Criminology - Gabby Petito

Episode Date: September 26, 2021

The death of Gabby Petito has captured the attention of the world. She disappeared while on a trip with her fiance/boyfriend Brian Laundrie. They were traveling the country in a van and documenting their travels for a YouTube channel. But, when Brian returned to Florida without Gabby, the mystery of what happened to Gabby Petito began to unfold. When Gabby's was found the case really began to heat up and has dominated the news cycle for some time now. Join Mike and Morf as they discuss the death of Gabby Petito. So many people are following this case closely and new details are continuing to emerge. Brian's silence about the situation has caused many to question what role he played in Gabby's death or at the very least what he knows. Then, when Brian vanished, the speculation about him really ramped up. There are many questions in this case. Where is Brian Laundrie and what really happened to Gabby Petito? You can help support the show at patreon.com/criminology An Emash Digital production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey there, it's Wayfair here, where delivery and setup are as easy as a few taps on your phone. You're relaxing in an old hammock, scrolling Wayfair's app, when you spot it, a brand new patio set. Next thing you know, Wayfair delivers it right to your patio and sets it up. Oh, you need a new grill, too? All right, Wayfair's got you covered. With Wayfair's room of choice delivery and fast experts set up on qualifying orders, life gets a little easier. Visit Wayfair.com or the Wayfair app. Wayfair, every style, every home. Criminology is a true crime podcast that may contain discussion about violent or disturbing topics.

Listener discretion is advised. Hello everyone and welcome to episode 176 of the Criminology Podcast. I'm Mike Ferguson. And this is Mike Morford. Morford's going on with you, buddy. Not a whole lot. I'm just ready to do some work and ready to record an episode. How about you?

Yeah, me too. I know this is an episode that you've been talking about for weeks and have been looking into and really following very closely. So I know it's one that's close to you, one that you've been wanting to do. Yeah, they say that down in Florida there's a lot of crazy stuff that happens and a lot of it's focused down here. And it's strange to me because I've been living down here a year. And there hasn't been a lot of crazy stuff going on as far as I can see.

To have this case, a couple towns over from me is pretty interesting. Well, before we do that, let's give our Patreon shoutouts. We only had three. We had Trisha, Kathleen Fullen, and Chris Barker. So we appreciate that support very much. Yeah, every week we hear the names of people that are willing to help the show, and we can't thank you enough for that. If anyone out there would like to support criminology,

you can do so by going to patreon.com slash criminology. So the first ever CrimeCon Morph is happening in the UK in London this weekend. Now, we won't be there. We're not traveling across the pond. We will be in Vegas for CrimeCon next year, April 29th through May 1st. Yeah, we'll definitely be in Vegas, and we're expecting everyone listening who can make it to show up and come keep us company. But don't wait because tickets are moving fast. To grab your passes for CrimeCon Vegas, just go to CrimeCon.

com and use our code criminology at checkout to save 10% off your standard badges. All right, buddy. So now that we have all of that out of the way, we need to jump into this case, this episode. And like our last one, it has no shortage of twists and turns. We are covering the case of Gabby Petito. Yeah, we normally don't do back-to-back cases that are currently breaking and evolving and sort of dominating the current news cycle. But we've had a lot of suggestions and request to cover Gabby's case.

And I actually started working on Gabby's case a couple weeks ago. I live, as I mentioned, a couple towns over from Gabby. And before there were camera crews staked out in southwest Florida, and her case was all over the place in the media. It was a very local case that was grabbing some attention among us here where I live. And I thought it was fascinating. So I started researching it, and I didn't know at the time that the case would become as big as it is right now. 22-year-old Gabby Petito was pretty much unknown to the world at large when she and her

fiance Brian Laundry set off on a cross-country road trip. Gabby and 23-year-old Brian met while attending Bayport Blue Point High School on Long Island. Brian graduated in 2016 and then a year later, Gabby graduated. In March 2019, they started dating and soon after they were both living in Brian's parents' home in Northport, Florida. In July 2020, Brian asked Gabby to marry him and she said yes, they announced the happy event on Instagram. The young couple were planning to launch a YouTube channel called Nomadic Static, in which they planned to share videos of their van life adventures. They were traveling in a Ford Transit van, which had been modified to be more practical

as a home base while they explored the country. The plan was to reach Oregon by Halloween 2021. The pair were in New York where they lived before moving to Florida, and they were visiting family and friends there. While in New York, Gabby attended her brother's graduation in late June, and she and Brian prepared for their trip. On July 2nd, the two set off from Blue Point, New York, to document their adventures while on their second cross-country trip together. Gabby started documenting their trip on Instagram, on July 4th, posting a photo of herself at a rock formation, at Monument Rock's Natural Landmark in Gove County, Kansas.

from July 8th to the 11th, Gabby posted multiple photos from Colorado. They visited Colorado Springs and also Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. This was their first trip in the van. Their last road trip had been in a car, and Gabby wrote about how much having what was essentially a small camper had enhanced her travels. And it seemed to definitely be a more comfortable way to travel cross-country. A road trip staying in the hotels and a road trip staying wherever you want in nature are two very different experiences.

