Found Deceased WY - Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito, 22, Grand Teton National Park, 25 Aug 2021 #4

[bellyup]

The only excuse for physical violence is to defend yourself from an attack.
Another problematic action of Gabby's is, when the cops were trying to pull them over, she grabbed the wheel of the vehicle and jerked the vehicle so the tires struck the curb.
She seems to be a little out of control in her actions, IMO.
Still, none of this justifies the guy keeping silent regarding her whereabouts.

Gabby said she did not grab the wheel that she hit his arm (which the scratch supports).

 

[JennyM523]

She tried getting her keys, didn’t she?

Did she? Do we know that for a fact?

 

[Herat]

@StarryNight : Thanks for linking !

Bringing my posts over from the other thread :

1:05:25
BL says something indistinct but it sounds like he's saying 'rattlesnake' and fluttering one hand at waist length.
Is he talking about Gabby ?

Fwiw, I didn't think it made Gabby look bad.
Vulnerable, maybe ?
Her face looked swollen from crying.


6:10 BL says Gabby said to him while trying to grab the steering wheel, "I can't leave her again...."

Omg.
He'd driven off , and left her before !
Imo.

*censored words*
MOO.​

And this is likely exactly how he controls her - he knows her greatest fear is being abandoned in all these thousands of miles of empty spaces.

I cannot imagine the kind of fear she must have had in even leaving the van for a quick stop after than incident.

But I'm beginning to think that's exactly what he did. Likely without any physical violence or marks on her. Just drove out to some isolated spot and drove away from her.

 

[Jurisprudence]

I started off believing this stop was handled exceptionally well - until the other officer starts getting involved around 25 minutes in. He has made ALL kinds of unfounded assumptions - and they were, from what we know, incorrect. They had a WITNESS and didn't nail that account down? I understand PO Pratt had to leave his interview with the witness to pursue the van but still, they had a witness which should have clued them in to nail Gabby's account down to the same degree they did Brian's account. SHE was protecting him, and they didn't see it - because they had already formed their assumptions. She was withholding the information about him locking her out, attempting to leave with her property, and meanwhile, unbeknownst to her, they were surmising she might be the aggressor. POOR judgment.

 

[LeeJay55]

Um hmmm. She wanted help and to get away from him. IMO

Then why didnt she?
The officers.were.there they could have.taken him.away!
I think these.2 fight.often and fight terribly! This time.they got.caught!
As time.goes.on it.escalates!

Does not.end.well!

 

[oviedo]

WY - Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito, 22, Grand Teton National Park, 8/25/21 *MEDIA MAPS TIMELINE No discussion*
press conference links

 

[oviedo]

And this is likely exactly how he controls her - he knows her greatest fear is being abandoned in all these thousands of miles of empty spaces.

I cannot imagine the kind of fear she must have had in even leaving the van for a quick stop after than incident.

But I'm beginning to think that's exactly what he did. Likely without any physical violence or marks on her. Just drove out to some isolated spot and drove away from her.

sadly I am coming to that conclusion slowly as well... it would be the ultimate abuse IMO.

 

[lmurdock0803]

I have a 21 year old daughter and I want to say that her behavior when being questioned by police is not at all out of the ordinary, to me anyway. Girls cry, alot. And I know my daughter would be a sobbing mess in this situation.

 

[fred&edna]

I would also call my mother and I would call LE with the information he was trying to steal my automobile.

Maybe... at least the calling my mom part, although I probably wouldn't call LE. But, it's tough to admit failure in the midst of this. I feel she was likely trying to make it all okay with BL... hoping to finish the trip or eventually give-up and return together. jmo

 

[Gardenista]

My take on the police video. Note:

Here are a few things that set off alarms for me and/or concerned me and my reasons.

1. The police officer jumped when the van hit the curb -B must have hit that curb pretty hard to make an office jump like that. You can sense the officer is weary/concerned when approaching the vehicle.

2. B immediately attempts to explain why he hit the curb but he did not give a reason (excuse) G is quick to blame herself and say she was distracting him from driving.- B couldn’t come up with a good excuse immediately as to why he was driving so erratic.

3. Gabby’s first interrogation with the police she mentions OCD, cleaning the van and apologizing to Brian for “being in a bad mood.” She also mentions feeling stressed about building their website and her blog and states “he doesn’t think I can do it” and also states B was yelling at her while they were driving prior to being pulled over. - The fact that G is apologizing to Brian for her “mood” or feelings or apologizing for cleaning or being “OCD” (victims of abuse always feel they are at fault for their partner’s anger/rage/abuse. In this case I believe B was annoyed and mad she was cleaning and began verbally abusing her) By the way she says “I feel like I have OCD” we don’t know if she’s even officially diagnosed.

The fact that “he doesn’t think she can’t do it” shows he isn’t very supportive and likely puts her down (form of abuse).

