Photo: TikTok / Instagram / YouTube
Was Gabby shot by Brian Laundrie?
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on Sep 22, 2021
As the Gabby Petito case continues to develop, the FBI confirmed her death was homicide after discovering her body in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.
While the coroner’s office waits to release her exact cause of death, Brian Laundrie remains missing as a person of interest — no other suspects have been revealed.
With the lastest news of the crime being covered 24/7 and the interest in the case climbing, more and more images are being revealed that internet sleuths are using to create theories about what happened to the the 22-year-old — including that Laundrie shot and killed Petito.
Did Brian Laundrie own a gun?
When the FBI searched Laudrie's family home in North Port, Florida, photos of Laundrie's bedroom were revealed.
In it was a gun painted red, white and blue like the American flag, along with some comics, a Darth Vader mask, and what looks like an ancient greek painting of people stabbing each other.
Redditor u/luca423 alleges to have worked with Laundrie when he still worked at Publix claimed the 23-year-old carried a concealed weapon, saying “I know for a fact he had his CCW in Florida.”
“I even asked another employee,” he said, “who worked there as well who is big into guns and he said yeah he 100% remembers him having one as well and that they’ve talked about guns before.”
Photos of Gabby Petito allegedly holding a gun have emerged.
Internet sleuths found this, and dug up an image from a January 12th TikTok post on the couple’s account (@nomadicstatik) where it appears that Petito is posing with a gun in a polaroid, assumed to be Laundrie’s since he’s likely taking the picture.
Some have suggested this is the same object that is seen in footage from a YouTube family's video which filmed Petito and Laundrie's van prior to her disappearance.
The video, which some believe was used to locate Petito's body, shows an object and what seems to be one of Laundrie’s sandals near the van.
Some fear Gabby Petito was shot by Brian Laundrie.
Photos allegedly taken at the crime scene where police found her body revealed a log with spray paint on it and what appeared to be bullet holes made in the wood.
This paint may have been used to mark evidence.
This started speculation that the bullet holes in the wood and the gun found in the Bethune video meant that Petito had been shot by Laundrie.
With this limited evidence and a lack of autopsy results it is impossible to confirm these theories at this time.
Gabby Petito's death has been linked to the shooting of Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner.
The newlywed couple who were murdered near Moab, Utah, who were both killed by a gunman.
Kylen Schulte worked at a co-op where Laundrie and Petito argued in front of, causing the domestic incident report after Laundrie hit Petito.
Police previously stated they hadn't ruled out the possibility that the cases were connected however they have not shared any further updates or links between the two since.
Police are still searching Carlton Reserve in North Port in order to track Laundrie's possible whereabouts.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice and politics.