Both are fun. Both can be challenging in different ways. But if you want to post influencer type content, the nature style trip might bring you more success for your brand than, let's say, a hotel stay, especially if you're an outdoorsy type. That's kind of like a dream. And for Gabby and Brian, it really seemed like it was. From July 16th to the 26th, Gabby posted photos of herself in Brine in Utah, camping at Zion National Park and sitting on the breathtaking cliffs of Bryce Canyon. She also posted photos of the two kissing in Mystic Hot Springs.

Everything in the photos seemed to indicate a happy and excited couple, enjoying their trip. There was no sign of what was to come. On August 12th, they were still in Utah. Gabby posted photos of themselves in Arches National Park in Grand County, Utah. On August 19th, Gabby and Brian officially launched their YouTube channel, Nomadic Static, by uploading their first travel video. Now, the channel was created in 2013, but hadn't been used by the pair until August 2021. As of the recording of this episode, a single eight-minute-long video called Van Life, beginning our Van Life journey, occupies the channel.

The video has almost 5 million views. The same day they uploaded their first video, Gabby posted on Instagram as well. The IG photo is from inside the van with the doors open to show the scenery outside. And the caption talks about people leaving their plastic waste behind. It's not known exactly where this photo was taken because unlike most of Gabby's other photos and all of the photos on their road trip, there was no location tag. On August 21st, Gabby and Brian were staying in Salt Lake City, Utah. Gabby's father, Joseph Petito, ordered Uber Eats for the two because there was some sort of power outage that left the couple without Wi-Fi.

Since Gabby and Brian were having a bad day, Joseph wanted to do something nice and help them out. On August 24th, Gabby and Brian headed to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. They were planning to stay there for two days. As they were leaving Salt Lake City, Gabby faced time with her mom, Nicole Schmidt, like she did about three times a week. By this point in their trip, everything seemed normal. Nicole had no idea that she would never talk to her daughter again. On August 25th, Gabby posted more photos to Instagram that had no location tags.

One was a photo of her in front of a butterfly mural holding a small crocheted pumpkin and smiling. The caption read simply Happy Halloween. The mural is called Monarch in Moda by artist Jane Kim and is located at the the monarch in Ogden, Utah, around 45 minutes away from Salt Lake City. Though they should have been headed to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming on August 30th. Nicole Schmidt received a text from Gabby's phone that read, no service in Yosemite. Yosemite National Park is in California, eight and a half hour southwest of Salt Lake, and 14 hours southwest of

Yellowstone. On September 1st, Brian returned to his parents' home in southwest Florida and Northport. He was driving the van. Only Gabby wasn't with him. Brian and Gabby had been living at the home prior to the road trip, and Brian's arrival home must have been a surprise for his family because he wasn't due back yet, and certainly wasn't expected to be alone when he came home. We don't know what happened over the next nine days or what Brian told his family. But what we do know is that Gabby's parents became worried after not hearing from their daughter,

and they got when that Brian had returned in the van to his parents' home without Gabby. Gabby's father, Joe, was actually named the police report over some sort of welfare concern at the laundry home. On September 10th, there's not much available information on this because the investigation is still open. On September 11th, Gabby's mom and stepfather called their local police department on Long Island in New York and reported Gabby missing. Please, from Gabby's family to Brian and his family about Gabby apparently went unanswered. As far as anyone knows, Brian and his parents have not said a word to anyone about what happened or where Gabby was. The Laundry family quickly retained an attorney and directed both Gabby's family and police

searching for her to the attorney. They just weren't talking. On September 14th, the Northport Police Department took possession of Gabby's van, which she owned. It was parked in the Laundry's garage. The Laundry's attorney issued a statement. stating pretty coldly and matter-of-factly that the laundry family hoped that the search for Miss Petito is successful and that Miss Petito is reunited with her family.

So, I mean, I think we have to break this down, Morp. You know, I said cold. I said, matter of fact, and I think when you look at this statement, analyze it in the context of what is going on, it is just that. It's pretty cold. It's just matter of fact. Yeah, and I think that this is really where Brian became sort of under a microscope in the public eye because he just seemed like he was not willing to help his future in-laws in Gabby's family put these pieces together where she was.

He was just not saying anything. And obviously, when you don't cooperate with someone you love's family, when that person's missing, it's not going to look good. And I think this is really where the public started to have some doubts about Brian and his character and his story. Well, I can tell you this. As a father of a 20-year-old daughter who has had the same boyfriend for a very long time, I'm almost positive they're going to end up getting married. If this same situation happened to me,

I would be furious. I would be wondering what is going on. Why will you not talk to me? You know, I'm kind of thinking about this in the context of my potential future son-in-law, right? I just would not understand the coldness in this type of situation. You know, to me, Morph, this is a scenario where it's all hands on deck, right? Everybody comes together to help, to search. and that includes sharing what you know to kind of aid in that process.

