Gabby Petito’s mum Nichole Schmidt has spoken out on shocking ‘new information’ about details surrounding her daughter’s murder.
Petito was reported as missing in 2021, almost three weeks into a road trip with her boyfriend and fiancé at the time, Brian Laundrie.
Laundrie became a person of interest in the case after returning home in Petito’s van, simply telling his family that she was ‘gone’ before fleeing when an arrest warrant was issued.
Petito's body was later discovered in Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest, with an autopsy revealing that she'd died of blunt force injuries to her head and neck, as well as manual strangulation.
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Laundrie’s remains were found the following month in Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, with officials confirming he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, and a nearby notebook revealed a confession to Petito’s murder.
More than three years on, it seems Petito’s family still have many unanswered questions.
Speaking on The Squeeze podcast, hosted by actor Taylor Lautner and his wife Tay, Schmidt said she is still getting new bombshells about the case to this day.
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“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.
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“They said that there’s something wrong with that mother, she’s clearly not mentally well. And I’m like, ‘just add it to the list’, because I didn’t even know about that. That was crazy to hear.”
Schmidt 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.”
When Lautner questioned why things had been allowed to be ‘stripped and cleaned and thrown away’, Schmidt went on: “The van was cleaned out, the mattress was never recovered, and then all the things were packed away in a closet – Gabby's stuff was packed away in a closet.
“I mean, I don’t understand, I don’t get it. Just strange behaviour.”
Topics: Gabby Petito, Podcasts, US News, True Crime
Jess Hardiman