Gabby Petito: The Van Life Dream That Ended in Tragedy

In this episode of The Compendium, we explore the heartbreaking story of Gabby Petito, a young woman whose dream of van life with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, turned into a nightmare. What started as an idyllic road trip across America quickly spiraled into one of the most publicized missing persons cases in recent history, with social media sleuths, police bodycam footage, and a nationwide search gripping the world.

With exclusive insights into the Gabby Petito disappearance timeline, the infamous police bodycam footage, and the Moab police handling of the case, we uncover the tragic missteps that may have cost Gabby her life. As Netflix prepares to release the Gabby Petito 2025 documentary, we look back at the investigation, the role of social media, and the lasting impact this case has had on domestic violence awareness.

We give you just The Compendium, but if you want more, here are our resources:

1. American Murder: Gabby Petito (2025) – Netflix
2. 60 Minutes Australia Interview with Gabby’s Family – Youtube
3. Gabby Petito Foundation – Supporting victims of domestic violence
4. Moab Police Bodycam Footage – Youtube

Host & Show Info

• Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
• About: Kyle and Adam are more than just your hosts, they’re your close friends sharing intriguing stories from tales from the darker corners of true crime, the annals of your forgotten history books, and the who's who of incredible people.
• Intro Music: Alice in dark Wonderland by Aleksey Chistilin

Community & Calls to Action

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Chapters

• 0:00 Sneak peak
• 0:48 Welcome to The Compendium
• 2:04 Topic of the week
• 1:09:28 Outro

Transcript

[00:00:00] Kyle Risi: He had arrived home alone on the 1st of September and what made this even more chilling was that he had Gabby's van with him. On top of that, Brian and his parents were refusing to speak to the police. They'd instructed them to direct any questions through their lawyer, whom they had already hired. 

[00:00:21] Adam Cox: Okay, what the hell is going on?

[00:00:23] Kyle Risi: Hello and welcome to the Compendium, an assembly of fascinating things, a weekly variety podcast that gives you just enough information to stand your ground at any social gathering. 

[00:00:59] Adam Cox: We [00:01:00] guide you through stories from the darkest corners of true crime, the hidden gems of history, and the jaw dropping deeds of extraordinary people. 

[00:01:07] Kyle Risi: I'm Kyle Reacy, your ringmaster for this episode. 

[00:01:10] Adam Cox: And I'm Adam Cox, your knife throwing understudy for this week.

[00:01:14] Kyle Risi: You're always the understudy. 

[00:01:16] Adam Cox: week the knife thrower is on holiday, so it's my first time up throwing knives. What could go wrong?

[00:01:22] Kyle Risi: Everything could go wrong, Adam. Everything. Before we dive in, As usual, a quick heads up for all you lovely freaks out there. Remember, signing up to Patreon gets you early access to next week's episode an entire seven days before anybody else. And, if you want even more, you can become a certified Freak for a small monthly fee that unlocks all of our unreleased episodes up to six weeks earlier. It is literally the best way to support the show. 

[00:01:50] Adam Cox: And while you're at it, don't forget to follow us on your favourite podcast app and leave us a review. Your support really does help us reach more people just like you who love a good tale of the [00:02:00] unexpected.

[00:02:01] Kyle Risi: Alright then Freaks, enough of the housekeeping. Let's buckle up and get this show started because Adam, today, we are diving into an assembly of road trips gone tragically wrong. 

[00:02:14] Adam Cox: Oh, this sounds ominous 

[00:02:16] Kyle Risi: and Ominous. I love that word. I love saying ominous. 

[00:02:20] Adam Cox: Today is ominous. A road trip that's gone wrong. Have you ever had a road trip that's gone wrong? 

[00:02:24] Kyle Risi: Every road trip I take with you, Adam, is a road trip gone horribly wrong. If we're not fighting, if we're not spitting on each other, 

[00:02:31] Adam Cox: I'm just gonna leave you at home next time. 

[00:02:34] Kyle Risi: Today, we are diving into a story that sort of unfolded right before everyone's eyes, thanks to the power of social media. It's a story that most of you will remember. It kind of dominated the headlines for weeks, trending at number one on Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, spawning a slew of online communities and trending videos of people speculating on what they think might have actually happened. Thank you. 

[00:02:57] I am actually talking about [00:03:00] the strange disappearance of Gabby Petito and her boyfriend Brian Laundrie, who set off on what was supposed to be the ultimate van life adventure traveling across the USA back in the summer of 2021.

[00:03:16] This trip wasn't just a holiday, it was also an opportunity for Gabby to build a potential career as a van life influencer. And Gabby and Brian, they meticulously documented literally every moment, curating a series of carefully crafted, idyllic social media posts. Like, the images this picture of a couple deeply in love set against the backdrop of some of the most breathtaking landscapes the USA had to offer. Wilderness, canyons, and the vast open countryside.

[00:03:48] But then, without warning, all communication just stopped. There was just no new filter laden Instagram posts being posted, no aspirational video montages, [00:04:00] no texts, no calls, just radio silence. And at first, Gabby's family kind of reassured themselves that this was because of the poor reception in the national parks.

[00:04:10] But after 11 days, Adam, without any contact, Gabby's mother started to worry. And so, naturally, she contacted the police. 

[00:04:20] But within hours, the police found something that would send the story through a myriad of strange and unexpected twists as the police desperately tried to piece together what had actually happened.

[00:04:32] And because Brian and Gabby were aspirational social media influences, hundreds of groups started popping up, each with their own opinions on what might have actually happened out there on the road. And eventually, When witnesses started coming forward claiming to have seen Gabby and Brian on the open road, a very, very different picture to what was being presented on social media began to emerge.

[00:04:56] So Adam, today I'm going to be telling you [00:05:00] about the deeply troubling story of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie and how their adventure of a lifetime turned into a heartbreaking tragedy. Now I know that was a lot to take in there, but did I build it up? Have you even heard of the story? 

[00:05:16] Adam Cox: I've never heard of the story, but then what's new? Yeah, these influencers they've gone on a jolly. Mm hmm. And have they faked their disappearance? 

[00:05:25] Kyle Risi: Well, we'll have to wait and see won't we? 

[00:05:26] Adam Cox: Okay. 

[00:05:26] Kyle Risi: But it is another social media episode first We did Belle Gibson who was that social media wellness influencer this week tragic story of Gabby and Brian 

[00:05:37] Adam Cox: Mm I see how where this is gonna go then. It's tragic. 

[00:05:41] Kyle Risi: I did say it was tragedy You 

[00:05:42] Adam Cox: Yeah, okay. 

[00:05:45] Kyle Risi: Wow, Adam Cox is not listening once again, ladies and gentlemen. I was just checking. Right, so shall we just get started? 

[00:05:53] Yes. 

[00:05:54] Okay, on the 2nd of July 2021, 22 year old Gabby Petito and her fiancé, [00:06:00] 23 year old Brian Laundrie packed up their bags, climbed into the van, and they set off from Gabby's hometown in Long Island, New York.

[00:06:08] They were headed out on a four month cross the country road trip, driving west, visiting as many state and national parks as possible. And along the way, they documented every step from inside jokes to traveling along the country roads to snaps in front of kind of like welcoming state signs, all the typical things that you would expect from social media van life influencers, right?

[00:06:31] Sure. They were literally living the ultimate van life adventure. I've always wanted to go on a on a road trip across the country. We did that during lockdown anyway, it seemed like it was the thing to do when a lot of people were stuck at home or they couldn't travel on an aeroplane.

[00:06:45] A lot of people just went traveling around their home country. 

[00:06:48] Adam Cox: Yeah, but I think you are mistaking that with traveling around and going to one single destination. 

[00:06:54] Kyle Risi: No, we kind of went down to Bournemouth that one time. We went to go see [00:07:00] Dirdlesdorf. Is it Dirdlesdorf? No, 

[00:07:02] Adam Cox: it's 

[00:07:03] Kyle Risi: Dirdlesdorf. The devil's, what? Dirdlesdorf. Dirdlesdorf, which is the devil's door. Mm hmm. Mm 

[00:07:08] Adam Cox: hmm. 

[00:07:09] Kyle Risi: And we went to the Jurassic Coast, we went to Bournemouth, we went to the New Forest. Yeah, but I think For the traveling around. When England's small, you know. England is small. 

[00:07:17] Adam Cox: But when I think of traveling around in a van, like, that's living and breathing in a van, like, For months and months on end, which I would think is horrible. Give me a hotel. I wouldn't mind it for like maybe a long weekend. 

[00:07:27] Kyle Risi: It depends how well your van is kitted out though, right? If you've got all the immunities. If you are in an RV, then maybe you can stomach it. Because it's like just a hotel. 

[00:07:35] Adam Cox: But if it's a converted van where you have to like, the bed is also the Table. Table. The dinner table. And also the toilet. Mm hmm. And also. Your workstation. And also the sink. Then no. 

[00:07:48] Kyle Risi: I don't know if that's the situation here. It's a very small van that they were driving, so I imagined space was tight. 