And I think it was Brian's family, not just Brian himself, that were met with doubt and skepticism from people watching this case because this is their future daughter-in-law, someone that lived in their home. And yet they sat by with Brian being there, never coming out, never encouraging him to cooperate with, the police never saying anything on their own. So I think they sort of also looked suspicious in the minds of people watching this case. Well, let's face it, Morph, people that don't talk often look suspicious. Now, my assumption is that they were most likely told this by their attorney. Don't talk. I mean, that's often the advice, I think, that attorneys give to their clients.

Don't talk. It's not going to benefit you. But at the same time, and we've seen this in many other cases, that not talking, it really kind of makes you look cold. It makes you look in some people's eyes guilty. Gabby's family knew that they needed to get an attorney for themselves. Richard Stafford represents them. And on behalf of Gabby's family, Stafford also issued a statement of his own, claiming that not only was Brian refusing to tell Gabby's family, where he last saw her.

He was also staying silent on why he left Gabby, all alone, and drove her van to Florida. Gabby's family begged Brian and the Laundry family to at least tell them if they were looking in the right area. But coldly, their pleas fell on deaf ears. The Laundry family dug in, and it was apparent that they were not going to help in any way to find Gabby. On September 15th, Gabby's mother, Nicole, explained to the media that she was under the impression that Gabby and Brian had called off their engagement ahead of the trip because they

decided they were too young to marry. Brian Laundry was officially named a person of interest in the disappearance of Gabby Petito on September 15th. And his lawyer stated, intimate partners are often the first person law enforcement focuses their attention on in cases like this. and the warning that any statement made will be used against you is true. Brian would be staying silent. So I think right there, Morf, it goes back to what I was saying just a minute ago, that's what attorneys often advise their client. Because Brian wouldn't make himself available to be interviewed by investigators

and had provided any useful details to police to help find Gabby, the authorities pleaded with the public to come forward to see if they had any information about Gabby's disappearance. They also released photos of the transit man, showing eight stickers on the back. Some of the stickers were nature themes, one from Zion National Park, and another rating Protect the National Parks. Others look like random free stickers you end up with when you go places or buy things from independent artist. As the details about Gabby's mysterious disappearance began to emerge, and with her family and police making public pleas, the case caught fire in the media. Before long, the press descended on the laundry home, camping out in front of it. They were waiting to catch Brian or his family coming out of the home, no doubt hoping he would speak with them.

But the laundries disappointed them and stayed inside of their home. On September 16th, officials released some troubling body cam footage from an incident where Brian and Gabby were pulled over in Moab, Utah. In the video from August 12, it takes the officer a little while to catch a, up to the van, which they were following, due to a 911 call of a domestic violence incident near the Moonflower Community Cooperative in Moab. The van actually swerves and hits a curb after speeding up before finally pulling over. As the officers approach the van, Gabby rolls down the window, crying. She and Brian both apologize, and Brian is ordered to turn the car off and put the keys on the dashboard.

officers separated Brian and Gabby. One officer asked Gabby what was wrong, and she said, I don't know, it's just some days I have really bad OCD, and I was just cleaning the back of the van before, and I was apologizing to him for being so mean, because sometimes I have OCD, and sometimes I just get really frustrated, not like mean towards him.

I just like, I guess my vibe is like, I mean I'm like in a bad mood. And I was just saying, I'm sorry if I'm in a bad mood. I'm just really stressed out. I had so much work I had to do on my computer this morning. Gabby says all of this to the police while she's crying with a shaky voice. Gabby explained to the police officer that she was a nutritionist and used to work at a juice bar,

but quit her job to travel the country. When she talks to the officer about this, her voice gets louder and more firm. She sounds less upset. Gabby told the officer about how she wanted to start a travel blog, and that building a website had her really stressed. And she said that Brian didn't really believe that she could do any of it as her voice began to break again. Gabby continued on for the police officer. So that's kind of been like, I don't know, he's like a downer.

I don't know. We've just been fighting all morning. Headlines quickly popped up about Gabby Petito and her, quote, down her boyfriend. It's important to note, though, that despite all the headlines using boyfriend, and despite her mother's beliefs, the pair told the police that they were engaged. The other officer talked to Brian to get his side of the story, but we don't have all that body cam footage yet. When the officer who was with Gabby went to talk to Brian, you can see that there are some

scratches on his face. The officer asked him to tell him what was going on, and Brian replied, well, she just gets worked up sometimes. and I try and really distance myself from her. So like I locked the car and I walked away from her. What happened this morning is she was trying to start up like her own little website blog and everything. So then he kind of trails off. Interrupts his thoughts and he rambles.

