Nobody expects [music] anything like this to happen, let alone the attention that it’s gotten. It’s very surreal. Can you tell us a little bit about your daughter? In a way, you know, the whole world has [music] come to know your daughter Gabby. Does that give you some comfort? Yes. Um she was beautiful. She was creative, artistic, [music] talented, um a genuine person, and we all loved her so much.
Gabby Petito never goes outside. Bubbly, energetic, adventurous, Gabby Petito wanted to share her life with the world. She succeeded, though tragically not [music] in the way she planned. These are the pictures Gabby wanted us to see. Bands stretching, doing some morning yoga. Outside looking in, she did look happy.
It might not have been as as great as people online perceived. But this is the vision that’s now impossible to unsee. Where did he hit you? Don’t don’t worry. Be honest. He hit me in the face. It’s like like this. It’s confronting to watch a disaster unfold before our eyes. But it’s even tougher to look away. This has been one of those stories [music] where there’s been surprises and twists and turns all along the way.
Two people went on a trip, one person returned. Now, Gabby is dead. So, too is her fiance, the man who claimed [music] to love her, but likely killed her. She was a bright shining star. Now, she is a star. Tonight, [music] She was stolen. She was taken from us. answering the hardest questions. What goes through your mind? [music] I was just shocked.
How did it come to this? For me, it’s a murder in slow motion. Why were warning [music] signs ignored? Not only did we see them, but we saw an altercation. Could and should Gabby Petito [music] have been saved? It’s [music] two and a half months since Gabby was murdered. As her family struggles with deep [music] grief, they’re overwhelmed by a need to let everyone know who their daughter really was.
[music] Everybody sees the pictures of her out there as an adult, but when I close my eyes and I think of her, I still remember a little blonde-haired, bright blue-eyed little girl with her hair up in, you know, ponytails and always smiling, no matter what. And what was Gabby like growing up? Uh a spitfire. She did a lot.
She was very busy. She loved her friends. She always had a bunch of friend groups. She enjoyed school and [music] she was a beautiful artist, brilliant artist. Um just so talented. Growing up, Gabby was the center of a happily blended family. [music] Mom Nicole and stepdad Jim in one home, stepmom Tara and father Joe in another.
Her laughter. [music] Those damn eyes, too. Ah. [sighs] Couldn’t keep her in trouble with those eyes. It was the worst. [music] Trying to keep her grounded was the worst. So unfair. But her laughter was so infectious, her smile was so infectious. She was happy. Genuinely happy. She’s like, “Yeah, come on, let me show you this.
” She’d want to take you. “Let’s go. Jump in the car. Let’s Let’s Let’s just go for a ride. We’ll check it out. We’ll go to the beach. Um just just listen to the ocean. Look at the waves. Look at the sand. Watch the sunrise. Watch the sunset, you know?” Um that’s what she was. Inspired by adventure, no one in her family was surprised when in July Gabby quit [music] her job and announced she was setting off in her little white van for a trip across America.
And the 22-year-old wasn’t just going to live her dream, she was going [music] to share it, too. Hello, hello, and good morning. It is really nice and sunny today. [music] The wannabe social media star invited the whole world to tag along for the ride. I love the van. [music] But it wasn’t just Gabby her followers got to know.
By her side through it all was her fiance, Brian Laundrie. We’ve been lucky so far at all the places we’ve stayed, but I’d say this is one of the best so far. Since we left New York, I’ve only set up my hammock once. And now we’re all the way in Utah, and luckily enough I was able to set up my hammock on one of these trees. And we’re like kind of like in the desert.
There’s a few trees there. In Brian, [music] Gabby thought she’d found a free-spirited soulmate. And her frequent Instagram and YouTube posts were as much about their love story as they were about location shots. [music] When did Gabby first meet Brian? Uh they were friends in high school. So, they’ve known each other for quite a few years.
And when did they become a couple? 2019-ish. Yeah, it was after high school. Yeah. They kind of like reconnected again. And uh started hanging out and dating and It happened pretty quickly. Um but, you know, he seemed fine. I don’t know. He was very polite and quiet. So, in your mind, she was heading on this trip across America with the right kind of guy, someone that she was in safe hands with.
