This week, the FBI concluded that Brian Laundrie was the sole person of interest in the murder of Gabby Petito. Before this week, there were still questions surrounding potential charges against Laundrie’s parents. The FBI announced the news on Friday that the investigation was complete following the death of Gabby Petito last year.
According to a statement by FBI Denver Division Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider, “All logical investigative steps have been concluded in this case.” He continued, “The investigation did not identify any other individuals other than Brian Laundrie directly involved in the tragic death of Gabby Petito.”
The FBI concluded only Brian Laundrie, whose remains would be found later in a park in Florida on October 20, was the sole person responsible for the death of Gabby Petito.
Brian Laundrie’s Text Messages
In the FBI’s final report on the matter, the bureau concluded that “After [Gabby Petito’s] death, there were several text messages identified between Mr. Laundrie’s telephone and Ms. Petito’s telephone.”
This was a big aspect of the case at the time. The FBI further explained that “The timing and content of these messages are indicative of Mr. Laundrie attempting to deceive law enforcement by giving the impression that Ms. Petito was still alive.” This, in addition to the notebook discovered near his body in the Florida park, was a big part of it all.
Gabby Petito Documentary
Following the death of their daughter Gabby Petito, a documentary was released on Peacock. It shared the Petito families’ perspective on Brian Laundrie. Along with everything that happened. The documentary showed what the family thought of Laundrie at the time. Before everything that happened in the early part of fall in 2021.
There were no early warning signs, per the documentary. The family revealed that, in fact, they liked Laundrie and liked having him around. When the couple first got together, Nichole Schmidt, Petito’s mother, did not see any red flags. Not about what could potentially happen between the two.
In the documentary, she said, “Brian would come to my home and he was very polite, very kind.” As things progressed, it was the same perspective from the family. Schmidt continued, “When she and Brian started dating and he was like ‘I’m moving to Florida,’ she was like, ‘can I come with you?'” She concluded, “So she had no problem doing that. She had no fear to move to another state.” There were no obvious signs of what was to potentially come.
The FBI Denver field office closed the case with Brian Laundrie as the sole person responsible for the tragic death of Gaby Petito in 2021.