We really had a nice morning, if anything, but she just got worked up because we were trying to get going and get our day going. He explained the scratches on his face. as being from a cell phone, Gabby was holding in her hand while hitting him. The officer also asks him about hitting the curb, and Brian claimed that Gabby had grabbed the wheel. What about the speed? Asked the officer, did she take over the pedal on you, or Brian explained that he was already going fast and that the adrenaline from the lights flashing,

and Gabby grabbing the wheel caused him to speed up. Before finally stopping, Brian had been driving 45-mile, an hour in a 15 mile an hour zone. According to the police report, the van crossed a double yellow line, switched lanes, and swerved to the right, and then collided with the curb. So, I mean, more if when you kind of look at that description, it seems a little more than just putting your foot on the gas momentarily because you were startled. Officers decided to separate the two for the night, calling it more of a mental health crisis.

than a domestic violence incident. The report specifies that Gabby hit Brian because she feared he was going to leave her after locking her out of the van. They took Brian to a hotel and let Gabby stay with the van. The video of Gabby and Brian being pulled over in question was how most people were first introduced to the pair. And right away, people saw different sides of both of them. Some commented online that Gabby was an emotional wreck, a broken-down victim, or an abuser herself. Some saw Brian as a pleasant and calm victim of domestic abuse, while others thought he was calculating a manipulative abuser himself,

inspiring some people to display side-by-side photos of him and Chris Watts. While Gabby admitted to hitting Brian, she said it was out of fear of being abandoned in the desert, and a witness claimed to have her Gabby asked Brian, why do you have to be so mean? Brian was named as a person of interest in Gabby's disappearance, and just as people were trying to get caught up with all the details, of this case. It took another wild turn. On September 17th, the laundries called their attorney and informed him that Brian was missing. They claimed that they had not seen him since Tuesday, September 14th. They said that he had not returned after leaving with a backpack to go hiking.

Now, police had not one, but two missing persons. Gabby's family was quick to release a statement that Gabby was missing and Brian was merely hiding. They wanted to lay out that clear distinction. It was unclear just how Brian managed to sneak out of his home without the dozens of cameras on his road catching him. While police now had to deal with two missing persons, they were also checking out and following up on other leads and avenues of investigation.

Some of that revolved around tips and speculation about the double homicides of Kyle and Chulte and her wife Crystal Turner, who were last seen leaving Woody's Tavern in Moab on August 13th, just one day after Gabby and Brian were known to be in the same town. While at Woody's, Kylin and Crystal explained that they were going to move to another campsite because they felt uncomfortable where they were currently staying. They told their friends about some kind of weird or creepy guy that was lurking around their campsite. And similar fashion to Gabby and Brian, Kylin and Crystal lived in a converted van

and they would camp at different sites in and around Moab. They often camped and slept in a tent when weather permitted. They were very free spirits. The two had gotten married in a tree house just four months earlier. On August 16th, police were called after Crystal didn't show up to work at McDonald's and coworkers became worried. With spotty cell service in the more isolated nature areas, friends worried that there had been an accident of some kind,

and the two could not call out for help. With bears, snakes, creeks, or cliffs nearby, it would be easy to have some type of mishap, and they thought that Kylan and Crystal might be in danger. Police did search campsites at Warner Lake, but there was no sign of Kylan or Crystal. Friends took to social media asking for information about their missing friends, and people started doing their own searches.

On August 18th, Kylan and Crystal were found deceased near their campsite in the LaSalle Mountains. They were partially clothed with multiple bullet wounds. A family friend who had seen the pleas for help on Facebook had joined the search, and unfortunately was the one to find their van at a campsite, which quickly led to the discovery of their bodies. On August 19th, though there was no further information released about their murders, the authorities announced that there's, quote, no current danger to the public in the Grand County area,

which even the Washington Times reported only raised more questions. Well, and I think more if you can see why the Washington Times would say that. I mean, how can the authorities come out and say there's no current danger to the public if two people were murdered unless they had some information that this was a murder suicide or something like that? But we're talking about two bodies found with multiple bullet wounds. So it doesn't really seem like that's the case. And I think it's the lack of details about the crime that police have chosen to share with the public that's really leading to those other questions. And it's the not knowing what they found and what clues they had to work with, which is raising speculation. It is kind of strange how they can claim that there's no other danger that people have to be worried about when they haven't arrested anyone.

It's almost as if they maybe know who did it and that person's under surveillance or in custody and they're not saying. But it's definitely strange that they can make that assurance without an arrest being made. Yeah, I can tell you right now if two bodies are found in the area where I live. and both bodies are riddled with bullets. And the local police come out and say, oh, don't worry, there's no danger. I'm going to have a lot of questions. Because in my mind, I'm just thinking, how can you say that? There's obviously a murderer on the loose.

