Fugitive Sex Offender In Utah Shared Photos Of Tent Identical To Gabby Petito's After Her Death
He was on the run when Gabby died.
U.S. Marshals Service / Instagram Eerie similarities between photos posted by Gabby Petito and ones shared by convicted sex offender, John Freeman Colt, are baffling the internet.
Petito was found dead in Wyoming after travelling on a cross-country roadtrip with her fiance Brian Laundrie.
There is no official suspect in her homicide, though Laundrie has been the subject of intense media speculation after returning home without her and disappearing shortly before her body was found.
However, a new theory involving Holt has internet sleuths questioning their suspicions of Laundrie.
Did John Colt kill Gabby Petito?
While Colt has not been officially connected to Petito’s death, many are pointing out photos that may tie Colt to the crime.
Colt was captured in southern Utah in late September, months after he escaped a mental Kansas hospital back in June.
Officials at Larned State Hospital had warned that, prior to his escape, Colt’s hostility towards women was escalating and he had claimed he would go on a “rape spree” if he ever got out.
After fleeing from the Kansas hospital, Colt was travelling around Kansas, Colorado and, eventually, Utah.
John Colt posted an image of a tent identical to Gabby Petito’s while on the run.
Authorities discovered that Colt had made a new Facebook profile under the name ‘Jason Holt’ where he posted numerous photos of his campsite, tent, motorcycle, and himself posing with a shotgun and a magazine fed rifle.
One of those images, which Colt shared to a dispersed camping Facebook group, features a tent identical to images shared by Petito.
Credit: Facebook
Petito appeared to have been travelling with the tent on her ill-fated road trip with Laundrie.
In other posts, Colt had shared images of another tent, suggesting that he didn’t use the tent similar to Petito’s for the entirety of his trip.
It is, of course, possible that Colt could just coincidentally have a similar tent. Equally, Colt appeared to be spending time with a friend so it may not have been his tent at all.
Gabby Petito’s body was found in a dispersed camping site.
Petito was found in Spread Creek Dispersed Campground in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming on September 19.
She is believed to have died sometime between when she was last seen on August 27 and September 1, when Laundrie returned to his North Port, Florida home without her.
Colt posted his photo of the identical tent on September 15. Dispersed camping areas are anywhere outside of designated campgrounds.
Petito’s stepfather, who was in Wyoming when her body was found, says that there was a clearing near her body where he believes a tent was pitched.
It is unclear if Petito’s tent has been located after her disappearance.
John Colt and Gabby Petito were in Utah around the same time.
No official records place Colt in Wyoming, where Petito was found, and in the post he shared of an identical tent he states that the images were taken in Colorado.
However, we do know that Colt was switching locations frequently during his months spent on the run.
Petito and Laundrie had been in Utah prior to traveling to Wyoming. They are known to have spent time around Moab and Salt Lake City in late August.
At the end of the following month, Colt was arrested in Wayne County, around a 2 hour drive from Moab.
Many suspected John Colt was involved in the deaths of Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner.
Colt’s arrest also coincided with another investigation into the murders of a newlywed couple who were last seen in Moab.
They were found shot dead after going on a camping trip in the area. Colt has not been officially tied to their deaths.
Alice Kelly is a senior news and entertainment editor for YourTango. Based out of Brooklyn, New York, her work covers all things social justice, pop culture, and human interest. Keep up with her Twitter for more.