It was meant to be a trip of a lifetime for Gabby Petito as she set off on a road trip across America with her boyfriend – but she tragically never returned home.

Gabby, 22, became well-known as a travel vlogger after launching her YouTube channel, Nomadic Statik. She began filming content for her four-month-long journey, starting on July 2, 2021, where she was set to cover some of the most picturesque national parks the country has to offer.

Despite being on the road with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie, she kept in touch with her family throughout their travels, however, at the end of August, they suddenly lost contact. Her parents began a desperate search to find their daughter and were soon joined by an army of internet sleuths trying to solve what happened to her.

Adding to the mystery, her partner Laundrie, 23, returned home to Flordia in their renovated van at the start of September, but he was alone. The tragic reality behind their seemingly Instagram-perfect life is now exposed in Netflix documentary American Murder: Gabby Petito, released on Monday, February 17.

They presented themselves as a loved-up couple on social media, but police bodycam footage painted a starkly different picture. Gabby’s remains were then found at a camping area within Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest on September 19.

The missing person’s case became reclassified as a murder case, with police urgently hunting for Laundrie. Almost a month later, his body was discovered at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Florida, where he was found to have taken his own life, on October 20.

A coroner later ruled Gabby died of strangulation and that she had probably been dead for three or four weeks before her body was discovered. It is believed that Laundrie admitted murdering his partner in a confessional note before his own death.

In a statement wrapping up its investigation, the FBI said: “A review of the notebook revealed written statements by Mr Laundrie claiming responsibility for Ms Petito’s death.” Here, the Mirror takes a look at Gabby’s final days leading up to her tragic passing…

Gabby spent her final moments ‘gasping in pain’, according to her fiance’s recovered journal. Brian Laundrie’s notebook was discovered at Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park by the FBI when his remains were found, say reports. On a page of the book, Laundrie makes claims that Gabby had injured herself and was “shaking violently”.

The Sun reports that in the recovered notebook, Laundrie wrote how Gabby had fallen into a creek as they attempted to return to the vehicle in the dark. In the notebook, he penned that he ‘found her breathing heavily gasping my name’ and said ‘she was freezing cold’ and soaking wet.

He chillingly detailed carrying her towards the car before stumbling when his knees buckled, realising he couldn’t carry her. He wrote: “I started a fire and spooned her as close to the heat, she was so thin, had already been freezing too long. 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, while carrying her she continually made sounds of pain, laying next to her she said little lapsing between violent shakes, gasping in pain, begging for an end to her pain. She would fall asleep and I would shake her awake fearing she shouldn’t close her eyes if she had a concussion. She would wake in pain start the whole painful cycle again while furious that I was the one waking her.”

The YouTuber was witnessed having an altercation with her fiancé just days before she disappeared – which is said to have potentially taken place on the day of her murder. According to a witness named Nina Celie Angelo, the two had been in a heated argument while at the Merry Piglet restaurant in Jackson, Wyoming on August 27.

The witness told ABC News that Laundrie was “aggressive” towards staff while Gabby cried and apologised for her boyfriend’s behaviour. “It looked as though they were like almost getting kicked out,” Angelo said.

“It wasn’t necessarily between them, it was more so Gabby abruptly leaving the restaurant crying, and Brian was just evidently really upset, pissed off, I would say. I would say Gabby was upset, he was angry, and he was just being very temperamental towards the restaurant staff.”

Angela, who says she was sitting within a foot of the couple, revealed Laundrie left the restaurant four times, leaving and returning only to start the whole argument again. “I have chills right now,” Nina said as she remembered the encounter. “It’s crazy because it wasn’t just like we passed them on the street – it was a full-blown incident.”

Dr Ann Wolbert Burgess, who pioneered the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit, told Fox News that Gabby’s alleged apologising for Laundrie’s behaviour may be indicative of the tragic fate that awaited her.

She said: “How she has to apologise for his behaviour is something that’s kind of characteristic, and this probably enrages him even more because he wants to appear in a certain way.” The restaurant incident, Dr Burgess said, was “on the day or very close to the day that she is murdered”.

Shortly after leaving the restaurant, the couple were filmed on CCTV at Wyoming Whole Foods – the last footage of Gabby just hours before she was killed. In the footage, released by Fox News and filmed on August 27 2021, Gabby’s distinct white Ford Transit can be seen pulling into the parking lot.

The pair remain in the car for a minute before Laundrie gets out slamming the door as he goes followed a few moments behind by Gabby. The two approach the Whole Foods, Gabby with her arms crossed and Laundrie with his face hidden by a hat and glasses.

They remain in the store for around 15 minutes, picking up a few items including cheese, before both leaving through a different doorway. After getting back to the van they sit in place for another 20 minutes before pulling out onto Highway 89, the road north to Bridger-Teton National Forest campsite where Gabby’s remains were found three weeks later.

Another significant incident in the case occurred 12 days earlier when Gabby and Laundrie were pulled over in their van by police in Moab, Utah. Police had received a call from a witness claiming to have seen Laundrie strike Gabby and gave the van’s number plate.

“We drove by and the gentleman was slapping the girl. They ran up and down the sidewalk, he proceeded to hit her, hopped in the car and they drove off,” said the witness.

Moab PD then released bodycam footage of Gabby crying during the stop, with Laundrie displaying visible scratches. “We’ve just been fighting this morning. Some personal issues,” Gabby can be heard explaining.

She then admitted to having hit Brian after what she calls a “rough morning”, which she blamed on frustrations brought about by her OCD. After being asked by an officer if Laundrie had hit her, Gabby said “I guess”.

In February 2023, lawyers representing the family released a photo found on Gabby’s phone which was taken in her van on August 12 – the same day the couple were pulled over by Moab police. The photo shows injuries around her eye and across her face.

She appears to be wearing the same top in both the selfie and the police body-worn camera footage of the traffic stop. Gabby’s mum, Nichole Schmidt, said in a statement: “Our daughter, Gabby, died as a result of intimate partner violence that could have and should have been identified by law enforcement using the lethality assessment.

“We believe that if the lethality assessment had been properly used in her situation, together with the recommended support and resources, Gabby would still be alive today.”

American Murder: Gabby Petito is on Netflix from Monday, February 17

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