Found Deceased WY - Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito, 22, Grand Teton National Park, 25 Aug 2021 #67

[Arkay]

"Perhaps he was just looking to make imprints on witnesses..."

I love this. It's a beautiful way to say he was lying.

I know it's more about how he offered $200 for the ride, but I do love your wording.

 

[Bekind89]

I wonder, hypothetically, if it was about more than the notion of the bill itself. Perhaps, Brian tried to use a card and pay for it. The card was declined, maybe he was out of funds. This could create a rapid spiral in an already tense situation. Not only does this impact the ongoing trip, but imagine how it could have impacted an ego.
It would be interesting to know if when Gabby came in and apologized if she ultimately used one of her cards to pay for the meal.
*Opinion/speculation*

I wonder if there was some kind of discount expected by BL? Most traveling bloggers get discounts for advertising restaurants and hotels, or so I have heard. It may have been a misunderstanding? Jmo

 

[bluwaters]

Maybe. But we don't be really know that. It's possible one of GP's parents put money in after Aug 12. I know we've gone around and around about whether GP shared her accts with a parent. I don't think so but am not trying to start a debate on that. (Think if she did, the parents would have looked for card activity vs simply make phone calls when they couldn't reach GP)

But they could easily add money to the acct. Her mother said they paid for things along the way on the trip.

JMO

Mother of missing Gabby Petito says boyfriend IGNORED her texts

Good point.
The transaction would be documented as well.

 

[NCWatcher]

BBM. Very true. Individuals who comprise a jury also have opinions and gut feelings. The parents and BL's refusal to return GP's parents calls and texts is evidence of consciousness of guilt, imo. There is no excuse for it. jmo

Of course. But hopefully their verdict is based on the evidence presented in court and not only on their personal opinions and "gut feelings." Especially if those opinions and feelings are based on whether a person (or his parents) returned phone calls or answered texts.
JMO

 

[Allabouttrial]

I wonder, hypothetically, if it was about more than the notion of the bill itself. Perhaps, Brian tried to use a card and pay for it. The card was declined, maybe he was out of funds. This could create a rapid spiral in an already tense situation. Not only does this impact the ongoing trip, but imagine how it could have impacted an ego.
It would be interesting to know if when Gabby came in and apologized if she ultimately used one of her cards to pay for the meal.
*Opinion/speculation*

I have no facts to back this up, but I've seen it said in numerous threads that maybe Brian didn't have his own card.

Not sure if this was stated as a fact or just speculation though.

 

[BeachSky]

Yes.

As some have pointed out-
He covers one hand with the other hand
….more than once .

MOO

 

[simplemind]

Another narrative:

BL and GP arrive at the Spread Creek camp site. She works on her project and he hikes off on his own, taking the debit card with her permission to use if he needed anything, a ride back, food, supplies, etc. Since she is camping near the van, she has everything she needs, supplies, food, her phone, etc.

BL hitchhikes back to GP, getting two rides.

BL finds GP dead and is afraid he'll be charged so he takes the van and goes home to get help from a lawyer.

Does it really matter what the people thought of him when they gave him rides? They can say, "he didn't smell as if he'd been hiking for two days," but how else did he get up to Colter Bay? Probably hiked. So, maybe he's not a smelly guy, or he cleaned up.

Oh, he only had a tarp in a backpack. Weird, but people can be weird. They guy hikes around barefoot apparently. I think that's weird too. So what?

Yes, he used the bank card. Probably for food and gas to get home.

Yes, it wasn't his account. Lots of people in relationships let their SO use their debit card. It sounds as if they were sharing the one bank account. People can do that. My understanding is that it's not a crime to use someone's bank card unless they report it as fraud. If he says knew she was dead, but he didn't kill her, and he drove home using the "shared" bank account, he may still be convicted of wrongly using it, but using the bank card doesn't prove that he killed her.

I hope they have some rock solid evidence, but the remains were out there for 3-4 weeks, and that, I believe, is an estimate. The defense may be able to argue that she could have been out there for 4-5 weeks and BL was home by then.

The defense may want to do another autopsy but they are unable to because the remains were cremated.

I'm sure there are lots of ways to pick apart a circumstantial case.

Aside from witnesses we don't know about, I think this is where a lack of anyone else's DNA under her nails and cell phone ping data could be crucial for the prosecution.

 

[Tiff23fr]

I have no facts to back this up, but I've seen it said in numerous threads that maybe Brian didn't have his own card.

Not sure if this was stated as a fact or just speculation though.

I am not referring to a card tied to Gabby. I am going under a view he may have had his own bank account or credit card/line of funds that had went to nothing. Otherwise, why take and use her cards?

