Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Netflix, True Crime, Crime, Gabby Petito
Britt Jones
Netflix viewers who tuned in to watch the new docu-series on the murder of Gabby Petito have only just noticed a heartbreaking detail that they didn't spot at first.
Petito was just 22 when she was murdered by her fiancé Brian Laundrie in August 2021.
The young couple were in the middle of their ‘van life’ journey which saw them travel across the US in Petito’s van, which she was hoping to document on her new YouTube channel and blog.
The Netflix documentary, American Murder: Gabby Petito, has dived into her disappearance and never-seen-before footage of the couple, as well as accounts from friends and family.
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The three-part documentary showed the weeks leading up to Petito’s death, and the way that their relationship was unravelling.
After Laundrie suddenly returned home to his parents with the van alone, he became the primary suspect in the case, and was later found deceased in Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in October after Petito’s body was found the month prior.
In Laundrie’s suicide note, he confessed to the murder of his soon-to be wife and shared a story about Petito's death - claiming she'd gotten injured during the trip and that he'd 'ended her life'. "I thought it was merciful," he'd written.
However, Petito’s autopsy would reveal that she actually died by 'blunt force injuries' to her head and neck and 'manual strangulation'.
In the documentary, several members of her family and close friends spoke about the harrowing case - and one eagle-eyed fan spotted a heartbreaking detail as they watched their interviews.
Many viewers will have noticed that Petito has a distinct tattoo on her left bicep showing a flower inside of a triangle.
However, you might not have spotted that her parents, step parents and friend all have the exact same tattoo too.
Petito’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, confirmed that they all have the inking after she commented on a TikTok saying ‘yes we all have it’.
A commenter replied to Schmidt’s comment, saying: "She was so so lucky to have you as her mom. She hit the jackpot with you. Just you can tell how much you and all her other parents love her."
Someone else wrote: “her entire family including step parents loved her so so much.”
Schmidt also revealed she got an 'odd text' from her daughter on the day she went missing, and gave some advice to potential viewers.
"When you watch the documentary, remember that this is a real person, this is a real family, it’s a real story and it’s real life," she told NewsNation.
"It’s not just true crime. This can happen to anyone. We never in a million years thought this would happen to our family.
"That’s why we’re trying to help people, so we can prevent this from happening to them."