The Murder of Gabby Petito: Truth, Lies and Social Media (2021) User Reviews

Pretty straightforward recap of this strange and tragic case.

[pacocharte · 7/10 · 2 January 2022]

First off, as of now the other user reviews contain spoilers but the users didn't check the box. So if you stumble on this review first and didn't know about this case, you should skip the other reviews.

Without spoiling anything, this documentary clocks in at a relieving 1 hour and 25 minutes, so up front it's clear that it will be sticking to the story and not wasting our time with a bunch of auxiliary junk like podcast techniques and unnecessary graphical reproductions.

As the title states, this tells the story of the murder of Gabby Petito and all of the media and social media reactions before and after her body was identified. If you're interested in a recap with everything being in one convenient place, this film is recommended. Otherwise, if you followed the case as it unfolded, there probably won't be too much here that you didn't already know. 7/10.

Emotional Rollercoaster

[gab-67599 · 6/10 · 10 April 2022]

As a mother myself this story hit me very hard and I have watched and seen just about every video out there with or about Gabby. This one as a collative whole is MUCH better than most things I have seen. It was a bit confusing when they date jumped backwards but for the most part it was easy to follow. I think for someone who knows nothing about the story this would be a very good watch. I myself am still waiting to hear or see what was found in this magical notebook they supposedly found with Brian. This whole story is extremely sad and not at all what I thought would happen. You always hope for a happy ending, that is not the case here!

Road Trip Tragedy

[Lejink · 7/10 · 1 January 2022]

I must admit I only came to this case after all the main events had already occurred in it, i.e. I wasn't caught up in the widespread social media interest in the case when Gabby Petito first went missing from which everything else followed. Released remarkably quickly after the case was pronounced closed with the apparent suicide of the main suspect in the young girl's death, being her erstwhile fiance and travelling companion, one Brian Laundrie, this documentary relates the tragic story sequentially, using keyboard-subtitles to set the scene, interspersed with footage of Miss Petito doing her innocent pieces to camera during their travels, then the revealing police body-cam film of her in an emotionally distressed state when a witness saw Laundrie assaulting her and after her death combining TV news inserts with interviews with the victims immediate family and the various people on social media who in different ways got involved in the case. . The victim herself was bright, pretty and artistic and had bought a white transit van, kitted it out for travel and then with her boyfriend Laundrie set out west on a road-trip, her intention being to create a travelogue vlog and hopefully garner attention on the main social outlets in the process.

But she never completed the journey, going missing while her fiancé returned home driving her van, but with Gabby nowhere to be found. As her disappearance went viral on the social networks, with more and more people getting caught up in the mystery of her whereabouts, the case took a tragic turn when she was found dead, strangled by her killer. Everything pointed to Laundrie being the perpetrator, especially when the local police department released footage of two of their officers responding to a witness reporting Laundrie hitting Gabby in the face and the couple driving away. Flagged down by the police, Gabby is obviously in some distress but appears to take the blame for the incident . What had seemed on Facebook etc to be a romantic odyssey by two young star-crossed lovers then turned dark with a subsequent murder and apparent suicide leaving Gabby's separated patents and two equally loving step-parents desolate over her loss.

I must admit I got somewhat confused by the overuse of a timeline diagram to signpost significant events as they occurred. Not surprisingly, Laundrie's parents aren't represented at all, neither were any of the local law enforcement agencies. As a viewing experience, it perhaps could have been more sharply edited. We learn for example that strangely no gun was found at Laundrie's death-site and just how to explain the mysterious closure of the door of the parked van actually caught on dashcam by a holidaying family in their own touring vehicle..

With all the loose ends of the case pretty much tied-up by the end, one can only sympathise with Gabby's family on the loss of their vivacious daughter while feeling nothing but derision for the family of her almost certain murderer who it appears covered up for him.

This documentary told its sorry story in a rather detached, frenetic manner, I felt not entirely sympathetic to the circumstances, being shot almost like a contemporary thriller but what does shine out is the personality of Miss Petito, whose bad luck it was to go on a road trip with the wrong person.

Summary of a sad story of two young people.

