Topics: Gabby Petito, Crime, US News, Sex and Relationships, Domestic Abuse
Gabby Petito's family have spoken about the 'red flags' to look out for in relationships, following the death of their daughter.
Four years ago, the YouTuber and travel influencer went missing while on a road trip across the US with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie.
Gabby, who was aged 22, had been vlogging her journey along the way. But in September 2021, she was reported missing when her mother, Nichole Schmidt, failed to hear from her for over a week.
After searching for Gabby for 10 days, her body was discovered in Spread Creek camping area in Wyoming. An autopsy revealed she died from blunt force injuries to her head and neck, as well as ‘manual strangulation.'
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Her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, later admitted to her murder in a suicide note, found alongside his body.
Gabby’s stepmother Tara Petito, her father Joe Petito, mother Nichole, and her husband Jim, created the Gabby Petito Foundation shortly after Gabby death.
They are emphasising how important prevention is, pointing out that teens start dating in high school with little knowledge of what an abusive relationship can look like.
Speaking to People magazine, Tara said: “They start dating in middle school, so they need to know where they can go to get resources.
“They need to also know the signs.
“They also need to know how not to be an abuser."
An important red flag she noted was that abusive behaviour can be presented as overly loving, which can be appealing to younger daters.
She added: “A lot of times they could just say, ‘Oh, I love you so much, let's have a joint Snapchat'.
“But that starts with the controlling and, ‘I want to view everything that you're doing'.
“So, they might not even realise that's the start of an abusive type of relationship.
“We would like to get into the schools and teach them to know what the signs are.”
The foundation aims to focus on raising awareness about domestic violence, while also creating tougher laws and policies that govern how the police respond to reports of intimate partner abuse and missing persons.
Gabby's mum has recently spoken out on shocking ‘new information’ surrounding her daughter’s murder.
Speaking on The Squeeze podcast, hosted by actor Taylor Lautner and his wife Tay, Nichole said she is still getting new bombshells about the case to this day.
“I actually just found out some new information a few days ago," she began.
“There was [someone] that was at the house when Brian was missing–and I would say he was hiding, he wasn’t missing, but he was actually dead–but his room was completely gutted and renovated. None of his things were there anymore. It was gone.
“So that very same week, Gabby was missing and cops were going to their house to try to get, I guess, a scent from their dogs to look for Brian, all his things were gone. The room was completely empty, just gone."
She added: “It drives me absolutely insane–that's the one thing I can’t let go of, because I’m trying to figure out what can I do to make them pay for what they did, but there is really nothing I can do.”
