Gabrielle Venora Petito, a 22 year old American woman, most known for her travel “van life” vlogs across the United States on YouTube was murdered by her fiance Brian Christopher Laundrie. On August 12st, 2021, a witness called 9-1-1 to report that a couple, which was later identified to be the both of them, were fighting in front of the Moonflower Community Cooperative in Moab, Utah.
On August 27th, 2021, Gabby and Brain were filmed by CCTV at a Whole Foods store in Jackson Wyoming. They arrived at the parking lot around 2:11 p.m. and entered the store at 2:14 p.m. before leaving at 2:30 p.m. and heading back into the van. This was the last seen footage of Gabby being alive.
Her body was later found on September 19th, 2021, at the Bridger–Teton National Forest, Wyoming, U.S. The new Netflix documentary recently released February 17th 2025, “The Disappearance of Gabby Petito,” dives deeper and explains the tragic story of Gabrielle Petito.
The film begins by highlighting Gabby’s vibrant, joyful, and bubbly personality. The way she was truly passionate about traveling and showing her social media platforms all the adventures she went on. It then shifts to the alarming reports of her disappearance, which triggered widespread media attention and major search effort.
The documentary features interviews with family members, friends, and experts who provide their thoughts and feelings into Gabby’s life and the long toxic relationship between her and Brain Laundrie.
One of the documentary’s main focuses was the amount of domestic violence and the warning signs that were present throughout Gabby’s relationship. The film ultimately serves as a huge reminder of the real life problems of domestic abuse and the need to bring greater awareness and prevention efforts.
As the investigation unfolds, the documentary captures the public and social media, growing a lot more interest in the case, which later leads to many other cases eventually being solved. The tragic conclusion of Gabby’s case, along with the search for Brian, adds a layer of complexity to the story, encouraging viewers to reflect on justice, accountability, and the value of every life lost.
Overall, the Gabby Petito documentary on Netflix has gained a lot of popularity and not only tells the story of a young woman’s life but also sheds light and brings much awareness to real life problems, making it a great and very entertaining deep thought watch.