20 20 2025 S02 E21
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00:00You said, Brian's home, the van's home.
00:00:05Gabby's nowhere to be found.
00:00:07Gabby loves that van.
00:00:08Oh yeah, she wouldn't have given that van up.
00:00:10Your heart sinks.
00:00:11It's an indescribable feeling in your body.
00:00:13And you don't sleep, you don't eat.
00:00:15From that moment on, it's nonstop.
00:00:19The interview you'll only see here,
00:00:21all four of Gabby's parents together speaking out.
00:00:25I said, I'm going to bring our daughter home no matter what.
00:00:27I'm not leaving there until I have her.
00:00:33Two people went on this vacation.
00:00:35You can't keep chocolate in Utah.
00:00:38And only one returned.
00:00:39Everybody wanted to find Gabby Petito.
00:00:42The whole world was looking for her.
00:00:43It was.
00:00:44It was everywhere.
00:00:45We've gotten leads from 30 countries.
00:00:48Spottings throughout Florida, as far
00:00:50north as the Appalachian Trail.
00:00:52This urgent search for Gabby Petito.
00:00:55Where is Gabby?
00:00:57Where is Gabby?
00:00:59The text messages you haven't seen, what do they reveal?
00:01:03I looked at Brian and I said, you better keep her safe.
00:01:06And he was like, I will.
00:01:07Were there any red flags that this was coming?
00:01:11I didn't get my phone, so I called my mom.
00:01:16And I didn't get that phone call.
00:01:19I think she even realized, I need
00:01:21to get the hell out of this.
00:01:22We believe if a proper lethality assessment was
00:01:25done, she would be alive today.
00:01:37Gabby Petito never goes outside.
00:01:43Hello, hello, and good morning.
00:01:46Now to a case-making national headlines tonight,
00:01:49this urgent search for Gabby Petito.
00:01:51Gabby Petito.
00:01:52Search for a missing woman, Gabby Petito.
00:01:54Disappearance of Gabby Petito.
00:01:56The 22-year-old who vanished on a cross-country trip
00:01:59with her boyfriend.
00:02:00Gabby's family and those in the community
00:02:02who know and care for her are hoping for answers
00:02:05about her whereabouts.
00:02:07The family is devastated.
00:02:08The family is devastated.
00:02:10The family is devastated.
00:02:11The family is devastated.
00:02:12The family is devastated.
00:02:14Every day that this goes on, they
00:02:17get more and more desperate.
00:02:18Whatever you can do to make sure my daughter comes home,
00:02:21I'm asking for that help.
00:02:23There's nothing else that matters to me now.
00:02:25If anybody just has any information,
00:02:27any information out there.
00:02:28This girl right here, this is what matters.
00:02:31That is it.
00:02:32It's a story that captivated the nation.
00:02:35Wow, on this Gabby Petito case.
00:02:37Dominating social media and news coverage.
00:02:39Now the story is going to change.
00:02:42Now the subject of new headlines with a just released
00:02:45docuseries.
00:02:46American Murder, Gabby Petito is now streaming on Netflix.
00:02:51You know what is my absolute favorite part about the van?
00:02:55Gabby Petito's parents and their spouses
00:02:57who raised her as a unit for so many years,
00:03:01sitting down together as a blended family.
00:03:04Marking.
00:03:06The whole world was looking for her.
00:03:08We would have went to the edge of the earth to find her.
00:03:11We really had hope.
00:03:13We really did.
00:03:13Because there's a million different scenarios
00:03:15that could play out just the same.
00:03:17Hurt in the wilderness, bad reception, all that stuff.
00:03:21But it would all end in tragedy.
00:03:24We're not the same people we were before this happened.
00:03:27It was life before and life after.
00:03:30Everyone knows this story.
00:03:31When people hear her name, what is it
00:03:33that you want them to think about?
00:03:35That she wasn't just a victim, she was a person.
00:03:39She was an artist.
00:03:41She loved life.
00:03:41She loved adventure.
00:03:43Gabby was a really good person.
00:03:44She really tried to get the best or see the best in people.
00:03:50Gabby's parents told me reliving these horrific days is hard.
00:03:54We share it to help others.
00:03:56We do it because the more we do it,
00:04:00the more people send us emails.
00:04:02And it's Gabby's story that touched us.
00:04:04Thank you for doing what you do.
00:04:06Gabby gave us a platform.
00:04:08We could go cry all day.
00:04:10What is that going to do?
00:04:11So we're going to use it to try to help others
00:04:13as much as possible.
00:04:16Gabby Petito was raised with so much love.
00:04:19Her mom, Nicole, and dad, Joe, split up
00:04:21when she was just a baby.
00:04:22And they both remarried.
00:04:24Their spouses, Tara and Jim, become
00:04:26part of the parental unit, all raising her together.
00:04:30It was always about her first, and we'll figure out the rest.
00:04:35We worked together as a team.
00:04:37And now we're even closer than ever.
00:04:40If it wasn't for us, I don't think
00:04:42we would be where we are today.
00:04:43We all have different strengths.
00:04:45We all have weak moments.
00:04:46If I'm down, Jim will call me up.
00:04:48Tara will sit by my side.
00:04:50Nikki, you know, she'll call us up.
00:04:52And we pick each other up.
00:04:54Let's talk about Gabby.
00:04:55What was she like as a little girl?
00:04:57She was easy in terms of just going with the flow.
00:05:03She was always up for whatever we were going to do.
00:05:05So in that respect, it was easy.
00:05:07Sometimes she'd get in trouble.
00:05:08It didn't happen.
00:05:09She was a kid, after all.
00:05:10I still remember the first time I saw her.
00:05:13I could tell you exactly what she was wearing.
00:05:14She had these pigtails.
00:05:16And she comes, like, bouncing out.
00:05:17And it was the brightest blue eyes, the biggest
00:05:19smile you've ever seen.
00:05:21And that was the way she was ever since she was little,
00:05:23all the way on up.
00:05:24Larger than life, she was just always happy and just.
00:05:27Physically tiny.
00:05:28She was an amazing artist.
00:05:29We had a large kitchen island.
00:05:31And she would spread her artwork all over the island
00:05:35and just make masterpieces.
00:05:37Gabby is the oldest of six.
00:05:40A loving, older sister to her siblings
00:05:42from both sets of parents.
00:05:44She was a great big sister.
00:05:45Yeah, she was.
00:05:4626.
00:05:48That's a lot of siblings.
00:05:49A lot of siblings.
00:05:51Gabby and her family live in Blue Point on Long Island,
00:05:54just outside of New York City.
00:05:56By high school, Gabby has a big circle of friends.
00:06:00One of them is a boy named Brian Laundrie.
00:06:03Do you remember the moment she first
00:06:05started talking about Brian?
00:06:07Yeah, they met each other in high school as friends.
00:06:09He was a year older, so he had graduated and gone on.
00:06:13And then Gabby continued through.
00:06:15And it wasn't until after she graduated
00:06:17that they reconnected.
00:06:19And that's when we started to hear more about Brian
00:06:22and kind of came to the realization
00:06:24that they were going to be more than just friends.
00:06:28That's a weird feeling, I'm sure, for dads.
00:06:32Well, I never liked anyone that wanted to date my daughter.
00:06:36Because no one was really good enough for her, in my opinion.
00:06:38Do you like him?
00:06:39What do you think of him, when you realize that they
00:06:41were romantically involved?
00:06:43I liked Brian.
00:06:46I thought he was interesting.
00:06:49He was very soft-spoken.
00:06:52He would sit and do art with Gabby's younger sisters.
00:06:55He got along with TJ, her brother.
00:06:58And he just seemed like a nice person.
00:07:01I mean, respectful, always came in, shook her hand, was nice.
00:07:06Just quiet.
00:07:07He was just a quiet person.
00:07:09After high school, Gabby and Brian start dating.
00:07:12When things get more serious, they eventually
00:07:14make the decision to move to Florida
00:07:16to be closer to Brian's family.
00:07:18They move in with Brian's parents.
00:07:21When she mentioned she wanted to move to Florida,
00:07:24what did you guys think of that?
00:07:27She wanted to.
00:07:27She was over 18.
00:07:29You can't stop them from doing something like that, right?
00:07:32I said to her, do it if you think
00:07:35you feel like you want to.
00:07:37But you can always come home.
00:07:38At that point, she was almost 20.
00:07:41So I couldn't tell her no.
00:07:43But she was looking for my advice.
00:07:45I think she asked all of us.
00:07:46I wasn't against her going.
00:07:48I just was like, make sure you take care of you.
00:07:51You are number one.
00:07:52You are the most important.
00:07:54Don't rely on somebody else.
00:07:56Make sure you just take care of you.
00:07:58Yeah, we wanted her to be independent, you know?
00:08:00Make sure you get yourself a job,
00:08:02that you can pay for things.
00:08:03And I'm curious kind of what your relationship with Brian
00:08:05was like at this point.
00:08:06When they were in New York still,
00:08:08I would see him and talk to him quite often.
00:08:11But once they got down to Florida,
00:08:14that relationship was very limited.
00:08:16I was talking to Gabby almost every day, but not Brian.
00:08:18Same for us.
00:08:20But soon, Gabby and Brian take a big step.
