The mother of slain influencer Gabby Petito has opened up about her daughter’s death in an emotional documentary coming to Channel 5.
Gabby Petito: The Murder That Gripped the World, which airs tonight at 10pm, looks back at the murder of the 22-year-old influencer.
Gabby had been undertaking a road trip with her fiancé Brian Laundrie from Florida to the West Coast when her family reported her missing on September 11 2021. Unfortunately, her remains were found on September 21, and a coroner stated she died from manual strangulation.
Meanwhile, her boyfriend Brian Laundrie, who returned alone to Florida with Gabby’s van on September 1, went missing on September 13 and eventually was found dead on October 21, after a month-long search.
Laundrie died from a gunshot to the head in what was believed to be a suicide, and it was found earlier this month that he admitted to killing Gabby in a notebook that was found with his body.
22-year-old Gabby was active on TikTok, Instagram and Youtube, where she shared glimpses of her life during the trip. Her disappearance led to a social media frenzy, where fans tried to look for clues in hopes of finding her and later uncover the truth behind her murder.
Speaking in the documentary, which aired in the US last December, Nicole Schmidt, Petito’s mother, broke down as she revealed she ‘knew’ her daughter was dead the moment she heard Laundrie was back in Florida without Gabby.
Gabby Petito, 22, from Florida, was reported missing by her family on September 11 2021 and eventually found dead ten days later. Her fiancé Brian Laundrie, who took his own life sometime between September 13 and October 20, admitted to strangling her to death in a notebook, the police announced in January
Speaking in an emotional documentary on Gabby’s death airing on Channel 5 tomorrow night at 10pm, her mother Nicole Schmidt said she ‘knew’ her daughter was dead the moment she heard Laundrie and the van were back in Florida from September 1
‘I knew the night the police came to my door to tell my that the van was in Florida, I knew,’ she said, her voice breaking.
‘When I knew the van was in Florida, I knew my daughter was gone. I didn’t know how, but I just knew,’ she added through tears.
‘I didn’t tell anyone else that, ’cause I had to do what I had to do, I had to report her missing, and I had to get her pictures out there,’ she said.
‘We had to find her.’
Laundrie and Petito were stopped by police in Moab, Utah on August 12 after several people reported he struck the influencer during a row
The distraught mother also said she would cherish the last hug she shared with her daughter before she headed off on her trip with Laundrie.
Nicole also recounted the last moments she shared with her daughter before she left for her trip.
‘I’ve had so many good memories over the years, but the one thing I hold dear to me is the hug that we had before she left for the trip in our driveway,’ she said, fighting tears.
‘It was a long, long, hug I can’t describe it, I know we were saying goodbye for a long trip but it felt different and now that I look back it felt so different,’ she said.
A visibly shaken Gabby answered police questions for 75 minutes before the couple were allowed to leave;. She was reported missing a month later
‘I squeezed her so tight, and I said, “I love you, please be careful, this is going to be great, you’re going to have so much fun”. And she squeezed me back and that was just really great and now I’ll cherish it,’ she added.
The parents, who heard from their daughter for the last time on August 30 did not know of Gabby’s whereabouts for eleven days before they realized something was off.
They explained in the documentary it was not unusual for Gabby to go a few days without getting in contacnt because she sometimes travelled to remote places without cellphone service.
Her last text to her mother read ‘no service in Yosemite.’
Nicole said she didn’t tell anyone about her belief Gabby was dead because she had to focus on efforts in locating Gabby, pictured during a press appeal on September 13
It later emerged that Laundrie was spotted in Florida with Gabby’s van, but without his fiancée two days later on September 1.
Brian and his family did not respond to Gabby’s parents when they reached out to ask about Gabby’s whereabouts in the early days of her disappearance.
Laundrie took responsibility for killing Gabby in a notebook that was found near his remains more than a month after he went missing, the FBI revealed earlier this month.
The notebook was found next to his body in the Cartlon Reserve swamp near his parents home in North Port, Florida on October 20.
The couple left Florida for a cross country trip in July. However, Gabby stopped updating her family on her whereabouts on August 30
On the road, Gabby and Laundrie stayed in their van or in their tent and documented their journey on Youtube, Instagram and TikTok
He died of a single gunshot wound to the head, and along with the notebook, officers also found a backpack and a revolver. It’s not clear when he died.
Police announced after the contents of the notebook were made public that they were closing the investigation into Gabby’s death, due to the fact Laundrie admitted to it.
The FBI opened its investigation into Petito’s disappearance after she was reported missing by her parents on September 12. At the time, she and Laundrie has been on a cross-country road trip in her white van.
A massive manhunt ensued, and Petito’s remains were found on September 19 at the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area in the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming near where she and Laundrie had last been seen together – and three weeks after she had last spoken to her parents.
Nicole speaking alongside, from the left, Tara Petito, Gabby’s stepmother, Jim Schmidt, Gabby’s stepfather, and Joseph Petito, Gabby’s father during a press conference in September
She died of blunt-force injuries to the head and neck and manual strangulation, according to the Teton County Coroner. She had been dead for three or four weeks before her body was discovered.
The search for Laundrie took more than a month, with a large group of police officials scouring the Carlton Reserve.
His remains were found on October 20 after water had receded from the search area and the park was reopened. On that day, his parents, Chris and Roberta Laundrie, then informed law enforcement that they intended to return to the park to search for him. Images from Fox News show the Laundries at the reserve ahead of the search as well as the notebook found by law enforcement.
In a statement on Friday, the FBI said: ‘Law enforcement officers were present when Mr. Laundrie’s parents located an item in the park later determined to belong to Mr. Laundrie.
The couple seemed to be living a beautiful life together, however, it is believed Laundrie was violent with Petito
‘Upon further search of the area, investigators found human remains later confirmed to be Mr. Laundrie, along with a backpack, notebook, and a revolver.
‘A review of the notebook revealed written statements by Mr. Laundrie claiming responsibility for Ms. Petito’s death.’
‘All logical investigative steps have been concluded in this case,’ said FBI Denver Division Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider.
‘The investigation did not identify any other individuals other than Brian Laundrie directly involved in the tragic death of Gabby Petito. The FBI’s primary focus throughout the investigation was to bring justice to Gabby and her family.’
Chris and Roberta Laundrie, Brian’s parents, have been widely condemned for not talking with Petito’s family or turning their son in to police when he returned home from his trip, especially after she was reported missing.
He left their home on September 13, two days after her family on Long Island, New York, reported her disappearance.
Petito’s family criticized the Laundries for not helping them.
Before Petito’s disappearance, she and Laundrie were pulled over by Utah police officer in Moab on August 12, 2021 after they responded to a call from a witness who saw the couple involved in a domestic fight.