Gabby Petito’s final words to her family revealed as mom says she hopes her daughter did not suffer a painful death
GABBY Petito’s last words to her parents have been revealed as her heartbroken mom said she hoped her murdered daughter did not suffer a painful death.
In an interview, Dad Joe, step-dad Jim and mom Nichole Schmidt told of their agony after 22-year-old Gabby was “stolen” from them.
Vlogger, 22, had been on an intrepid adventure of a lifetime as she drove across the country with her 23-year-old Laundrie.
But only he returned home in the van they were traveling in.
After hiring a lawyer and refusing to talk, he then vanished too — five days before in a shallow grave in Bridger–Teton National Forest in Wyoming.
The last thing I said to her, my very last sentence was I love you and her last sentence to me was ‘I love you too
Dad Joe
A coroner later found she had been strangled to death and that it was murder.
Now, in a heartbreaking interview with, Gabby’s distraught mom Nichole said: “I hope she did not suffer and she was not in any pain.
“That she was in a place she wanted to be, looking at the beautiful mountains.”
She added: “You never, ever think it is going to be yours. It is surreal.”
Recalling their last call, dad Joe: “The last thing I said to her, my very last sentence was I love you. And her last sentence to me was ‘I love you too’.”
Step-dad Jim said: “Gabby was 22-years-old. Her life was stolen from her… stolen from us.”
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Nichole added: “This was like, evil. She was taken at someone else’s hand.”
The body of the 22-year-old lay in the wilderness of Wyoming for up to a month before it was found in mid-September.
Teton County coroner Brent Blue said: “The cause of death by strangulation, and manner is homicide.
“Our initial determination is that the body was in the wilderness for three to four weeks.”
Dad Joe posted the “beautiful view” of a lake near where Gabby’s body was found, and supporters have spotted a heart on one of the mountains.
“I now know why you came here, has a beautiful view from now on. Love you, and miss you,” Joseph Petito wrote on Twitter ,alongside a picture of a lake surrounded by mountains.
Supporters of the Petito family sent their condolences under the Twitter post, with one user circling a spot on one mountain and writing: “She left you a heart!”
Petito had quit her job and packed her life into a camper van for a cross-country adventure with Brian Laundrie, starting in July, documenting their journey in a stream of social media posts.
In images shared by the couple online they are all smiles — barefoot in a canyon or surveying the ochre rocks of state and national parks.
In one YouTube video published during their trip, Petito and Laundrie are shown kissing tenderly, enjoying a sunset together and strolling on a beach.
But the young woman’s family filed a missing person report on September 11 after the 22-year-old mysteriously vanished, and Laundrie returned home to Florida without her.
FBI LAUNCHES NATIONWIDE HUNT
Laundrie, 23, was declared a “person of interest” in the case. He declined to cooperate with police before disappearing himself.
The FBI has launched a nationwide manhunt, appealing for anyone with information about Laundrie’s whereabouts to contact them.
Details have emerged about how police in Utah responded to a domestic violence report involving Petito and Laundrie in August.
Police bodycam footage shows a distraught Petito saying she had had an altercation with Laundrie.
Speaking to an officer after their van was pulled over, Petito is seen crying and saying she struggles with mental health problems.
Gabby Petito timeline
Gabby Petito, 22, was last seen on August 24, leaving a hotel in Utah. Here is a timeline of Gabby Petito's disappearance:
- June 2021 – set off on a cross-country trip across the US.
- July 4 – posts photos of herself barefoot in Gove County, Kansas.
- July 8 – Gabby posts photos of herself at the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado.
- July 18 – Gabby and post photos of themselves at Utah’s Zion National Park.
- August 12 – in September showing an encounter Brian and Gabby had with police in Utah. Police confirmed that no significant injuries were reported.
- August 19 – on their YouTube channel chronicling their trip.
- August 24 – Gabby is spotted leaving a hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah.
- August 25 – Gabby Facetimes her mom, Nichole Schmidt, for the final time. In a later police report, Schmidt said her conversations with her daughter revealed “” between her and Brian.
- August 25 – Gabby also posts her last Instagram. No location is given.
- August 27 – Gabby is . Witnesses claim they saw Brian in an explosive argument with staff at a restaurant in Jackson Hole, leaving Gabby in tears.
- August 27 – Four hours later, travel bloggers driving through Grand Teton National Park drive past the couple’s van “abandoned” on a dirt road.
- September 1 – Brian returns home to without Gabby.
- September 11 – report her missing to Suffolk County police.
- September 14 – Brian’s family issues a statement saying he has retained an attorney and will not be cooperating with investigators.
- September 14 – Brian is by his family. He reportedly told them he was going hiking in Cartlon Reserve but failed to return.
- September 15 – Florida’s North Port police announce in the case. He is not charged with any crime.
- September 16 – Utah police release of the police encounter with Brian and Gabby.
- September 17 – say they have not seen their son in a couple of days and report him missing.
- September 18 – Police announc. Police announce they have not found anything.
- September 19 – Authorities in Wyoming say . The FBI announces the body was believed to be Gabby’s but a full forensic identification needs to be completed first to confirm.
- September 20 – Police execute a search warrant on Laundrie’s home, seizing and a hard drive that may contain “evidence relevant to proving that a felony has been committed.”
- September 21 – Officials announce they will be on the remains found in Wyoming to confirm whether or not they belong to Gabby. Police also resumed their search for Laundrie, this time on the Venice side of Carlton Reserve.
- September 21 – The FBI announced the body found in Wyoming was identified as Gabby’s. The cause of death was not yet revealed.
- September 21 – The Teton County Coroner’s office said was still pending but the initial manner of death is homicide.
- September 22 – Police continue to scour for a trace of Laundrie but yield no leads. A specialist dive team is called in to assist with the hunt.
- September 23 – Officials announced a for Brian was issued.
- September 26 – Gabby’swas held on Long Island, New York.
- October 12: were made public. Teton County Coroner Dr Brent Blue confirmed Gabby died by strangulation.
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