The new Gabby Petito documentary is a harrowing watch

The harrowing and disturbing Netflix series looks at the final days of Gabby's life.

"What happened in the final days of Gabby Petito's life? In this gripping true-crime series, her loved ones reveal the untold story of her tragic murder."

Gabby Petito was murdered by her fiancée Brian Laundrie during a road trip through Wyoming in 2021.

Petito went missing on August 27th just weeks after they set off on their adventure. She was officially reported as a missing person on September 11th, 2021.

The pair had been documenting their travels on social media before Gabby went missing.

Laundrie quickly became a person of interest after he refused to talk about Gabby’s whereabouts. He travelled back in their van from Wyoming to his parent’s home in Florida. He refused to cooperate with the investigation.

Laundrie claimed he was exercising his constitutional rights by not speaking to the authorities, but the case took a dramatic turn when he was reported missing on September 17th.

The investigation continued, but it took over a month for police to find Gabby Petito’s body.

Her remains were found on September 19th in Wyoming’s Bridger–Teton National Forest. Following an autopsy, police confirmed that Gabby died from blunt-force injuries to her head and neck and manual strangulation.

The body of Laundrie was later discovered in Florida’s Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park on October 20th.

An autopsy confirmed that he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Authorities discovered a notebook near his remains. He confessed to killing 22-year-old Petito in the notebook, the FBI shared.

Gabby's parents claimed Brian's parents helped their son cover up Gabby's murder.

Viewers were left disturbed after watching the new Netflix series and many of them were left asking the same question.

How were Brian Laundrie's parents never charged?

A letter was found next to Laundie's body after he died by suicide.

The letter was from Laundrie’s mother who said she would help her son if he needed to “dispose of a body”.

It read, “If you’re in jail, I will bake a cake and put a file in it. If you need to dispose of a body, I will show up with a shovel and garbage bags.”

In court transcripts obtained by Fox13, Laundrie’s parents admitted they were aware something had happened to Gabby. However, they denied knowing any details about her murder.

They said their son phoned them and frantically told his parents that "Gabby's gone."

His parents originally refused to co-operate with the investigation into Gabby's disappearance until their son also disappeared.

Viewers took to X to express their shock over how Brian's parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie walked free.

It was not horrific enough that Brian Laundrie murdered Gabby Petito, but what his family did to her parents after the fact was so intentionally cruel. The Laundries are a bunch of disgusting cowards. Such an infuriating documentary. 💔

— Heather Knows (@Heather_Nos) February 18, 2025

We all watched the #GABBYPETITO documentary series, right?

How were Brian Laundrie's parents NOT charged? pic.twitter.com/tLSFvMxtDI

— 𝙲𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚊 𝙱𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚝 (@CinemaBurst) February 18, 2025

Still firmly believe that the parents of #BrianLaundrie should be charged with aiding and abetting and obstruction of justice… I mean how convenient they finally join the search and shit magically appears… pic.twitter.com/1phq9PLY4O

— Lacey Pierce (@Iamlil_LJ) October 20, 2021

One wrote, "After watching the Gabby Petito doc on Netflix, my immediate and last thought is that Brian Laundrie's parents should be prosecuted as accessories after the fact. There is ZERO CHANCE they didn't know what he'd done when they aided his trip back home and sheltered him."

"I’m wondering how Brian Laundrie’s parents didn’t get persecuted by now or at least sued cause what?!" one viewer wrote.

"Watching the documentary of Gabby Petito and I fully believe Brian’s parents should have been arrested and charged. They knew exactly what he did, absolutely vile people," another said.

Gabby's family sued the Laundrie's in an emotional distress lawsuit following the death of their beloved daughter.

Nichole Schmidt and Joseph Petito claimed the Laundrie's caused intentional emotional distress by withholding knowledge that Gabby was dead.

The families reached a settlement in February 2024.

"All parties reluctantly agreed in order to avoid further legal expenses and prolonged personal conflict. Our hope is to close this chapter of our lives to allow us to move on and continue to honor the legacy of our beautiful daughter, Gabby."

American Murder: Gabby Petito is on Netflix now.