It has become apparent that most people simply have lost the ability to analyze data and draw logical conclusions. The latest example is the the Gabby Petito case. After Brian Landrie’s remains were identified by law enforcement, the common refrain has been: “We will never know what happened.” Actually, we do know what happened. Brian strangled Gabby and then killed himself. That’s what happened.
Gabby Petito’s body was found on September 19th at Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area, in the Bridger-Teton National Forest. The next day I posted on my Facebook account that Brian too will be found dead. A month later, I was proven correct. On October 20th, human remains – later were identified as belonging to Brian – were found at the Carlton Reserve in Florida. I feel no joy in being right. I am not writing this piece to boast about my ability to predict events. I am not some kind of psychic or genius. I just looked at the circumstances of the case and deduced the most likely outcome.
The case was not wrapped in mystery or very difficult to decode. However, the incentives to claim otherwise were many. The young couple captured the imagination of people worldwide and the media was able to generate lots of clicks by simply posting a photo of beautiful Gabby. YouTube creators were able to increase their subscribers and traffic every time they covered Gabby and Brian. Any attention seeker could claim to have seen the couple or interacted with them. The various sightings of “fugitive” Brian turned out to be all imaginary but produced the 15 minutes of fame that many in our current culture crave.
As I said, this case was not shrouded in mystery. The public was given a wealth of information when the Moab Police Department released over two hours of body cam footage of their encounter with the couple on August 12th. The officers were responding to two witnesses reporting an incident of domestic violence.
In the first body cam video released, Gabby blamed the argument on “her really bad OCD.” She said, “I was just cleaning and straightening up, back in the … I was apologizing to him and saying, ‘I’m sorry, that I’m so mean,’ because sometimes I have OCD and sometimes I can get really frustrated.” Later she told the officer that that she suffers from anxiety. Brian told one of the officer that he also struggled with anxiety and was prescribed medication for it. Two people suffering with anxiety, taking no medication living for months in a cramped van. However, that is not the reason they both ended up dead.
When the second body cam footage was released, it was clear that both were not being truthful. They may very well suffer from anxiety or OCD but that’s not what their argument was about. A witness revealed what happened that morning at Moonflower where they two were seen fighting. The witness said that they were fighting over her phone. To be precise, he said he believed Brian was trying to “grab her for phone. I’m not exactly sure why.”
This was no their first road trip. In late 2019 and early 2020, they drove from New York to California in a Nissan Sentra – a much smaller accommodation. The trip must have gone well since they decided to do it again only this time in van. So what happened? What was the difference? This time Gabby decided to create a blog to document their adventure. And this is probably what started the problem.
I don’t know why would anyone be interested in watching the two. She was definitively the main attraction. A pretty young girl with an infectious smile. I am sure that plenty of guys reached out to her. And that’s what the fight was about. Why else would she want to keep her phone away from him? Why else would he insist on taking it from her? Because she texted mean things about him to her mom? Sure. That’s a possibility. But that’s nothing something that would create such passion that leads to murder.
What will inflame the passion of a man to the point that he loses control is jealousy. The fear of losing someone you feel lucky they ever took a second look at you. Brian was playing at way above his grade when Gabby agreed to become his girlfriend and eventually his wife. He knew that and must have evoked both a sense of triumph along with a sense of insecurity. What if she finds someone else? What if she leaves me? Those questions must have haunted him even when their relationship seemed on solid ground.
I am sure that some time in the future someone will step forward and say that he was in touch with Gabby. Everyone will act shocked. Just like they acted shocked that Brian was found dead. They will be shocked even those the evidence was staring at them the entire time.
