BRIAN Laundrie’s newly-released texts to Gabby Petito have offered a glimpse inside his sick mind and abuse tactics before he killed his fiancée.
Experts from The U.S. Sun have revealed that in the months leading up to her death, Brian sent Gabby messages that were manipulative and controlling, likening his behavior to that of a “prince of darkness” reminiscent of OJ Simpson. Despite this, it was noted that Brian harbored a fear of his mother.
The disturbing texts were revealed by Gabby’s family in the brand new Netflix docuseries, American Murder: Gabby Petito.
The doc investigates the devastating case with interviews, footage, and previously unseen conversations between Gabby and Brian.
The tragic incident occurred during a cross-country trip in 2021 when Brian, aged 23, strangled 22-year-old Gabby to death. This devastated the masses who followed Gabby’s journey as a travel vlogger, where she aspired to document her van life adventures on YouTube.
Before Gabby was found murdered in a park in Wyoming, her disappearance on her road trip sparked a nationwide hunt.
Her family reported her missing when Brian returned home alone from what was supposed to be a four-month trip.
Following Gabby’s disappearance, concerning behavior from Brian began to surface, including an incident where witnesses reported seeing him hitting Gabby in their vehicle, leading to a confrontation with law enforcement. Additionally, there was an intense argument on the last day she was seen alive, indicating a pattern of abusive behavior.
Now, with new insight into Brian and Gabby’s relationship uncovered by the docuseries, behavioral experts have brought Brian’s gross tactics to light in hopes of protecting victims from similar harm.
Dr. Carole Lieberman is a forensic psychiatrist who wrote the 1997 bestseller Bad Boys: Why We Love Them, How to Live with Them and When to Leave Them.
In an exclusive conversation with The U.S. Sun, Lieberman zeroed in on a shocking text from Brian in the months before the murder which said, “I know you love me and I’m so sorry I worry you’ll leave.”
“It’s just that I couldn’t have my life without you,” he wrote.
The text brought another high-profile case to Lieberman’s mind – prompting the forensic expert to make a shocking comparison.
“Brian was ‘The Prince of Darkness’ type of bad boy that I write about,” Lieberman told The U.S. Sun.
“This is the abusive type, the same type as OJ Simpson.
“They can become lethal when they realize their woman is about to leave them.”
As revealed in the docuseries, Gabby told her ex-boyfriend, Jackson Hufham, that she had a plan to leave Brian in the days before her death.
Lieberman thinks Brian might have caught on to Gabby’s escape.
Gabby Petito timeline
Gabby Petito, 22, was last seen on August 24, leaving a hotel in Utah. Here is a timeline of Gabby Petito’s disappearance:
- June 2021 – Gabby Petito and her fiancé Brian Laundrie set off on a cross-country trip across the US.
- July 4 – Gabby posts photos of herself barefoot in Gove County, Kansas.
- July 8 – Gabby posts photos of herself at the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado.
- July 18 – Gabby and Brian post photos of themselves at Utah’s Zion National Park.
- August 12 – Body camera footage was released in September showing an encounter Brian and Gabby had with police in Utah. Police confirmed that no significant injuries were reported.
- August 17 – Brian flies home to Florida to visit his parents, stock up on supplies, and close a storage unit.
- August 19 – Gabby and Brian post a video on their YouTube channel chronicling their trip.
- August 22 – Gabby texts her ex-boyfriend, Jackson.
- August 23 – Brian returns to meet Gabby in Salt Lake City.
- August 24 – Gabby is spotted leaving a hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah.
- August 25 – Gabby Facetimes her mom, Nichole Schmidt, for the final time. In a later police report, Schmidt said her conversations with her daughter revealed “more and more tension” between her and Brian.
- August 25 – Gabby also posts her last Instagram. No location is given.
- August 27 – Gabby messages Jackson for the final time.
- August 27 – Gabby is seen for the final time at a Whole Foods. Witnesses claim they saw Brian in an explosive argument with staff at a restaurant in Jackson Hole, leaving Gabby in tears.
- August 27 – Four hours later, travel bloggers driving through Grand Teton National Park drive past the couple’s van “abandoned” on a dirt road.
- September 1 – Brian returns home to Florida without Gabby.
- September 11 – Gabby’s parents report her missing to Suffolk County police.
- September 14 – Brian’s family issues a statement saying he has retained an attorney and will not be cooperating with investigators.
- September 14 – Brian is allegedly last seen by his family. He reportedly told them he was going hiking in Cartlon Reserve but failed to return.
- September 15 – Florida’s North Port police announce Brian is a person of interest in the case. He is not charged with any crime.
- September 16 – Utah police release body camera footage of the police encounter with Brian and Gabby.
