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The movie, which has a working title "The Gabby Petito Story" is part of Lifetime's "Stop Violence Against Women" public affairs initiative, according to A&E.
Petito was a 22-year-old Long Island resident who disappeared in late August while traveling across the country in her van with her fiancé, 23-year-old Brian Laundrie.
Petito's remains were found in a Wyoming national park on Sept. 19. Laundrie, the only person of interest authorities named in her death, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a Florida nature reserve on Oct. 20.
Authorities reported that Laundrie claimed responsibility for Petito's death in a notebook found near his remains.
"The Gabby Petito Story will explore Gabby and her fiancé Brian Laundrie’s complicated relationship and what may have gone wrong during their cross-country trip that resulted in Gabby’s tragic murder," A&E said.
The movie will be filmed in Utah this summer, A&E said.
A&E said Lifetime plans to create a PSA that will debut during the rollout of the movie.
"Being a leader in telling powerful stories of women and providing a platform to shine a light on unheard voices, Lifetime is also in development on several movies surrounding violence against women who may not have had the same media attention as Gabby Petito," A&E said. "These include the stories of Carlesha Freeland-Gaither, Adriane Fields, Beatrice Weston, among others, with each project in various stages of development."
Thora Birch is set to direct the film and play Petito's mom, Nichole Schmidt, and the film is being written by Gregory Small and Richard Blaney, A&E announced.
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