8 Heartbreaking Revelations From Netflix’s New Docuseries ‘American Murder: Gabby Petito’

When Gabby Petito went missing in September 2021, the case went viral as the Internet tried to piece together what happened to the 22-year-old travel vlogger. At the time of her disappearance, Petito had been on the road for two months with her fiancé Brian Laundrie in a converted 2012 Ford Transit.

Petito’s body was found in Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area, near Grand Teton National Park. The autopsy showed the cause of death was homicide. Later it was discovered Brian was to blame.

Directed by Julia Willoughby Nason and Michael Gasparro, the docuseries intended to expose more about the couple’s relationship to help shed light on what an abusive dynamic looks like.

“We hope through seeing her words and her voice that it can humanize the situation and not make it too lofty or heady, but relatable,” Nason told Yahoo News. “So many people — both men and women — can find themselves in a dynamic that they can’t predict but it’s very hard to remove themselves from.”

Here are eight heartbreaking revelations from the three-episode docuseries American Murder: Gabby Petito.

1. Gabby wasn’t comfortable at Brian’s parents’ house when she lived with them.

Loved ones of Gabby recalled that Brian’s mother was jealous of Gabby and the relationship she had with her son. She often would get into moods and make Gabby uncomfortable when she lived with them. Text messages between Gabby and Brian showed that Brian’s mother made Gabby feel like she “did something wrong.”

2. Gabby’s friend noticed that something was “off” about Brian from the first time she met him.

“Brian had a very dark side of him,” said Gabby’s best friend Rose. Rose shared that the first time she met him, he was “very nice” but “weird.”

For example, before Gabby and Rose were able to go line dancing together, Gabby had to turn around and head home because her I.D. wasn’t in her wallet. As it turns out, Brian stole her I.D. because he didn’t want her to go.

3. Old texts between Gabby and Brian further showed manipulative, controlling tendencies from Brian.

When Gabby made a friend in Rose, Brian began getting possessive and jealous. He would send manipulative texts that made Gabby feel guilty for spending time away from him.

“He enjoyed her feeling that way because then she depended on him again, and trusted him again,” said Rose.

4. Brian wasn’t supportive of Gabby’s van life vlogger aspirations.

Gabby was determined to become a famous van life YouTuber. Before she and Laundrie hopped on the road, she was worked 50 hours a week at Taco Bell to save up money.

Gabby’s friend Rose said that Brian didn’t think the vlog was a good idea. “He thought it was stupid,” explained Rose. However, Rose believes the real reason he wasn’t supportive was a bit darker.

“I think a big reason Brian didn’t want her to do the vlog is ’cause I think he was worried that the truth of everything would be on footage,” Rose said. “There’s that possibility that he’s the wrong thing or reacts the wrong thing while she’s recording.”

5. When Gabby’s parents reached out to Brian’s parents about Gabby’s disappearance, Brian’s parents ignored Gabby’s parents’ texts.

Both of Gabby’s parents contacted Brian’s parents for help in locating Gabby, but they ignored all their messages, including one about contacting the police.

6. Rose immediately suspected Brian did something to Gabby upon news of her disappearance.

When Rose saw Gabby’s missing person report news on the TV, she immediately broke down and started screaming. “He did something. What did he do?” she recalled.