[00:07:53] Adam Cox: I'd like, you know, where you got your own separate living quarters. To the toilet and the kitchen.

[00:07:57] Kyle Risi: And to your partner. 

[00:07:58] Adam Cox: [00:08:00] Yeah, so you can stay in the van. I'm gonna go check myself into a five star hotel. 

[00:08:03] Kyle Risi: Fine, okay, fine, but anyway, Gabby and Brian, they've been planning this trip for like almost a year, right? They were saving up pretty much every single penny that they could. Eventually came the point where they were able to quit their jobs together and together they just transformed Gabby's white Ford Transit into like the Pinterest perfect hashtag van life dream on wheels essentially.

[00:08:24] It, it was going to look great on camera, especially when you're sitting inside the van as well. And you've got the back door open and then you can kind of like take a snap and then you can see like the big beautiful view in the background of the mountains and things like that, that kind of aesthetic and

[00:08:37] Adam Cox: campfire making 

[00:08:39] Kyle Risi: all that shit, you know, spending the evenings looking up at the stars. Yeah, you understand the aesthetic that she is trying to go for here, right? I. 

[00:08:48] Get it So for Gabby, this also wasn't just a road trip. It was a start of something bigger, right? Maybe the beginning of a career as a travel influencer. She had the vision. She had the passion She had the camera ready to capture it all [00:09:00] and Brian wasn't really interested in the social media side of things But he was the outdoorsy type. So he was just really stoked to kind of just be on this ride You along with his fiance. 

[00:09:11] And so for six weeks everything was going smoothly. They documented everything through Gabby's Instagram and it painted a picture of a young couple in love setting off on this breathtaking adventure across the USA.

[00:09:21] But then on the 19th of August, six weeks into the journey, Gabby uploaded what was meant to be the first of many videos on her YouTube channel. It was titled Van Life, the beginning of our van life journey. And it was an eight minute montage capturing kind of their adventure so far, just like Gabby. obviously their Instagram kind of footage. 

[00:09:41] It was idyllic, it was full of laughter, it was stunning landscapes, truly picturesque. throughout their entire trip, almost every single day, wherever signal allowed, Gabby stayed in constant contact with her family, especially her mum Nicole.

[00:09:54] And every time she called, she sounded happy, she was excited, just to be out, in the [00:10:00] US Outback. Do the US call it the Outback? Probably not. No, what do they call it? Just the wild. The wild, the wilderness. The wilderness, the mountains. Yeah. Outback's kind of more for Australia, right?

[00:10:10] Yeah. Outside. Outside. But then on the 25th of August, Gabby posted a picture of herself on Instagram, standing in front of like, this really beautiful butterfly mural. But no one knew at this point that this would actually be the last post that she ever made.

[00:10:24] So when Gabby's mum, Nicole, didn't hear from her for several days, she started to become a little bit anxious. But everyone reassured her that Gabby was kind of off the grid somewhere in the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, reminding her that Gabby had said as much in a text on the 30th of August saying that there was no signal where she was.

[00:10:44] But as more time passed and still no word from Gabby, Nicole tried calling Brian. When she got nothing from him, she decided to call Brian's parents. And again, there was no answer from them either. From them? Yeah.

[00:10:58] So eventually, after 12 more [00:11:00] days of silence. Nicole decides that she couldn't wait any longer, now she was worried that something had potentially happened to both of them.

[00:11:06] So on the 11th of September 2021, she calls police, and to her absolute horror, the Florida police call her back. They'd found Brian. Oh. He was at home with his parents. What?! In fact, He had been home for the last 10 days. He had arrived home alone on the 1st of September and what made this even more chilling was that he had Gabby's van with him. On top of that, Brian and his parents were refusing to speak to the police. They'd instructed them to direct any questions through their lawyer, whom they had already hired. 

[00:11:43] Adam Cox: Okay, what the hell is going on?

[00:11:45] Kyle Risi: So clearly, concerned. The police immediately seize Gabby's van, they declare Brian Laundrie a person of interest in the disappearance of his fiancée. But their requests to interview Brian are just completely denied by their lawyer. And so, it's at this [00:12:00] point that this bizarre story just explodes into the media.

[00:12:03] So let's just unpack that for a second, right? Because it's just beyond strange. Your daughter and her fiancé, they go away together. You don't hear from them for 12 days. Then out of nowhere, you find out that her fiancé has been back at his parents house for the past 11 days. Nobody has answered your calls and nobody has called you back. Your daughter isn't with him. On top of that, He is in possession of her vad, which means somewhere out there possibly in Wyoming. Your daughter, might not have a way to get back home.

[00:12:33] To make things worse, the laundries are refusing to speak to you, the police or the press. 

[00:12:38] Adam Cox: And the lawyer is stopping. The police speaking to Brian. 

[00:12:42] Kyle Risi: Yeah. Can a, can a lawyer do that? The thing is though, he's only a person of interest, unless he's a suspect. Okay. They can deny that, and if you have a good lawyer, they can block the police if they have the know how.

[00:12:54] Adam Cox: Now, I'm no policeman. Mm hmm. But this sounds suspicious. Therefore, I feel like he should be a suspect. [00:13:00]

[00:13:00] Kyle Risi: Mm hmm. 

[00:13:00] Adam Cox: And therefore, I think he should be Interviewed. 

[00:13:02] Kyle Risi: 100%. So with no answers from Brian or his family, a full blown police investigation and a search gets underway to find Gabby. Because of course, the circumstances look shady as fuck, right? The media is following the story very closely, which very quickly starts flooding through to socials. What is interesting is that because of Gabi's aspirations as a van life influencer, there's just tons of material for internet sleuths to just start obsessing over, which then leads to numerous online groups popping up on Facebook, Reddit, TikTok, where people start to kind of share their own theories as to what might have happened.

[00:13:33] Adam Cox: Okay, are they like watching her videos and trying to look for clues and things? 

[00:13:36] Kyle Risi: Yeah, like, well, why would she just disappear? And clearly, clearly, brian must have done something here, right? 

[00:13:43] Adam Cox: Yeah, and to get a lawyer and to not even let his in laws or future in laws know where their daughter is. Yeah. Why is going on? How did he think he'd get away with this? 

[00:13:53] Kyle Risi: So Gabby's mum and dad obviously desperate for any information. Remember, they're not getting any answers from Brian or his family. Their lawyer has [00:14:00] stated that the family was exercising their constitutional right to not speak to authorities.

[00:14:04] So his parents decide to appear on numerous press conferences with a plea for any Anyone, anyone just to come forward with any information that they might have. And this is why this is so strange, right? Gabby and her parents were not strangers to the laundries, right? Gabby and Brian, they were engaged. They'd been together since their school days. 

[00:14:22] They both grew up less than two miles apart from each other when the laundry still lived in Long Island. And as teenagers, they met at high school. So according to those who knew them, they connected because they were both like a bit loner ish. They didn't really fit in with the main crowd. They said that even though they were very different, that was the thing that kind of brought them together in the first place,

[00:14:41] most of the friends said that they spent their high school years on and off with some sort of drama always going on between them like They'd be like all over each other one day and then at each other's throats the next. One of Gabby's friends describes their relationship as kind of swinging between very high highs and very low lows.

[00:14:59] But nothing really [00:15:00] made anyone think that this was any more than just your usual kind of teenage angst, right?

[00:15:04] Mm hmm. 

[00:15:05] Brian and Gabby, they actually ended up breaking up after Brian who was a year ahead of her graduated in 2016. Eventually they do get back together when Gabby finally graduates a year later and from there they become more and more serious in their relationship to the point where Gabby literally moves from Long Island to Florida to be with Brian, his parents had obviously since moved down to kind of Florida.

[00:15:26] So basically. They were serious enough that Gabby was willing to uproot her entire life to be with him, but according to people who knew them, even after graduating and growing up a little bit, their tumultuous relationship didn't seem to kind of really improve that much. 

[00:15:41] Gabby's friend Rose, who she met after moving to Florida, says that it was very clear that Brian was extremely controlling and manipulative. Like, just to be clear, this wasn't like in a physical sense at this, at this point. We don't ever know if it was ever. A physical kind of controlling relationship, but he always knew exactly what to [00:16:00] say to get what he wanted. 

[00:16:01] Rose says that If she and Gabby ever planned to go out for the evening and Brian didn't want Gabby to go, he'd hide her bank card and her ID so that she'd then just be stuck at home with him, which is extremely troubling behavior. 

[00:16:13] Adam Cox: Yeah, it does sound like he's controlling.

[00:16:15] Kyle Risi: And the thing is, though, even at that early stage, if he's behaving like that, you could kind of look at that as potentially gateway behavior to something potentially more serious later down the road. 

[00:16:24] Adam Cox: Yeah, like what else is going on behind closed doors. Exactly. If friends are picking up on this slightly controlling relationship and they're always on and off again or whatever. Mm hmm. Then maybe there is more to it. 

[00:16:35] Kyle Risi: So eventually in July 2020, they got engaged and to save up enough money to get started out on their own, Gabby and Brian decide to move in with his parents in Florida. 

