The murder of Gabby Petito is the latest subject of Netflix's true crime anthology series "American Murder." While we all know the story by now, the new documentary sheds some light on some previously unknown details — many of which are pretty disturbing.
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00:00The murder of Gabby Petito is the latest subject of Netflix's true-crime anthology
00:04series American Murder. While we all know the story by now, the new documentary sheds some
00:08light on some previously unknown details, many of which are pretty disturbing.
00:12The first of them revolves around text messages. Remember how Brian Laundrie
00:16allegedly sent texts to Petito's mother, Nicole Schmidt, from his girlfriend's phone after her
00:20death? Turns out, these actually weren't the first texts that set off alarm bells in Schmidt's head.
00:25The previous texts in question were sent by Petito herself not long before her disappearance,
00:29and they hinted at trouble in paradise, something that seemingly wasn't readily
00:33apparent before this point.
00:34"'Brian's stretching, doing some morning yoga.'"
00:38Responding to her mother asking how things were going, she wrote back,
00:42"'I'm fine. I convinced Brian to go camp out in the woods so I can have the van to myself.
00:46It's what he wants to do. He said I could have the van if I paid him.'"
00:49Of course, this made Schmidt wonder if her daughter was planning to split up with Laundrie
00:52and end their trip early. When asked if they were indeed breaking up, Petito wrote,
00:56"'No, I just said I could make more money as a solo female vanlifer.'"
00:59While this likely didn't make Schmidt worry too much at the time, you can still imagine
01:03how she felt knowing her daughter was out in the wilderness with a guy that she wasn't getting
01:06along with. And in hindsight, it's one of the first notable hints that Petito's van life
01:10adventure was careening towards tragedy. Subtle, but very disturbing indeed.
01:14The next previously unknown detail has to do with gut-wrenching testimony from a man identified only
01:19as Jackson, a former friend and romantic partner of Petito. In addition to detailing his relationship
01:24with Petito, he discusses his interactions with her in the days before her death.
01:28Jackson says that he and Petito were a couple for a year before she began her relationship
01:32with Laundrie, and mentions that they'd even lightly discussed someday taking an
01:35off-the-grid van life trip together. On August 22, 2021, Jackson received a text message from
01:41Petito, alone for the day and needing to talk. That night, they had a phone conversation that
01:45turned concerning when Petito mentioned her plans to leave Laundrie and how she was afraid he might
01:50react. Five days later, Petito sent him a Snapchat message from Jackson Hole,
01:54Wyoming, to quip that the name of the town reminded her of him.
01:57Some time later, Petito wanted to talk again, but Jackson skipped the call because he was
02:00occupied at work. Like everyone else, he didn't learn of her fate until it was broadcast nationwide.
02:06Gabby Petito's body was officially identified today,
02:10the coroner now ruling her death a homicide.
02:13It's not hard to imagine the guilt he probably feels knowing that he might have been able to
02:17help her in some way. Not that there's a whole lot he could have done from a distance, but still,
02:21it's one of those things that could haunt a person forever.
02:24The last previously unknown detail concerns Laundrie's actions after the murder.
02:28Four days after the remains discovered in Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area were
02:32conclusively identified as those of Petito, federal authorities issued an arrest warrant
02:36for Laundrie, who was already a reported missing person by that point. They also
02:40levied a charge of debit card fraud, finding evidence that Petito's Capital One debit card
02:44had allegedly been used after her death to the tune of $1,000 worth of transactions,
02:49and that Laundrie was the likely culprit. You likely remember this.
02:52However, an FBI agent elaborates on this in the documentary, and discloses that a
02:57significant portion of the fraudulent charges levied by Laundrie came from a Zelle direct
03:01funds transfer. Laundrie reportedly used Petito's phone to take $700 out of her bank account and
03:06move it into his. In order to make it look like Petito had done it herself, Laundrie included
03:10a memo to suggest the couple was splitting up and ending the road trip. The note read,
03:15"'Goodbye, Brian. I'll never ask you for anything again.'"
03:18Yeah, it's definitely disturbing to know that the text messages Laundrie sent Petito's mom
03:22after he'd murdered her daughter wasn't the only time he left fake breadcrumbs
03:25to make himself look innocent.