Photo: Moab Police Department / Instagram
They might be the keys to solving the case.
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on Oct 18, 2021
Since the breaking of the news mid-September when Gabby Petito was reported missing after Brian Laundrie returned home to his family without her, we’ve seen several reports of sightings and stories of the couple’s movements during their trip.
However, there are only some key witnesses that helped the investigation zero in on where Petito’s body was and how the couple fought leading towards Petito’s demise.
6 witnesses who saw Brian Laundrie around the time Gabby Petito was killed.
Each of these witnesses claimed to unsual occurences that may provide clarity on Petito's final moments and Laundrie's movement before and afterwards.
1. Sunny Mason
Sunny Mason works at Victor Emporium — a cute ice cream shop in Idaho that sits a mere 30 miles away from Grand Teton National Park.
She reported that on either August 25th or 26th, both Laundrie and Petito stopped by the shop where Petito and Mason bonded over the tattoo on Petito’s arm.
Mason revealed that Laundrie was acting weird and basically prompted Petito to announce that she and Laundrie were engaged.
"We get a lot of engaged couples and it doesn't usually come up that way,” she said. "It just felt kind of odd, like it was a reminder to her to be like 'Ooh look, we're engaged.’”
The store owner of Rustic Row in Victor, Idaho reported the same thing, but that they seemed happy when they announced their engagement.
2. Nina Celie Angelo
Nina Celie Angelo posted a tirade of videos recalling her experience at Merry Piglets, a Tex-Mex restaurant in Jackson, Wyoming where she and her husband saw Laundrie and Petito.
She revealed that it took her a while to realize that they were the same couple she encountered, but she felt “chills” as she remembered the scene.
The incident happened on August 27th and may also be the last time Petito had been seen alive.
Laundrie and Petito were eating like normal people until eventually, Laundrie started arguing and yelling at the workers — very loudly and aggressively.
Petito was hysterically crying and begging him to stop while apologizing to the staff.
3. Miranda Baker
On August 29th around 5:30 p.m., Miranda baker and her boyfriend picked up a hitchhiking Laundrie while they were on their way to Jackson Hole — where he and Petito ate 2 days before.
He was traveling alone at that point and claimed that Petito was back at their van, managing the various social media platforms where they were documenting their trip.
Upon learning of their destination, Laundrie freaked out and thanked them but said that he would find someone else to take him where he needed to go.
4. Norma Jean Jalovec
On the same day around an hour later at 6:30 p.m., Norma Jean Jalovec was leaving her church service when she found Laundrie looking for a lift.
She was near the Jackson Lake Dam, and drove Laundrie towards the entrance of the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping area when all of a sudden, he started freaking out and attempted "get out of the moving car."
She joked with him about wanting to impress Petito by saying he hiked the entire way, but he simply responded to be let out of the vehicle.
We now know that Petito's body was found at the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping area — though it remains unclear if she had already been killed by the time Jalovec met Laundrie.
5. William and Charlene Guthrie
William and Charlene Guthrie, neighbors of the Laundrie's, claim to have witnessed the family heading on a three-day camping trip. This has since been confirmed by Dog The Bounty Hunter and Laundrie's sister, Cassie.
When Laundrie had already returned home alone, and the Laundrie family bought a new camper in preparation for their camping trip.
“We didn’t know it was Gabby’s, we just assumed it was [Brian’s] van,” they told Fox. “We didn’t know much about them at all.”
They did reveal, however, that they thought it was strange for them to take their 23-year-old son on a camping trip.
6. Another Laundrie Neighbor
Another neighbor of the Laundrie family, known only as Jen, revealed that she saw a man who fit the description of Laundrie running away from their home on the day his parents reported him missing.
There was a protest going on at the Laundrie home, which is when Jen said she saw Laundrie running away behind the house, claiming that another neighbor might have gotten surveillance footage.
“He definitely got out right underneath their noses,” she said.
After more than a month since Laundrie’s reported absence from his family’s home, he remains missing and is wanted for fraud charges.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Follow him on Twitter here.