[00:16:43] So, the point that I'm making here is that Brian's parents knew Gabby very well, right? Very well. The silence that they are exhibiting throughout all of this, is therefore very, very strange,? 

[00:16:53] Adam Cox: Yeah, it sounds like a really dodgy family. 

[00:16:55] Kyle Risi: It does! Gabby was clearly embedded in Brian's family's [00:17:00] lives. Living with them was proof enough, but internet sleuths doing their own digging as this kind of case started emerging, found like a bunch of public Pinterest boards shared between Brian, Gabby, and Gabby. and his mum Roberta. 

[00:17:12] So again, it's obvious Gabby was very much entwined in the Laundrie family. Plus, don't forget, they were living together during the COVID lockdown. So under those circumstances, you really get to know the people that you're quarantining with. 

[00:17:26] Adam Cox: Yeah, so for them to, not express any concern and not raise anything that Gabby is out there alone or whatever, just seems really odd. What a strange thing to do. She's almost like a daughter to them. 

[00:17:38] Kyle Risi: Exactly. It's so bizarre. So Gabby was not just some random girl that Brian barely knew whose disappearance was bringing some inconvenient drama to his parents door. She lived with them! Like, they knew her, and it seems like their son was the last person to have seen Gabby, so their silence was just really highly suspicious.

[00:17:56] but It was at some point while living together that Brian and Gabby [00:18:00] decided they didn't want to spend their savings on a big flashy wedding. So instead, this is where they decided to go traveling around the USA. 

[00:18:07] So in December 2020, Gabby bought a 2012 Ford Transit Kinect van that had been converted into a camper. And together they set about customizing it for their trip and a year after moving in together they set off on their van life adventure traveling across the USA.

[00:18:21] Now we've already covered that on the 25th of August 2021 Gabby posted her last Instagram update. Then on the 30th of August, a text reading no signal in Yosemite would be the last message ever received from her by her mother.

[00:18:39] And it wasn't until the 11th of September 2021, after days without contact, that Nicola then finally contacted the police. What is even more bizarre is that Nicola would also discover that on the 6th of September, five days after Brian had arrived back home, the laundries all went on a little [00:19:00] camping trip together.

[00:19:01] Adam Cox: Not in the camping van that they 

[00:19:03] Kyle Risi: Nope, where, where do they go? So according to the Pinellas Country Park records, the Laundries checked into a campsite about 75 miles from their home between the 6th and the 8th of September.

[00:19:14] So to me, this is highly suspicious, Why would they all go on a family trip away just days after their sunrise, back home unexpectedly without his fiance?

[00:19:23] Yeah. 

[00:19:24] So I just have to say at this point, because I can't actually draw this out any longer, investigators will eventually find Gabby's body. And so, knowing this little detail about the family trip away, under such strange circumstances, makes you really question what the laundries were actually doing, and what they actually knew.

[00:19:42] Adam Cox: So were they up to like covering up something they went away to like cover up some tracks. 

[00:19:47] Kyle Risi: Possibly We don't know that's the reality of this. We don't know. It's just very strange And again, let me just break down how odd this is Right, if we give the family the benefit of the doubt and say they have no idea what happened to Gabby, 

[00:19:59] [00:20:00] that suggests that Brian simply arrived back home without Gabby on the 1st of September And what, did he tell his family that he and Gabby just needed a break, and so she continued travelling on her own? 

[00:20:10] Adam Cox: And they were like, oh, and you allowed that to happen? 

[00:20:13] Kyle Risi: Yeah. Or, did he drop Gabby back off home after cutting the trip short, but again, remember, he had her van. As a parent, would you not question that? 

[00:20:23] Adam Cox: Yeah, you'd be like, fair enough if you wanted to come home. But she needs somewhere to get around, and surely if she's on her own, you give her the van. 

[00:20:30] Kyle Risi: Exactly. And he couldn't have come home without her and not leave her with the van, right? That's what I would have thought, yeah. But assuming that's all true and they believed his account or whatever bullshit story he's told them, why did they maintain silence after Gabby's family eventually reached out to see if they had heard from her? And why get a lawyer? Exactly. So surely at that point, as a parent, you would start asking questions to your son, right?

[00:20:52] I honestly believe that's exactly what happened. I think that they, they must have questioned him somehow, right? They're not idiots. Nobody is that stupid. So [00:21:00] the only logical conclusion is that, They were helping him cover up his involvement in some way, hence the silence and directing any questions through to their lawyer.

[00:21:08] Adam Cox: Yeah, but why I don't know. You want to look after your son and protect them, but I don't know. You're now an accomplice, essentially. Sure. 

[00:21:17] Kyle Risi: But I mean, could it be that they don't know what's happened to Gabby at this point? Maybe they don't know that she's dead? 

[00:21:22] Adam Cox: Right, maybe he said something like, oh, we got into an argument and they're like, we're concerned, we're getting a lawyer as just extra protection. Maybe, but even still, why wouldn't, I feel like as a parent, you'd want to speak to the other parents, Gabby's parents, to kind of at least be honest with the situation. 

[00:21:38] Kyle Risi: And I mean, like I said, these people were all very entwined with each other, right? They grew up together, they knew each other, they lived together.

[00:21:44] Why? Something's amiss. So basically all lines of questioning are leading back to the family knowing what happened to Gabby, that Brian was responsible and that they were trying to protect their son. So when the family set off on that camping trip, were they helping to cover something up? Maybe hiding evidence perhaps? [00:22:00] It's unclear. We will never know why they chose obviously this particular spot, especially since it's not going to be anywhere near where Gabby and Brian had previously visited or anywhere near Where the police will eventually find her remains. 

[00:22:12] Adam Cox: But is it a destination on the way back where Brian mm-hmm. Would've gone by? Mm-hmm. They're 

[00:22:16] Kyle Risi: still, they're still in Florida at this point. They're only 75 miles away. Mm-hmm . And they were traveling in Wyoming, so that's like on the west coast, north. So, I don't know, maybe, maybe they just needed to get away while they figured out the next move. Mm-hmm . Maybe a private location where they could connect with the lawyer. I don't know. It's very bizarre behavior. 

[00:22:36] What we also won't find out until much later on though, is that on the 29th of August, two days before Brian came back home on the 1st of September, He called his parents and he had a very long conversation with them where Roberta describes Brian's toad as like completely changing.

[00:22:50] At the end of the conversation, he became very upset. When he spoke to his father, Christopher, he kept repeating that Gabby is gone. And then the next day was when the laundries then hired their [00:23:00] lawyer.

[00:23:00] Adam Cox: Oh, so how do we know about this? Is this because the parents were interviewed by the police and that they gave up this information?

[00:23:06] Kyle Risi: When everything is over, There will be a criminal lawsuit against the family for their silence. They will be under a deposition. And during that deposition, this phone conversation will then come to light, and the contents of that phone conversation. And that's pretty much what they said.

[00:23:22] Adam Cox: Right, so they did know, or whilst he didn't directly say, I killed her, or whatever. 

[00:23:27] Kyle Risi: They still deny that. They just said that he said that she was gone. 

[00:23:31] Adam Cox: Hmm. 

[00:23:32] Kyle Risi: And that could mean a lot of different things, right? She's gone off, 

[00:23:34] Adam Cox: or whatever. Yeah.

[00:23:35] Kyle Risi: So we'll come on to that in just a minute.

[00:23:37] So by this point, police obviously still trying to work very hard to kind of piece together what might have happened. Remember, they don't know any of this information, right? All they know is that Brian is not talking and Gabby is still missing. 

[00:23:48] Then on the 16th of September, five days after Gabby was reported missing, they get a clue. The Mohave Police Department in Utah. released some body cam footage that was captured on the [00:24:00] 12th of August. So this would have been a month prior and basically this footage showed officers talking to Brian and Gabby after a 9 1 1 call reported seeing a man slapping a girl and chasing her down the pavement.

[00:24:12] Oh. A patrol car was dispatched out to check it out and soon they spotted a white van driving really erratically down the road. As they tailed it, the van suddenly crossed a yellow line and then hit the kerb. So suspecting that the driver might be drunk, they pulled them over and it was Brian and Gabby exactly who they were looking for based on the 911 call.

[00:24:32] The officers immediately separated Brian and Gabby. Gabby is visibly distraught. She's crying uncontrollably in the passenger seat. They ask them like, like, what's going on? Like what's happening? And I can tell you now in the footage as well, the officers are really empathetic. They're very calm. They're very collected. Like they're not being aggressive at all. They're just, you can tell that they're, they're concerned. 

[00:24:53] Adam Cox: Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:24:54] Kyle Risi: In the footage, Gabby is speaking really emotionally. She's clearly very anxious. And she starts saying how, [00:25:00] They've been having a really bad morning and they've been fighting.

[00:25:02] So she explains how she's got real severe OCD and she likes the van to be really neat and tidy, especially when she's doing a lot of her vlogging and Instagram posts and things like that. She says that she doesn't mean to be mean to Brian, but sometimes she just can't help it. So that's really interesting. She's almost admitting to being the one who caused the issue. 

