After Gabby Petito's harrowing death, her doting parents have worked hard to honour her memory.
During the summer of 2021, 22-year-old Gabby embarked on a road trip with her partner Brian Laundrie and she documented their van life together on her YouTube channel. However, Brian later returned home without Gabby, and she was reported missing that September.
A week later, Gabby’s body was found in Wyoming. Ms Petito had been strangled, with authorities blaming Laundrie, who later shot himself.
A new Netflix documentary, American Murder: Gabby Petito, looks into the tragic disappearance of Gabby and features interviews with her loved ones, including her mother Nichole Schmidt and dad Joseph ‘Joe’ Petitio. In one week alone, the three-part series was streamed over 31 million times.
Gabby’s parents, Nicole and Joe, welcomed her into the world in 1999. The couple sadly went their separate ways when the content creator was young, with Nichole going on to marry her husband Jim while Joe tied the knot to his wife Tara.
Following her disappearance, the family entered the spotlight as they searched for their beloved daughter. Speaking to Newsday at the time she vanished, Joe said: “You can't describe it. There's nothing you can do. You can't control anything.”
After her death, Gabby’s parents filed a civil case against Brian’s mum and dad in 2022 in which they alleged that the Laundries had inflicted emotional distress with their actions. They claimed they knew Gabby had died even while publicly saying they hoped she would be found – something the Laundries have denied.
However, in February 2024, a few months before the trial, the families reached a settlement. After reaching the settlement, Gabby’s parents, Joe and Nichole, issued a heartfelt statement via their family attorney that said: “Our hope is to close this chapter of our lives to allow us to move on and continue to honor the legacy of our beautiful daughter, Gabby.”
Meanwhile, speaking to Netflix, Gabby’s stepfather Jim explained: “We reluctantly settled, but we got as much information as we were hoping for. When that day was over, a tremendous weight was lifted off of our shoulders.”
In a bid to keep Gabby’s memory alive, her family created the Gabby Petito Foundation. According to its website, the charity, which was established in October 2021, seeks to “address the needs of organisations that support locating missing persons and to provide aid to organisations that assist victims of domestic violence situations, through education, awareness, and prevention strategies.”
As part of its work to help people experiencing domestic violence, the foundation has partnered up with organisations including Just Help Out Foundation. It has also made donations to charities including the Black and Missing Foundation and SafeSpace.
Three years on from their daughter’s death, Joe and Nichole have opened up on how they have been united by their grief. “We lean on each other one day at a time,” Joe told People magazine in 2024.
He continued: “It's a few years now at this point, so it's much easier to get through the day. But sometimes we still have our hard days. And then we'll call up, and talk to one another, and get grounded, and then go back. We all are in it together. And the more we help, the more it makes us feel better.”
Speaking in the Netflix documentary, Joe added: “Niki and I realised that we were not good together, but we both agreed to put Gabby’s needs ahead of our own. And it’s been that way ever since.”
Despite losing her daughter, Gabby’s mother Nichole has discussed her journey over forgiveness over the situation. “I have forgiven Brian. I know that's what Gabby would have wanted. I'm moving forward so I can help people," she told NewsNation.
“I don't think everyone has to forgive. They might not be ready. But for me, personally, I had to forgive to let that anger go.”
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