Five signs Gabby Petito was afraid and unhappy with Brian Laundrie, from sobbing Moab video to chilling playlists
GABBY Petito and Brian Laundrie presented themselves online as a loved-up couple embarking on the adventure of a lifetime - but that image crumbled after Gabby disappeared mid-way through their trip and was later found dead.
Gabby, 22, and Laundrie, 23, regularly documented their travels on Instagram after setting off from Florida in their repurposed van in mid-July to tour the country's national parks.
But their so-called dream excursion across the US came to an abrupt halt when Brian Laundrie returned home to Florida without Gabby on September 1, some two months into their planned four-month trip.
Laundrie immediately retained an attorney and offered no explanation for where Gabby was. He reportedly acted without a care in the world, neighbors said, even going camping with his family for two days at a nearby park.
Gabby was eventually reported missing by her mother in New York on September 11.
Two days later, Brian reportedly vanished after telling his parents he was going hiking in Carlton Reserve but never returned home.
He wasn't reported missing until September 17. Two days after that, Gabby's at a campsite in Wyoming. A coroner later ruled that she'd been strangled to death by "human force" three to four weeks earlier.
The culprit behind her murder has not yet been identified by police but , 23, is the sole person of interest in the case.
As an investigation continues, Gabby's father Joe Petito said that his daughter and Brian seemed "happy" before embarking on their trip, though clearly, all was not what it seemed.
"Outside looking in she did look happy," he said. "But as we look more and more into this, it might not have been as great as people online perceived," he said.
DISTURBING POLICE STOP
The first indication the couple's relations may have been straining on the road came on August 12 after police in Moab, Utah, were summoned to a grocery store to reports of a man "slapping" a woman,
Brian alleges that Gabby hit him first and tells the officers: "I’m fine. And I love Gabby. I hope she doesn’t have too many complaints about me. I was just trying to make her calm down."
Asked by the officers if Gabby takes any medications, Brian replies: "She just gets crazy. No. No, I don’t think so. None that I know of."
The footage also appeared to show Laundrie handing cops two cell phones – despite insisted moments earlier.
Nina Celie Angelo, of New Orleans, said she had been inside the eatery with her boyfriend when suddenly an agitated man she later identified as Laundrie began arguing with a waitress sometime after 1pm.
Gabby shared a number of harrowing Pinterest posts about mental health in the weeks and months before her death. including an image that read "existence is pain."
An eye of suspicion has additionally been cast towards a playlist Brian and Gabby allegedly shared on Spotify, which some say hints at the couple's fractured relations.
The songs focus on heartache and romantic relationships and are by the artist Matt Berry.
One lyric reads: "Your woman is your angel, is your left side, is your whole life; easily the most beautiful thing in the world.
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"She'll soothe you; she'll accuse you; she'll confuse you; she'll lose you but always be the best friend you have in the world."
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