00:08:23I thought it was weird that she didn't
00:08:25want to tell us right away.
00:08:26We found out on Facebook.
00:08:30She loved Halloween.
00:08:32It's one of her favorites.
00:08:33Remember that Halloween, she painted her face.
00:08:36She painted her own makeup.
00:08:37We're lucky we have a lot of memories.
00:08:41We're lucky we have so many pictures of her.
00:08:45I'm so happy that she took as many as she did.
00:08:50Because that's what we have.
00:08:51I hope she's doing well.
00:08:53And I also hope she's doing well.
00:08:55I'm just going to pray for her.
00:08:58Because that's what we have.
00:09:00That's what we have now.
00:09:01This is the Outer Banks, I think.
00:09:03That, yeah, I took that in the Outer Banks.
00:09:04Isn't that the best picture?
00:09:06She was a ham for the camera, that's for sure.
00:09:08Oh, she never took a bad picture.
00:09:10And this is why photos are so important.
00:09:12Annoy the kids, annoy the friends, annoy the family.
00:09:16Take the photos, because you never know, then,
00:09:20when that's all you're going to have.
00:09:22Gabby and Brian are now living in Northport, Florida,
00:09:26with Brian's parents.
00:09:33Did she say anything about that relationship?
00:09:35There were a few incidents.
00:09:38Never anything with Brian.
00:09:40It was always like she always felt weird around the parents.
00:09:43I thought about that a lot.
00:09:44I was like, I wonder what's going on with the parents.
00:09:46Like, what's the relationship like?
00:09:48Gabby makes a new friend in Florida,
00:09:51who shares her first impression of Brian
00:09:54in the Netflix docu-series.
00:09:56Hey, little birds.
00:09:59We were all going to the beach together.
00:10:01And he kind of just sat back there and read his book
00:10:04while Gabby and I hung out.
00:10:06It felt like a parent was watching us on a play date.
00:10:09It was very weird.
00:10:11But he was very nice.
00:10:13And I was like, I don't know what's going on.
00:10:15I don't know what's going on.
00:10:17But he was very nice.
00:10:19I do remember coming home and saying to my mom,
00:10:22she's like, how was it?
00:10:23How was her boyfriend?
00:10:24And I was like, he's a really nice guy.
00:10:25But there is something off about him.
00:10:28But in July 2020, after dating a little over a year,
00:10:31Gabby and Brian go on a camping trip and get engaged.
00:10:35Brian asked me to marry him.
00:10:37And I said, yes.
00:10:40You make life feel unreal.
00:10:43And every day is such a dream with you.
00:10:46Her parents say they found out when someone congratulated
00:10:49the couple on Facebook.
00:10:51I'm an old school person.
00:10:53And as an old school person, the one thing you do
00:10:55is you go up to the father of the person you want to marry
00:10:59and you ask him for their hand in marriage,
00:11:00or a parent asks them for their hand in marriage.
00:11:03That didn't happen.
00:11:05We found out on Facebook.
00:11:06All of us, we did.
00:11:07Were you surprised?
00:11:08I thought it was weird.
00:11:09Now looking back, I thought it was weird
00:11:11that she didn't want to tell us right away.
00:11:14That's something you get excited about.
00:11:16She wasn't.
00:11:16Yeah, maybe she wasn't.
00:11:18She was, but she wasn't.
00:11:19She was excited about the planning.
00:11:21I feel like she was like, yay, I can plan this wedding,
00:11:24pick out dresses.
00:11:25She started a Pinterest page.
00:11:27She wanted to do a beach wedding and all this stuff.
00:11:30And then COVID happened.
00:11:32And it kind of stalled all of those plans.
00:11:35We're like, listen, we can't travel.
00:11:38Your grandparents aren't going to travel.
00:11:40So she kind of put it on the back shelf for a while there.
00:11:43While the wedding planning seems to be on hold,
00:11:45Gabby and Brian make other big plans.
00:11:48They're going on an adventure, road
00:11:50tripping across the country.
00:11:52They get a small van that they were outfitting for the trip.
00:11:55I love the van.
00:11:57The van looked amazing.
00:11:59Everything looked pretty.
00:12:00That van was her pride and joy.
00:12:01She was really, really proud of that van.
00:12:04And we saw it was done really, really well.
00:12:08Gabby and Brian weren't the only ones
00:12:10inspired to take off in a van during the pandemic.
00:12:13At the time, van life, as it's called online, was exploding.
00:12:18Van life is exactly what it sounds.
00:12:20It's living in, often, a restored van or school bus,
00:12:24and having this kind of nomadic lifestyle
00:12:26where you can travel all around the country.
00:12:29It was growing in popularity largely
00:12:32through Instagram and YouTube.
00:12:34As parents, as she's about to set out on this van life
00:12:37adventure, are you going, like, how
00:12:39are you going to feed yourself?
00:12:40How are you going to wash?
00:12:42Are you thinking about all those details?
00:12:44No, yes, 100%, because it was crazy,
00:12:48because we would go camping.
00:12:50We had a small little travel trailer.
00:12:52And when she was younger, she hated it.
00:12:54There was bugs, there was sand, there was dirt,
00:12:57and she wasn't really big into it.
00:12:58And as she started getting into that type of stuff, I'm like,
00:13:01is this the same person?
00:13:02And so when she showed us the setup,
00:13:04we have this cooler that plugs in.
00:13:07It's 12-volt. You can turn it into a freezer.
00:13:10Here's our portable sink inside.
00:13:12This is how the sink works.
00:13:14Here's a portable shower that catches rainwater.
00:13:16And I'm like, you're doing all this?
00:13:18Solar power.
00:13:19Solar power to heat it and all this crazy stuff.
00:13:21So kind of thought of everything.
00:13:23And said that they had plenty of money saved up for it.
00:13:26She had been working up until right before they left.
00:13:30We kept sending her money, too, though.
00:13:31Let's just be real in the situation.
00:13:32I was not.
00:13:33I didn't send her money.
00:13:35Joe might have sent her money.
00:13:37I would Apple pay her money.
00:13:40And then you would see, like, what's this Apple charge?
00:13:42And I'd be like, oh, I guess I got hacked.
00:13:44I'll order a new bank card.
00:13:46So like, I think it was like four times in a year
00:13:47I had to get a new bank card just to play it off, you know?
00:13:50Before heading out on the cross-country trip,
00:13:53they come back to New York to go to her brother
00:13:56TJ's high school graduation.
00:13:58She took him camping as a graduation gift
00:14:00and a birthday graduation gift, because it was also
00:14:03his birthday.
00:14:03But her, Brian, and TJ went on a camping trip.
00:14:07I think it was in Pennsylvania.
00:14:08Pennsylvania.
00:14:09And they came back.
00:14:10And not too long after that, they left.
00:14:13Beginning of July.
00:14:15And when they set out on that adventure,
00:14:17what did you say to her before she left?
00:14:19Do you remember?
00:14:20I was absolutely the luckiest one.
00:14:23I got to give her a hug goodbye.
00:14:25And it was the most amazing, squeezy hug.
00:14:28And she was crying.
00:14:30And I said, why are you crying?
00:14:34And she was like, I don't know.
00:14:37And I just was like, maybe she's just so excited.
00:14:40And then I looked at Brian and I said,
00:14:42you better take good care of her.
00:14:43Keep her safe.
00:14:44And he was like, I will.
00:14:46You know, this is very soft-spoken.
00:14:48I will.
00:14:49And I cherish that moment.
00:14:52I cherish that moment.
00:14:55That was the last time I had her in my arms.
00:15:00Did you trust that they would be OK together?
00:15:05I did.
00:15:07I did.
00:15:08I didn't want to worry.
00:15:11I knew she'd be OK.
00:15:13And I mean, as a mom, I was worried a little bit.
00:15:17I said, you're going to be out on the road, the two of you
00:15:20alone.
00:15:20Just be careful.
00:15:21Be safe.
00:15:22Don't talk to strangers, all that stuff.
00:15:24Gabby and Brian set off on their adventure with big dreams.
00:15:28She wants to be a vlogger and begins to document
00:15:31her trip on social media.
00:15:33So we are right outside Capitol Reef right now.
00:15:39You can't keep chocolate in Utah.
00:15:43Not in July.
00:15:47The way to live a sustainable life as a van lifer
00:15:50is to have millions of followers online.
00:15:53That's how you make money.
00:15:54So Gabby definitely wanted to be part of this community.
00:15:57She and Brian were posting it on Instagram, on YouTube.
00:16:00And they were documenting this journey
00:16:02for people on the internet to essentially engage with.
00:16:04Was that like what she wanted to do for her career?
00:16:07Was this sort of like her dream?
00:16:09She was living in the moment, I would say.
00:16:11Yeah, I think it's something she wanted to do.
00:16:13I think she was looking at it more as a hobby at the moment
00:16:16and see where it can go from there.
00:16:18And she always had that creative eye.
00:16:20She always enjoyed taking the photos and the pictures.
00:16:23And we would go on vacation, and she had her GoPro,
00:16:26and she would take videos of us doing things.
00:16:28So I think that's something that she always really enjoyed to do.
00:16:31So why not try to make it as a career?
00:16:34She had asked if we could get her a drone.
00:16:36So her grandpa, Stan, and I kind of split that.