[TxMike · 23 December 2021]

I am one of those who got captivated over the year 2021 regarding the Brian and Gabby story. Her disappearance just didn't make sense. Brian and Gabby literally grew up together in New York. It isn't clear what his ambitions were but she and he decided to travel and blog to have fun exploring and make money doing it. Something it seems many young people want to do. Photos and videos seemed to witness to how much they were enjoying it.

Then came a series of events, one involving a roadside stop by Utah police after witnesses had reported a "domestic" incident where the two were fighting. Not too long after we all got news that Gabby was no longer heard from. Her daily blog stopped. Then Brian showed up back at his parents home, in Gabby's van but without her. Then her remains were located. Some weeks later Brian's remains were located in Florida, the coroner determined he died of a self-inflicted gunshot.

So we will never know for sure what happened but Brian's notebook tells us that he was responsible for her death. My own speculation is they had a serious fight, Brian choked her and accidentally killed Gabby then panicked and didn't know what to do. And sadly his parents never cooperated, probably because they knew of his guilt. But that is sheer speculation on my part.

I watched this documentary, I didn't learn much new but it provides one long summary of the sad story of Gabby and Brian. It could have been better, of course. For example they spend some time on a video vacationers accidentally got of Gabby's van around the time she disappeared, analysis indicated the back door was closing, but they never indicated if Gabby's remains were found near there or if the video was just an inconsequential accident. It appears to have been rushed out while the news was fresh.

I watched it streaming on Peacock. I found it worthwhile.

Domestic abuse is real

[d_penn · 7/10 · 3 March 2024]

Gripping, heartbreaking and poignant. The story of the disappearance and murder of Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old, who had embarked on a road trip across the US in 2021 with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie. Gabby's final months are told through the prism of the internet and found footage.

Gripping, heartbreaking and poignant. The story of the disappearance and murder of Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old, who had embarked on a road trip across the US in 2021 with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie. Gabby's final months are told through the prism of the internet and found footage.

Gripping, heartbreaking and poignant. The story of the disappearance and murder of Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old, who had embarked on a road trip across the US in 2021 with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie. Gabby's final months are told through the prism of the internet and found footage.

Gripping, heartbreaking and poignant.

[SamJamie · 8/10 · 20 February 2022]

The story of the disappearance and murder of Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old, who had embarked on a road trip across the US in 2021 with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie. Gabby's final months are told through the prism of the internet and found footage.

This is a heartbreaking retelling of a case that gripped social media and the world last year. I followed the case closely on Tiktok and this documentary pieces together the story using clips, dash-cam footage, YouTube videos and news reports to cohesively retell the shocking story that unfolded before us.

We see the sense of community the internet can have, although it can be a hateful and toxic place. Her parents were able to remain calm and reflective as the documentary is part of their campaign to help other victims of abusive partners. To quote Gabby's mother; "The planet came together for Gabby," "Her legacy will help everyone." Nobody can begrudge her that glimmer of positivity.

SO SO

[r-garton-913 · 4/10 · 27 January 2022]

First, I grew up in Jackson Hole and was familar of the exact location where Gabby was found. My pet peeve throughout this documentry was the idiot social media peeps and the idiot media standing outside the home playing armchair detective. They along with these social media vlogers simply wanted followers, their likes, their 15 minutes of fame as most jouranalists do. I will concede the YouTube video of Gabby's van being spotted at the campsite was a major breakthrough but the family never grandstaned their video like these moronic Tic-tokers. Oh it is Grand Teeeeton, not Grand Teeeeten. Pronounce the park correctly or don't say it. I am personally sick and tired of social media people pkaying like they are experts on everything.

Duh

[djhorchak · 1/10 · 8 October 2022]

Real story young girl falls for a dickhead bad boy. Neither set of parents step in to stop a bully from abusing the girl friend. Bad idea take a trip creep kills girl. Too stupid to cover it up. Commits suicide. A lot of news coverage so lifetime slaps together a crappy movie with whatever low budget actors they can hire. Mom and daughter almost the same age. Boyfriend twelve years older than his role. Just a crappy movie I've seen porn flicks with better acting and a better storyline. There is no reason to watch this poorly created film with no plot no depth no acting no depth you'll regret wasting your time watching this crapfest so don't watch it.