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Absolutely. Yeah. For more than a month, the couple made their way across the United States, stopping at some of the country’s most breathtaking natural wonders, making memories that were meant to last a lifetime, and sharing them with their families and followers. How often were you in contact with Gabby while her and Brian were traveling? I would say on average every other day or so.
Almost every day. She would text, she would FaceTime, send me pictures of where they were going. Um I loved getting the updates. I was in awe of what she was doing. It was just amazing. As parents, did you have any concerns about this trip? Oh, of course. Um I worried. Um I told her to be careful, be safe, you know, make sure the to be aware of your surroundings.
Um you know, don’t trust everybody. Um I knew I but I felt safe because she was with Brian and I I felt like she would be okay. I think I thought he would take care of her. How wrong Gabby’s family were. Hi, uh I’m calling to report a domestic dispute. They just drove off. What were they doing? Uh we drove by and the gentleman was slapping the girl.
He was slapping her? Yes, and then we stopped. They ran up and down the sidewalk. He proceeded to hit her, hopped in the car, and they drove off. All right, I will let somebody know. Thank you. It was 6 weeks into the trip when the first cracks appeared in the carefully curated facade Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie had created.
Currently doing 45 miles an hour. Zone through here is 25. Oh. Subjects just hit the curb. Coming up. He really stresses me out. It’s just hard to watch. An unfolding and preventable tragedy. It’s a murder in slow motion. All caught on camera. You just green-lit the abuser. And? I just remember The last time [music] Gabby is seen alive.
She was crying. That’s next. This is the footage that introduced most of the world to Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie. Sorry, I’m Can you place your vehicle in a park and go ahead and turn it off for me? No, park. Oh, it it isn’t parked yet. Okay, turn off your engine, go ahead and set your keys on the dashboard, all right? What are you guys’ names? I’m Brian.
Gabby, Brian, okay. What’s going on? Why are you crying? I don’t know. We’ve just been fighting this morning. Some personal issues. On the 12th of August, 6 weeks into their trip across America, the couple’s picture-perfect [music] partnership began to publicly unravel. I was distracting him from driving.
I’m sorry. Can I get you to step out of the vehicle for me, ma’am? Yeah. What you’re watching is distressing police body camera vision recorded after the couple was pulled over following reports of a domestic violence incident in Moab, Utah. Hi, I’m calling to report a domestic dispute. They just drove off.
What were they doing? Uh we drove by and the gentleman was slapping the girl. For all their attempts to portray happiness, this was the reality of Gabby and Brian’s life on the road. And my instinct about what I was seeing on camera was this is bad news. I knew it wasn’t going to end well. For me, it’s a murder in slow motion.
This was preventable. Like millions around the world, criminal profiler Laura Richards has poured over Gabby and Brian’s encounter with the police. She says it’s clear that coercive control was a factor in the relationship. This was one human being behaving in a way that was insidious, controlling, and manipulative, not just to his partner, but to the police officers.
For more than an hour, police went back and forth [music] between the couple trying to get to the bottom of their fight. From the outset, Brian was cool and calm and tried [music] to downplay the incident with Gabby. Initially, [music] Gabby tried to protect her fiance. Looks like did did he get Did you get You in the face? Um Kind of looks like something might hit you in the face.
I don’t know. And then over on your arm? Um Shoulder? Right here? Is that that’s new, huh? It’s kind of a new mark. Oh, yeah. I don’t know. But then admitted that Brian had been violent with her. that came to us and told us that they saw him hit you. There’s two people saying that they saw him punch you. They were just independent witnesses by Moonflower.
Well, to be honest, I did only hit him first. Where’d you hit him? I slapped him in the face. Mhm. You slapped him first? And then was it on his face? just Can you just shut up? Did he hit you though? I mean I mean it’s okay if you’re saying you hit him and then I I understand if he hit you, but we want to know the truth if he actually hit you.
Um cuz you know I hit him cuz yeah, but I hit him first. Where did he hit you? No, don’t worry. Just be honest. It was on my face. Like like this. Uh-huh. I don’t know if I was cut right here. Like it was bleeding. Yeah. It was bleeding first. This could have been and should have been the turning point [music] in this story. But even after pushing Gabby for the truth, police seemed to side with Brian.