[00:25:20] Adam Cox: The argument, or is it just, uh, from being in an abusive relationship she's putting the blame on herself when all she's said is like, can you keep the place clean? Or I need to tidy up, I'm gonna do a vlog.

[00:25:31] Unless she is actually being, very, I don't know, hard to get along with. Sure. But it just makes me feel like she's been made up to be the bad guy or she's just trying to cover it up because I don't know, she doesn't want it to escalate. 

[00:25:43] Kyle Risi: I think when you look at footage online of her and in interviews and all the footage that exists, she is the sweetest, sweetest girl you've ever seen.

[00:25:51] She's really beautiful. She's kind of shy, but she's like still confident at the same time. And I think you might be right there. whatever's happened here. She's taking the blame, [00:26:00] but she's made to feel like it was her fault. Whatever the situation that has unfolded, I feel that that's clearly the case.

[00:26:07] Adam Cox: Sounds like there's been a report that he's actually slapped her. 

[00:26:09] Kyle Risi: She tells the officers that brian had grabbed her face, but only because she had hit him first. Also she explains that the reason he crossed the yellow line and then hit the curb was because when she saw the police, she hit Brian and then called him an idiot. And, of course, while this has all been explained, On the other end of the road was another officer speaking to Brian separately.

[00:26:30] And unlike Gabby, he is noticeably calm. Like He insists that the incident wasn't physical in any way. He claimed that he was just trying to push Gabby away to avoid getting hit. And he was just really downplaying the incident, right? To him it wasn't a big deal, but clearly The way that you could visibly see Gabby was feeling it was a big deal to her, right?

[00:26:49] Even if she was a perpetrator, she was emotionally overwhelmed by the whole situation. He describes that she is super anxious at the best of times and he even suggests that she should [00:27:00] probably get like a Prescription for Xanax and he shows the officers the marks on his body from Gabby's fingernails But he insists like it's not a big deal.

[00:27:08] I'm fine. I'm just worried about her Right. Okay. So the officers go back and forth between them for almost an hour. Eventually, they convene privately to discuss how they should handle the situation. And they didn't see this as a felony. They just saw it as like a slap fight between two fiancés who loved each other.

[00:27:25] And so instead, they framed it as more of a mental health break on Gabby's part, rather than a case of domestic assault. 

[00:27:33] Adam Cox: Yeah, it's really hard to work out, is he pulling the wool over the police's eyes, or is that generally what went down? I don't know what you do in this situation, because they're adults.

[00:27:43] It's almost like, maybe you should call your parents or do something to get a break from each other, because this could go, you know, south. 

[00:27:50] Kyle Risi: Exactly, I completely agree. Ultimately, they essentially deemed Gabby as the perpetrator, with Brian being the victim. And so in the end, the officers decide that they are not going to [00:28:00] file charges, and instead they arrange for Brian to stay in a hotel for the night while Gabby remains with the van.

[00:28:05] So by the following morning, the pair were back together, back on the road, and of course they went right back to posting happy photos and videos of them on their van life adventure.

[00:28:14] But, once this body cam footage was made public, Other people on the road started coming forward saying that they had also seen Brian and Gabby on their trip. One such person was Nina Angelo and her boyfriend Nick, who claimed that they saw Gabby and Brian on the 27th of August, two weeks after the Mohab roadside incident They they said that they were having lunch at a Tex Mex restaurant and noticed Gabby was crying and apologizing to a waitress for Brian's behavior while Brian looked extremely angry at Gabby and the restaurant staff.

[00:28:46] They said that Gabby looked emotionally overwhelmed and at breaking point, which is exactly how she was described in the mohab kind of footage that the police caught on the side of the road. 

[00:28:56] So it sounds like there's a pattern forming here with his behavior, right? And [00:29:00] this clearly. Clearly, she is overwhelmed by the way that he might be treating her or the way the dynamic is between them.

[00:29:07] Adam Cox: It's almost I don't want to use the word gaslighting all the time because I know that can get overused, but it seems like he plays things down, makes it out like she's the one that's causing all this attention and drama and making things worse. And then she's obviously then, yeah, getting really worked up and upset about it and made to feel like, yeah, she's in the wrong.

[00:29:29] Kyle Risi: Yeah, possibly. What's important here is that after the sighting by Nina and Nick, Gabby would never be seen alive again. So people are speculating that between the 27th, the day that they saw them at the Tex Mex restaurant.

[00:29:41] And the 29th is when Gabby might have gone missing because remember on the 29th was the day that Brian actually made that long phone call to his mum and dad saying that Gabby was gone. 

[00:29:53] Adam Cox: Oh, so I was thinking that, she'd perhaps been gone for over a week before he called her, the parents. But it sounds like it was [00:30:00] only a couple of days after then. And then he went straight back home after that. Yeah. 

[00:30:03] Kyle Risi: Of course, even though Brian was the prime suspect, police were saying that they didn't actually have enough evidence to arrest him. And people following this case, they are outraged by this. Like, all you need to do is look at the bodycam footage and see how distraught she is there.

[00:30:19] And then of course you have Nick and Nina's kind of testimony about how they were behaving at this restaurant. Surely, surely that's enough probable cause to arrest Brian for murder. being a potential suspect, right? Surely. 

[00:30:33] Adam Cox: I don't know if that's evidence though, is it? There's not enough concrete Surely 

[00:30:37] Kyle Risi: it's a probable cause, right?

[00:30:38] Adam Cox: But at the moment, um, Gabby hasn't been found at this point, right? No. So, at the moment she's just a missing person, and therefore There's not enough evidence all they can do until the, if they found blood, for example, if they looked at the van and then they found blood in there, then maybe that's a kind of point to look at it in more detail. But right now I can understand it, even though frustrating, I can understand it. 

[00:30:59] Kyle Risi: Sure. [00:31:00] And I think that's what the lawyer was saying here as well, right? That they didn't have enough evidence. So when the press demanded to know like, why. The police hadn't arrested them.

[00:31:08] The police had to explain why they couldn't, essentially, and that's pretty much that they didn't have concrete evidence. 

[00:31:14] But they reassured the public that they were actually keeping an eye on Brian. 

[00:31:20] Then the police received a call from the Laundry family. They were calling the police to report that Brian had actually been missing for the last four days. 

[00:31:31] Adam Cox: Oh, so now they're willing to talk. Exactly! Now that their son is missing. 

[00:31:34] Kyle Risi: Yeah! 

[00:31:35] Adam Cox: They've got, they're concerned. 

[00:31:37] Kyle Risi: But the thing is though, this comes as a huge surprise to the police because they'd previously set up cameras in neighbors gardens to maintain like a 24 hour surveillance on the house and they even stationed like a police officer outside to ensure they knew exactly where Brian was at all times, right? He was a person of interest in this case. He wasn't officially a suspect but he was a person of interest. But apparently according to the Laundrie family, Brian had set out on a hike in the Colton Reserve kind [00:32:00] of area in Florida, but he never came back.

[00:32:02] When police then reviewed the surveillance footage, they realized that their team mistakenly confused Roberta LA for their 23-year-old balding son, allowing him to then slip away undetected. So for four days, they didn't actually know that he was missing, 

[00:32:17] Adam Cox: I mean. Unless she's bald as well. 

[00:32:19] Kyle Risi: She's not. She's got a proper Karen little haircut. 

[00:32:22] Adam Cox: Okay, fine. I didn't realize you could even put CCTV on your neighbor's house to spy on another neighbor. 

[00:32:27] Kyle Risi: I think they probably got permission, right? Oh, yeah, I can understand that. We think your neighbor might have killed a young girl. I'd be like, oh, you're not just gonna arrest him. No, so we don't have enough evidence. This is why we're here. 

[00:32:39] But yeah, so he disappears. So he's gone. So now not only do you have the police looking for Gabby, they were also now looking for Brian too. And just for perspective, like the area where they think Gabby went missing is somewhere Teton National Park in Wyoming.

[00:32:53] This area is like roughly 310 acres. Thousand acres. So it's a huge area. The area where [00:33:00] Brian was said to be hiking and is apparently missing in is like 25, 000 acres. So you have this missing person search and a manhunt in an area there's roughly 350, 000 acres in size. So there's a whole lot of land that these police need to be searching through and there's a hell of a lot of pressure on them to find something, just anything. Find Brian for letting him get away or find where Gabby is. Is she alive? Is she dead? Where is she? 

[00:33:27] It must be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Yeah, for sure. 

[00:33:31] So I think now is a perfect time to take a quick break. And when we come back, we'll hear from a witness who unknowingly held a crucial clue. in finding Gabby and how their discovery changed everything in this case. Sounds interesting.

[00:33:46] Adam, we're back. What are you thinking? You thinking that Brian is a scumbag? 

[00:33:53] Adam Cox: Well, right now, there's no evidence to prove that he's not a scumbag. 

[00:33:57] Kyle Risi: I just can't get over the fact that they're being so quiet. [00:34:00] Clearly they're protecting their son, but I don't know if I would be in a position, if Keith came home and said, like, I killed the neighbor's cat, I don't think I'd be able to protect him. I don't think I'd be willing to cover it up. 

