What Brian Laundrie messaged himself from Gabby Petito’s phone after her killing
A new Netflix miniseries about 22-year-old adventurer Gabby Petito—who went missing and was later found dead a month later in 2021—has revealed new details about her case and sparked renewed interest.
On American Murder: Gabby Petito, authorities found that Petito's then-fiancé Brian Laundrie—who, in a notebook entry, admitted to killing her before shooting himself dead—texted himself using her phone to stage a conversation after the murder.
Their relationship was reportedly abusive.
As the miniseries depicted, Laundrie hiked from his and Petito's last known location in Grand Teton National Park to a new area of the park on Aug. 28, 2021.
From that location, he used her phone to text himself, "Hey Hunny, just calling to let you know I made it to Colter Bay! I think the campground is still a little ways up the road, I’m gonna go check it out! LMK when your[sic] on your way, no rush:)”
In a follow-up text, Laundrie, posing as Petito, said there was no rush for her to join him.
"Can’t wait for you to see the mountains across the water!” he also texted himself.
Laundrie then hitched a ride back to the Spread Creek camping area with different people—and left the van and Petito's phone.
When he returned to the van, Laundrie then asked Petito if she could pick him up a day early. He then got "her" texts, and his texts to her got read immediately.
“Yeah sure baby we’ll do one more night of dispersed and then we’ve got our site at Colter Bay for TWO NIGHTS!!” ” a message from Petito's phone read.
In the episode, FBI Special Agent Loretta Bush said the activity between the two phones "was almost instantaneous."
"Brian was holding both phones and talking directly to himself. It was apparent that he was trying to create an alibi," Bush said.
On Aug. 30, Laundrie began his trip home to Florida in the sprinter van owned by Petito. He paid for gas using her debit card.
He also messaged Petito's mother Nichole Schmidt asking to connect with Petito's grandfather, who was trying to reach out to her. The text from Petito's phone called him "Stan" instead of "Grandpa," which Schmidt found odd.
On his way home, Laundrie also sent himself $700 (PhP40,600) from Petito's account via the platform Zelle. In the memo section of the transaction, it stated, “Goodbye Brian, I’ll never ask you for anything again.”
Authorities determined that Laundrie killed Petito, with an autopsy report listing her cause of death as a homicide caused by manual strangulation and blunt-force trauma to her head and neck.
After returning to Florida, Laundrie went missing and in October 2021, his remains were found. He was 23.
A notebook beside his remains described Petito's alleged final moments, claiming she was injured during a hike and was “begging for an end to her pain." Laundrie then said, "I ended her life."
Petito's stepfather Jim Schmidt, however, dismissed Laundrie's words.
"Not one of the versions of Brian's account was accurate by the findings of Gabby's autopsy," he said. "The sole cause of her death was strangulation and nothing remotely or even close to what he said."
