What happened to Brian Laundrie?
He had been travelling with his travel vlogger fiancée in 2021 before she was reported missing
ITV documentary The Disappearance of Gabby Petito explores what happened to the titular travel vlogger when she went missing during a trip with her 23-year-old fiancé Brian Laundrie in 2021.
The 22-year-old's disappearance captured the imaginations of the public, who became obsessed with trying to figure out what happened to her and why. A lot of scrutiny fell on Laundrie, who had returned home to Florida alone in the van they had been travelling in together.
Read more: What happened to Gabby Petito?
For those who weren't following the case at the time it was unravelling, here is what you need to know about Laundrie.
What happened to Brian Laundrie?
Petito and Laundrie began their road trip across America on 2 July, 2021. The trip was set to take them four months to complete, and Petito shared insight into their travels via YouTube and Instagram.
On 26 August, 2021, Petito appeared to share her last Instagram post, with her family growing concerned about her whereabouts after she sent her mother text messages that were out of character and her social media activity stopped altogether. Petito's mother reported her missing on 11 September, 2021.
Laundrie had returned to Florida on 1 September alone, and he chose not to cooperate with police during their investigation into Petito's disappearance. The police said he was a person of interest but was not seen as a suspect during their search for the vlogger as they were more concerned with finding her.
Though the police had said this, members of the public were fixated on Laundrie and his social media posts, as well as his interactions with Petito in the videos she shared online. Some people even went so far as to stand outside the Laundrie family home to demand answers from him and his parents.
It was later revealed that Laundrie and Petito were involved in a domestic violence dispute that was reported to police by witnesses in Moab, Utah, on 12 August. The witness told police that the man, identified as Laundrie, had slapped the woman, identified as Petito. Later that day their van was pulled over for a traffic stop.
Police questioned Petito and Laundrie about what had happened and Petito was emotional throughout the exchange and claimed she had been the first aggressor though both had visible injuries. The footage of this stop was leaked to the public after Petito's disappearance was made public.
In the end, as neither party wanted to press charges against each other the exchange was reported as a mental breakdown rather than a domestic violence case. This footage lent weight to the theory amongst internet sleuths that Laundrie was involved in Petito's disappearance.
Laundrie was reported missing by his family on 17 September, 2021. Two days later, Petito's body was found in Bridger–Teton National Forest, Wyoming, she had been killed by strangulation and had also suffered blunt force trauma to her head and neck.
The search for Laundrie continued in earnest in the wake of police finding Petito's remains. During this time an arrest warrant was issued for him for using Petito's debit card without consent.
Laundrie was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on 20 October in Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, Florida. Police also discovered a notebook near Laundrie's remains in which he confessed to killing Petito.
In the confession, Laundrie claimed that Petito had fallen and hurt herself and that he killed her because he felt it was "merciful" but later realised "the mistake" he had made.
The Disappearance of Gabby Petito is available to stream on ITVX now.
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