Or you know a whole bunch of things that you're not sharing that has led you to be able to make this bold statement. Yeah. And if I'm a camper, I'm definitely going to steer clear. heard that area because I would just have a bad feeling and be looking over my shoulder the whole time. Yeah, I think that is definitely for sure. Even Sheriff William Masters posted on Facebook cautioning that in light of the past week's double homicide of campers outside Moab, people need to be aware of their surroundings. Grand County Sheriff Captain Shan Hacquo announced that the evidence they had gathered led them to believe the murders of the campers was an isolated

incident. To many, this made it sound like maybe police knew who killed Kylin and Crystal, but they didn't feel this killer would strike again for some reason. And this is kind of what we talked about, Morph, right? Didn't stop people from being worried. You know, they were asking that same question. How can you know that a murder, a double murder is an isolated incident if you don't know who committed the murders or for what reason? So I think a lot of people, and the public were confused, and it's hard to imagine what kind of evidence would be so clear that only Kylin and Crystal were targets and no one else was at risk. And then at the same time, you know, the evidence be either unclear or lacking that no one else had been arrested for the crime.

I'm Paige, the host of Reverie True Crime. I tell stories of helpless victims. vicious killers, predators watching their prey before they strike, survivors, petty crimes, people we think we know, who do the unthinkable, and the dangers that lurk not only in the dead of night, but in plain sight and the light of day. Every once in a while I'll also tell stories of the frightening paranormal, elusive cryptids, haunted,

locations and conspiracies that may be silly or thought-provoking. You can listen to Reverie True Crime wherever you're listening to this podcast. Feel free to follow me on Twitter at Reverie CrimePod. Facebook, Instagram, and even Tumblr at Reverie True Crime. Remember, stay safe, be aware of your surroundings. at all times and take care. In the suburbs of D.C., a woman fails to show up for work and is found brutally murdered. I wonder what's emergency.

We just walked in the door and there's blood in the foyer. For the next two decades, the case remained unsolved until new technology allowed investigators to do what had once been impossible. A new series from ABC Audio in 2020, Blood and Water. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts. The Shaw Festival presents the most beloved musical of all time. My Fair Lady. This is the story of Eliza Doolittle, the Cockney Flower Girl who, Professor Henry Higgins bets. He can turn into a lady.

Don't miss, My Fair Lady, a wonderfully lavish and lovelry production. This year, at the Shaw. For best seats at best prices, go to Shawfest.com. If you love chilling mysteries, unsolved cases, and a touch of mom-style humor, moms and mysteries is the podcast you've been searching for. Hey, guys, I'm Mandy. And I'm Melissa. Join us every Tuesday for moms and mysteries, your gateway to gripping, well-researched true crime stories.

Each week, we deep dive into a variety of mind-boggling cases as we shed light on everything from heist to who-done-it. where you're a go-to podcast for Mysteries with a Motherly Touch. Subscribe now to Moms and Mysteries wherever you get your podcast. These questions about the double homicide and the suspect at large remained even a month later. Due to the attention Gabby's disappearance was getting online and rumors Gabby's case was connected to the murders, the Grand County Sheriff released a statement saying that it was determined that the Gabby Petito missing person's case was not related to the double homicide case involving Crystal Turner. and Kylie Schulte.

It seemed odd to release such a final and definitive statement on something that was still unsolved. Confusing people even more was that about an hour after a press release was sent out, announcing there was no connection. A second press release was put out. It retracted the first press release and stated that a press conference was scheduled to get more information about the connection between Gabby, Crystal, and Kylan. It spread quickly with tons of Twitter comments announcing their retraction. leading people to Thira is that some earth-shattering connections between the two cases would be revealed.

While police have said in both Gabby's case and Crystal and Collins' case that they're exploring all possibilities, it doesn't seem like there's anything solid that in fact links these two cases. Back in Florida, police were trying to track down Brian Laundry. On September 18th, rumors ran wild online with reported sightings of Brian as well as rumors of his body being found. Many people on TikTok began uploading videos about a report they heard or a witness they knew. And, of course, all of these gave conflicting information about the status of the search for Brian Laundry. Some people claimed that police had found him dead in a park near his home. Others said he was found dead after he took his own life by hanging, but the location was never specified, only that he was in a tree somewhere.

There were other reports that he had been taken into custody. Many believed he was simply hiding in his parents' home and had been there all along or maybe somewhere in his parents' backyard, maybe in the shed. While people online speculated, police kept searching all day on Saturday, September 18th, authorities searched the vast Carlton Reserve in Venice, Florida. And more if there's really been a lot online regarding this case and TikTok especially, It's really one of the first cases that has exploded on that type of media. There are many people posting videos on TikTok about the case,

not that other cases haven't been posted about, but nothing to this level, I don't believe. And I know about TikTok, obviously, I've heard of it, but I don't use it. And I know it's popular with young teenagers especially. since I'm not familiar with TikTok, I don't use it. I haven't seen any of these videos.

Yeah, I actually don't use TikTok either, to be honest with you. But I've seen articles, many articles have been written about it. I think they're almost calling it a phenomenon that so many people are taking to TikTok to upload videos about this case.

And with that, you're going to have, like we just mentioned, a lot of conflicting information, a lot of bad information being put out there. And some of these articles have speculated that it's simply for the purpose of trying to get more views. And I think that has rubbed a lot of people, especially in the true crime community, the wrong way, right? Put out the facts, put out what's known.

