Gabby Petito’s 'odd' text sent to her mum days before she vanished
An upcoming Netflix documentary about Gabby Petito, a young woman who went missing in 2021, has revealed more information about her death.
Petito, who was 22 at the time she went missing, was killed by her fiance Brian Laundrie.
Laundrie strangled her while the pair were taking a journey across America, vlogging their ‘vanlife’ journey.
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One of the more peculiar aspects of the case is a text sent to Petito’s mum Nichole days before she vanished which she deemed ‘odd’ for one specific reason.
The text, one of the last before her death, read: “Can you help Stan, I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls.”
‘Stan’ in this situation referred to Petito’s grandfather, however her mum said it was ‘odd’ due to the fact that she never referred to him in this fashion.
A warrant obtained by Florida police read: “On August 27th, 2021, the subject’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, received an ‘odd text’ from the subject.
“The reference to ‘Stan’ was referring to Gabby’s grandfather. But according to her mother, Gabby never calls him ‘Stan’.
“The mother was concerned that something was wrong with her daughter.”
This was described as the ‘last communication’ anyone had with Petito in the warrant.
Her phone sent a text a few days later saying there was ‘no service in Yosemite’, but it is believed to have been Laundrie who sent this text.
The documentary on Petito releases next week on February 17, and will look into the murder of the vanlife vlogger.
Netflix’s description of the doc, titled American Murder: Gabby Petito, promises to give unprecedented access to the story.
This includes interviews with friends, family, and excerpts from her personal journals.
Petito was last seen alive on August 27, 2021, the same day as the ‘odd text’.
Laundrie would be reported to have been given lifts in the days following that, and refused to speak to authorities, holing up in his family’s home.
As the manhunt for Gabby continued he also went missing in September of 2021, eventually being found to have taken his own life.
Remains matching Gabby meanwhile were found on September 19 at the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping area in Wyoming.
An autopsy found she had been strangled to death.
While Laundrie was never formally charged due to his death, authorities have stated they believe he is responsible for her death.
American Murder: Gabby Petito releases February 17 on Netflix.
Topics: Netflix, TV, TV and Film, True Crime, US News, Gabby Petito
Michael Slavin