00:16:40We bought her the drone.
00:16:41And that made that video so much better.
00:16:45And she was like a natural at that stuff.
00:16:47Brian's stretching, doing some morning yoga.
00:16:54When I look at Gabi's Instagram, I see her building her brand.
00:16:59She followed a lot of people who also were doing the van life thing too.
00:17:02So it looks like she was following the formula for how to get successful there.
00:17:08Living in a van is a struggle.
00:17:10It is not the beautiful, picturesque life
00:17:13that a lot of internet creators painted out to be.
00:17:17And Gabi and Brian were in a smaller van than I usually see people in.
00:17:21I imagine that's a lot of pressure.
00:17:23Any relationship has fights.
00:17:26But now you're in this tiny van.
00:17:28There's no place else to go.
00:17:30I don't know what you're supposed to do when you're in that kind of environment.
00:17:33Life on the road is difficult.
00:17:36You have to pivot a lot.
00:17:38It changes in a millisecond.
00:17:40And you have to be ready for that.
00:17:42I'd like to report a domestic dispute.
00:17:44Hey, we got a call about a male hitting a female
00:17:46and the two of them getting in this vehicle and taking off.
00:17:49When did you see the video of her?
00:17:52Let's go ahead and get you to step out of the vehicle.
00:18:03Gabi and Brian are on the road.
00:18:06The photos flooding Gabi's social media accounts
00:18:09paint a picture of a couple blissfully in love.
00:18:14But in reality, it seems van life isn't all it's cracked up to be.
00:18:19Behind the scenes, Gabi and Brian would get into arguments.
00:18:23Okay, no, turn in.
00:18:27They were struggling.
00:18:28They were not the cream of the crop van life creators.
00:18:31They were not going viral.
00:18:32You know, they were really living hand-to-mouth.
00:18:34And so there was a lot of tension.
00:18:36You could tell around that, it seemed.
00:18:38I was texting her a lot more like things like,
00:18:42are you and Brian okay?
00:18:43Because I was worried about that dynamic,
00:18:47being stuck in the van together 24 hours a day.
00:18:49You know what is my absolute favorite part about the van?
00:18:53What's that?
00:18:54The fact that we have this nice big open floor
00:18:57for you to keep your dirty feet.
00:19:01In those videos where he rolls his eyes,
00:19:03I never noticed that before.
00:19:05And seeing that really hit me.
00:19:07I was like, wow, that's who he really is.
00:19:08He showed his true colors.
00:19:10But life in the van is about to go from minor annoyances
00:19:15to some far more serious problems.
00:19:21They've been on this trip over a month.
00:19:24And then on August 12th,
00:19:26there is a phone call placed to 911.
00:19:30A witness calls 911 to report a man with a beard
00:19:34slapping a young woman near a local grocery store.
00:19:37Hi, can you hear me, sir?
00:19:39Yeah, I can hear you.
00:19:40Hi, I'm calling, I'm right on the corner of Main Street
00:19:43by Moonflower, and we're driving by
00:19:47and I'd like to report a domestic dispute
00:19:49in Florida with a white van.
00:19:51Essentially, when police respond to domestic violence calls,
00:19:54it is typically messy,
00:19:56where you might have a witness who sees a piece of it.
00:19:59What were they doing?
00:20:01We drove by and the gentleman was slapping the girl.
00:20:03He was slapping her?
00:20:05Yes, and then we stopped.
00:20:06They ran up and down the sidewalk.
00:20:08He proceeded to hit her, hopped in the car,
00:20:11and they drove off.
00:20:12Within minutes, one of the responding officers
00:20:15spots Gabby's white van with its distinctive black ladder.
00:20:20Driver is showing some obscure driving,
00:20:23possibly intoxicated.
00:20:25Currently doing 45 miles an hour.
00:20:28Zone through here is 25.
00:20:30Oh, subject just hit the curb.
00:20:33Body cameras worn by the Moab police
00:20:34capture a traffic stop that will eventually go viral,
00:20:37but only after she went missing.
00:20:39Developing tonight in Utah,
00:20:41a new glimpse of 22-year-old Gabby Petito
00:20:44and her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie.
00:20:46Now there's body cam video
00:20:48that shows the moments after police were called.
00:20:50That video is out. Here it is.
00:20:54What's your guys' names?
00:20:55Gabby.
00:20:56Gabby, Brian. Okay.
00:20:58What's going on? Why are you crying?
00:21:00I'm sorry. We've just been fighting this morning.
00:21:03Some personal issues.
00:21:06We were camping yesterday and camping got supplies and stuff.
00:21:09I'm sorry. I'm sorry I hit the bump there.
00:21:13I was distracting him from driving. I'm sorry.
00:21:16Can I get you to step out of the vehicle for me, ma'am?
00:21:18Yeah.
00:21:21The August 12th incident, when they got pulled over,
00:21:27that day was a pivotal moment in that relationship.
00:21:31We didn't have all the facts.
00:21:33We had no idea how it really played out.
00:21:36Gabby's family was stunned to see these images of her.
00:21:40They were released without any warning.
00:21:43I was in Wyoming out there looking for her
00:21:45and there was a news reporter who had said,
00:21:48hey, just an FYI, there's some camera footage
00:21:51coming out of Moab from when they were there.
00:21:55And so I remember texting back home
00:21:57not knowing fully what it was.
00:21:59When did you see the video of her?
00:22:02When everybody else did.
00:22:04We were glued to the television, watching it.
00:22:07I haven't.
00:22:09You haven't watched it?
00:22:10I won't watch it.
00:22:12I read the transcript. I won't watch it.
00:22:15You want to tell me what's going on?
00:22:17Yeah, I don't know. It's just...
00:22:19Some days...
00:22:21I have really bad OCD and I just...
00:22:25I was just cleaning and straightening up the back of the van before
00:22:28and I was apologizing to him and saying,
00:22:30I'm sorry that I'm so mean because sometimes I have OCD
00:22:34and sometimes I can get really frustrated.
00:22:35I'm not, like, mean towards him.
00:22:37I just, like...
00:22:39I guess my vibe is like...
00:22:42I get angry, I get in a bad mood.
00:22:44Why wouldn't he let you in the car?
00:22:46Because of your OCD?
00:22:47He told me I need to calm down.
00:22:49Yeah.
00:22:50But I'm perfectly calm all the time.
00:22:53And he really stresses me out and I just...
00:22:58This is a drug morning.
00:23:00When questioned by officers at the scene,
00:23:03Brian downplays the incident and chalks it up to a disagreement.
00:23:07So, tell me what's going on.
00:23:09It...
00:23:10The series gets worked up sometimes
00:23:12and I try and really distance myself from her
00:23:14so, like, I lock the car and I walk away from her.
00:23:16I think that our little squabble started
00:23:18because you're hanging out at the coffee shop
00:23:20and when I got back to the van, there was some dirt in the stuff in the van
00:23:23and I moved our food around.
00:23:25There's a few little things.
00:23:27Just little relationships.
00:23:29I don't have a good relationship.
00:23:31I've been married for over five years now.
00:23:33There's a lot of little things.
00:23:35The interesting dynamic is that Brian Laundrie is really calm
00:23:40and there's such a discrepancy
00:23:43that it's almost an intentional way to discredit her experience.
00:23:48I was just saying, I'm sorry if I'm in a bad mood.
00:23:51I was really stressed. I had so much work.
00:23:53I was doing, like, a huge morning.
00:23:55So, I've been building my website.
00:23:57It's been really stressful.
00:23:59I didn't really believe that I could do any of it.
00:24:01So, that's kind of been like a...
00:24:03I don't know.
00:24:04It's like...
00:24:05I don't know.
00:24:06We've just been fighting all morning and...
00:24:09For about an hour, police questioned Brian and Gabby
00:24:12in an attempt to figure out what was really going on.
00:24:15Remember, the 911 caller reported seeing a man with a beard slapping a woman.
00:24:22So, there's two people that came to us and told us that they saw him hit you.
00:24:28Where'd you hit him?
00:24:31You slapped him first?
00:24:33How many times did you slap him?
00:24:44When questioning Brian, police noticed minor injuries on his face.
00:24:52That's why I was pushing her away.
00:24:53I said, let's just take a breather and let's not go anywhere.
00:24:56Let's just calm down for a minute.
00:24:58You see, she got me.
00:25:00Can I see your hand?
00:25:01Gabby admits she hit Brian first.
00:25:05Police now have a critical decision to make.
00:25:09Gabby, this is a very, very important question.
00:25:12How you answer this question is going to determine what happens next.
00:25:22Next Week...
00:25:35Sitting in the back of that Utah police car,
00:25:37Gabby Petito is visibly anxious and upset.
00:25:42According to both Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie,
00:25:45it was Gabby and not Brian who was the initial aggressor.
00:25:50I don't want to try and defend myself by saying
00:25:54that everybody pushed her away.
00:25:55She gets really worked up.
00:25:57There are relationships in which women are aggressively violent toward men.
00:26:01But in the vast majority of domestic violence situations,
00:26:05the men are the aggressors.
00:26:07And the women, in public, when questioned about it,
00:26:10especially by law enforcement,
00:26:12will often take responsibility for it
00:26:15out of fear that the aggressor, the man, in their relationship,
00:26:19will be more angry if they don't.