You can speculate, as we all do, but to intentionally put out misinformation just in the the hopes of getting more people to view your TikToks. I think a lot of people have had a hard time with that. Yeah, I think that goes back maybe even to before social media when you'd get those, as my parents used to call those smut magazines, they were like the National Enquirer and things like that that would just put out these crazy headlines seeking attention, seeking people to buy it, you know. And I think maybe some of these crazy videos with strange topics or clickbait maybe might be the right word, something that draws people in because they sound so bizarre or news, perhaps they're sharing that no one else has.

And then you find out it's just a rumor or a fake story. The downside of all of that is that you have an open investigation, a case that's still unfolding. and people are putting these videos out with lots of bogus information, and that probably doesn't help the public to understand what's going on, the correct circumstances. And it probably inundates the police with things they've got to check out and leads they have to follow up on that are not connected to the case at all. Well, like you said, I know TikTok is very popular,

especially with the younger generation. And, you know, it may be where a number of young, younger people get their information from. So, you know, if that's what they know about the case, it could be completely wrong. Incorrect, right? If they're just watching TikTok. On September 19th, the first of Brian Laundrie's family members broke their silence. Brian Laundry's sister, Cassie, gave an interview to ABC7, New York.

Cassie told ABC7 that she cared for Gabby, and she seemed concerned for her. It appeared to some that perhaps her willingness to speak may have put her at odds with the family, and she apparently hasn't spoken with them recently. Also on the 19th, a video from the YouTube channel, Red, White, and Bethune was released on their channel, and to media, showing what was determined to be Gabby's van. In their video titled, Go-Pro footage of Gabby Petito's van in Spread Creek, Where's Brian Laundrie? The video shows Gabby's van parked oddly on the side of a trail in the Spread Creek dispersed camping area of Wyoming. The video, which was really,

recorded on August 27 has now been viewed over 750,000 times since it was published on September 19th at about the one minute and 45 second mark. The YouTuber drives right by Gabby's distinct looking van. It's sitting eerily still. The FBI sought tips from people who had been in the area of Spread Creek between August 27th and the 30th. The YouTube channel posted the following in relation to the video. Tonight I was editing our video with footage from August 27, 2021 at around 6 p.m. from the Grand Teton's area. It was in Spread Creek dispersed camping land. We passed by a white van and both Kyle and I recognized that they had Florida plates. We're from Florida to and wanted to stop and say hi. But the van was dark and it didn't look like there was anyone there.

So we kept going. We eventually left and parked up front in the gravel area. Today I got a comment from someone on Instagram saying, please tell your 10,000 followers about finding Gabby. I didn't think much of it. I knew we were in the Teton's area around the 25th, but wasn't sure which day. Tonight, I was editing our Sunday video,

and it was of our August 27th footage. I paused my editing and went to lay in bed. I opened Facebook and saw that someone had tagged me in the story, asking me to check all my videos from the 25th through the 27th of August. I instantly got a bone chilling feeling. I leapt up and ran to my laptop. I watched the rest of my footage and sure enough, her van was in the video. We saw the National Park Service post an update that they were looking at activity in the Spread Creek area of the Teton's. The reason why I am sharing this is because when we left to go up to the gravel lot,

we got a message from someone on Instagram saying they saw us drive through the Spread Creek area and are now following us, watching our videos. We have our logo on the back of the bus with social media stickers. I thought that if other people in the area that day saw us and started watching our videos, they may watch this one and realize that they too may have. have seen Gabby Petito or Jason Laundry in the area that day and could lead investigators to find Gabby. Realizing he may have captured a crucial clue on video, the YouTuber turned this video over to the FBI.

And just hours later, the Teeton County coroner announced that a body was found at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. A press conference was held on the afternoon of September 19th, and it was announced that the preliminary findings from the FBI were that the body was out of Gabriel, Gabby Petito. The next day, September 20th, was a day with a lot of updates in the case, but still not many answers. The FBI executed a search warrant at the laundry home that day, looking for anything relevant to the Gabby Petito investigation. Brian's parents were escorted to a vehicle outside while agents searched their home. After a short while, the laundries were

allowed back into their home. Rumors on the Internet swirled that the laundries had been arrested because of the photo of them being escorted out of the home. An agent was behind them and they looked uncomfortable, maybe upset. At the same time that the FBI was searching the laundry home, the search for Brian Laundered continued. The Northport police announced that they had no plans to conduct any major searches of the Carlton Reserve that day because they felt that they had already spent a lot of time there. More developments came out that day, the 911 call. that caused police to pull over Brian and Gabby on August 12th in Moab

was released to the public. Grant County Sheriff's Office. We were able to get a description of the intoxication? Hi, can you hear me, sir? Yeah, I can hear you. Hi, I'm right on the corner of Main Street by Moonflower, and we're driving by, and I'd like to report a domestic dispute of Florida with a white van, Florida license plate, white land, gentlemen.

Where's with that? Five, six, beard. They just drove off. They're going down Main Street. They made a right onto Main Street from Moonflower. What were they doing? What did you say? What were they doing?

