and then just dispose of the phone (maybe bike ride with mum), he could also maybe forge her signature and get the van in his name or say she said she would get it at some point as she doesn’t like driving it. JMO and thinking out loud.

 

[kittythehare]

That would explain why they are so intent on searching that area. It would make more sense if one of their guys actually saw him enter the reserve and not just the parents.

It would also make sense as to why the abandon car notice was put on it. They knew it had been there for a couple of days because they watched it go in. Maybe one of these reporters should actually do a records request for the park and not just the Laundries.

Eta: Afterthought, maybe the abandon car notice was their way of keeping track of the car. With a report on file, they'd know how long it was sitting there, if it was moved, and possibly who moved it.

What it won't show, most likely is him entering another vehicle and being transported half way across the country, sadly.
He'd been home since September 1st. He had a lot of time and possibly a lot of money to make arrangements.

 

[Shellinaya]

I believe BL was in control of Gabby, but what I don't understand is, why then did he up and leave her behind and fly home to Fla.? That seems very odd for someone that was controlling another person. Gabby would have been free to do whatever she wanted and wouldn't that have driven BL sheer crazy?

I think that a guy can "control" his girlfriend to the point that even when he leaves she still behaves as he wants her to behave.... whatever that is. He doesn't have to be physically present to control her every move because he's generally controlling in a way that has become part of her personality and outlook on life. That's why I think it's just impossible that Gabby would have gone running off with some other people and left BL during this trip. They seemed very co-dependent to me. They both said, "We're a team" during the Moab stop. They seemed to think of themselves as a unit.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

Evidence I believe exists:

Gabby and Brian visit national parks and monuments, arriving in Moab on or before August 12. Both are in town most of the day, while Gabby works on her youtube channel.

August 12 - 2 witnesses call in what appears to be a DV incident, with two people scratching, pinching and hitting. At least one other witness tells police their story of what happened (a friend of one of the people who called) There appear to be more witnesses to this event in downtown Moab.

Early evening August 12. The 911 call results in 2-3 local police cars following GP/BL out of town toward the. entrance of Arches NP. The police put on blue lights near the turn-off to Arches, which is where GP/BL were going to spend the night (per what the ranger says later in the traffic stop)

Evening August 12. Gabby is told it "isn't far" to her campsite and that Brian will be hosted by a charity that aids DV victims. LE takes him to a hotel in Moab, about 13 miles from where Gabby is staying. The police advise them to spend the night apart. We have no evidence that they went against LE advice. Police ensure that both members of the couple have their phones and Gabby asks them to make sure BL has his charger, as she thinks his phone needs charging. Gabby appears to talk to someone on the phone.

August 13. Trip resumes. Gabby's SM shows they intended 3-4 nights in Arches.

August 17. BL flies to FL. Gabby goes to a hotel in central SLC, presumably with the van.

August 21. The coroner's window for Gabby's death has opened. (4 weeks out)

August 23. BL flies back to SLC.

August 24. Photo of Gabby in Ogden, UT. Posted to Instagram as usual.

August 25. Gabby texts her mom that she is in Grand Tetons NP.

August 27. Gabby and BL at Merry Piglets in Jackson, south of GTNP. BL goes in and out of the restaurant, speaking in a low voice to various employees. Gabby cries on the sidewalk, goes inside to apologize for him. Cause of BL's irritation is unknown.

August 27, 6:30 pm. Youtubers (Bethunes) capture their van at an unnumbered, illegal campsite near the main NF campground at Spread Creek. Rules had been made about where people could camp, due to overcrowding. (I believe that LE has been able to find more campers with dash cams and more information about their stay there.) Gabby was dead for 3-4 weeks per ME, when she was found on Sept 19. This is 23 days out from the Coroner's date for Gabby's death. Within the window.

August 29. Brian catches two rides, near Colter Bay/Dam area. He becomes somewhat agitated when he learns he's going back to Jackson and not toward Moran Junction, which is the way to Spread Creek. There is no evidence that the van had been moved during this period. Brian has a backpack, but not much stuff in it. (I believe by now LE has more pictures of the van, due to campground hosts having noticed and due to several people having dashcams, be surprised if not - van is very likely still in the same place and Brian goes back to it). Gabby is either hanging out by herself without being seen or is already dead. No. one in Spread Creek has said they saw Gabby out socializing. This is the 3 weeks out - ME's window for Gabby's death has closed.

At some point during this time, Brian uses Gabby's ATM or Credit Card or Apple WALLET to take more than $1000 from her account.

August 30. Gabby's mom gets a text she believes is not from Gabby. No voice contact. No pictures.

Sept 1. 10:36 am - The van, without Gabby in it, crosses the FL state border.