00:26:26As police continue to question Brian,
00:26:28he describes how he says Gabby hit him.
00:26:45You've got three scratches on your neck.
00:26:47You've got one on your left side of your head.
00:26:49You've got one on your face here.
00:26:53While Brian is speaking to police,
00:26:55an anxious Gabby is in the back seat of that police car.
00:26:59Again, I believe that was the pivotal moment.
00:27:01I think that was the moment when she even realized,
00:27:06I need to get the hell out of this.
00:27:07How can I do it on my own?
00:27:09She didn't want to ask us for help.
00:27:11But she asked for her mom.
00:27:14You see that in the video.
00:27:16There's a spot in the documentary,
00:27:18and she says, can I have my phone so I can call my mom?
00:27:22Get my phone so I can call my mom.
00:27:24And I didn't get that phone call.
00:27:30Because maybe at that moment,
00:27:32maybe she would have told me what was going on.
00:27:35While Gabby did not speak to Nicole during the stop,
00:27:38she did speak to her dad, Joe.
00:27:41She called me during the traffic stop.
00:27:43What did she say?
00:27:45It was her fault.
00:27:46And that was, you told her, it's fine,
00:27:48I'm going to be on the next plane to come get you.
00:27:50And she's like, no, no, no, it's my fault.
00:27:53We didn't have the information.
00:27:54We didn't have all the other information.
00:27:55That she was being slapped and all this other stuff prior.
00:27:57We didn't have any of that information.
00:27:58We didn't have any of that.
00:28:01She never told me about their fight in Moab,
00:28:04but I've seen her that upset before because of him.
00:28:09Now, police on the scene have a decision to make.
00:28:13Brian, unfortunately, in the state of Utah,
00:28:15the state legislature doesn't give us discretion
00:28:17on who's charged when it comes to a domestic assault.
00:28:20And your own companion have made it clear
00:28:24that she was the primary aggressor
00:28:27and that she was striking you and you just received injuries.
00:28:30So at this point, you're the victim of a domestic assault,
00:28:32and you control that.
00:28:33Even if you didn't want to pursue this,
00:28:35you don't have a choice.
00:28:37Now, the problem with her being the primary aggressor
00:28:40is in the incidence of a domestic assault,
00:28:42be it a male or be it a female, we shall arrest.
00:28:46She appeared to be the aggressor,
00:28:49and she said she was the aggressor.
00:28:51Now, do I believe that? No.
00:28:54But the police can only go on the evidence they are given.
00:28:58After discussing the situation,
00:29:00one of the officers goes over to speak with Gabby.
00:29:04So when you watch this video,
00:29:06what I saw was a bunch of police officers
00:29:10trying to sort this out,
00:29:12and they appeared to be compassionate
00:29:14towards both parties.
00:29:16So, look, I'm going to speak to you frankly.
00:29:20I have a daughter almost your age,
00:29:22and I'm looking at you not so much like a suspect,
00:29:26but also as kind of a victim
00:29:28in the sense that stuff you did today
00:29:30that contributed to this,
00:29:32because you both contributed to this,
00:29:34is as a result of your inability
00:29:36to cope with the anxiety and the stress that you're having.
00:29:39Normally, we take people to jail,
00:29:41but he's trying to work it so you can just have the van.
00:30:05Gabby admitted punching him first.
00:30:08The technical requirement under Utah law
00:30:10is that this be done with an intent
00:30:12to cause some sort of harm or inflict pain.
00:30:15So as they examine the evidence in the case,
00:30:17they ask that specific question
00:30:19when she's in the back of the police car.
00:30:21Gabby, this is a very, very important question.
00:30:24How you answer this question
00:30:26is going to determine what happens next.
00:30:29When you slapped him those times,
00:30:35were you attempting to cause him
00:30:37physical pain or physical impairment?
00:30:39Was that what you were attempting to do to him?
00:30:46Well, it doesn't sound to me like she attempted to injure him.
00:30:49Those officers were heading down the path of making an arrest,
00:30:52and they changed direction.
00:30:55Remember, while Gabby was unable to contact her mom, Nicole,
00:30:59she did speak to her dad during that traffic stop.
00:31:03She talked to the officer and says,
00:31:05he's going to let me go, it's, you know, it's fine.
00:31:09It was just a big misunderstanding, and that was that.
00:31:12And I didn't have the video,
00:31:14and I didn't talk to the police or anything,
00:31:16and I had to take her word for it.
00:31:18And I'm like, all right, listen, I understand
00:31:20misunderstandings happen, you know,
00:31:22especially when you're in a small, confined space.
00:31:25I get it, how a disagreement can come about.
00:31:28All right, Gabrielle, you want to step out for me?
00:31:32Police decide not to arrest Gabby.
00:31:35Instead, they separate the couple for the night.
00:31:37Gabby gets to leave in the van,
00:31:39while Brian, seen by the police as a domestic violence victim,
00:31:42is taken to a hotel for the night.
00:31:45I'm giving him a ride over to the hotel, okay?
00:31:49So everything's going to be okay?
00:31:52Will it be a far drive for me to get him in the morning?
00:31:55I'm just curious.
00:31:57I'm not going to tell you where he's going to be at tonight.
00:32:00Like I said, I want you guys to be separated.
00:32:04If I had had that opportunity at that moment to speak to her,
00:32:08I think because she was in the back of the police car,
00:32:11she would have said more to me
00:32:13than after thinking about it too long,
00:32:15later on calling me and telling me it was just a bad day.
00:32:18I just had a rough day, I was stressed out.
00:32:21Brian and I are fine.
00:32:23Now that video is the truth.
00:32:25We have the truth.
00:32:28Brian and Gabby were told to stay away from each other for 24 hours.
00:32:32Too many times women who are at risk
00:32:34want to go back to their abuser,
00:32:36and then they end up getting killed.
00:32:39The very next day, the couple is back on the road.
00:32:42And what happens next will spark a nationwide search.
00:32:46Developments tonight.
00:32:47A missing woman.
00:32:48Desperate for answers.
00:32:49She predicted the outcome.
00:32:58The video shows an idyllic cross-country trip.
00:33:02Gabby Petito launches her vlog, Nomadic Static.
00:33:06All the chocolate mountains.
00:33:08I know, it's a river of chocolate.
00:33:10You can't keep chocolate in Utah.
00:33:14Not in July.
00:33:17But she showed us the video, like it was an awesome video.
00:33:20Like we, I enjoyed it, we all enjoyed it.
00:33:22I couldn't believe she did it.
00:33:24I think our plan for today
00:33:26is to just hang out here in the tent.
00:33:30She seemed a little stressed,
00:33:32but other than that she was loving every moment,
00:33:34visiting all the national parks,
00:33:36doing things that I've never done.
00:33:38Surfing the sand dunes in Colorado,
00:33:40like that's, that's cool, man, you know?
00:33:45On the other side of the video camera,
00:33:47things seemed to be melting down.
00:33:49On the other side of the video camera,
00:33:51things seemed to be melting down.
00:33:53I've been covering the Gabby Petito case since day one.
00:33:58We do know that on August 27th,
00:34:01at Mary Piglet's restaurant in Jackson, Wyoming,
00:34:04witnesses reported a lot of screaming,
00:34:06him yelling at the restaurant staff,
00:34:08going in and out of the restaurant.
00:34:11He was really angry, that's the best I can describe it.
00:34:14He was just very visibly angry.
00:34:16And in that moment, Gabby reminded me a lot
00:34:19of how she seemed in that body cam video of the cops.
00:34:23She just seemed distraught, she seemed really upset,
00:34:26she was emotional, she was crying.
00:34:28Please, this is going to give me so much anxiety.
00:34:30And then people saw them get into this van and leave.
00:34:34The last time Gabby was seen was August 27th
00:34:37on the surveillance tapes at a Whole Foods grocery.
00:34:40Her parents didn't see it until much later.
00:34:43I was watching the body language in that video,
00:34:46and it just didn't look right.
00:34:47He slams the door to the van, they walk in,
00:34:49she's got her arms crossed.
00:34:52Just her body movements and not being close together,
00:34:55stuff like that, you can see the differences.
00:34:59It screams confrontation.
00:35:04Looking back, Gabby's posts that last week of August
00:35:08seem a little off.
00:35:10Later, internet sleuths combed through every post,
00:35:14offering opinions and coming up with theories
00:35:17about what happened.
00:35:20I do believe that going forward,
00:35:24these massive cases will find more ground on social media.
00:35:31They want to solve these cases.
00:35:33Gabby, in the photo, has perfect hair
00:35:36after being on a trip for two months in a van.
00:35:39And she's holding a pumpkin and writes,
00:35:42Happy Halloween, which is odd
00:35:45because it was posted on August 25th.
00:35:48So in Gabby's latest Instagram post,
00:35:51her roots are not there,
00:35:53especially in comparison to some of the other people
00:35:56who were there.
00:35:57Were these posts put online by Gabby?
00:35:59They seem like they aren't new photos.
00:36:03Something isn't right.
00:36:05To her mom, Gabby's texts start to sound odd as well,
00:36:09like one about her grandfather.
00:36:12The text message to her mom read,
00:36:14Can you help Stan?
00:36:16I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls.
