New Gabby Petito documentary to air next month
Brian Laundrie and Gabby Petito are seen in an undated photo provided by the North Port Police Department in North Port, Fla. Credit: North Port (Fla.) Police Department via EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
The cable channel Investigation Discovery next month will present an hourlong new documentary with what it calls "never-before-aired footage" of Blue Point-raised Gabby Petito and her fiance and killer, Brian Laundrie. The channel announced Tuesday that "The Murder of Gabby Petito: What Really Happened" will premiere Oct. 12 and will also stream on Discovery+.
Petito's 2021 slaying and the search for Laundrie had gripped the nation and spawned documentaries including ID's "Gabby Petito: ID Special Report" last October and Peacock's "The Murder of Gabby Petito: Truth, Lies and Social Media" in December. As well, the Lifetime TV movie "The Gabby Petito Story" and an accompanying documentary will air Oct. 1.
The 22-year-old Petito and fellow Bayport-Blue Point High School graduate Laundrie were on a cross-country road trip last year when her mother, Nichole Schmidt of Blue Point, reported to Suffolk County police on Sept. 11 that her daughter was missing.
Petito's body was found Sept. 19 in Wyoming in the area where she was last seen. Two days earlier, Laundrie had gone missing. He was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a Florida nature reserve.
Petito's family in March filed a lawsuit against Laundrie's parents, saying Christopher and Roberta Laundrie knew Petito was dead but did not respond to them or to law enforcement, hindering the investigation. Petito's parents additionally announced last month they would file a $50 million lawsuit against Utah's Moab Police Department, arguing that officers who stopped Petito's van after a witness had reported evident domestic abuse let the two continue on their way after the couple promised to take a night apart. Police bodycam footage shows Petito with cuts on her arm and face, and other "classic hallmarks of an abused partner," their notice of claim filed in early August stated. Filing a notice of claim is the first step in initiating a lawsuit.