So, when I first got here, we were more worried about what kind of a guy you were from what we heard. But then talking to your girlfriend, it sounds to me like maybe this is not so clear-cut. You’ve just green-lit [music] the abuser. You’ve just reinforced his behavior. And I think that he felt relieved.
And you I saw that relief. It was palpable. I saw it on camera. And he’s joking and he’s sort of making jokes. And he clearly lied to the police officers and they believed everything that he said. That makes me angry. We sympathize with you, but based on what you’ve said and based on what our our witnesses said and even based on what your your fiance has mentioned trying his very hardest not to have you in any trouble he does have marks on him that witnesses say were caused by you slapping him.
And that even you say you slapped him and then and were aggressing him first. And I don’t have anyone saying that he actually punched you aggressively. Having identified Brian as the victim, by law, the officer should have charged Gabby. But he was clearly conflicted and discussed at length with his colleagues.
She’s got to be 105 lb soaking wet, 22, full of anxiety, having a really tough time. Not making excuses, but I mean, it is written in the code. We do have a domestic assault here. He’s not wanting to pursue it. How far do you want to go with this? Like, you know why the domestic assault code is there.
The reason why they don’t give us discretion on these things is because too many times women who are at risk want to go back to their abuser. They just wanted him to stop and they don’t want to have to be separated. They don’t want him charged. They don’t want him to go to jail. And then they end up getting worse and worse uh treatment and then they end up getting killed.
But the officer decided Gabby wasn’t the one at risk. In no way, shape, or form that I can perceive does what happened here, a little slap fight between fiancés who love each other and want to be together. Can I perceive that this is going to digress into the situation where he’s going to be a battered man? Right.
But then again, I don’t have a crystal ball. In the end, [music] the police ordered Gabby and Brian to separate for the night. You want me to let him know that you love him and that you’ll see him tomorrow and stuff like that. No other action was taken and no one followed up with them. All right. Have a good day.
Do you think an opportunity was missed here to prevent [music] this tragedy from happening? In my opinion, there there were multiple opportunities missed to prevent the escalation that happened. Had Brian’s behavior been picked up, there may have been a very different outcome. What was it like Nicole, for you as her mother when you saw that footage? It’s just hard to watch.
I I wanted to jump through the screen and rescue her. I saw a a young girl that needed someone to just hug her and keep her safe. Um I just felt so bad for her. For the next 2 weeks, the couple continued on their trip posting more videos and happy snaps along the way. She said, “I’m going to Grand Teton.” She was [music] excited to go see that area.
I didn’t even know where it was. I never heard of it. [laughter] She was just said, “Okay.” And I had to look it up and see where it was. So, I was excited for her. [music] It looked beautiful. But the tension in their relationship continued to grow. And by the time the couple had reached Wyoming in late August, Gabby was at breaking point.
We were actually at a lunch. [music] Um It was our first full day in Wyoming and we just just by chance happened to walk into this little Mexican restaurant. Gabby was very clearly emotional. She was crying. Brian um was evidently angry. He was um I would say he had a temper. And that’s when I kind of started to take notice like, “Wow, this guy is really um and I told Matt my exact words were um he’s creeping me out.
” Matt England and Nina Angelo were also in Wyoming on the 27th of August when they crossed paths with Brian and Gabby who were in the middle of a heated argument with restaurant staff. I I just remember that she was crying and was talking with the hostess. And it and it appeared that she was apologizing or or about that for his behavior.
His demeanor, he was angry, and it was temperamental, and um it was rude. Um It’s just yeah, and it made it was enough to make me feel uncomfortable. I think the best way to describe Gabby in that moment is um she seemed extremely emotionally overwhelmed. Yeah. That’s true. Like she seemed like the best way I can describe it is Gabby seemed like she was at her breaking point.
We now know this is likely the [music] last time Gabby Petito was seen alive. And not only did we see them, but we saw an altercation, right? So that paints a really clear picture of both of their personalities. When did you begin to get worried? I was worried probably day four and five.