Early on I remember lots of emphasis on both of them being seen at checkout of the SLC hotel on (I think) 8/24. Maybe on a hotel camera, either at the checkout desk or in the hallway or parking area or?

But I've never seen the photo -- has it been made public? And even if not, are we confident enough that it exists to include here?

 

[kittythehare]

Just thinking out loud, let’s say BL thought GP’s body wouldn’t be found for ages or ever, he drove home and has the epiphany if I use her cards on the journey home it leaves a trail, e.g she came home with me but we broke up I’ve not seen her since, I assumed she went back to her parents (cctv gone by the time he expects her to be found) could do this with the phone and then just dispose of the phone (maybe bike ride with mum), he could also maybe forge her signature and get the van in his name or say she said she would get it at some point as she doesn’t like driving it. JMO and thinking out loud.

Could well be.
I think he's capable of this kind of cunning based upon how fast he was able to descend from 90 to zero when the police stopped them. He was very fast!

 

[Jmoose]

I can't imagine that BL was not authorized to use the cards. If those were solely GP's cards and BL was not aware or they didn't have an agreement to mutually use them, where were his cards? Did she totally control the money? Who paid for meals, gas, etc. I'm sure they didn't carry cash. That she paid for everything does not fit the profile.

My husband and I share an account and we both have a debit card for that account. If these two shared the resources, why didn’t he have his own card? Or why didn’t he have his own account and debit card-and if he did, why use Gabby’s and risk the current charge?

 

[Angels Advocate]

Agree, I feel he wanted someone to find her or have the van towed away from being in an illegal camping spot. Meanwhile he shows up all surprised. It didn't work out; i bet he was angry that everything was as he left it. Probably thought he was in the clear, and nobody will ever find her. Seems like he was willing to go back to life as usual until her parents were threatening to call LE.

Yes and I think he wanted a witness - the girl who picked him up - to see this so he could be all “oh my God what happened here ?”

 

[10ofRods]

Anybody think it's likely that BL left Gabby alone without keys to the van or a tent or anything else and she made that fire that was found next to her all while he was hiking?

No.

If she were left alone without keys or tent, she would have walked down the road to the real campground, contacted the campground host and asked for help.

I doubt she would have illegally started a fire in a National Forest. There are signs saying not to do that.

 

[Claire182]

Could well be.
I think he's capable of this kind of cunning based upon how fast he was able to descend from 90 to zero when the police stopped them. He was very fast!

Exactly, this is all before she was even reported missing, I think he could definitely think like this, we’re not a hundred percent on how many days he had to come up with a plan. He had no idea it would blow up this way and it probably shocked him how quick she was found. If she was found and he said those things he would be caught In a lie, maybe that’s why lawyer said ‘zip it’ when he got back All MOO

 

[SuperTmo]

I can't imagine that BL was not authorized to use the cards. If those were solely GP's cards and BL was not aware or they didn't have an agreement to mutually use them, where were his cards? Did she totally control the money? Who paid for meals, gas, etc. I'm sure they didn't carry cash. That she paid for everything does not fit the profile.

You are assuming he didn’t have his own cards. Using her money after he killed her (moo), doesn’t mean he didn’t have his own. It’s just he wanted to use hers. And I disagree that her paying for everything doesn’t fit the profile. Maybe it doesn’t fit the social media persona she was desperately trying to create for them, but it fits their toxic relationship quite well.

 

[Midgie2]

Agree, I feel he wanted someone to find her or have the van towed away from being in an illegal camping spot. Meanwhile he shows up all surprised. It didn't work out; i bet he was angry that everything was as he left it. Probably thought he was in the clear, and nobody will ever find her. Seems like he was willing to go back to life as usual until her parents were threatening to call LE.

IMO, after he killed her, I think he was hoping animal(s) would take her or attack her.

 

[10ofRods]

My husband and I share an account and we both have a debit card for that account. If these two shared the resources, why didn’t he have his own card? Or why didn’t he have his own account and debit card-and if he did, why use Gabby’s and risk the current charge?

Because he didn't have a card, I would assume. He had stopped working his Publix job to try and focus on selling his art online. Gabby was working 50 hours a week at Taco Bell. She had two cards.

If he had his own card, he didn't use it - he took her money instead.

 

[Warwick7]

I'm not seeing it.

"Laundrie appeared to have control over Petito's van because he was driving it; control over her finances because he reportedly used her credit card; and, ultimately, control over her because he "kept her isolated" by traveling to remote areas and camping"

I prefer my husband to drive. I share my credit card. I love to travel to remote areas. Trust me, I am not in any way controlled, lol!

Well I'm sure you're not repeatedly slapped and hit in public either.

911 caller: Brian Laundrie 'hit, slapped' Gabby Petito in Moab