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The 300-plus documents, recently released by the FBI, outline the investigation and offer a glimpse into what transpired before and after the Suffolk County, Blue Point resident was killed by the man she said she loved in an undated letter included in the release.
"You know how much I love you, so (and I'm writing this with love) just please stop crying and stop calling me names because we're a team, and I'm here with you," Petito wrote.
The letter, which is difficult to read, also says: "I just love you too much, like so much it hurts. So you in pain is killing me. I'm not trying to be negative but I'm frustrated there's not more I can do."
The couple, who grew up about two miles apart in Blue Point, were on a "van trip" that began in the summer of 2021 for Petito to document their travels for her vlog as she attempted to grow an online following.
But during the trip, troubles began to grow between the couple and ended with Petito's remains being found on Sunday, Sept. 19, during a search organized by the FBI at the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area near where she and Laundrie had been seen together.
The FBI opened its investigation into the disappearance of Petito on Sunday, Sept. 12, upon receiving reports from Gabby’s family that she was missing. She was found approximately three weeks after her last known communication with her family.
The Teton County Coroner’s Office concluded Petito died of “blunt-force injuries to the head and neck, with manual strangulation,” the FBI said.
Laundrie, age 24, who called his parents from the road and said he was going to need a lawyer and that "Gabby was gone," was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Wednesday, Oct. 20 in a nature reserve near his home in North Port, Florida.
The Petito family sued the Laundries in a wrongful death lawsuit filed after the family refused to release any details of what happened to their daughter.
The Petito family received a $3 million settlement donated to the Gabby Petito Foundation, which is dedicated to searching for missing people and domestic violence.
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