[00:34:10] Adam Cox: I mean, one, he's a cat. I don't know what you do in that scenario. But yeah, as a parent, I don't know how you could knowingly cover something up.

[00:34:18] But then we've seen that with JonBenét. I know it's slightly different and it's their own family and they're trying to like, And that is speculation as well. Speculation, allegedly, and all that. But it just makes me think people will, do what they can to protect their own a little bit. Yeah, but it just seems really sad when she was technically a part of the family.

[00:34:36] Kyle Risi: Yeah, it is. It's awful. I don't know. I just can't get my head around it. But, the thing is though, as we said before the break, there is going to be another witness that's going to come forward, hold a very crucial clue into finding out what happened to Gabby.

[00:34:52] So while the police were out searching for both Brian and Gabby, another couple come forward. Their names are jen and Kyle Bethune. [00:35:00] They were essentially a family of like travel vloggers with their own channel called Red White and Bethune. Which I don't know, is that, is that supposed to be funny? I don't understand. 

[00:35:08] Adam Cox: Red, white and blue, but they can't use their last name. Buffoon, 

[00:35:10] Kyle Risi: red, white and blue. Oh, okay. Yeah, no, didn't get that. Maybe, I don't know, I didn't get that at all. 

[00:35:15] Adam Cox: Went straight over your 

[00:35:16] Kyle Risi: head. , basically they said on the 27th of August, they were driving along Grand Teton when they spotted a white van parked to the side of the road. The reason why they remember this so distinctly is that the license plate was clearly from Florida, just like theirs was.

[00:35:29] So they were wondering who from their neck of the woods might be out there. Right. So, with their GoPros rolling, they're driving along in their van, they inspect the van, but there's just no one inside. So they just carried on. 

[00:35:43] But of course, they didn't think anything of it at the time. But when the news of Gabby's disappearance started making the rounds, Jen and Kyle decided to scrub through all of their footage searching for that particular recording of them inspecting the van and when they found it, it confirmed that that was Gabby's [00:36:00] van, so they immediately called the FBI.

[00:36:03] The FBI, waste no time, they rushed to the area where the Bethune's had seen the van hoping that it might hold some kind of clue to Gabby's whereabouts And so on the 19th of September within a day of Jen and Kyle contacting the FBI Gabby's remains were found just 300 meters from where that van was parked on that day.

[00:36:24] Adam Cox: Really? Mm hmm. 

[00:36:25] So chances are when they went past Brian was out there getting rid of. This 

[00:36:31] Kyle Risi: is crazy. I know and we're going to get to that in a minute Because it's a real wild twisty part of the story. So of course the coroner Determines that she'd been strangled and she had sustained some kind of blunt force trauma to the head and neck and based on the state Of her remains it was likely that she died between the 27th and 29th.

[00:36:50] So a timeline That lined up with seeing Gabby on the 27th of August at the Tex Mex restaurant, and then of course the 29th when Brian made that call to [00:37:00] his parents, clearly in distress. 

[00:37:02] So there is also the 60 Minutes Australian documentary, the same one that kind of we talked about in the last episode with Belle Gibson, where the famous Tara Brown interview, and Gabby's parents appeared on that show as well.

[00:37:15] Just talking about the moment that police tell them that they find Gabby and honestly just thinking about it I have a lump in my throat because it's really awful to watch and must have been awful for them and they also have this real difficulty even after all these months comprehending like why Brian would do this because like he was so close to their family like why didn't he just walk away like why didn't he just leave her in the wilderness that would have been better right why did he kill her steal her away and take her away from all of us.

[00:37:45] Yeah. It's really heartbreaking because Adam, she is the most glorious, glorious human being. You can really tell that she has a warmth about her and she's so sweet. Like there's nothing and it doesn't justify it regardless. I mean, a human being is a [00:38:00] human being, but it makes it even more tragic just because how sweet she is.

[00:38:04] Adam Cox: Yeah. It sounds quite a violent death to be strangled and hit over the head. 

[00:38:08] Kyle Risi: Yeah. 

[00:38:09] Adam Cox: Like, bastard. To do that. Yeah. 

[00:38:12] Kyle Risi: If you do want to watch it for yourself, I will leave a link to it in the show notes. But as I've said before, I don't like 60 Minutes Australia. I just don't think 60 Minutes Australia is very good journalism. To me, they just are capitalizing on these big stories. Yeah, they do tell a good story, but I just feel like it's just too capitalistic.

[00:38:30] But anyway, So the day after the police find Gabby's remains in the Grand Teton National Park, they get a search warrant to search Brian's family home. What is wild is that that search warrant isn't for Brian's arrest in relation to the murder of Gabby. It's actually because he is suspected of bank fraud. What? Because Brian had used Gabby's credit card after the date that the coroner could place Gabby's time of death. 

[00:38:56] Adam Cox: So are they using that in order to investigate? Because otherwise they would have no [00:39:00] other means of doing it. 

[00:39:00] Kyle Risi: Yeah, yeah, yeah, because I guess in order to accriminate someone for murder, you need concrete evidence, right?

[00:39:05] But what they definitely do have is that, well, someone's used her credit card after the date that the coroner said that she's died. The only person that would have access to that would be you. So therefore we have proper cause now to go in and at least search your house to find any other evidence.

[00:39:18] Adam Cox: It's almost like a loophole that they have to go through in order to dig out more evidence. 

[00:39:23] Kyle Risi: I get it, and I'm sure all those things are in place to protect innocent people. But God, you gotta think smart, haven't you? So a lot of people start speculating that there may actually be evidence that Gabby was killed on the 27th and that's because her mum says that on the 27th she received a strange message from Gabby that read, Can you help Stan? I just keep getting voicemails and missed calls. And at that point, Nicola hadn't even considered that her daughter might be missing at this point? But she does remember thinking that this text in particular was strange because Stan was Gabby's grandfather and Gabby didn't call her grandfather by his first name ever, shortly after [00:40:00] granddad or poppy.

[00:40:00] So people are speculating that possibly Brian had killed Gabby and then text from her phone as a way to make it seem like she was still alive.

[00:40:08] While this is probably the day that Gabby did die, I don't necessarily believe that that was Brian texting from her phone. Because I think it's more like a probable explanation that Gabby was probably just driving. She received a bunch of like missed calls and text messages from her grandfather and then she asked Brian. To like, oh, can you just send that to my mum and ask her to just call Stan? Like, I've asked you to do that from time to time for me, so in this case, you would have probably referred to my grandfather by his first name? Yeah, maybe. Do you know what I mean? 

[00:40:36] Adam Cox: That's, yeah, there's a reasonable explanation for that.

[00:40:38] Kyle Risi: Exactly. So I think maybe this might have just been just before. Maybe Gabby potentially died. So I don't really necessarily think that's a smoking gun from what the internet sleuths are saying, but also this wasn't the last text that Nicola received. Remember, the last text she received was on the 30th, which said no signal in Yosemite, right? That was the last text. 

[00:40:57] Of course, there's no way to know. But what [00:41:00] we can prove is that Gabby's phone was off from the 1st of September, the day Brian got home. to his parents house and of course it was never turned on after that day. So I do think that potentially if there's going to be a message that was potentially sent from Brian, it would have been the one on the 30th saying that there was no signal in Yosemite.

[00:41:18] Why? That buys him time.

[00:41:21] And the reason why I also think that would have been him It's because, remember, the phone call that was made to his parents where he was distressed, where he said that Gabby was gone, that was made on the 29th. It makes sense that she's probably dead at that point. Therefore, that message, no signal in Yosemite, must have come from him, right? 

[00:41:37] Adam Cox: Make sure, trying to cover his tracks a bit. 

[00:41:39] Kyle Risi: Exactly. when police discover Gabby's phone near her remains, they also find that it had received multiple missed calls and text messages from Brian's phone in the days before it was switched off. 

[00:41:49] So I really think that was Brian trying to cover up what he had done, kind of texting and calling a phone that he knew she was never going to answer.

[00:41:57] Because In the time between the 27th of August and the [00:42:00] 1st of September, two separate witnesses came forward claiming that they had seen Brian All on his own.

[00:42:06] The first witness was a woman called Miranda Barker who said that her and her boyfriend had picked up Ryan in Coulter Bay, Wyoming on the 29th of August. He had offered them 200 for a lift to Jackson and as they got talking, Brian said that he'd been camping by himself for a few days while his fiancée was back at their van working on social media posts for their travel blog, and that he was making his way to her.

[00:42:34] Adam Cox: So he was trying to get like an alibi with this, do you think? 

[00:42:37] Kyle Risi: Possibly, yeah. At some point during that journey, Brian finds out that they're actually going to Jackson Hole, not Jackson. So he gets agitated, he asks them to pull over, and so he gets out near Jackson Dam.