- September 17 – Brian’s parents say they have not seen their son in a couple of days and report him missing.
- September 18 – Police announce they were searching Carlton Reserve in Florida for Brian. Police announce they have not found anything.
- September 19 – Authorities in Wyoming say they found a body in Grand Teton National Park. The FBI announces the body was believed to be Gabby’s but a full forensic identification needs to be completed first to confirm.
- September 20 – Police execute a search warrant on Laundrie’s home, seizing his silver Mustang and a hard drive that may contain “evidence relevant to proving that a felony has been committed.”
- September 21 – Officials announce they will be conducting an autopsy on the remains found in Wyoming to confirm whether or not they belong to Gabby. Police also resumed their search for Laundrie, this time on the Venice side of Carlton Reserve.
- September 21 – The FBI announced the body found in Wyoming was identified as Gabby’s. The cause of death was not yet revealed.
- September 21 – The Teton County Coroner’s office said Gabby’s official cause of death was still pending but the initial manner of death is homicide.
- September 22 – Police continue to scour Carlton Reserve for a trace of Laundrie but yield no leads. A specialist dive team is called in to assist with the hunt.
- September 23 – Officials announced a federal arrest warrant for Brian was issued.
- September 26 – Gabby’s funeral was held on Long Island, New York.
- October 12: Gabby’s autopsy results were made public. Teton County Coroner Dr Brent Blue confirmed Gabby died by strangulation.
- October 20: Laundrie’s personal items were found at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park. A medical examiner was called to the scene.
- October 21: The FBI confirmed the remains found have been identified as Laundrie’s.
- November 23: Laundrie’s autopsy reveals he died from a gunshot wound to the head.
- January 21, 2022: The FBI released its final investigative statement on Gabby’s case. The statement said, “The investigation did not identify any other individuals other than Brian Laundrie directly involved in the tragic death of Gabby Petito.”
- October 1, 2022: The Gabby Petito Story premieres on Lifetime without the family’s approval.
- February 17, 2025 – American Murder: Gabby Petito premieres on Netflix.
Lieberman also claimed OJ allegedly killed his ex-wife because he “finally realized he could no longer win her back.”
OJ, who died in April 2024, was a fallen football hero who was famously acquitted of stabbing his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, to death in 1994.
Despite him beating the criminal charges, OJ was found liable for Nicole and Goldman’s deaths in a civil trial.
He was ordered to pay $33.5 million to both of their families in 1997.
However, Nicole wasn’t about to leave him – she had already broken up with him years earlier.
The two had been divorced since 1992 following a 7-year marriage full of verbal and physical abuse from OJ, Nicole’s diary entries from the time revealed.
Nicole’s writings before she was killed also revealed OJ tried to dominate her by exerting control over her relationships.
Similarly, Brian tried to pressure Gabby into having a conversation with his mom, Roberta Laundrie, when the couple lived with his family in Florida, the docuseries revealed.
Gabby texted him saying she was afraid to say bye to Roberta while leaving the house and Brian responded that he was “ashamed” of her.
“This a red flag warning of how controlling Brian was,” Lieberman said.
“His insistence on Gabby saying goodbye to his mom not only demonstrates that Brian wouldn’t let go until Gabby follows his demands – but also that he is fearful of the consequences of his mom’s anger.”
Lieberman added Brian was “clearly raised in a dysfunctional home.”
Attacking a victim is to maintain control. This is emotional abuse.
Stacy Schneider
Criminal defense attorney Stacy Schneider, who often handles complex domestic violence and divorce cases, said Brian’s manipulative text was in line with abusive behavior.
“This is a classic shaming tactic that stems from a narcissistic trait,” Schneider told The U.S. Sun.
“Brian shaming Gabby keeps her feeling ‘less than’ and chisels away at her self-esteem, which Brian knows he can manipulate because he is demeaning her by telling her he’s ashamed of her behavior.”
OJ Simpson’s Trial Timeline
A look at why The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson is regarded as the murder trial of the century.
On June 12, 1994, OJ Simpson’s estranged wife Nicole Brown Simpson, 35, and her friend Ronald Goldman, 25, were stabbed to death outside her Los Angeles condo.
Their bodies were found two days later.
On June 17, Simpson was charged with their murders and arrested following a livestreamed car chase.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges on July 22.
By November 3, an initial jury of twelve was selected.
They would be sequestered for 265 days throughout the proceedings.
Simpson wished for a speedy trial, and his team worked tirelessly on their defense before opening statements began on January 24.
Prosecutors painted Simpson as a savage killer who lashed out at his wife in a murderous rage because he couldn’t control her.