00:36:18Stan, you're not my son.
00:36:21You're not my son.
00:36:23Stan.
00:36:24I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls.
00:36:26Stan is her grandfather's name.
00:36:31And what's weird about that is
00:36:33that Gabby never called her grandfather by his name.
00:36:37Stan.
00:36:39The last contact that Gabby's mother has from her daughter
00:36:44is August 30th.
00:36:46She gets a text that says,
00:36:48Only. No service in Yosemite.
00:36:51Which is strange because it's so brief,
00:36:54but also they weren't going to Yosemite.
00:36:58Nicole thinks maybe Gabby and Brian have changed their plans,
00:37:02but it almost sounds like Gabby isn't sending the text herself.
00:37:06Is Brian sending the text?
00:37:08I questioned it, but then I thought there was fires out that way.
00:37:11Maybe they had to reroute.
00:37:13Maybe Brian did send the text.
00:37:15Maybe she's driving the van.
00:37:16I had all these reasons as to why maybe it was from her.
00:37:21But that was the last text I received,
00:37:23and every day I'm like, Gabby, Gabby, Gabby,
00:37:25and I'm getting nothing.
00:37:27Then I'm like, let me check social media.
00:37:29There's got to be something.
00:37:30Nothing.
00:37:31So I called Joe.
00:37:33I said, I'm worried.
00:37:34He said he hadn't heard from her.
00:37:37So you guys were texting each other, calling each other.
00:37:39Oh, yeah. We did it anyway.
00:37:41I just started calling every hospital and national park I could
00:37:43to see if I could find out where they are.
00:37:45There was bad signal.
00:37:46Were you talking to Brian at this point?
00:37:48Did you reach out to him?
00:37:49None of them talked to us.
00:37:50I sent a text to Roberta and Brian,
00:37:54and I got no response from either one.
00:37:56Same.
00:37:57I mean, I even went as far as I'm going to call the cops.
00:38:00And usually when you hear someone's going to call the cops,
00:38:03you would be like, let's see what's going on here.
00:38:07And no.
00:38:09The Petitos have no way of knowing that.
00:38:12While they are trying to find Gabby,
00:38:14Gabby's van is on the move.
00:38:17But Brian is the only one in it.
00:38:20He has driven it all the way from Wyoming back to Florida.
00:38:24And when the police go to the laundry home.
00:38:26I apologize.
00:38:29I have the detective on the phone.
00:38:31The Petitos are staggered by what they hear.
00:38:34Is Gabriel here?
00:38:35No, she's not here.
00:38:36Okay.
00:38:37Brian is inside.
00:38:38Gabby has disappeared.
00:38:45I said, don't talk to strangers.
00:38:47Little did I know, it doesn't have to be a stranger.
00:38:49That's the evil person.
00:38:51Two people went on a trip.
00:38:52One person returned.
00:38:54This girl right here.
00:38:55This is what matters.
00:38:57The interview you'll only see here.
00:38:59All four of Gabby's parents together speaking out.
00:39:03We didn't know where she would be.
00:39:04She could be somewhere in a hospital or a shelter.
00:39:07Lights, cameras, reporters.
00:39:09We are everywhere.
00:39:10Everybody wanted to find this woman.
00:39:12Suddenly we have internet sleuths.
00:39:15There's a clue.
00:39:16Like that's probably the last location.
00:39:18They didn't have that.
00:39:19We can still be looking today.
00:39:21Where is Gabby?
00:39:23Protestors started gathering outside the laundry house.
00:39:26The truth always comes out.
00:39:27Where's Brian?
00:39:28Where's Gabby?
00:39:29I said, he did something to her and I know it.
00:39:32There was a note.
00:39:34It was a letter.
00:39:35It said.
00:39:36There was a note.
00:39:37It was a letter.
00:39:38It said.
00:39:40Burn after reading.
00:39:52Hello, hello and good morning.
00:39:55Brian is stretching, doing some morning yoga.
00:40:00The version of ourselves that we show online isn't always the full picture.
00:40:05picture. Gabby Petito has spent weeks crafting her post she's
00:40:10trying to become a van life influencer traveling the
00:40:13country with her fiance Brian.
00:40:16I love the man, but in the back of that van, it seems tensions
00:40:20are growing according to Gabby's friend rose who spoke
00:40:23in just released a docuseries American murder, Gabby Petito
00:40:27now streaming on netflix.
00:40:29I think a big reason Brian didn't want to do the vlog is
00:40:33because I think he was worried that the truth of everything
00:40:36would be on footage, there's that possibility that he says
00:40:40the wrong thing or react the wrong way while she's
00:40:43recording, you know what is my absolute favorite part about
00:40:47the van.
00:40:49The fact that we have this nice big open for free to keep
00:40:52your dirty feet.
00:40:56Behind scenes.
00:40:58Abby and Brian would get into arguments.
00:41:01Okay, no turning back.
00:41:10I was texting her are you Brian okay because I was worried
00:41:14about that dynamic being stuck in the van together 24 hours a
00:41:18day, but never in a million years to we think that he would
00:41:22harm her.
00:41:23That didn't cross your mind.
00:41:26At what point did it get wait something's going on here this
00:41:29doesn't make sense.
00:41:32What didn't make sense is when we couldn't get in touch with
00:41:34her.
00:41:37The potatoes call text gap.
00:41:40What they don't know is that on September 1st Brian in that
00:41:44little white van has driven back to Florida to his parents
00:41:48house.
00:41:50The neighbors saw the van in the driveway, one of the
00:41:53neighbors told me I did think it was strange they didn't see
00:41:56Gabby but what I know I'm just a neighbor here.
00:42:00The laundry family is going about their business.
00:42:06Neighbors told me that they saw Brian and his parents going
00:42:09for walks down the street and then eventually Brian and his
00:42:13parents went camping for a few days.
00:42:16They were camping in Fort de Soto which is our usual camping
00:42:18spot and because it was Labor Day and the kids at school the
00:42:22next day we just went for a couple of hours and we ate
00:42:25dinner and had s'mores around the campfire and left.
00:42:29There's nothing peculiar about it.
00:42:31His sister said she didn't have any reason to ask about Gabby
00:42:35and she had no idea that anything was wrong it just
00:42:38never came up, I'm frustrated that in hindsight I didn't pick
00:42:43up on anything it was just a regular trip.
00:42:4810 days after the last hear from her on September 11th.
00:42:52The potatoes report Gabby is missing and on that very day in
00:42:56North Port Florida. The police go to the laundry's House.
00:43:00That's what police department.
00:43:03Yes, I apologize for bothering you I have to protect them on
00:43:08the phone.
00:43:10You want to talk to us is okay, she's on the phone you want to
00:43:14talk to her now.
00:43:17Okay, it's it's what was the last time you saw Brian and
00:43:21Gabriel.
00:43:22Brian is here Brian is here and that's all I'm going to say.
00:43:28And that's what you're saying.
00:43:32They've been calling out on.
00:43:34That's all I want to say I don't know why is my attorneys
00:43:36aware of the call and so what I give you his number.
00:43:42Whose number the attorney's number okay, I would like that
00:43:44please I can give it to the detective thank you thank you
00:43:47appreciate it and just to let the detective knows Gabriel
00:43:49was Gabriel here, you know, she's not here okay.
00:43:55They said that
00:43:57that he was not here that's all they're saying that his son is
00:43:59here, but it was not.
00:44:01And they're not talking.
00:44:05Brian's home the van's home.
00:44:07I was nowhere to be found.
00:44:10And he has a lawyer and he's got an attorney and he's got an
00:44:12attorney.
00:44:13To hear all of that.
00:44:16Yeah, we love that man.
00:44:18Yeah, she wouldn't have given up and up did you immediately
00:44:21just think something oh my God, I think he said he did
00:44:23something to her and I know it.
00:44:29As shocking as it may seem.
00:44:31The laundries are under no legal obligation to assist
00:44:35were to talk to the potatoes right now on ABC action news
00:44:37desperate for answers to the ever-expanding search for
00:44:40Gabby potato tonight, new developments in the nationwide
00:44:42search for a missing Long Island native Gabrielle
00:44:44potato.
00:44:46In their desperation, Gabby's parents are grasping at straws.
00:44:51Maybe it's just a hoax they're trying to get this you to
00:44:53video up so maybe it's just a hoax to try to get more
00:44:57followers, I mean your your brain just goes and goes and
00:45:00goes, but in the back of your head, it's like he's not
00:45:03talking and he has a lawyer that's always that that just
00:45:06stuck right there it's like
00:45:08if something bad didn't happen and he would have
00:45:11and talking I've never had to contact an attorney when my
00:45:14daughter broke up with somebody.
00:45:17And there's the van in the laundry driveway.
00:45:22I'm not speaking. So so that's that okay, so the van is only
00:45:28registered to her.
00:45:32I'm not really sure well, I'm going to tell you I'm telling
00:45:34you the title a title on the state of Florida is it's only
00:45:38so it's not supposed to be here. Okay, so I'm going to take a
00:45:41tow truck and get it is a car in the way.
00:45:45It's my car. I mean so you don't have any issue with us
00:45:49taking the van.
00:45:51That's the thing you got to do you got to go right right now
00:45:54I'm not speaking.