We drove by him, a 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. Okay, you said it's a white van? White van, I give you the license plate, did you give me one sec?

I took an intro of it. What kind of white van? Like a big one? Um, it was a smaller van with the license plate of, it was white, Florida license plate QFC G-O-3. It was,

the make was a Ford model with transit, black ladder on the passenger side. Black ladder. passenger side white for transit white for transit and where did they so they turned they headed south on main street from moonflower market correct they mean the right term oh so they went north north yes sorry i'm not from around here okay are you're so you're right there by the post office right across the street yep okay and and when they turned on to main street they went right or left Right.

Right, so they went north. North on Maine. All right, I will let somebody know. Thank you. Yeah, no worries. Bye. The release of that 911 call was alarming to people. Up until then, based on the previously released police cam footage of the traffic stop,

it seemed to some people that perhaps Gabby was the aggressor. But in the 911 call, it was clear to the caller that Brian had been striking. Gabby. The final text from Gabby's phone was also made public on September 20th. The text read, Can you help Stan? I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls. This worried Gabby's mom because while Gabby's grandpa's name was Stan,

she never called him that. She believes that her daughter was not the one who sent that text. Gabby never posted anything else on social media. She didn't answer any more calls. or use her phone other than that very last no-service text that was sent from her phone. And there's no proof that she's the one that actually sent that text. On September 21st, authorities reversed course and resumed searching for Brian Laundrie at Carlton Reserve. Police also searched for Brian near Baker, Florida, about 500 miles away from his home in Northport,

after a man named Sam Bass posted an image from his trail cam on Facebook, showing a potential citing of Brian Laundrie. It was an image captured at night of a thin white man with facial hair, balding, and wearing a backpack, walking through the grass. The Okalusa County Sheriff's Office announced that investigators checked out this trial cam tip and didn't find any evidence that the individual pictured was Brian Laundrie. They also stated that Laundrie had no known connections to that area. Will authorities search for Brian, an autopsy on the remains that were presumed to be Gabby Petita's body was performed. and it was confirmed that she was, in fact, the person they had found in Wyoming. The manner of death was confirmed to be homicide, but the cause of death wasn't revealed. Later that same day in Venice Beach, Florida, many people heard over police scanners a broadcast that a caller had reported a siding of Brian Laundry described as a white male with a large green hiking backpack. Even more people were alerted to the scanner chatter. They tuned in to listen.

and it got interesting because a short time after that, reports of shots fired came over the channel, but it turned out to be fireworks. The part that people found interesting is that it was deemed not related to 22 when it was still possibly shots fired. 22 is the police radio code for restricted radio traffic, which pointed to a restricted channel being used by law enforcement, possibly in regards to the search for, Brian Laundry. No one can verify that without being law enforcement, but people think the timing is strange. People were listening to the public scanner feed long after it was clear that police were using private channels. Still wondering if anyone who was arrested in Sarasota, Florida that night, was Brian Laundery. Rumors about the scanner chatter went wild on social media that night, forcing the Sarasota Sheriff's Office to tweet that despite rumors on social media,

Brian was not in their custody and that none of the many suspected sightings had been accurate. On Wednesday, September 22nd, authorities once again resumed their search for Brian in Venice, Florida's Carlton Reserve. Northport police used air support, an underwater diet team, and canine officers to search the 25,000-acre reserve.

It's unclear what information police were acting on that keeps them returning to search Carleton and reserve in Venice. The details of what actually happened to Gabby Petito were still unfolding. And the search for Brian Laundry continues. We know that as a result of all the media coverage, people who otherwise didn't know that they could help in this case have come forward with valuable information. Case in point would be the YouTuber who didn't know that he had captured Gabby's van in his video, which ultimately gave officials a place to for her leading to the recovery of her body.

More people are coming forward with information as well. It was just reported that a witness saw Gabby and Brian having a heated argument at the Mary Piglet in Jackson Hole, Wyoming between 1 and 2 p.m. on August 27, the same day that the YouTuber captured video of Gabby's van sitting on the side of the road. The FBI confirmed with that restaurant that Gabby and Brian were indeed their that day. While it has not been confirmed by authorities, the argument at that restaurant may prove to be the last time Gabby Petito was seen alive. This all reinforces that someone out there may hold information relevant to the

disappearance and presume murder of Gabby Petito or the disappearance of Brian Laundry. And if someone listening thinks you can help investigators, you can submit anonymous tips online at tips.fbi.gov or by phoning and your tip to the FBI tip line at 303, 629 7171. So Morp as we wrap up this episode, I think it's an understatement to say that this is a case that has captured the attention of the nation, maybe even the world. I don't know how far reaching it is, but it's the case right now that everyone is talking about. And I think you can see why.

There are a lot of mysteries. here surrounding the death of Gabby Petito, I think a lot of people are looking hard at Brian Laundry. First of all, they want to know where he is and, you know, why he has disappeared, why he has not helped out, why he hasn't talked to the authorities. And then all of a sudden disappeared. I think most people are looking at him and thinking he doesn't look good right now. Yeah.

