Warning: The following article mentions murder, suicide, and domestic violence. Please read with care.
After it was reported back in August 2021 that young YouTuber and influencer Gabby Petito had gone missing, the nation immediately entered a frenzy right alongside her family as the search for Petito began.
Prior to her unexpected disappearance, Petito had been exposed to the trendy “van life,” traveling with her fiancé Brian Laundrie as the duo made a pact to visit various landmarks around the U.S., although their dazzling trip was tragically cut short. Amidst the two months that Petito and Laundrie were traveling together, increased bouts of disarray reached an all-time high between the duo, which resulted in the death of Petito.
As to be expected, an uptick of interest in the case has become overwhelming once again, specifically due to the recent documentary released on Netflix, American Murder: Gabby Petito, which takes us for a stroll down memory lane and recalls the timeframe of Petito’s life, her disappearance, and the eventual death of Laundrie.
Was Petito’s body ever found?
After over a month of investigative searching, Petito’s body was tragically found on Sept. 19, 2021 at a camping park in Wyoming. In the aftermath of the discovery of her body, her death was eventually ruled a homicide, with Laundrie then assumed as the main suspect in the jaw-dropping case, which resulted in an arrest warrant being issued.
An autopsy of Petito’s body concluded that she died from strangulation, along with several instances of blunt-force injuries. Given that Petito was traveling with Laundrie at the time and spent most of her final weeks and days with her fiancé, police had him pegged as the assumed murderer of the young influencer.
Following the discovery of Petito’s body, police then turned their attention towards finding Laundrie who, at this point, had also gone missing. Investigators in the case soon discovered that Laundrie told his parents that he was going on a hike and would return, although he never did, leading to widespread confusion and an array of more questions being asked. Instead, Laundrie’s body was found on Oct. 20, with suicide being ruled as the cause of death.
As gruesome and terrible as Petito’s final moments undoubtedly were, her body being discovered by police was a positive, seeing that the discovery allowed her family to then give Gabby a final resting place. That being said, it’s also worth noting that her family were absolutely robbed of Laundrie being brought to justice and having answers to their long list of questions, which is a gut-wrenching pill to swallow.