00:45:58We don't know what Brian knows I mean that's the bottom line
00:46:02and we're hopeful to talk to him he needs to talk to us.
00:46:06We need to know exactly where he was where she was their last
00:46:10locations.
00:46:12Gabby's parents beg for information from her boyfriend
00:46:15police have said that deafening silence from Gabby's boyfriend
00:46:17Brian laundry is hindering their investigation and search
00:46:20efforts. We would have went to the edge of the Earth to find
00:46:23her just go into like a hyper mode in.
00:46:27All we were thinking about was getting the word out to try to
00:46:29find her and doing what we had to do to try to assist in that
00:46:33and we had no idea that it was going to take the entire world
00:46:36by storm and our focus was just on her at that point.
00:46:40Did you feel that at the time did you did you know that it
00:46:43was everywhere.
00:46:45It was hard not to because we would do interviews and they
00:46:47would tell us.
00:46:50The police get a search warrant for Gabby's van they don't find
00:46:53any evidence of a crime. But the FBI says something is
00:46:57missing the mattress is gone.
00:47:01The laundry family lawyer gives only a statement that they hope
00:47:04the search for Gabby a successful and that Brian will
00:47:07remain silent on advice of counsel. Joe gives a press
00:47:11conference.
00:47:14We need from everybody here is help the goal is still not met
00:47:18that goal is to bring Gabby home safe.
00:47:20This is what matters.
00:47:22That is it.
00:47:23Anything else comes second to this.
00:47:26Tonight, her boyfriend is now a person of interest, but he's
00:47:30not talking the new pleas for him to share what he knows.
00:47:34It seems like a stalemate but suddenly everything changes.
00:47:41When we got that alert that Brian laundry was missing my
00:47:45stomach dropped I remember looking at my phone and not
00:47:49being able to believe what I was reading.
00:47:52Now the laundry parents are searching to Brian laundry has
00:47:57disappeared.
00:48:17Brian has vanished crowds start to gather outside the laundry
00:48:21home in North Port Florida demanding answers. Gabby has
00:48:25not been heard from in over 2 weeks.
00:48:28If you're feeling pretty desperate that nobody actually
00:48:31laid eyes on Brian.
00:48:33But his parents came to the door and said he was home. It was
00:48:36just chaos hearts sinks. It's an indescribable feeling in
00:48:39your body. And you don't sleep you don't eat from that moment
00:48:43on it's
00:48:45nonstop.
00:48:48In the very beginning of this investigation at Brian's
00:48:51parents House media was lining the street up and down.
00:48:56Be respectful of everyone's property. North Port police
00:48:58told us that they had been surveilling the House and had
00:49:01surveillance on the House during this time. But at some
00:49:04point Brian left.
00:49:07The laundry family says they don't know where their son is
00:49:11at this point and they're hoping for him to come home
00:49:14safely.
00:49:18We're going to turn next year to the search for that person
00:49:20of interest Brian laundry that search intensifying tonight
00:49:23after Brian's parents tell North Port police he has gone
00:49:26camping and the Carlton reserve a massive manhunt ensues.
00:49:31Numerous law enforcement agencies are involved in the
00:49:34search inside the Carlton reserve they're using drones
00:49:38you TV's a TV's and they're searching a heavily wooded
00:49:41area.
00:49:4375% of it is underwater.
00:49:48The Carlton reserve is a 25,000 acre wildlife reserve. It is
00:49:54massive.
00:49:55And I can tell you from being there it is a rough
00:49:57environment.
00:49:59We do know that Brian laundry has quite a lot of experience
00:50:03camping.
00:50:04Brian sister Cassie says Brian is skilled in surviving
00:50:08outdoors, he reads books about it and it wouldn't surprise me
00:50:13if he could
00:50:14last out there a very long time.
00:50:17Authorities hunt for Brian Carlton reserve. Gabby's
00:50:20parents band together in their search for Gabby.
00:50:24Gabby's parents try to stay up be a million things racing
00:50:29through your mind at that point.
00:50:31Just no idea we've all said it, you know it's we're not naive
00:50:34to the fact that we thought
00:50:36we really had hope because there's a million different
00:50:39scenarios that could play out just the same hurt in the
00:50:41wilderness, bad reception, you know all that stuff maybe the
00:50:45split up and she's just done with him and doesn't want to
00:50:47tell us yet she's really upset you really try to rationalize
00:50:50any scenario.
00:50:51You have that hope.
00:50:53Well there are initially many empty leads in Florida.
00:50:57Something extraordinary unfolds.
00:51:00One thing that happened immediately after this case
00:51:02blew up in the media and on the Internet was it opened up this
00:51:05broader conversation about missing women and specifically
00:51:09missing black and indigenous women and the lack of attention
00:51:12given to that.
00:51:14Gabby's case luckily has brought awareness to that.
00:51:19Let's stand up for missing murdered indigenous women.
00:51:22It's really hard to talk about the missing white woman
00:51:25syndrome in the context of this case because of course we care
00:51:29deeply deeply about Gabby potato but at the same time we have to
00:51:34recognize that we have an outsized compassion
00:51:39for young white women who are missing or murdered
00:51:45and we have a negligence about Brown women.
00:51:49There is really a vast difference minorities do not
00:51:53get shared the same as a blonde hair blue eyed
00:51:56white girl.
00:51:57They have family they have friends, they just want to
00:51:59found indigenous women go missing and are murdered at
00:52:03rates.
00:52:0410 times higher than than the rest of the country and was how
00:52:08can we help what can we do to help elevate your voice.
00:52:12Mary Johnson Davis, Kimberly the yellow hair, Sarah Nicole
00:52:16Graham.
00:52:18Wyoming last place Gabby was seen issued a report in 2020
00:52:22that only 18% of indigenous women's missing cases got media
00:52:26coverage.
00:52:28There's a phrase in Indian country that when a Native
00:52:29American woman goes missing she disappears twice once in life
00:52:34and once in the news.
00:52:36Lori and Boston.
00:52:38Wanda say Walker.
00:52:40Why do we have greater compassion in our hearts for
00:52:44Gabby potato than we do for these other women we have to
00:52:47really dig deeply to ask ourselves that question.
00:52:51It's on all you.
00:52:53Everyone that's in this room
00:52:55to do that.
00:52:56And if you don't do that for other people that are missing.
00:53:01That's a shame.
00:53:03Because it's not just Gabby that deserves that.
00:53:06It is our belief and we want others to be inspired to share
00:53:10people and try to be cognizant cognizant of those of those who
00:53:14do not look like you 600,000 people go missing a year half
00:53:19of them are people of color.
00:53:22You know what we have to share everybody.
00:53:26Meanwhile, Brian has now been missing for weeks, the search
00:53:29going on.
00:53:32A lot of the public forms you can that Brian Laundrie has to
00:53:35be involved in Gabby potatoes disappearance.
00:53:37But police need actual evidence of criminal activity before
00:53:41they can make an arrest.
00:53:43What would you say to them.
00:53:44Nothing nothing.
00:53:46That they don't they don't.
00:53:51Earlier today human remains were discovered.
00:53:54Consistent with the description of Gabrielle Gabby potato the
00:53:58cause of death has not been determined at this time.
00:54:02Now this is no longer a missing persons case it would soon
00:54:06become a murder investigation.
00:54:10And amazingly it's someone online who cracks the case.
00:54:15When we found the footage, I'm like please please keep
00:54:17recording please keep recording please be on here and all of a
00:54:21sudden we see this white speck getting closer and closer and
00:54:24closer.
00:54:36The search continues for Gabby potato grantees on National Park
00:54:40where Gabby spoke directly with her family for the last time
00:54:43before she disappeared.
00:54:45We're right now is the grantee times.
00:54:48In Wyoming just north of Jackson home on spread Creek road which
00:54:53is the camping area that Brian laundry and Gabby potato were
00:54:56last camping out.
00:55:00Once someone goes missing you hope you have a starting point
00:55:04where were they at last when did you see him.
00:55:07The quicker you get search teams out the better the reality is
00:55:12times against you.
00:55:13The urgent search for a missing woman, Gabby potato her family
00:55:17telling us they have no idea where she could be.
00:55:20Everyone wants to find Gabby and now with social media many are
00:55:25taking it upon themselves to track her down the Internet
00:55:29sleuths get to work the fact that she randomly posted it on
00:55:32August 25th with just that caption to me is very
00:55:35suspicious and we had no idea that it was going to take the
00:55:40it was going to take the entire world by storm.
00:55:43Also notice that the capitalization is different she
00:55:46never capitalized anything but the first word it's a true crime
00:55:50story happening in real life which you feel like you can
00:55:54participate in so people on tiktok we're immediately going
00:55:58to scrutinize why she posting with a pumpkin why is this
00:56:01video framed like that they're getting into Gabby potatoes
00:56:05mind and trying to align themselves to find out what
00:56:10happened they're looking at the body language they are looking
00:56:14into the time stamps they're creating a map of everywhere
00:56:18that they traveled in this van.
00:56:21It just seemed like everybody came together as one because
00:56:26they had a mission to find her.
00:56:28A new discovery on tiktok as a young woman named Miranda Baker
00:56:37says she thinks the hitchhiker she picked up in her Jeep on
00:56:40August 29th was actually Brian laundry.