I started I was texting her every day anyway, but I wasn’t getting responses. By day six, seven, I was checking her social media. I didn’t see any activity. Um and I started calling her dad and and I was talking to Jim about it and I said we I think so I’m worried and everybody was like, she’s fine. She’s fine. Um they’re out in the mountains.
They have no signal. And I said, no, it’s not like her. When she couldn’t reach Gabby directly, Nicole tried to contact Brian and then his family, but she got no response. It made her worry something might have happened to both of them. On the 11th of September, after 10 days of silence, Nicole and Jim reported Gabby missing. But Brian wasn’t missing.
Remarkably, he was at home in Florida with his parents and had been for nearly two weeks. When did you find out that he returned without her? The night of the 11th [snorts] when the detective came to my door to let me know that the van was in Florida with him. She also said that he had obtained a lawyer. Um I I almost fell on the ground cuz I was just like, where where is Gabby? And that’s that was my response to that information.
And I my my just went into shock. I knew something was was wrong. Coming up I’m not sure I’ve ever covered a story where there’s this much interest. The desperate search [music] for Gabby. He shows up without her. What does he tell his parents? While Brian’s family stays silent, what do you make of the Laundrie family’s response? And the police bungles that let him run.
We missed him going out there. That’s next. Tonight, new developments in the nationwide search for a missing Long Island native. this half hour with the breaking news surrounding the search for a young woman from New York gone missing. Right now on ABC Action News, desperate for answers. Plus the ever-expanding search for Gabby Petito.
So, you haven’t heard from your daughter in 10 days. You reach out to the people who likely last saw her alive. You get on to the authorities to report her missing, and then you learn that her fiance’s family has hired a lawyer. What goes through your mind? I was just shocked. I I don’t even remember how I would I was just in shock.
I I was shaking, and I from that moment forward it was like, we need to find Gabby. And we just went into like we didn’t sleep after that. We just went into the mode of get her face out there. Let’s find her immediately. Can you tell us a little bit about your daughter? The search for Gabby Petito was urgent and intense, and the story very quickly became headline news.
I think people were first interested because you had this beautiful couple that portrayed themselves [music] as being so happy on the road, um and everyone was so convinced that this that this journey was so incredible. And I think when it took a turn, people became very, very curious what was happening behind the scenes.
[music] Brian Entin was one of the first journalists to start reporting on Gabby’s disappearance. I’m not sure I’ve ever covered a story where there’s this much [music] interest. You have the entire country and really the entire world trying to find Gabby [music] Petito. It wasn’t just the mainstream media paying attention.
Online, Gabby’s story [music] was gaining extraordinary momentum. Pause this, screenshot it, share this. [music] This girl is actively missing. The public is invested and they’re going through every single Instagram [music] post, every single post this couple has ever made basically, and looking for every [music] little clue.
The things that people find, it’s so unbelievable. Things that I would have never even noticed. Her roots are not there. Especially in comparison to some of them before that. Driving the intrigue was the extraordinary revelation that Brian Laundrie was refusing to cooperate with the police. Two people went on a trip, one person returned, and [music] that person that returned isn’t providing us any information.
Controversially, Brian was only a person of interest in Gabby’s disappearance, not a suspect. And that meant police couldn’t force him or his parents to talk. Their silence was torture for Gabby’s family, especially her dad, Joe. What do you make of the Laundrie family’s response to this? To you? There’s a lot of things that I would like to say that probably aren’t appropriate for the channel that we’re on.
You can say what you like. [laughter] I don’t know if that’s if that’s swearing goes on your network, you know. The more I think of them or or him, you know, that that’s going to you know, I get angry. The police weren’t talking to Brian, [music] but they were watching him, setting up cameras in neighbors’ yards to keep an eye on him, assuring the [music] Petitos and the public that they were monitoring his movements.
All I’m going to say is I know where Brian is at. But as it turns out, not very well. So, the very strange thing is Brian Laundrie’s parents were not cooperating with the police. They would not talk to the police about the disappearance of Gabby Petito. And obviously, it was very very frustrating to Gabby’s family and to everyone following this case.
Suddenly, they call the police and say, “We want to talk to you, but we don’t want to talk about Gabby. We want to talk about Brian. Brian has now disappeared.” When the police arrived at the Laundrie’s house, they were met with chaos and concern. Inside, there was confusion as Chris and Roberta Laundrie told the authorities their son had left home to go on a hike, but hadn’t returned.