[00:42:50] Then, another woman called Norma Jean Javilek, I believe that's how you pronounce it, she comes forward saying that she picked Brian up the same day at [00:43:00] 6. 15pm, not far from Jackson Lake Dam. So basically, this would have been a few minutes after Miranda said that she dropped him off, right? Norma says that she took Brian to a camping area, in Spread Creek, where Gabby's remains would later be found.

[00:43:14] Now, this is where I'm really confused, like, I did wonder for a second, was he carrying Gabby in a bag while he was hitchhiking? 

[00:43:22] Yeah, that feels quite far fetched to be able to do that. And you would know, right? Yeah. You'd be like, what's in your bag, mate? 

[00:43:27] But that also doesn't really make sense. Like, why was he hitchhiking at all when he later will drive back to Florida?

[00:43:35] Adam Cox: Yeah, it just feels like he was perhaps using this as a alibi to show that he, Was not around her at this moment in time, and then gets out to then come, back really.

[00:43:45] Kyle Risi: Exactly. Yes. So the only logical explanation is that after killing Gabby, he deliberately hitchhiked away from Spread Creek to create this illusion that he was far away from the scene at the time of her death.

[00:43:57] And then he tried to establish an [00:44:00] alibi that he was camping elsewhere by hitchhiking back, making sure to tell the people that had picked him up that he was camping alone and now heading back to meet Gabby, who was supposedly in the van, all on her own, doing social media stuff. 

[00:44:15] That way, when he then gets back, he discovers Gabby is either missing or worse, murdered, and it would look like that he had nothing to do with it and that he just stumbled across this, this terrible scene, right?

[00:44:28] Adam Cox: Yeah, that would make sense if he was the one to then report. That she was missing, he got back to the van, couldn't find her, whatever, drove back or whatever, you know, or actually you wouldn't drive back if that would happen, you would probably stay in that area whilst the police are looking, so it still doesn't add up.

[00:44:44] Kyle Risi: I think that that's what the intention was, and then someone convinced him not to. 

[00:44:49] Adam Cox: Oh, his family. 

[00:44:50] Kyle Risi: So remember Jen and Kyle? The couple who originally spotted the van near where Gabby's remains were found? They said it had obviously Florida license plates. That is where they spotted this [00:45:00] van on the side of the road in Spread Creek where he was then later dropped off, right? So they said, of course, the van was empty.

[00:45:07] Was it empty because he was off hitchhiking in this loop to make it look like Gabby was all on her own? I see. But also, is this the bullshit story that he told his parents that had happened on that phone call on the 29th of August, do you think that initially they believed him, but then they sensed that actually, maybe you might still get blamed for this, so they told him to come back home instead, and then promptly contacted a lawyer?

[00:45:33] Adam Cox: I don't know. I feel like that's a lot like, Oh, you need to be careful now. You're going to get blamed. But I just don't think a family would think that. I think what actually happened was he might have led with this story initially.

[00:45:46] And then they started to probe and said that doesn't make sense. Then he was perhaps not 100 percent honest and then they were like actually, we need to, I don't know, protect or at least get a lawyer here to know what to do. 

[00:45:57] Kyle Risi: Or it could be that he, that's what his intention was to do initially, [00:46:00] but then he couldn't go through with it. And then he just confessed to his parents. 

[00:46:04] Adam Cox: Possibly, yeah. 

[00:46:05] Kyle Risi: It's crazy. But Now that Gabby's remains have been found, and with Brian still missing, it's clear that he was almost certainly responsible for all of this? Now the search for him in the Carlton Reserve area in Florida is now entering into its fifth week.

[00:46:19] He's been missing for five weeks now. And the reason it was taking so long was that's because it's incredibly swampy and really difficult to navigate. So it's impossible for kind of police to navigate through the area really efficiently. 

[00:46:31] But eventually, on the 20th of October, Brian's parents, Chris and Roberta, who had, by the way, had done nothing to assist this investigation, all of a sudden decide that they are going to be joining the search for their son.

[00:46:46] Like, why wait five weeks? What was more important? That's really weird. Mm hmm. Get this, within 90 minutes of them joining the search, just off a long trail near a creek in Colton Reserve, they find Brian's backpack and [00:47:00] his notebook along with his dead body. 

[00:47:02] Adam Cox: Oh my god, what the hell is going on?

[00:47:05] Kyle Risi: And so because the police find Brian within 90 minutes of his parents joining the search people speculate that they knew this entire time. It was revealed that of course he had shot himself in the head and police made it clear that they weren't looking for anyone else in relation to the murder of Gabby Petito. 

[00:47:21] Adam Cox: I don't know what to say. So for five weeks he's missing and they stay at home. Usually one of the parents flies out or goes somewhere else if they've got to look after other people at home.

[00:47:31] So that seems really weird. And 19 minutes into them searching they find him. That could be a coincidence or did he say that he was going off to go kill himself and they allowed that to happen and they needed some time? They didn't want to go looking because they knew what happened to him.

[00:47:47] But 90 minutes, you'd think you'd drag that out a little bit longer. They'll be like, Oh, look behind this bush. Oh, there he is. This is such a weird story. I don't get what's going on with that family. 

[00:47:57] Kyle Risi: So amongst his belongings, they find [00:48:00] a notebook with a handwritten letter in it, which apparently explains. And Adam, it's a complete bullshit story. I'm going to read it out to you. 

[00:48:10] Adam Cox: Okay. 

[00:48:10] Kyle Risi: Gabby. I wish I was right there by your side. I wish I could be talking to you right now.

[00:48:16] I'd be going through every memory we ever made, getting even more excited about our future. We lost our future. I can't live without you.

[00:48:26] I've lost every day that we could have spent together every holiday. I love you more than anything. I can't bear to look at our photos or recall the great times because that is why I cannot go on.

[00:48:37] When I close my eyes, I will think of laughing on the roof of our van, falling asleep to the sight of the stars at Crystal Geyser. I will always love you.

[00:48:45] If you were reading Gab's journal, looking through the photos from our life together, flipping through old cards, you wouldn't want to live a day without her. Knowing that every day you'll wake up without her, you wouldn't want to wake up.

[00:48:58] I'm sorry to [00:49:00] everyone this will affect. Gabby was the love of my life, but I know she was adored by many. I'm so very sorry to her family because I loved them. I'd considered her younger siblings my best friends. I'm sorry to my family. This is a shock to them as well as a terrible grief.

[00:49:17] They loved her as much, if not more, than me. A new daughter to my mother, an aunt to my nephews. Please do not make this harder for them. This occurred as an unexpected tragedy, rushing back to our car, trying to cross the stream before it got too dark to see.

[00:49:32] I heard a splash and a scream. I couldn't barely see. I couldn't find her for a moment, shouted her name. I found her breathing heavily, Gasping for air, she was freezing cold. 

[00:49:44] We had spent the night in the blazing hot national parks in Utah. The temperature had dropped to freezing and she was soaking wet. I carried her as far as I could from the stream towards the car, stumbling, exhausted, in shock. When [00:50:00] my legs gave out, I knew I couldn't safely carry her. I started a fire and spooned her as close to the heat as I could. She was so thin, had already been freezing too long. I couldn't, at the time, realize that I should have started a fire first, but I wanted her out of the cold and back to the car.

[00:50:18] From where I started the fire, I had no idea how far the car might be. Only knew it was across the creek. When I pulled Gabby out of the water, she couldn't tell me what hurt. She had a small bump on her forehead that eventually got larger. Her feet hurt, her wrist hurt, but she was freezing, shaking violently.

[00:50:37] While carrying her, she continually made sounds of pain. Lying next to her, she said little. Lapsing between violent shakes, gasping in pain, begging for an end to her pain.

[00:50:48] I would shake her awake, fearing she shouldn't close her eyes if she had a concussion. She would wake up in pain, start the whole painful cycle again and then get furious that I was the one [00:51:00] waking her.

[00:51:01] She wouldn't let me cross the creek thinking, like me, that the fire would go out in her sleep and she'd freeze. I didn't know the extent of Gabby's injuries, only that she was in extreme pain. 

[00:51:12] I ended her life. I thought it was merciful, that it was what she wanted. I see now all the mistakes I made. I panicked. I was in shock, but from the moment I decided to take away her pain, I knew I couldn't go on without her.

[00:51:27] I rushed home to spend any time ahead with my family. I wanted to drive north and let TJ kill me, but I didn't want them to spend time in jail over my mistake, even though I'm sure they would like to. I'm ending my life not because of fear of punishment, but rather because I can't stand to live another day without her. I've lost our whole future together, every moment we could have shared. I'm sorry for everyone's loss. 

[00:51:53] Please don't make life harder for my family. They've lost a son and a daughter, the most wonderful girl in the [00:52:00] world, Gabby I'm sorry. I have killed myself by the streak in the hopes that the animals will tear me apart That it may make some of her family happy.

[00:52:09] Please pick up all of my things. Gabby hated people who litter fuck you, Brian. 

[00:52:15] Adam Cox: I'm really confused by that. I guess, one, He made out a couple of times, don't blame my family, make sure they're okay. 

[00:52:21] Kyle Risi: Yeah. 