00:56:44My boyfriend and I came into the tea times that's when Brian
00:56:48had approached us and he said hey I need to get a ride back
00:56:52to Jackson.
00:56:53The offer $200 to drive a few miles and they thought that
00:56:57that was a little odd.
00:56:58He was really clean for someone who had been hiking for
00:57:01multiple days that did strike me as weird and especially his
00:57:04backpack it wasn't fall. He said him and his fiance were
00:57:07camping at a dispersed campsite near snake River, the biggest
00:57:12red flag is why would you camping by yourself for
00:57:15multiple days.
00:57:16Alone with just a backpack and leave your fiance in your van.
00:57:22It just doesn't make sense.
00:57:24We were driving for 15 minutes and I had brought up, you know
00:57:28why you going to Jackson hole and once I said Jackson hole
00:57:32that's when the energy shifted.
00:57:36He got very upset about that said please let me out of the
00:57:38car. He got out of the car and as Miranda Baker states about
00:57:431015 seconds later, he was gone.
00:57:47And after people spend days online pouring over countless
00:57:50posts it is social media that helps find Gabby's body.
00:57:55There is video found of Gabby's white van
00:57:59in the grantees times, yeah.
00:58:02How did you find out about that.
00:58:04I was out in Wyoming there and they were getting a tremendous
00:58:06amount of tips and so people started recognizing I was in
00:58:10that area around that time so they started going back and
00:58:13looking at their own photos and their own videos.
00:58:16My name is Jen Bethune and I travel with my husband, Kyle
00:58:22our 3 kids and 4 dogs in our 1983 silver Eagle bus.
00:58:30Our story is very intertwined with Gabby story.
00:58:34We're you tubers and so we film all the time.
00:58:40She did not know at that time they're just driving through
00:58:42the Teton National Forest.
00:58:44This van is on the side of the road.
00:58:46It was crazy to us because it had Florida plates and we're
00:58:49from Florida and we were like we can go hang out with them,
00:58:53but the van looks very dark it didn't look like anybody was
00:58:56there.
00:59:01She doesn't think much of it so many weeks later.
00:59:04The FBI Denver twitter account posted this saying that they
00:59:08are conducting ground surveys at the spread Creek dispersed
00:59:11camping area.
00:59:13Without all that attention Jen Bethune never would have
00:59:17noticed that white van in her own footage.
00:59:21Crazy part about that video from the Bethune's is that for
00:59:24some reason the camera was rolling and it wasn't supposed
00:59:27to be.
00:59:28When we found the footage, I'm like please please keep
00:59:31recording please keep recording and all of a sudden we see this
00:59:34white spec getting closer and closer and closer.
00:59:38We both got goosebumps all over our body, we knew it was her
00:59:42van as soon as the footage passed by it. It was an insane
00:59:46feeling.
00:59:48At 12 o 8 in the morning, I called the FBI.
00:59:55After the Bethune's alert the FBI they post their video
00:59:58online for the world to see and when Gabby's parents watch it
01:00:03they call the FBI themselves saying this without a doubt is
01:00:08their daughter's van.
01:00:09It was assembly we saw it.
01:00:12It gives you like the heebie-jeebies but at the same
01:00:14time like there's a clue like that's where the van was that's
01:00:18probably the last location.
01:00:21They were already in that area searching. Yeah, but it's such a
01:00:24vast area out there and that was just like that missing piece
01:00:27to say they were were in the right place. They didn't have
01:00:30that.
01:00:32It's still be looking today.
01:00:34Yeah.
01:00:36I think each of us that had tips and that had the sightings
01:00:40held a piece of the puzzle so I think it was a community as a
01:00:44whole working together to bring Gabby home.
01:00:50They could pinpoint exactly where that van was
01:00:53and I want to say within a day of that is when the founder.
01:00:58Starting with breaking news authorities found a body in the
01:01:00Bridger Teton National Park in Wyoming. There is breaking
01:01:04news in search for Gabby Petito just moments ago officials
01:01:07tonight officials confirming they found a body near Grand
01:01:10Teton National Park that earlier today, maybe human remains were
01:01:14discovered consistent with the description of Gabrielle Gabby
01:01:18Petito.
01:01:22And I said you have to be sure.
01:01:24And tragically Jim is about to face an unimaginable task.
01:01:32That was the worst phone call.
01:01:34So my life.
01:01:35I did that.
01:01:46Since there are so many possibilities for what could
01:01:48have happened to Gabby her parents decide to split up and
01:01:52help out with the different searches across the country.
01:01:55We were told by the FBI they wanted us to stay in Florida
01:01:59jim's like I'm going to Wyoming Nikki was in New York at the
01:02:02time, you know, so we were just really in all the locations
01:02:07where we needed to be we went to the edge of the Earth.
01:02:15Gabby Petito has been reported missing for 3 weeks, Gabby's
01:02:18parents are about to live a waking nightmare.
01:02:22Jim had to make them from them.
01:02:24I mean it's safe to say the worst phone call you've ever
01:02:26had to me I don't even know how we made it.
01:02:29Remember every waking moment of that day September 19th meeting
01:02:33with
01:02:34my FBI agent in the morning kept getting phone calls asking
01:02:36about certain things and
01:02:39finally got a phone call as for I was close to the hotel.
01:02:43I said yeah, a few blocks away so you need to meet us there
01:02:46now.
01:02:48At that moment, I knew
01:02:50it wasn't good.
01:02:52It wasn't going to be easy for me to get a hold of him.
01:02:59On September 19th, the FBI announced that they had located
01:03:03remains just outside Grand Teton National Park in Bridger
01:03:07Teton National Forest human remains were discovered
01:03:11consistent with the description of Gabrielle Gabby Petito.
01:03:17They came in and they said we found
01:03:20your daughter.
01:03:22We will know until we do a forensic
01:03:25autopsy, but you have to call the family and there's another
01:03:29girl missing around the same time fit her description and I
01:03:33was crying.
01:03:35And I said you have to be sure like I have to be sure if I'm
01:03:38making this phone call remains consistent. What does that what
01:03:40does that mean it could mean it's not her.
01:03:42So you have to give us give me something more than that and
01:03:46and they did
01:03:47they showed me pictures.
01:03:50I confirm that was
01:03:53our daughter.
01:03:54I did that I
01:03:56got this hearing it's like you can't that was a work phone
01:03:58call. I said I I'm 2000 miles away.
01:04:02I don't my family with me I can't hold her I can't hold my
01:04:04other children.
01:04:06So I'm going to bring our daughter home no matter what
01:04:07I'm not leaving there until I have her.
01:04:10And
01:04:16I lost a big part of myself part of us our family that day.
01:04:20We're not the same people we were before this happened.
01:04:23It was life before and life after.
01:04:27We're lucky we have a lot of memories.
01:04:30We like we have so many pictures of her.
01:04:35I'm so happy that she took as many as she did.
01:04:39Because that's what we have that's what we have now.
01:04:4722 beautiful years.
01:04:53Through all of it.
01:04:55We still say it could have been worse really could have never
01:04:58found it. Yeah, we can never bring home so many people that
01:05:01we know that
01:05:03I've been searching for the loved ones for 5, 1020 plus
01:05:06years.
01:05:08And they always have that thought in the back of their
01:05:10mind that maybe they're still alive.
01:05:14Once Gabby has been identified by Jim there's an autopsy
01:05:17performed and Gabby's death is ruled a homicide tonight
01:05:20breaking news in the Gabby Petito case with the corner in
01:05:23Wyoming has now determined.
01:05:25And the matter of death of Gabrielle more of the people.
01:05:30We find the cause of matter of the cause death by
01:05:33strangulation and there is homicide.
01:05:37It actually takes 5 to 7 minutes for somebody to
01:05:40actually kill another human being as a strangling so that
01:05:44is 5 to 7 minutes where somebody is face to face with
01:05:48their victim watching as the gas her air at watching as
01:05:52their eyes fill up with blood. It is an incredibly gruesome
01:05:55incredibly intimate form of homicide.
01:05:59The reason that's important is when you look at domestic
01:06:02violence homicides that involve manual strangulation there
01:06:05often been instances involving nonfatal strangulation.
01:06:09Where did he hit you.
01:06:19A lot of times if you strangle your loved one, your partner.
01:06:24It gets strapped down to a misdemeanor less than 90% of
01:06:26the people charged with felony strangulation in this country
01:06:29are ever charged and convicted of strangulation.
01:06:32This is a vicious death by any interpretation. Now all the
01:06:37energy that the public according to finding Gabby
01:06:39Petito is directed at finding Brian laundry.
01:06:43The nationwide manhunt for laundry still the only name
01:06:47person of interest in Petito's murder after he returned home
01:06:50from their cross-country road trip without her soon there
01:06:53would be clues about what Brian is hiding.
01:06:57I ended her life.
01:06:59I thought it was merciful that it is what she wanted, but I
01:07:03see now the mistakes I made.
01:07:14After a desperate weeks long search for Gabby Petito her
01:07:18body was discovered beside a stream bed near Grand Teton
01:07:21National Park.
01:07:24The cause of death.
01:07:26Manual strangulation.
01:07:31Now that Gabby has been found the focus turns to finding
01:07:34Brian laundry.
01:07:38According to the FBI.