And I know we're supposed to hold reserve judgment. to someone's innocent until proven guilty, but in the court of public opinion, he definitely seems like someone that's guilty. I think a lot of people have come to the conclusion that he, in their opinion, was involved or knows more information or has the ability to answer some questions, and he's just not doing it. And I think one thing along the way that Gabby's parents said was that there's a difference between Gabby and him, she was missing. He was hiding.

It's not like he just disappeared and didn't come home one day. He voluntarily disappeared. So there's a distinct difference between the two cases, her Gabby's and Bryans. I think why the public is drawn to this case and fascinated with it is because it hits home, Gabby could have been their daughter or their son if it was a male in this case, who was missing and to not have their loved one cooperating, the person that was supposed to marry them and be the love of their life, just zip his lips and not say anything.

It's got to be frustrating, and it makes people angry that he may hold some answers, and he chose to say nothing, no cooperation. And I think people, they can see themselves in Gabby's parent's shoes of not having that cooperation, that's got to be really gut-wrenching. And, you know, Morph in some ways,

this case reminds me somewhat of the Chris Watts case. Number one, in the amount of interest that it has generated online, the amount of people that are commenting about the case. And then I think, secondly, I can't remember a case since Chris Watts where so many people have talked negatively about an individual involved in a case.

Now, there's some differences, right? Chris Watts talked on Cameron. We ultimately learned that he lied, whereas Brian Laundry hasn't said anything, but people are galvanized against him. I don't think there's any doubt about that. Yeah, and I think you can check out, you can watch that video of Gabby and Brian being pulled over, the police cam footage and there's a certain way that Brian acts he's trying to be the nice guy he's

being helpful he's being friendly but there's something that a lot of people have described similar to chris watson there's like a fakeness to it that it's not genuine and physically they look similar too the facial hair the bald head so there's actually a similar look to the two as well but it's just his mannerisms and his the way that he's acting in that video that some people just, I think, latched on the Chris Watts because to a lot of people just doesn't feel genuine. It doesn't feel real. And that's something that a lot of people said about that Chris Watts video. Well, and those people turned out to be correct. You know, when it was all said and done, they went back and looked at, you know, a lot of the comments. And those people

were right about Chris Watts, the feeling that they had about him not being genuine, not being truthful turned out to be correct. Now, you have to be careful with that, obviously. But we're just reporting on what people are saying, the feeling, the vibe that people are getting. There's so much more that's going to come out in this case. We don't know how long that's going to take. It could be next week. It could be years from now. We don't know. But I think there are a lot of people invested in this case into finding out what really happened to Gabby Petito. Yeah, and I think people have a hunger for that knowledge of what happened and what details there are surrounding her death and what happened subsequently to it.

But my fear is that Brian won't face justice. There's been a lot of discussion that perhaps he's out there someplace he may have harmed himself, taking his own life. and if that's the case, we may never have answers as to what happened here. And that's frustrating as well. And her family will never get justice. They'll have these unanswered questions lingering the rest of their lives, perhaps. But again, we don't know.

We just don't know yet. But I think like everybody else, you and I will be following this case very closely, waiting to see the next piece of information that comes out. And more of just like in last week's episode, after you and I finished recording, some information came out. So I had to go back and record a little something to stick in. Brian Laundry was indicted by a federal grand jury in Wyoming. Now, the charges aren't directly related to Gabby Petito's death. He was indicted for using one or more unauthorized devices, including a debit card and personal identification numbers,

to make unauthorized withdrawals or charges amounting to more than $1,000 during the time since Gabby went missing, specifically between the days of August 30th and September 1st. And again, this is just another piece of the puzzle. Thanks goes out to Sunny Land and writing and research assistance in this episode. As always, if you love the show, but haven't done so yet, go out, give us a five-star rating. Keep telling your friends. Tell your friends who love true crime about the criminal. The Criminology Podcast.

That really goes a long way. If you want to find us on social media, we'd love to hear from you. You can find us on Twitter with the handle at Criminology Pod. You can also find us on Facebook by searching for Criminology Podcast or by joining our Facebook discussion group, Criminology Podcast, Discussion and Fans. So more, if that is it for our episode on the Gabby Petito case, obviously it's not fine because we can only talk about what is known or what's been reported on up to this point. My feeling is there's going to be a lot more that comes out how much more will ultimately

depend, at least in my way of thinking, on Brian Launders. And whether, you know, he's still alive, whether he ultimately ends up talking to police. again, we don't know what, if anything, he had to do with Gabby's murder, but there's no doubt that the majority of the public at this point in time believes that he was involved. I think that's safe to say. We can't say that for sure. I'm saying the majority of the public believes that. Yeah, it'll be interesting to see what happens if we get any kind of answers.

But we'll be back with everyone next Saturday night with a brand new episode. of criminology. So until then, for Mike and Morph. We'll talk to you next week. Take care, everyone.