Yelling at her in the van while she’s crying hysterically (verbal/emotional abuse)

4. The police officer goes back to B and the first thing out of his mouth “you spoke to Gabby?” - I feel he believed that Gabby mentioned him shoving her or mentioned the physical altercation they both participated in and so he immediately goes into protecting himself and creating his narrative. He mentions the physical altercation almost immediately (abusers are really great at minimizing, denying abuse and portraying themselves as the victim)

5. During his story he emphasizes quite often that they were going to take a walk and he wasn’t going to leave - I feel when B tells his story he’s only thinking about rebuttals of what he assumes Gabby told the police. He was threatening to abandon her there so he is trying to be clear that he only wanted space and wasn’t going to drive off.

6. B refuses water. -I feel he is incredibly smart and might have refused water to be sure no fingerprint traces or DNA. But in videos shows their “environmentalists” - so could be wrong!

7. B is laughing the whole situation off, a lot. - this is not a common or known reaction of a victim of abuse but that of an abuser.

8. When they are first pulled over and when B is being interviewed he keeps mentioning flies. As if flies caused all of this but he was very consistent, clear, and repetitive about her “losing it”, getting “worked up”, then jokingly calls her crazy (biggest red flag for me.)

9. An officer is heard saying G and B had visible marks except only B’s marks are mentioned in the report.

10. B figured out his excuse for hitting the curb, blame Gabby she yanked the wheel -lie. When G was asked about the curb she says she hit him to get his attention the police mentions B said she yanked the wheel then she says I might have for a second -victims are known to defend their abusers and/or are use to being gaslighted they question their own reality and believe the abuser’s versions of fights/arguments/abuse. B was in a fit of rage and was likely driving reckless.

All the signs were there the police officers just missed it. The police were kind and attempting to relate to both B and G but I feel they missed all of the warning signs. I so wish police officers were trained in DV. If someone with DV training was present they would have picked up on all the red flags and maybe the situation wouldn’t be what it is right now. IMO

I wish I could like this a million times. So many of the same thoughts I had.

 

[Cloudydiamond]

And this is likely exactly how he controls her - he knows her greatest fear is being abandoned in all these thousands of miles of empty spaces.

I cannot imagine the kind of fear she must have had in even leaving the van for a quick stop after than incident.

But I'm beginning to think that's exactly what he did. Likely without any physical violence or marks on her. Just drove out to some isolated spot and drove away from her.

Chilling to the bone, to even think that might have happened.

 

[swedeheart]

 

[oviedo]

<modsnip>

If he murdered her. She's still dead, regardless of the car title.
If he left her somewhere and something bad happened to her. That still happened to her, regardless of the car title.
If she ran off. She still ran off, regardless of the car title.
The fact that the van has returned without her is the important point! That's what has happened. It doesn't matter if you call it "his" "hers" or "their" van. She's still missing and everyone would be just as alarmed in any one of those scenarios.

<modsnip>

sorry but I won't let go of the registration of the vehicle - he never should have driven it without her. It's her van.
end of story.
JMO

 

[MassGuy]

North Port Police chief is meeting with Gabby Petito’s father now. Then they will come here for the press conference at noon.

https://twitter.com/brianentin/status/1438529631036981249?s=21

@Emi

 

[PhoebeTries]

If Gabby admitted to having issues herself, and I think she did (no judgment) .... all the more reason he should have made sure she was ok !!!
His silence makes it seem at best that he just drove off and abandoned her.
Just not cool no matter how I try to envision it.
I don't want to think about the worst scenario.

This case is so baffling and sad !!
Her poor family.
If it was myself and my dh -- I don't know if we could eat, sleep, go to work, anything.
Life would be a horror every day.

All they may have left of her is photos and her IG videos.
Imo.

It seems they both had issues and did not trust each other not to abandon the other one. How did they think this van life was a good idea?

I'm devastated it (due to circumstances) took so long to realise she was in fact missing. 21 days!

 

[SuziQ]

i am fascinated by this thread. We have GP ON VIDEO claiming she was the aggressor. We have her ON VIDEO saying she has extreme anxiety and OCD that makes her ‘mean’ and in bad moods and causes her to treat BL badly. We have her on video claiming ALL of this. If BL was on video saying these things people would be losing their minds and calling him a killer (which they already are) If he didn’t support her blogging that’s crappy and I hate it made her feel badly but it doesn’t make him a murderer. She just started blogging very recently and not everybody wants every second of their life documented. If she made the decision to blog on her own and he didn’t like the idea, why does that make him a bad person? Genuinely curious.

GP has admitted she was in a poor mental state and doesn’t act all that great when she’s having a bad day. To claim all her feelings are rational just so she doesn’t fall into a trope is curious as she is the one literally saying all of these things herself. She’s saying these things herself. If they are fighting and he’s asking for space because he’s getting physically assaulted - which they both admit and he has scratches and marks to back it up - what is wrong with wanting to keep yourself safe?

