Back in 2021, the world was left in shock after American woman Gabby Petito was killed while on a cross-country trip across the US. She and her fiance Brian Laundrie were travelling together and she was documenting the trip for her brand new YouTube channel. The trip was planned for four months and began on July 2, but she disappeared on August 27. Brian raised suspicion when he returned home alone in the van to his parents home in Wyoming and refused to discuss her whereabouts.
At the time, he was deemed to be a person of interest and an arrest warrant was issued after he made withdrawals using her debit card. However, he left the family home on September 13 and he too was reported missing four days later. Just ten days after Brian went missing, Gabby's remains were found in Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest. An autopsy revealed that she was killed with blunt-force injuries to her head and neck and manual strangulation.
After a month of speculation about where Brian could be, he was found dead on October 20 in Florida's Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park. It was later revealed via an autopsy that Brian had died by suicide, with the FBI announcing that he had admitted to killing Gabby. He had made the confession in a notebook, which was found near his remains in the Environmental Park. The FBI officially confirmed that Brian was behind the killing and did not act with any third parties to murder her.
In November 2023, Gabby's parents sued Brian's parents and their attorney for withholding information about her death and causing further emotional distress. The case sparked a huge public interest, with more coverage on the news and social media than ever before. Now Netflix has released a new three-part documentary today (February 17) called American Murder: Gabby Petito to the streaming platform which will be sure to intrigue viewers.
Gabby's loved ones have shared stories about her as well as accounts of what really happened between her and Brian. There's also text messages, journal entries and evidence shown in never-before-seen content with this case. American Murder: Gabby Petito is now streaming on Netflix. Obsessed with Netflix? Get the latest headlines, releases and insider-gossip direct to your inbox with our Binge-worthy newsletter.
