Gabby Petito's mom has a theory about what happened to Brian Laundrie when he died.
Four years ago, travel influencer and YouTuber Gabby was murdered by her fiancé, Laundrie, while on a road trip across the US.
Gabby, who was 22, had set off on the cross-country trip in her Ford transit van - vlogging her journey along the way. But in September 2021, after not having heard from her daughter, Gabby's mom, Nichole Schmidt, reported her missing to the authorities.
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What followed was a devastating revelation about Gabby, her relationship with Laundrie, and what happened to her in her final days.
When Gabby's parents raised the alarm over her disappearance after failing to hear from her for several days, they learned Laundrie had returned to his parents' Florida home in her van without her.
Despite sending messages and urging for the family to help find their daughter, Gabby's family heard nothing from Laundrie, or his parents.
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After a search was launched into her whereabouts, Gabby's body was found on September 19 in Spread Creek camping area in Wyoming. An autopsy revealed she died from blunt force injuries to her head and neck as well as ‘manual strangulation’.
As police began investigating her murder, Laundrie disappeared out of his parents' home and was later found by authorities having taken his own life. He left a note confessing to her murder.
In a devastating revelation, while on their trip, police had pulled over their van in Utah on August 12, following reports of a 'domestic violence incident'.
The couple were separated for the night but later reunited.
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Following Gabby's death, a number of shocking claims emerged.
One centered around Laundrie's mother, Roberta. When Laundrie's body was found, he was also carrying a letter with instructions to 'burn after reading' from his mom, the contents of which were released by CNN and made for a chilling read.
Roberta wrote that she would help her son 'dispose of a body' and 'bake a cake with a file in it' if he went to jail in a note that the Petito's legal team claims is potentially incriminating.
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But Brian's mom has defended the note as simply an ordinary love letter that she claims was given to him prior to his trip with Gabby.
It's also undated, making it unclear when Roberta could have handed him the note.
However, it seems that Gabby's mom has always been suspicious over Laundrie's parents.
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During a new appearance on The Squeeze podcast, hosted by actor Taylor Lautner and his wife Tay, Nichole claimed: "I will say straightforward, I don't think he killed himself. I think either his father or [his mother] did. That's just my opinion, it's not a fact, it's an opinion."
When Lautner questioned why they would have done this, she added: "Better than going to jail and facing what you did. That's the only thing I can come up with in my mind.
"The way you read [his mother's] burn-after-reading letter and just the weirdness that [his parents] are, I don't find it implausible. I think it's very possible that they did something."
Nichole also explained why doesn't think Laundrie would've killed himself.
"If you read the stuff he wrote in his notebook, he kind of made up excuses," she said. "He didn't want to take responsibility, so why then would he take his own life? He was a coward. It's just a gut feeling that I have."
It's important to note that Nichole's theory is based purely on opinion and has no factual basis.
LADbible Group approached Steven Bertolino, the legal representative for the Laundries, but he declined to comment.
Topics: Gabby Petito, US News, Crime
Lucy Devine