 

[JayWill]

I have so much sympathy for GP and her family and what happened to her was terrible beyond belief, but honestly, no one should be hitting, slapping, scratching, pushing, punching, etc. anyone else. This couple needed some counseling to learn how to effectively and constructively communicate and manage their conflict. Conflict in relationships is normal, but it is not always handled in healthy, respectful ways.

I don't believe that she was punching, scratching or pushing him except to stop him taking over her possessions. She is the one who is dead and he is hiding. Numerous experts who have seen that video had no problem seeing HER as a domestic abuse victim. MOO.

 

[rosesfromangels]

Apologies if this has been posted before, but can't hurt to post again: timeline from CNN
Timeline of Gabby Petito case - CNN

I need all you bright sleuthers to help me sort something out. BP's flight back home to clean out a storage unit to "save money" (but he took a flight?) *screams* premeditation to me. Was he was planning his big escape, and preparing for what he was about to do?

I am completely convinced this guy is not "well", and clearly dangerous. What is his perception of reality?

But here's my other question for you. He is stopped by Moab LE and doesn't end up in jail. A week or so later he creates some sort of ruckus in a restaurant where according to a witness, comes and goes at least four separate times shouting at staff.....yet doesn't go to jail. (BTW, i'm sure someone has given LE video of that...)

Then, we have a dead Gabby, with the same Brian as POI. These are the three incidents we KNOW of. Likely many, many others we don't know of.

So how has this BP gotten away with these very public outbursts/attacks, and not ended up in jail? How is that? I'm going to resist drawing examples of contrast, but I'm sure everyone gets my point.

HOW?

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[MyBelle]

Civil cases have different standards from criminal trials and result in damages not convictions.

A jury may find BL guilty in a criminal trial, but then again, they may not. The standard of proof in criminal trials is much higher and the jury must be sure of the person's guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt."

I'm fully aware. My point was that OJ took the stand and testified and the jury still concluded he was responsible. Your example was that he didn't take the stand in his criminal trial and yet that jury found him not guilty. I think OJ case is a classic example of jury nullification. jmo

 

[AtlantaBourne]

And then he spent over 1k of her money, just for the hell of it while he drove her vehicle home without her. Slam dunk.

My thinking on the 1k is he did not spend it, at least not all of it. Used some for gas & veggies returning to FL IMO.

 

[Allabouttrial]

I am not referring to a card tied to Gabby. I am going under a view he may have had his own bank account or credit card/line of funds that had went to nothing. Otherwise, why take and use her cards?

Yes that's what I was saying. People have said he didn't have his own account and that they pooled all their money into Gabby's account. All speculation I think.

 

[squareandrabbet]

This is something that has been troubling me. Apparently, the Laundries told LE that Brian was wearing a hiking pack with a waist strap, but there was no description of his clothing. Further, there seemed to be confusion about where the Laundries found his car (at best.) Or the Laundries simply lied about where they found the car which turns out to have been 16 miles from their house rather than 5 miles away. This, of course, leads to further questions of how did they think BL would get home without the car?

Presumably, if the Laundries saw BL on his way out of the house to go hiking, he would not have the hiking pack on - it would be in his hand being carried by the straps or a handle because he was going to go drive the Mustang to the Reserve. No one drives a car to go hiking wearing a hiking pack! How could you fit in the front seat, for one thing?

So...it would seem to me that Brian's attire would have been far more noticeable than the pack he was carrying in his hand. Yes, they would have seen the pack, but what about the clothes? But there was no description of his clothes.

And the Laundries apparently told LE to search an area of the reserve far away from where the Laundries found the car until 3 city mower men stepped forward in the press and said where they saw the Mustang parked. Then we have a new date that BL left for his hike as well.

imo, we’ve never heard a direct quote, so I was always assuming that what the Laundries said or meant was closer to ‘Brian always carries a pack which looks like such and such when he goes hiking’.

I also wouldn’t put any stock into thinking whether or not that means it was strapped onto him as he drove, lol. I would always assume that as part of carrying said pack, it would go on the passenger seat, in just the same way that my mother doesn’t continue to wear her purse on her shoulder while she drives.

 

[CarolynAB2]

I'm fully aware. My point was that OJ took the stand and testified and the jury still concluded he was responsible. Your example was that he didn't take the stand in his criminal trial and yet that jury found him not guilty. I think OJ case is a classic example of jury nullification. jmo

I wasn't referring to the civil case so I was surprised that you brought it up. We're talking about BL facing criminal charges right now, not civil, although perhaps that may be in his future.

 

[rosesfromangels]

Yes, they have a history of hitting each other. I don't know if there was DV involved, I think a lot of people are projecting their personal history into what they see on the bodycam video. but it does appear that there was mutual battery (when domestic partners both use any deliberate and unlawful force or violence against each other). So, with the documented history of mutual battery, even if she had his DNA under her fingernails, can it be proven that it wasn't from a fight they had before he hiked off? I can see reasonable doubt with that too. Although, any DNA under her nails was probably outside too long in the elements to be useful, from what I've heard experts say.