The police were forced to admit that Brian left undetected after the surveillance team confused Roberta Laundrie for her son. Do you think police have dropped the ball here in terms of essentially letting him escape or letting him disappear under their watch supposedly? I think police have been working very very hard around the clock, but I think there are some really big questions about whether they actually knew where Brian Laundrie was when they said they knew.
On opposite sides of the country, two searches were now underway. In Florida, police were looking for Brian Laundrie in the Carlton Reserve. While teams looking for Gabby Petito were in the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. [music] The Grand Tetons are absolutely beautiful. I mean, they’re just they’re majestic mountains.
It’s just a very gorgeous, [music] very rural area. I mean, there there’s not much out there. I mean, it’s it’s pretty [music] you’re out there in wilderness pretty, you know, for the most part. [music] Like Gabby and Brian had been doing, Kyle and Jen Bethune were living their dream on the road and sharing it online. The freedom.
The freedom [music] to be who you want to be. Um, you you don’t have rules out here and you don’t have to be put in a little box. [music] You get to live life on your terms. Y’all, look at this. It’s the freaking Tetons. In late August, they were traveling through the Grand Teton National Park when they spotted a white van on the side of the road.
And what stood out to us is that it had Florida license plates on it. And we were from Florida. And so we wanted to say hi, but it looked very dark. Uh, everything was closed up. We just assumed that maybe they were out hiking. At the time, they didn’t think much else of it. But when Gabby’s disappearance started making headlines, the Bethunes, like the rest of the online community, turned into digital detectives.
I ran to the laptop and I pulled up our GoPro footage and I was just praying. I was watching us, you know, go down the thing and I was like, “Please, please let this be the van. Please.” And, um, there was a little white image [music] and it just kept getting closer and closer and closer. And as soon as it went by, like, I just knew that that was Gabby’s van.
It was unbelievable. I mean, I had goosebumps all over my body. And, um, we were just in disbelief. Kyle and Jen called the FBI and authorities started searching the area. On the 19th of September, 300 m from where her van had been parked, police made a discovery. [music] Earlier today, human remains were discovered consistent with the description of Gabrielle Gabby Petito.
I I had to make some tough decisions in my life, tough phone calls. I’m a captain in the fire department. I was a ex-chief of my volunteer fire department and I’ve seen some some things and and had to handle some things and not one of those [clears throat] moments ever prepared me for the FBI walking through our door to tell us that they found remains consistent of Gabby.
And then having to call home and to tell her mother, my wife, who I couldn’t even hold at the time, that Gabby was found and she was gone. And even though I knew that we were going to find her, [snorts] that was the hardest phone call I’ve ever had to take. Just hoping that at that mo- that she was in a place that she wanted to be, looking at the beautiful mountains.
That moment, she found peace and was just looking at the mountains behind her and maybe at that moment that she would just put herself in a better place. And that’s all we could That’s all we could pray for. It’s something you never think is going to You You see it. You You You I watch these shows.
I watch 60 Minutes and Dateline and 48 Hours and, you know, it’s it’s always like very It’s somebody else. interesting. It’s somebody else’s family, but [snorts] you never ever think it’s going to be yours. It’s just It’s surreal. [snorts] Do you remember the last thing you said to her? I said love I love you. Last thing I said to her I remember my very last sentence was I love you.
And her last sentence to me was I love you, too. In the weeks that [music] followed, an autopsy revealed what her family had feared. Gabby had been murdered. We hereby find the cause and manner of death to be death [music] by strangulation and manner is homicide. [music] Parents aren’t supposed to bury their children.
At any age. At any age. Gabby was 22 years old. Her life was stolen from her. She was stolen. She was taken from us. She was taken. [music] [snorts] At somebody else’s hand. It’s not fair. [music] [snorts] Coming up. I think Brian’s parents did help him. Behavior [music] beyond belief. Gabby died of strangulation. Spilling the Laundrie family secrets.
Do you think they’re involved, your parents? That’s next. With confirmation Gabby Petito had been murdered, the search for her killer intensified. And the only person police were looking for was Brian Laundrie. According to Brian Laundrie’s parents, he went for a hike in a wildlife reserve here in Florida. While his fiance was missing.