If GP locked herself in a van to get away from BL slapping her, would you all react the same way? Of course it’s within the context of her missing, but this altercation between them changes this all for me. If roles were reversed I don’t think many people would be giving BL empathy and compassion. I’m not saying he deserves it, I’m just fascinated that domestic violence isn’t seen the same way when it’s a women doing it.

BL is the worst if he did leave her - which it looks like he did. But we don’t know if he left her with people or not. But why isn’t it plausible she had another really bad day (she was physically assaulting him and even grabbed the wheel of a moving vehicle causing them to hit a curb, that’s so dangerous) and decided to take off? She was curating this perfect online persona and embarrassment could really, really affect somebody who has anxiety and OCD and other issues.

i say this as a woman who suffers from extreme anxiety. It can be hard for others to handle when I’m in a manic state and can’t talk myself down. My partner has to often physically distance himself from, sometimes for days. When my partner and I almost broke up I seriously started planning just taking off. I hadn’t been working and relied on them for a lot and the embarrassment of my life not working out was crippling. I live out west and I thought a lot about how easy it would be for me to find travel groups and just go. She claims she doesn’t drive the van, etc, which leaves me to believe there was a lot of anxiety and co-dependency at play. Her panic at being on her own could have easily taken over and caused her to take off with others, including unsavory people.

I can’t get around how weird it is he isn’t speaking at all, but that’s his legal right even if we don’t understand the moral side of it. leaving her alone is also really awful and he should be ashamed of himself - and if something happened to her he should be held accountable if he can be - but how do we know she hasn’t hit him before? He was too calm about it and it makes me feel this wasn’t their first physical fight. Would you blame a women for taking off and leaving somebody who physically assaults them behind?

I’m playing devil’s advocate here, obviously. My heart breaks for GP being 22 and already struggling with her mental health so much. I was there and it’s so incredibly difficult. I really, really hope she’s ok and I can’t imagine what her family is going through knowing nothing at all.

It was her van. She would be entitled to lock him out.

 

[Kikimora11]

I too am curious about this. Wouldn't this be "providing false information to a law enforcement officer"? Wouldn't that be enough to at least bring him in?

IANAL, but that's not likely. False information is a fairly loose term, but that's normally applied to when people falsify things like identity and police reports. For example, if you turn up a stereo to MAX volume, and throw it over your neighbors fence, and then call the cops and complain that your neighbors won't turn down their music, clearly, this is someone intentionally falsifying a report. Likewise, if you put on a mustache and new outfit and walk into the local police station claiming to be someone who you are not, this is falsifying a report. On the other hand, if the police ask you a question, I would think now it depends on a whole bunch of other factors. What basis did the officer have to even ask this? Also, people make mistakes all the time when being asked questions by police; they're nervous, that doesn't mean they intentionally are defrauding police.
Keep in mind, it also depends on the jurisdiction. MOO - but that's probably not a very important fact.

 

[penguinface]

Let’s hope he gave them the correct number.

If not, hopefully they’d be able to spot that the pings of another phone match the pings of GP’s phone in the days/weeks leading up to this day, then see where those pings go when the two devices separate.

 

[LietKynes]

<modsnip>

If he murdered her. She's still dead, regardless of the car title.
If he left her somewhere and something bad happened to her. That still happened to her, regardless of the car title.
If she ran off. She still ran off, regardless of the car title.
The fact that the van has returned without her is the important point! That's what has happened. It doesn't matter if you call it "his" "hers" or "their" van. She's still missing and everyone would be just as alarmed in any one of those scenarios.

<modsnip>

I think the point some were concerned about was IF BL took the van and left her, without permission ?
That would (I think) be considered theft.
I think LE could charge him ?

But they're waiting.
They have one bite of the apple and to act without good evidence , his arrest would help no one -- as he (if he did something to her) could walk.
And her family will have no answers, ever.
Imo.

 

[Veronica Sawyer]

I too am curious about this. Wouldn't this be "providing false information to a law enforcement officer"? Wouldn't that be enough to at least bring him in?

He might’ve been speaking to that point in time, as in the argument. He didn’t have a phone for whatever reason. I think someone here said he later does acknowledge having a phone in the video but says it wasn’t charged. I haven’t gotten all the way through the video myself yet so apologies if that is inaccurate. Point being if he says that he didn’t have a phone but also that he does have an uncharged phone in the same video then he’s technically not lying to an officer. When he first says he didn’t have a phone it was in a retelling of the event of their fight so maybe the officer understood it to mean he didn’t have a working one then. A technicality really. The officers were good about notating the few contradictions in their statements whether it was in the written police report or on the video when speaking to the other officers or whatever so if they considered the phone thing one a contradiction it would’ve been brought up too I think. Seems too important to not have it be mentioned but of course this is only my opinion.