ETA: It's interesting that the couple who picked BL up and the other woman who picked him up hitchhiking didn't say they saw scratches (defensive wounds) on his face.

Gabby is dead, and Brian is on the run. Brian Laundrie is a fugitive for unlawfully using Gabby's credit cards and taking her vehicle. The FBI and others are determining through forensics if he murdered her.

Anything else is deflection and noise.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[JayWill]

Apologies if this has been posted before, but can't hurt to post again: timeline from CNN
Timeline of Gabby Petito case - CNN

I need all you bright sleuthers to help me sort something out. BP's flight back home to clean out a storage unit to "save money" (but he took a flight?) *screams* premeditation to me. Was he was planning his big escape, and preparing for what he was about to do?

I am completely convinced this guy is not "well", and clearly dangerous. What is his perception of reality?

But here's my other question for you. He is stopped by Moab LE and doesn't end up in jail. A week or so later he creates some sort of ruckus in a restaurant where according to a witness, comes and goes at least four separate times shouting at staff.....yet doesn't go to jail. (BTW, i'm sure someone has given LE video of that...)

Then, we have a dead Gabby, with the same Brian as POI. These are the three incidents we KNOW of. Likely many, many others we don't know of.

So how has this BP gotten away with these very public outbursts/attacks, and not ended up in jail? How is that? I'm going to resist drawing examples of contrast, but I'm sure everyone gets my point.

HOW?

Amateur opinion and speculation

A couple of things. The Moab incident was before the trip home.
It was a storage locker, not even a unit.
The MP incident was when he returned from the trip home and it seems the last time Gabby was seen alive. MOO.

 

[squareandrabbet]

I have no facts to back this up, but I've seen it said in numerous threads that maybe Brian didn't have his own card.

Not sure if this was stated as a fact or just speculation though.

Yes that's what I was saying. People have said he didn't have his own account and that they pooled all their money into Gabby's account. All speculation I think.

Yup, wholly speculation.

All anyone knows for certain right now, is that the card he used was defined as Gabby’s by the police; and the charges tell us, that no way did he have any provable monetary rights to her money.

At the very minimum, it was not a joint account. IMO, the bank can confirm this for the FBI with one hand tied behind their backs.

 

[Shellinaya]

Agree with your post. Do you remember how long BL said he had been hiking without G? I believe he told someone that had picked him up. TIA

What I remember from her story is that he told her he'd been hiking a couple of days, or a few days, alone, with his girlfriend back at the van working on the website, I don't remember if he specified the number of days. His story doesn't ring true on many levels and I think to any woman it would have raised questions. (Really, you left your girlfriend all alone back at the campsite and she's OK with that?)

We know Gabby didn't like to be alone, so she would not have agreed with him going off hiking for 2-3 days without her and leaving her alone at night. She had anxiety too. Imagine how scary that would have been for her to be left alone by him out in the middle of nowhere.
But even worse, she was probably dead by then.

 

[TL4S]

I must've missed something. Why would we think they were walking? Is that because the van may have been in the same location at Spread Creek both before and after? Perhaps there was some confusion about when the van was there. (I guess they could've hitched to Jackson & MP, but why hitch if you have a van??)

Or maybe they parked the van there, then drove to MP, and drove back. I remember that by the time the Bethunes were there, the campground was full. But if they indeed were there both before and after the MP trip, BL & GP may have been able to get the same spot twice precisely because it wasn't an official spot.

Without reopening that whole discussion, maybe they did put up the tent across the creek. (I realize that GP's stepfather did not say the tent was there, just that there was a good place for one). If the tent was up before the trip to MP, though, they might not have been 100% sure they'd get the same spot when they got back. And we don't know if they slept in the tent or the van during the days at Spread Creek.

Relevant questions -- I hope LE has the answers, even if we don't:

• Is it certain the van was parked in the same spot before and after the MP trip?
• If so, did it look like the van had gone anywhere and returned? Were there multiple tire tracks in and out, beyond what would be needed for parking? Was the van in the exact same orientation?
• Was there evidence that they did have the tent up across the creek? Would the tent have been visible from other campsites?

JMO

For what it's worth, we do have this:

Gabby Petito case: What one witness saw near the Tetons may help FBI unravel mystery

Schultz said she saw the van on Aug. 26, when she and her Blue Heeler, Rosie, were headed to a dispersed campsite to meet with Schultz’s friends...

Schultz saw the same van again the following day as she was riding in the passenger seat of her friend’s truck. The van was in almost the exact same area — though it appeared to have pulled over to the right before backing up into a spot across the road.

“I was like, ‘Oh, that guy stayed the night,” Schultz recalled telling her friend, noting that it wasn’t a parking spot.