Right. Right, exactly, which is very very strange. The Carlton Reserve was somewhere Brian knew well. He had hiked and camped there before, but it wasn’t an easy area for police to search. You look around from up here in the helicopter, you can tell just how massive it is. 24,000 acres. We’re looking through wooded areas, we’re looking through bodies of water, we’re looking through um swampy areas, um and we’re deploying the resources to be able to do that.
We have air units, we have drones, we have the swamp buggies, airboats, multiple law enforcement agencies. We’re deploying every resource to get through any terrain that we encounter in our search areas. As the days and weeks went on, the hunt became more desperate. This is wearing on everyone. Everybody’s [music] has a a level of stress.
Um everybody has the drive, and that’s really what’s carrying us through is the drive to try to find Brian and try to put closure to this investigation. By now, a warrant had been issued for Brian’s arrest. Not for Gabby’s disappearance or death, but for bank fraud, with police alleging he’d spent more than a thousand dollars on Gabby’s debit card as he made his way home after she’d been killed.
But Chris and Roberta Laundrie still refused to talk. How do you feel to know that Gabby died of strangulation in the wilderness of Wyoming? She used to live with you. How does that make you feel? The deafening silence angered Gabby’s supporters. Was your son involved in strangling Gabby? We are seeking justice for Gabby and the Petito family.
While his parents weren’t prepared to say what they knew about Gabby’s murder, Brian’s sister, Cassie, did speak out. to know what the hell We have fully cooperated with the police since September 11th when they called. We are just as upset, frustrated, and heartbroken as everybody else. And like everyone else, Cassie was questioning her mom and dad.
I am losing my parents and my brother and my children’s aunt and my future sister-in-law on top of this and you’re not helping. Why your parents? Why why your parents? You’re talking about Chris and They’re not talking to us either. Why aren’t they talking to you guys? If I knew, I would say. I don’t know. Do you think they’re involved, your parents? I don’t know.
know. You don’t know. We know You’re not involved? We have literally been finding everything out with the news with like everybody else. She was very thorough. I mean, she was forthcoming. I believe her. There was no non-verbal communications when that conversation was happening. There were no hands near her face. She wasn’t rolling her eyes.
I mean, she was straightforward, forthcoming. And now the parents have distanced themselves from her. Lenny DePaul is a former US Marshal who spent decades hunting dangerous criminals. While he believes Cassie, he thinks Chris and Roberta had something to hide. I think Brian’s parents did help him once he came home.
He shows up in the van without her. What does he tell his parents? Oh, we broke up. I left her out there. I just decided to drive the van back home and you know, let’s go camping. It just doesn’t make sense. You have to connect the dots. You got to put that puzzle together. You can’t leave no stones unturned.
You’re looking at everybody as a fugitive investigator. You have to. The Laundries were slow to help initially, but once they were involved, the search sped up. The father of Brian Laundrie joined the search for his son this morning. On the 20th of October, 2 months after Gabby Petito had been killed and 37 days after Brian Laundrie had been reported missing, search crews in the Carlton Reserve made a breakthrough.
Investigators found what appears to be human remains along with personal items such as a backpack and notebook belonging to Brian Laundrie. Detectives don’t know how Brian died, but it’s likely he was dead before the police were even looking for him. The manhunt is over. But the search for answers isn’t. Brian has now been found dead.
What does that mean for the case? He sent a strong message to everybody that’s been following this thing. He’s obviously guilty and unfortunately Gabby Petito is no longer with us as well. Coming up, how would you describe his actions? Despicable. Confronting the unimaginable truth. It’s scary. [music] You don’t know someone.
And Gabby’s legacy. You made me proud and I couldn’t be prouder as a father. Their family’s vow to help others. If it’s just one, if it’s just one, maybe it’s worth it. That’s next. Gabby Petito never goes outside. [laughter] In the 2 and 1/2 months her uh social media accounts and we look forward to seeing those pictures and videos every day, just like uh everybody’s starting to see now.