[00:52:22] Adam Cox: Which felt like, I don't know what the family would say to him, you're gonna go there and you make sure you put this in the letter. Yeah, yeah, do you think? I don't know, it just, that was what I thought.

[00:52:32] And also, But then there's another way, like, he strangled her. That is unforgivable. That's not a humane way to get It's not. He said that it was a mercy, right? Yeah. 

[00:52:41] Kyle Risi: But going back to his family, the key bit there that really got me was that He says that his family might have loved her even more. than he did. she was like a daughter to the mother, forgetting that his parents had refused point blank to speak to the police. If they really loved her, they would have 100 percent called the police. 

[00:52:57] Adam Cox: Yeah. 

[00:52:58] Kyle Risi: And I believe that they knew. [00:53:00]

[00:53:00] Adam Cox: Exactly. So it just does not add up in terms of what their behavior was when he first got home to this point in time.

[00:53:07] Kyle Risi: 100%. And also when he talks about when she injured herself, she fell over. What, from a standing up position? Yeah, she sustained those horrific injuries like I can get it if it could be dangerous out there, right? But it's not like she fell off a cliff. They were running across a creek. 

[00:53:23] Adam Cox: Yeah, that's I mean, it's a very unfortunate accident But for them to go from that to where she was, I don't know. I just and why is there nowhere? Could he have not gone for help? Could he not? 

[00:53:32] Kyle Risi: Also, from everything we know about their relationship based on what their friends have said and the numerous witnesses who say they saw them throughout their trip, it's clear that they had a tumultuous relationship. Yet, this whole letter completely whitewashes that, right? Making it sound like their relationship was perfect. Yeah. And it just wasn't the case. 

[00:53:49] What Brian says about their relationship in the letter, compared to what others have said, obviously, he's trying to rewrite that narrative, making it seem like he didn't kill her in [00:54:00] a fit of rage, which I absolutely believe he did, based on the fact that she had blunt head trauma to her head, right?

[00:54:06] It also makes me sick that in this letter, Brian tries to paint himself as both the hero and the victim. Claiming that he. Try to save her, but he had no choice, She was suffering, and that he killed her out of a merciful act? I don't know if 

[00:54:20] Adam Cox: I just don't buy that, because I feel like if you loved someone, you would do anything to get them help and rescue. You just don't you just don't do that. 

[00:54:28] Kyle Risi: She's not a badger on the side of the road! Exactly, yeah! He tries to make himself sound like he is the tragic hero, because, of course, It's his fiance. He simultaneously casts himself as the victim too. He's like, Oh, poor me. I had to kill my fiance. Poor me. She was in so much pain. Fuck you, Brian. Fuck you. 

[00:54:48] It's just disgusting how he twists that truth, right? Framing it as though, like, he killed her out of a kindness. I just can't get over that when the reality was that it was nothing but brutality. It's clear. He also talks about how he did [00:55:00] everything he could to save her. Like he built a fire. 

[00:55:02] He tried to keep her warm. He wanted to go find help. Gabby stopped him, even lashing out at him. Like he even claims he kept waking her up because he was afraid that she would die from the cold. But then you go and kill her! Like, that doesn't make any sense! 

[00:55:19] Uh, yeah. I mean, when they found this letter, they must have just went, this isn't, there's no truth to this.

[00:55:25] Of course there wasn't, of course. And also, the thing is though, if you really wanted to save her, and yes, she was begging you not to go because she was worried the fire would go out, Make sure the fire doesn't go out for at least an extended period of time and just ignore her pleas and go and find help.

[00:55:39] That's what anyone would have normally done. 100%. The other bit that really gets me is when he says that he wasn't scared to go to prison, but he didn't want someone in Gabby's family to end up there for killing him. After everything he did came out. Like, he couldn't bear the thought of them going to prison for his mistake.

[00:55:57] Like, fuck off. 

[00:55:58] Adam Cox: That's a very weird thing, to [00:56:00] think that they would actually kill him. Or they would just get, you know, punishment and justice. 

[00:56:05] Kyle Risi: Yeah, if it was a tragic accident, then sure. But if you knew that you would murder your girlfriend. Then yeah, you should be scared that your brother's going to beat the shit out of you.

[00:56:15] Adam Cox: And they're going to do like an autopsy, I would have thought, on her remains. Would they have been able to tell from her injuries that she was in that kind of level of pain? 

[00:56:25] Kyle Risi: All they need is that she was strangled and she was beaten around the head.

[00:56:29] Adam Cox: Yeah. 

[00:56:30] Kyle Risi: That's enough, right? They can prove that. Okay, they can't tell the pain. But maybe they can test for like stress hormones in her blood. I don't know who knows but the point is he is a disgusting liar Yeah

[00:56:42] And honestly, I think his parents played a role in how he turned out as a human being like based on their actions Protecting him throughout all of this really makes you question. Like what his upbringing must be like, right? 

[00:56:54] Adam Cox: Yeah, I just That's a weird family. Do we know more about what the mum and dad said after this?

[00:56:59] Kyle Risi: Not a huge [00:57:00] amount. I was surprised to find out that they had a sister. She doesn't seem to have known what was happening. When all this press was surrounding their house, the family refused to speak to the press. The family also refused to speak to their daughter.

[00:57:12] So she comes out and she's my family don't know anything. And I genuinely believe her. I believe that they kept it a little secret between them three. And I guarantee, they probably let his behaviour slide over the years, always protecting him, never calling him out on his bullshit. To the point that he probably grew up never learning how to control his emotions, which then inevitably leads to him becoming a violent partner.

[00:57:34] I honestly believe that's what's happened here. And we can see these kind of gateway little bits of behaviour that has probably led to him lashing out to the point where he's killed his girlfriend, his fiancée. 

[00:57:46] Adam Cox: And do you think they consulted with a lawyer to find out a what route do they have to protect him or whatever. And they said, the only way you can do this is if he, he's going to go to prison or he can kill himself. 

[00:57:59] Kyle Risi: I doubt the lawyer would have [00:58:00] said that. I guess the lawyer would be like, if he's done this, they're going to catch him. Yeah. There's going to be DNA and all these types of things. And then I think that's maybe when the family were like, you're going to have to kill yourself.

[00:58:09] But that's the thing, like, I believe that, They knew Brian had gone out to commit suicide that day, and that they had known for five weeks before he was officially found.

[00:58:17] From the moment he went missing, they knew. And I think that after five weeks of the police not finding him, they couldn't bear the thought of their son out there in the wilderness on his own. They were probably banking on the police finding his body pretty quickly. 

[00:58:31] And when that didn't happen, after five weeks of nothing, they suddenly just joined the search. And lo and behold, 90 minutes later, they find his body. When Brian's remains were found, there is video footage at the scene showing his parents standing there completely expressionless. No emotion on their faces whatsoever. 

[00:58:46] Adam Cox: Because they knew what they were going to walk in on.

[00:58:48] Kyle Risi: I think they knew, yeah. I think that they'd already grieved for their son's loss over the last five weeks. I think that either they or Brian, himself, couldn't see a way out of this mess. And at some point, they came to [00:59:00] peace with the idea that maybe the only way out was suicide.

[00:59:03] I feel like they could feel the walls closing in on them. 

[00:59:07] Adam Cox: Yeah, I wonder if he said like, this is what I've gotta do, and they just accepted it Part of me thinks maybe he would never find peace perhaps by continuing to live anyway, regardless of what he did So 

[00:59:18] Kyle Risi: yeah, I don't think anyone I know people can be really abusive and I don't know how to navigate what I'm about to say, but I don't think like yeah, there's really abusive people out there.

[00:59:27] But I think it's not because they're just abusive people, I think it's because they have problems where they just can't control their emotions, right? And he probably doesn't want to be like that. Do you know what I mean? 

[00:59:37] Adam Cox: Yeah, it sounds like from all the other instances that we've heard from witnesses, perhaps he just gets, I don't know, in the moment, it's all riled up or whatever, and then lashes out. And so perhaps it did happen by accident in the sense that it was spontaneous, but it doesn't make it right or wrong. 

[00:59:54] Kyle Risi: Adam, he strangled her and then he beat around the head. I could understand if like, he hit her on the head [01:00:00] once, and she fell over, and then she just tragically died, I could understand that. He strangled her, that takes time. 

[01:00:06] Adam Cox: Yeah, okay. 

[01:00:08] Kyle Risi: I think even us trying to even grapple and understand, like we normally do, we normally do try and understand where people are coming from. I don't think we should do that in this case.

[01:00:17] Adam Cox: Just, yeah, just accept that, yeah, piece of shit, 

[01:00:20] Kyle Risi: yeah.

[01:00:21] But the thing is though, whether or not it was his idea, Or his parents idea or something they come up together. We'll probably never know, but I honestly believe that they knew. His parents must have known. 

[01:00:32] Adam Cox: I think so. 

[01:00:33] Kyle Risi: Following all of this, Gabby's family, they tragically, they obviously have to come to terms with this, but in the end, like, they set up a foundation in her honor to help raise awareness for domestic violence, which I think is Is what this case is, and I think many people agree, because we know it can manifest itself in many different ways, right?