01:07:40Brian was driving Gabby's van back to Florida. It seemed as
01:07:44if he was trying to cover his tracks. The FBI would later say
01:07:47he was attempting to deceive law enforcement by sending text
01:07:50messages to and from Gabby's phone as well as from Gabby's
01:07:54phone to her mother.
01:07:56I was texting every day I was getting response and then
01:08:00finally on August 30th, I get a text that says we have no
01:08:04signal where in Yosemite.
01:08:06Like I have all these reasons as to why maybe it was from her.
01:08:11But that was the last text I received.
01:08:16The search for Brian first out West than in the South.
01:08:21Is now focused on an area in Florida not far from where his
01:08:25parents lived.
01:08:28A few weeks into the search Brian's parents join the effort
01:08:31they go into an area in the park that did told police to
01:08:34search, but it had been underwater at the time shortly
01:08:37after authorities find his remains.
01:08:44Earlier today.
01:08:46Investigators found what appears to be human remains
01:08:49along with personal items.
01:08:51This morning, the month-long manhunt for Brian Laundrie
01:08:55ending where it began the FBI using dental records to
01:08:59confirm the remains are his.
01:09:02Among the materials belonging to Brian Laundrie that
01:09:05authorities uncover was a letter from his mother.
01:09:09And it said
01:09:10burn after reading.
01:09:13I remember the first time I read that letter I had to read
01:09:16it like 3 times because I was so confused, I didn't
01:09:20understand.
01:09:22And the letter reads you are my boy, nothing can make me stop
01:09:26loving you if you're in jail, I will bake a cake with a file
01:09:30in it if you need to dispose of a body I will show up with a
01:09:33shovel and garbage bags.
01:09:36It made me feel like very uncomfortable and I felt sick
01:09:40to my stomach, I was like how is this even possible.
01:09:43A lawyer representing the laundries who said the letter
01:09:46had nothing to do with Gabby Petito's death and been
01:09:49written months earlier.
01:09:51Roberta Laundrie would later say in an affidavit the letter
01:09:53was a reference to a book she'd given him called burn after
01:09:57writing and it was intended as a way to bond with her son.
01:10:03A month after Brian was found the medical examiner released
01:10:06his findings from the autopsy Brian died by suicide, he shot
01:10:11himself in the head.
01:10:16The attorney for the laundry family releases the actual
01:10:20pages from Brian laundries notebook now people can read
01:10:26for themselves. What Brian Laundrie says happened.
01:10:30Gabby I wish I was right at your side, I loved you more
01:10:34than anything.
01:10:37It goes from this beautiful sort of love letter to this
01:10:41very serious scary situation.
01:10:45Rushing back to our car trying to cross the streams of spread
01:10:48Creek before it got too dark to see too cold here splash and a
01:10:52scream.
01:10:53Brian claims that he wasn't sure exactly where they were he
01:10:57didn't think he could make it back to the van.
01:11:00She said little lapsing between violent shakes gasping in pain
01:11:06begging for an end to her pain.
01:11:08Brian says he killed Gabby as a form of mercy.
01:11:14I ended her life.
01:11:16I thought it was merciful that it is what she wanted, but I
01:11:21see now all the mistakes I made.
01:11:23The potatoes released a statement saying that they
01:11:26don't believe anything that's in this notebook.
01:11:32He was a liar.
01:11:34Nothing he said in those stories were true.
01:11:36He was a coward to the day that he died.
01:11:39When you look back at all the stuff that happened.
01:11:43Were there any red flags that this was coming.
01:11:47Yes, there were but we didn't know some of the time could
01:11:50use sense if he was controlling her.
01:11:54So yeah, we didn't come up to us and say he's doing this
01:11:57things that we would notice again after the fact we can see
01:12:00that that pattern was part of that progression that she was
01:12:03in.
01:12:04Since her death, Gabby's parents have uncovered
01:12:06communications between her and Brian that show the darker side
01:12:11of their relationship shared as part of the new netflix series.
01:12:16One of those texts from Gabby to Brian said don't try to
01:12:19control me because it only makes me mad.
01:12:22I love you so much, but it's the way you speak to me that
01:12:25hurts me the most.
01:12:27They also found a haunting letter that Gabby had written
01:12:31to Brian.
01:12:34I am you know how much I love you just please stop crying and
01:12:38stop calling me names you in pain is killing me.
01:12:44Gabby's family says there were potential signs in their
01:12:47daughter's relationship that could have caused alarm bells
01:12:51to ring earlier.
01:12:55Gabby's parents established the Gabby potato Foundation to help
01:12:59other parents recognize the signs of domestic violence.
01:13:04There's so many versions of it and a lot of people don't even
01:13:06know where to go when they're in it. No we know now we see
01:13:11that progression that happened in the nation of friends and
01:13:15family isolation, it's hard to pick up when you get a high
01:13:19level view you can see the path that that was leading to and
01:13:23that's part that
01:13:25it's hard for us.
01:13:26And that's one of the reasons why we started that the
01:13:28Foundation and the Gabby potato Foundation to teach others and
01:13:32other parents there might be some tips that you could talk
01:13:35to your child about try to let them know that you are there
01:13:37for them and that there are resources out there.
01:13:40The message is all the time from people saying I I didn't
01:13:42realize I was in a bad relationship or potentially
01:13:46violent relationship until I saw her story. I saw it I got
01:13:49help and I safely got out and if it wasn't for her I wouldn't
01:13:52I would be here today.
01:13:54But one thing that brought them a bit of peace that
01:13:59therapeutic yes, and the way Gabby potato will be changing
01:14:04lives.
01:14:18How did you guys end up with the van.
01:14:21It was everything was done the FBI asked us what we wanted to
01:14:24do with it and we contemplated a few things at the end we were
01:14:28like we just don't want to 5 to it.
01:14:32We had the van crushed. No one really knows that but we did.
01:14:38It's very therapeutic for us almost like when you go to like
01:14:41one of those rage rooms and you get to smash things fantastic.
01:14:51I understand the laundry's lost the sun.
01:14:56And for that they have my sympathy, I know how that feels
01:15:00losing a child you'll never get over that.
01:15:03So my heart breaks for them for that that's the only thing my
01:15:05heart breaks for for them.
01:15:08Since Brian will never be prosecuted for killing Gabby
01:15:12the potatoes want someone held responsible.
01:15:16The potatoes file multiple lawsuits, one of them is for
01:15:19wrongful death against Brian laundries state. Months later,
01:15:23there is a settlement.
01:15:25The family of Gabby potato will be awarded 3 million dollars in
01:15:29a wrongful death lawsuit against the state of Brian laundry,
01:15:32an attorney for the laundry said in a statement. Hopefully this
01:15:36brings some closure to this one chapter of this tragedy.
01:15:40Gabby's parents also file a lawsuit against Brian's parents
01:15:45alleging their actions cause them pain and suffering.
01:15:49They allege Brian's parents knew that something was wrong
01:15:53but didn't share that information in a deposition
01:15:57Chris laundry says that a frantic Brian called him from
01:15:59the road said he needed a lawyer but never said Gabby was dead
01:16:04only she was gone.
01:16:06Roberta laundry said she thought maybe Brian and Gabby
01:16:09had gotten in a fight.
01:16:152 years later announcements by both families.
01:16:19The parents of Gabby potato have settled a civil lawsuit
01:16:22against the parents of potatoes former fiance Brian Landry both
01:16:26sides say they've reached an agreement to avoid a civil
01:16:29trial. The terms are confidential.
01:16:33As for the police Gabby's parents filed a 50 million
01:16:37dollar wrongful death lawsuit against the department alleging
01:16:40negligence.
01:16:42In filings attorneys responded that while potatoes murder is
01:16:45tragic only speculation supports the assertion that Moab could
01:16:50have changed history.
01:16:56Gabby's parents remain committed to seeking justice for their
01:17:00daughter.
01:17:01The one thing we need more than anything else is don't make it
01:17:04just another cautionary tale use her it's you know her
01:17:07situation and her story
01:17:10as a lesson of what can and should not happen.
01:17:15We've been a part of 4 law changes.
01:17:17Since this all happened.
01:17:212 in Florida, one in Utah and one nationally, it's her voice
01:17:24doing it not us they take the call because of those are her
01:17:27name she did not us and she's going to continue doing she's
01:17:32doing more in her death and she did in her life.
01:17:35The goal is to mandate that in domestic violence situations,
01:17:39police make a risk assessment and better collaborate with
01:17:42victim advocates.
01:17:47I really think when it came to her and Brian she saw the best
01:17:50in him.
01:17:52She looked at the good.
01:17:54That's who she was.
01:17:55I got his memorial service Jim alongside Joe delivers a
01:18:05eulogy.
01:18:07That he had a tattoo.
01:18:08I wrote that read let it be
01:18:11title of a song from a van she was there's a person that song
01:18:15that speaks to me
01:18:17when the broken hearted people living in the world agree there
01:18:20will be an answer.
01:18:26It's okay to mourn for Gabby.
01:18:29It's okay to feel sorrow and pain.
01:18:32But we want to celebrate her and how she lived her life.
01:18:36We will need to hold on to all those wonderful memories we
01:18:39shared with her.
01:18:40Is that will be the answer.
01:18:44The