They said a bloody glove was recovered at the crime scene, and that blood spatters were seen on Simpson’s white Ford Bronco.
Meanwhile, the defense accused Mark Fuhrman, a Los Angeles Police Department detective who was working the case, of racism.
They claimed Fuhrman used racist language to describe Black people and tried to paint him as an illegitimate witness.
Three days after the opening statements, Simpson released his tell-all book I Want to Tell You where he spoke out about the deaths and accusations.
On February 3, Nicole’s sister Denise Brown testified that Simpson was abusive, claiming he called Nicole a “fat pig” when she was pregnant.
On June 15, Simpson tried on bloody gloves that were found at the scene of the crime and demonstrated that they did not seem to fit in a dramatic court scene.
On October 3, the jury found Simpson not guilty of two counts of murder.
In 1997, Simpson was found liable for Nicole and Goldman’s deaths in a civil suit filed by the victims’ families.
It wasn’t the only time Brian tried to shame Gabby and manipulate her relationships.
Another text conversation revealed in the docuseries showed him bashing Gabby for working at Taco Bell as he called her co-workers “low lives.”
Gabby apologized, but it didn’t stop Brian’s tirade.
Schneider said, “Gabby apologizing to Brian for her job shows that she has accepted that he is the lead in the relationship.
“Here he is shaming her again and playing upon her self-esteem. Attacking a victim is to maintain control. This is emotional abuse.”
‘ROLLERCOASTER OF MOOD SWINGS’
The revealing texts also showed Brian catapulting from a wide range of volatile emotions.
Aside from lashing out at Gabby for petty reasons like not saying bye to his mom and working at Taco Bell, he also ridiculed her for not responding to him as she listened to music on their shared Spotify account.
But he’d also follow his anger and harsh remarks with emotional rants, begging for Gabby’s forgiveness and confessing he was “crying so hard” while sending her a barrage of texts.
Lieberman said the onslaught of messages showed how “unstable” Brian was.
“He’s on a rollercoaster of mood swings and unhappy with himself,” the expert said.
“He takes his frustrations out on Gabby. He’s always manipulating her.”
Lieberman said he confessed he was weeping so Gabby would “feel sorry for him and do what he wants” – and it worked as Gabby responded, “I love you so much.”
“I will never leave,” Gabby assured him in a devastating text.
HEARTBREAKING ENDING
Brian is believed to have murdered Gabby at a campsite around August 27, 2021, hours after they were last pictured together in a Whole Foods parking lot.
The next day, he called his parents and repeatedly told them “Gabby’s gone” in a “very nervous and very scattered” phone call, according to court transcripts revealed in a civil court case between the Petitos and the Laundries.
The Laundries wouldn’t help Gabby’s family search for her in the weeks she was missing and refused to speak to police.
Gabby’s body was found in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on September 19, 2021.
A month later, Brian was found dead after he shot himself in a park in Florida.
In a notebook found near his body, he wrote a letter confessing he “ended” his fiancée’s life.
He claimed she’d suffered an injury and he wanted to end her suffering.
In 2022, Gabby’s family filed a lawsuit against the Laundries alleging they knew about her murder but the case has since been settled.
During the case, it emerged that Roberta Laundrie wrote her son a “burn after reading” letter expressing how much she loved him, even going as far as to say she’d help him “dispose of a body” if he asked.
It’s unclear when the letter was written.
Brian Laundrie’s family blasts docuseries
Brian Laundrie’s family has spoken out about the new docuseries examining their son and Gabby Petito’s troubled relationship. They told The U.S. Sun through their lawyer:
“The documentary was what we expected. One perspective depicted as the ‘truth’ as seen through their lens. Similar to Republicans and Democrats fighting it out lately. Each side believes their perspective is correct. Hard to see through the lens of the other with all the noise and distrust.
“To be clear though, there were no contradictions by my clients Chris and Roberta Laundrie. The documentary contained many inaccuracies, incorrect juxtapositions of timelines, and misstatements and omissions of fact – perhaps deliberate to capture their ‘truth,’ perhaps due to simple error.
“We all know Brian took Gabby’s life and Brian then took his own as well. Let the parents of both Gabby and Brian mourn them in peace.”
Brian’s family has insisted they didn’t know Brian killed Gabby before her body was found.
They refused to participate in the Netflix docuseries and the family’s attorney, Steven Bertolino, released a statement slamming the show’s “inaccuracies.”
“We all know Brian took Gabby’s life and Brian then took his own as well,” Bertolino said.
“Let the parents of both Gabby and Brian mourn them in peace.”
Bertolino did not clarify which aspects of the doc were allegedly inaccurate.
American Murder: Gabby Petito is available to stream on Netflix.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or chat at thehotline.org.