[01:00:53] In late 2022, her parents successfully filed a lawsuit against Brian Laundrie's estate for the wrongful death [01:01:00] of Gabby. They also pursued legal action against Chris and Roberta Laundrie, along with their lawyer, for intentionally inflicting emotional distress on the family.

[01:01:09] Like, they, they were complicit in trying to cover this up, trying to keep it a secret. They were perverting the court of justice. Yeah, 100%. Gabby's family claimed that the Laundries knew. Brian had murdered Gabby and chose not to act. More than that, they believe that the laundries actively helped him escape, right?

[01:01:26] Adam Cox: Yeah, I, I would agree with that. 

[01:01:29] Kyle Risi: And when that went to court, they had to explain their silence, right? They had to explain that long call with Brian on the 27th, the fact that they immediately hired a lawyer afterwards. It also came out that Roberta had written a letter to Brian, heavily redacted though, but it does mention words like, if you go to prison, I'll bake a cake and put a shiv in it, on the envelope, it did very clearly say, burn after reading. So Really? And where did they find that? Probably when they got their arrest warrants, I don't know.

[01:01:58] Adam Cox: And how come some of it's [01:02:00] redacted? 

[01:02:00] Kyle Risi: No idea. 

[01:02:01] Adam Cox: They knew, they're guilty, they should go to prison. 

[01:02:03] Kyle Risi: So they had a lot to explain, right? The settlement was finally reached on February the 22nd of 2024, so just a year ago, with Gabby Petito's family being awarded 3 million, 

[01:02:13] but Gabby's family, they're also suing the Mojave Police Department in Utah for 50 million, alleging that the officers failed to properly handle a domestic violence incident.

[01:02:25] Now, under Utah law, when an incident of domestic violence is suspected, an arrest must be made. And in this case, it wasn't. And that was, uh, a decision that was crucial to the outcome of this, right? 

[01:02:39] It didn't matter whether or not they saw Gabby or Brian as a perpetrator at the time. Even if either one of them had been arrested that day, things could have played out very differently. It would have been better in this instance if Gabby was arrested, right? Because then her parents would have come up. 

[01:02:55] Adam Cox: Yeah. 

[01:02:55] Kyle Risi: And picked her up oh, my daughter's been arrested. When a young girl gets arrested, her [01:03:00] parents are going to be like, she must be absolutely terrified.

[01:03:02] Adam Cox: Yeah, like, let's get you home. 

[01:03:04] Kyle Risi: Exactly. And also they would have been separated, right? Maybe one of the parents would have come to collect them. And then maybe, just maybe, everything that followed wouldn't have happened. Yeah. 

[01:03:16] The police said that they didn't believe the incident rose above the level of domestic assault, but rather more of a mental health crisis, which is why no charges were filed.

[01:03:26] The city of Mohab, in their defense, stated that the officers had shown kindness and empathy in the way that they handled the situation. And that they didn't feel like an arrest needed to be made, like they felt like they would be okay. 

[01:03:37] Adam Cox: Yeah, it sounds like. It wasn't an obvious case of domestic, in terms of a physical, I don't know, if you were to kind of like do a scale. 

[01:03:45] Kyle Risi: No, they determined that there was clearly some physical altercation, but, it was Gabby who was the perpetrator. And because she was a woman, they didn't feel that she posed any kind of risk. So they didn't make an arrest, but they [01:04:00] should have done because they did identify a clear perpetrator, even though it was Gabby. 

[01:04:04] And the justification for not arresting her was because they felt that sometimes in these instances, arresting one of the partners, especially if they have to come back together, could sometimes amplify or fuel the situation even more.

[01:04:18] So yes, they can separate them when they come back together, a fight could erupt. And that potentially sounds like that's what potentially happened. 

[01:04:26] Adam Cox: And that's cause for, yeah, domestic violence then, isn't it? Is there anything there, even though that they weren't arrested, but obviously they kept her in a hotel or whatever, could they, should they not have called their family?

[01:04:38] Because they mentioned about mental health or something like that. Is there nothing where they like need to at least put a call in like this has just happened? Doesn't sound like it. We're letting them go, but you should be aware of this. 

[01:04:47] Kyle Risi: In the one hour footage that I saw, they didn't leave the roadside. Other than when it all ended, they were like, okay, you're going to go to this hotel. You can stay in the van. And that was it. So no, they didn't call them. But also there were adults, right? If you got arrested nowadays [01:05:00] as a, what, 30 something year old man, would I be like, should I call your parents? I mean, you would if they look really young.

[01:05:05] Hey, what's up mom? I mean, the police did recognize though, that even though they made the wrong decision, that they recognized that some training was needed. To kind of like make sure that in the future they did abide by the law a bit more

[01:05:21] but the police they clearly failed to act on obvious signs of domestic violence right regardless of who the perpetrator was like they didn't take action. 

[01:05:28] What they saw in front of them was a very calm collected well put together man and an anxious young woman who immediately started taking the blame for the altercation clearly trying to protect Brian right.

[01:05:39] Objectively trying to protect Brian. But when you look at the video through the lens of her society, who is very sensitive to a lot of domestic violence stories that have come out recent times, you can recognize the signs that, well, she's taking the blame because she is potentially trying to protect her partner, right?

[01:05:56] And she's in that abusive situation. But they're looking [01:06:00] at it objectively. 

[01:06:01] Adam Cox: Yeah. And obviously she doesn't want to get into more trouble or whatever it might be. And that's why she's putting herself on the line. 

[01:06:06] Kyle Risi: Yeah. 

[01:06:06] But when the case went to court in November 2024, the judge dismisses the case based on the government's immunity act of Utah, which protects officers from any liability in these kind of situations. So nothing happened. 

[01:06:18] The Petitos, they are obviously going to try and appeal the decision. and potentially take this to the Utah kind of Supreme Court.

[01:06:25] And if they win, they're going to inject that money into the foundation in Gabby's name, which I think is going to be great. That will go a long way in driving awareness for domestic violence victims. 

[01:06:35] There is also a new Netflix documentary series coming out on February the 17th, 2025, entitled American Murder Gabby Petito, which is going to provide like a really in depth look into the case. So it's a really heartbreaking story with a real terrible outcome of a very young, highly promising young person.

[01:06:53] Adam Cox: Yeah, it sounded like she's just gonna be on this, I don't know, this amazing journey that she'd set off on. Mm hmm. And it ended with [01:07:00] her, the person that she was supposed to have loved and was supposed to love her back, killing her and that's, that's just awful. 

[01:07:07] Kyle Risi: It is, terrible. And I just didn't know about the story really into the detail that Brian had actually killed himself and that he was actually responsible. I just thought that She got missing out there in the wild. 

[01:07:18] So yeah, if you do want to know more, then by the time you listen to this episode, the Netflix documentary will be out. So definitely check that out. I'll also link to the 60 Minutes Australia episode, which, gives a good overview of what happened, but you know how I feel about 60 Minutes and Tara Brown.

[01:07:33] But Adam, that is the story of the murder of Gabby Petito. 

[01:07:37] Adam Cox: That's yeah, I didn't know anything about it and it's just heartbreaking, really. 

[01:07:42] Kyle Risi: Mm, can't believe his parents knew. 

[01:07:44] Adam Cox: I thought that was just the really shadiest way to go about things. 

[01:07:49] Kyle Risi: But also, how did they think that they would even get away with this?

[01:07:53] I just don't get it. And they did 

[01:07:54] Adam Cox: as well, that's the annoying thing. 

[01:07:56] Kyle Risi: Because I just don't know what their thinking was when Brian [01:08:00] came home and they decided to remain silent and not speak to the police. What was their thinking? of how this would potentially pan out. I don't know, unless they understood very early on that he would probably need to go ahead and commit suicide.

[01:08:12] Adam Cox: I don't know, but Or hand himself in. It feels like all they did was self preservation and this girl had been killed. So, whatever, I don't care about them. 

[01:08:21] Kyle Risi: Yeah, anyway, shall we run the outro? 

[01:08:23] Adam Cox: Yeah. 

[01:08:24] Kyle Risi: And that brings us to the end of another foray into the Compendium and Assembly of Fascinating Things. We hope you enjoyed today's 

[01:08:31] Adam Cox: And if today's episode sparks your curiosity, do us a favour and follow us on your favourite podcast app. It truly makes a world of difference and helps more people discover the show. 

[01:08:40] Kyle Risi: And for our dedicated phreaks out there, don't forget that next week's episode is already waiting for you on our Patreon and it is completely free.

[01:08:47] Adam Cox: And if you want even more, join our certified phreaks tiers, unlock the entire archive, delve into exclusive content, get a sneak peek at what's coming next. We'd love for you to be part of our growing community. 

[01:08:59] Kyle Risi: We [01:09:00] drop new episodes every Tuesday, and until then, remember, sometimes the truth isn't uncovered by the authorities, it's sometimes pieced together by those who refuse to look away.

[01:09:09] We'll see you next time. 

[01:09:09] Adam Cox: See ya.