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Gabby Petito's Dad Shares Heartbreaking Message To Women At Daughter's Funeral

Joanna Freedman

Published 
| Last updated 

Gabby Petito's Dad Shares Heartbreaking Message To Women At Daughter's Funeral

Featured Image Credit: Instagram/ Twitter

Gabby Petito's father, Joseph Petito, shared an emotional message at her funeral on Sunday.

Speaking at the ceremony in Long Island, Joe made an important statement about domestic abuse as he honoured his 22-year-old daughter, whose body was recently recovered by the FBI.

The search for Gabby's boyfriend Brian Laundrie, 23 is also still ongoing, with many - including Gabby's family - believing he may have gone missing intentionally as pressure ramped up to find the travel blogger.

Watch scenes from the funeral below:

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"I don't want you guys to be sad, to be honest with you," Joe said. "Gabby did not live that way."

“If there is a relationship that you’re in that might not be the best thing for you, leave it now. Take care of yourself first.

“I would like you to take a look at these videos [of Gabby's road-trip] and I want you to be inspired by them. If there’s a trip you guys want to take, take it now.

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"Do it now while you have the time.”

“Gabby is the most amazing person I’ve ever met,” he concluded. “So, if you’re going to leave here today, I’m asking that you guys be inspired by the way she treated people, all people.

“The entire planet knows this woman’s name."

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Gabby's funeral was packed full of mourners on Sunday - many of whom had travelled from far and wide to pay her respects, after being touched by her story.

Identification of Gabby's body was made earlier this week - in Bridger–Teton National Forest in Wyoming - with a coroner confirming that her death is a suspected homicide but the cause is still unknown.

They honoured the blogger with an empty urn, as police still have her body.

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When reporting him missing, Laundrie's parents claimed not to have seen him in over a week, and officers began searching a national park in Florida for him, but couldn't find any evidence that he had been there.

Gabby's father told mourners not to be sad (Credit: Twitter: Brian Entin)
Gabby's father told mourners not to be sad (Credit: Twitter: Brian Entin)

Florida police are currently continuing to search a 25,000 acre nature reserve in Sarasota County.

Laundrie remains a person of interest in the case.

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Gabby's family reported her missing after they stopped hearing from her back in August.

She had been living in the camper-van while travelling across the States with Laundrie, and documenting their journey on social media.

But Laundrie returned home without her at the beginning of September, before subsequently going missing himself.

Mourners travelled from far and wide to pay their respects (Credit: Shutterstock)
Mourners travelled from far and wide to pay their respects (Credit: Shutterstock)

Police know that a fight broke out between the couple on 12th August in Moab, Utah, having showed bodycam footage at the time, which showed a visibly distressed Gabby and a composed Laundrie, calmly blaming his late girlfriend's mental health for any distress.

The footage isn't the only proof of a strained relationship, as another witness is said to have heard the couple fight “aggressively” over the phone on the same day.

A text message Gabby sent her mum has also since been recovered by the police, in which it is made clear that they were on rocky ground.



Topics: News

Joanna Freedman
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