What happened to Brian Laundrie? Story behind Netflix's American Murder boyfriend
Gabby Petito's death is explored in a new Netflix documentary.
Netflix has added a new true crime documentary to its extensive catalogue and this time, the streamer is exploring the death of Gabby Petito, whose disappearance sparked worldwide concern.
American Murder: Gabby Petito is a three-part documentary examining the disappearance and death of the 22-year-old vlogger, who went missing while on a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie.
Brian Laundrie's disappearance and subsequent death is also explored in the three-parter, which is now available to watch on Netflix, as the documentary takes "viewers on a journey through Gabby and Brian's final days together", featuring interviews from those closest to Petito.
Read on to learn more about what happened to Brian Laundrie in the case of Gabby Petito.
What happened to Brian Laundrie?
After returning to his family home in Florida and refusing to speak to law enforcement about Gabby Petito's disappearance, Brian Laundrie was reported missing on 17th September 2021 by his parents, who said that they had not seen him for four days.
Two days later, Petito's body was found.
On 23rd September 2021, an arrest warrant for Laundrie was issued after his unauthorised use of Petito's debit card.
Just over a month after his disappearance, Laundrie's skeletal remains and belongings - including a notebook - were found in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park.
Laundrie's cause of death was determined via an autopsy and in November 2021, a forensic anthropologist confirmed that Laundrie had died via a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Did Brian Laundrie murder Gabby Petito?
In January 2022, the FBI revealed that Laundrie's notebook contained an entry in which he admitted to killing Gabby Petito.
The FBI then closed the investigation and said: "The investigation did not identify any other individuals other than Brian Laundrie directly involved in the tragic death of Gabby Petito. The FBI's primary focus throughout the investigation was to bring justice to Gabby and her family."
In June of the same year, the lawyer for the Laundrie family released the contents of the notebook entry, in which Brian Laundrie claimed that he killed Petito to end her "pain" after she allegedly fell into a creek.
"I ended her life," he wrote. "I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted, but now I see all the mistake I made."
Medical and law enforcement experts have disputed Laundrie's version of events, while Petito's mother Nicole Schmidt told the TODAY show that she did not believe his claims.
"That was his character," Schmidt said. "Even in his last moments, he wanted to make sure he looked like the good guy. That’s ridiculous. We know how she died."
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American Murder: Gabby Petito is available to stream on Netflix now. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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Authors
Katelyn Mensah is the Senior Entertainment Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.
