The Mystery Behind the Gabby Petito Case

Twenty-two-year-old Gabby Petito, born on Long Island, New York, was not heard from again since late August after going on a road trip with her twenty-two-year-old fiancé, Brian Laundrie of Florida. Before her disappearance, she sent a text her mother found very strange saying “Can you help Stan? I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls.” Her mother Nichole Schmitt claims her daughter did not call her grandfather by his first name “Stan.”

Brian Laundrie returned to his parent’s home in Florida on August seventeenth, a few days after the videotaped interaction he and Gabby had with the police on August twelfth, in Moab City, Utah. This case blew up pretty quickly, mostly thanks to social media. I saw many speculations on Tik Tok about this case; some of them proved true. One thing I noticed was that many people put their heads together on social media to figure this out by noticing tiny details. I saw and read about so many theories, and it is crazy what happens when so many people work together to figure something out. There are still so many details to this case that we do not know about.

In my opinion, this case is heartbreaking, and it feels awful to know that Gabby was only six years older than me, that she went to school here on Long Island and grew up here. It is honestly terrifying how such a thing can happen to anyone in general. So many kids, women, and men go missing every year, every month, and every day. Some are found and others, unfortunately, are not. It is also very upsetting how someone so close to you, someone you trust, could be able to hurt you. Right now, we do not know what exactly happened with Brian and Gabby, what they fought about, how long it had been going on, or how bad it was. We only know of what we have seen from the police bodycam and the things their friends have told. Hopefully, her family can get more answers.

I interviewed some staff and students at North to get to know their opinions about this case.

What do you think about the Gabby Petito case?

“I was very upset to hear about the disappearance and passing of Gabby Petito. It's always sad to see someone lose a life but it's especially sad when it's a young person with so much life ahead of her.”

“I think it's sad anytime that there's someone who is so young and has their whole life ahead of them and they die and have their life cut short. It's tragic and I feel bad for her parents to see something so tragic happen to their daughter... It's every parent's worst nightmare.”

“I believe the Petito case is very sad and disturbing. As a father of a daughter, I worry that this could happen to my daughter, or one of my female students. It should serve as a lesson for all that domestic abuse should be taken seriously because there could be terrible consequences if not addressed appropriately. Women and men need to know what rights they have and how to handle an abusive partner”

How do you feel about the fact that her boyfriend knew she was missing but said nothing?

“It's concerning that he did not report she was missing, and we always hope that people do the right thing, and if something happened between them, like regardless of the status of the relationship, we hope that as a human being he should have let the authorities know.

What do you think about the fact that her boyfriend might have killed her?

“We don't know that he killed her but obviously has something to do with her, and it's sad that someone so close to you can do something like this. The case won't be solved until Brian is found, but I don't feel that they will get answers from him because in cases like this the other partner commits suicide.”

What could have been correct for his parents to do in this situation?

“The correct thing should have been for his parents to not let him go out, to pay more attention and to have let the authorities know because if he wasn't guilty, he should have not run away. If it had been my kid, I would have checked more and I would have guessed something was being hidden, but as parents, yes, it's true we have to protect our children, but Gabby also has parents, she is a daughter and she and her parents both should have justice.”