Gabby Petito : An American Murder.
This Netflix true crime documentary began as a missing person story and quickly morphed into a domestic murder case — one so big it reached across the Atlantic to the UK. That alone says something about the scale of public attention the Gabby Petito case commanded.
Within the first minute or two, I found myself thinking: I remember this.
Seen through a journalistic lens, the case had all the ingredients of a story that couldn’t lose. A young couple crossing America in a van together is inherently romantic — the kind of human interest angle that’s hard to beat. Add Gabby’s vlog documenting the journey, and you have “wholesome young couple” content that practically markets itself.
Two supposed lovely wholesome individuals crossing the states together would be followed by millions. Here are Briane Laudrie and Gabby Petito. Sadlys Brians posessive nature would cause tragedy and the death of them both
Brian was a hunted man
Brian, Gabby’s boyfriend and killer, never really had a chance of getting away with it. Between the publicity and the sheer reach of cell phone technology, the noose was always going to tighten. It was a case of if, not when, he’d be caught.
Gabby herself — young, beautiful, a free spirit — captured the nation’s attention in a way that pushed police into decisive action. Her discovery felt almost inevitable, and the publicity all but guaranteed Brian would face serious jail time.
Brian Never went to Jail
Not even the vast, rugged expanse of Wyoming could shield him however his world shrank day by day until Gabby’s body was found — a sad end to a sad story. Then Brian took his own life, and the case never reached trial. Whatever sense of crime-and-punishment closure people expected simply didn’t come. It was a damp squib.
A good thing from a negative incident
Still, something good has come out of Gabby’s death. This documentary has become an unlikely vehicle for domestic abuse awareness — many people have used her story as the push they needed for leaving an abusive relationship. That’s the part I choose to hold onto when I think about this documentary — the possibility that someone watching the Gabby Petito case unfold asked themselves, “Am I a victim of domestic abuse what do I do?” It raised real, important questions, and that matters.
If it is a true crime you’re looking for your next Netflix true crime watch, this one delivers both gripping storytelling and a meaningful contribution to domestic abuse awareness.
If you are, like Gabby, in an abusive relationship in the UK then call National Abuse Helpline for women.
0808 2000 247
Its not just the women who have abusive relationships. It happens to us chaps too
https://mensadviceline.org.uk
0808 801 0327
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