So, it’s pretty incredible to see the rest of the world seeing how talented she was and it’s what she wanted. That’s what she wanted. That’s why she started the YouTube channel. So, she could uh inspire other people to travel and just live life to the fullest. [snorts] That her life [music] was likely taken by her fiance, Brian Laundrie, is something Gabby’s family [music] is still trying to comprehend.
To think that someone could do this to the person I was supposed to love more than anyone in the world. Scary. It’s just scary that you don’t know someone. You think you know them, but you don’t. How would you describe his actions? Despicable. It’s What he did to her? Disgusting. [music] This it I I yeah, I want to ask why he couldn’t just let it go and walk away, whatever the reason was for it.
Why couldn’t he just walk away? Leave her be. [snorts] You described to me earlier the Brian that you [music] met, somebody that you thought was nice, was pleasant, was polite. Who is Brian to you now? Coward. As a strong, honorable man and father, can you believe this kind of behavior from someone like Brian? The world doesn’t surprise me.
It [snorts] really doesn’t. There’s a lot of bad people in this world. I’m sure. But there’s many, many more good people. And I’ll tell you, if you look on social media, they’re out there. They’re out there. People are trying to help others make a difference and pushing this message out there and changes are happening.
And that shows you that the good outweighs the bad every time. Every time. What is it about this case that has struck you most? I think the thing that struck me the most is the way that the country and the world has grabbed onto this and wanted to help solve it and actually helped solve it through social media and through the work that they can do at home sitting behind their computer.
This was supposed to be a romantic idyllic trip for a young couple in love and it’s turned out to be anything but. When we first saw the videos of them on this trip, it just looked so amazing and they looked so happy and they were such a beautiful couple um and it it’s awful [music] to see the way this thing has turned around.
I was hoping we would just be here a couple of days and that Gabby would be found alive and that we could really have a happy ending to this. [music] Um I never expected that this would take so many twists and turns and that we would still be here and that this would still be such a mystery. I’m stretching, [music] doing some morning yoga.
What are the [music] key questions you have? Why would you just leave her there? And why wouldn’t you come forward from the beginning so we could find her or bring her home? [snorts] The love of your life, a person you talked about marrying, the person you lived with, you traveled with, you went to school with and you left her in the wilderness.
I don’t know who can do that to anybody. I I don’t I don’t I don’t understand it. We don’t understand it. All the chocolate melted. It’s a river of chocolate. Police continue to investigate Gabby Petito’s murder, but knowing exactly what happened in Wyoming isn’t a priority for her dad, Joe. We’re in a glare cloud now.
Maybe, you know, I don’t get the answers that I need. And maybe the world doesn’t get the answers that they need. But, uh, it still shouldn’t detract from what we’re trying to do. If he did really have something to do with Gabby’s death, um, it’s not going to bring her back to me. So, it doesn’t change the focus that we should have.
And that’s just making a difference. In starting the Gabby Petito Foundation, her parents hope they can draw attention to other missing persons and domestic violence issues. I’d hate to see someone else end up like Gabby. And I I I using her story to stop that from happening, by all means use it. That’s a story that needs to be heard.
[music] And it can make a difference in someone’s life. If it’s just one, if it’s just one, maybe it’s worth it. I couldn’t be more proud as a father seeing [music] her literally touch the globe, you know, and and she’s going to help a lot of people. She’s already helped a lot of people, but I still see stories that are on coming online and and I still see people missing that that aren’t getting the notoriety that they they they should.
So, we still got a lot of work to do. And that’s that’s going to be that’s my personal motivation. I I’m going to continue down the positive path, cuz the dark path I don’t want to go down. I want to stay focused on doing good things and and good change that’s going to help a lot of people. And that’s what we all want to do as parents.
What will Gabby’s legacy be? That she made a difference. That people saw a beautiful soul. And she had an impact, you know, that changed the lives of a lot of people and the world. There’s no There’s no more amazing legacy that you could have. [crying] What would you say to Gabby now if you could? I love you. And I hope I make you proud.
Cuz you made me proud and I couldn’t be prouder as a father. I think she’d be very proud of you right now, Jay. I hope so. I really do. Hello, I’m Sarah [ __ ] Thanks for watching 60 Minutes Australia. Subscribe to our channel now for brand new stories and exclusive clips every week.
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