What Brian Laundrie's Arrest Warrant Reveals About When Gabby Petito Was Killed
The FBI are finally closing in on him.
Instagram / District of Wyoming Court A Wyoming court issued an arrest warrant for Brian Laundrie on Wednesday for activities related to the Gabby Petitio case in late August.
The FBI Denver Twitter account announced the update and attached the warrant document as well as what he’s being charged within the tweet.
"While this warrant allows law enforcement to arrest Mr. Laundrie, the FBI and our partners around the country continue to investigate the facts and circumstances of Ms. Petito's homicide," the statement said. "We urge individuals with knowledge of Mr. Laundrie's role in this matter or his current whereabouts to contact the FBI."
Brian Laundrie's arrest warrant may be a clue as to when Gabby Petito was killed.
According to the indictment used to obtain the arrest warrant, Laundrie violated the “Use of Unauthorized Access Devices” statute, spending or acquiring more than $1,000 dollars some time "on or about August 30th, 2021, through and including on or about September 1, 2021."
“Brian Christopher Laundrie, knowingly and with intent to defraud, used one or more unauthorized access devices,” read the indictment from the Wyoming court.
In response, Laundrie's attorney, Steven Bertolino, said, “It is my understanding that the arrest warrant for Brian Laundrie is related to activities occurring after the death of Gabby Petito and not related to her actual demise. The FBI is focusing on locating Brian and when it occurs the specifics of the charges covered under the indictment will be addressed in the proper forum.”
This suggests Gabby Petito’s death must have occurred on or before August 30, 2021.
According to the FBI’s statement, the bureau “continues to seek information from anyone who utilized the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area between the dates of August 27-30, 2021.”
August 27th was also the last time Gabby is known to have been seen alive by anyone other than Brian.
She and Brian went to the Merry Piglets Mexican Grill in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where Brian made a scene and violently argued and insulted the wait staff.
About four and a half hours later, the couple’s van was spotted by the Bethune family at the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area, seemingly abandoned.
It’s possible that after Gabby’s death, Brian withdrew money or used her accounts to help his escape from the scene and get all the way back home to North Port, Florida, where he arrived on September 1st with the van they used on the road trip.
The last time the Laundrie family had seen Brian was on September 14th, when he allegedly went for a nature hike and never returned.
Brian Laundrie's arrest warrant may bring justice for Gabby Petito.
This development allows for Brian’s arrest even if it’s for a crime unrelated to Gabby’s homicide, which is still a good thing.
With law enforcement’s ability to arrest Brian, this also means they can maintain custody of him without needing evidence that ties him to Gabby’s homicide.
A large concern has been that the investigation didn’t have enough evidence to hold Brian in custody.
Without substantial evidence and any criminal charges, Brian would technically be a free man, but after this development, police will likely be able to gather other information about his connection to Gabby's death.
Not only that, but now it would be much harder for him to leave the country and escape extradition with a warrant out for his arrest.
Gabby’s best friend, Rose Davis, spoke out saying she’s sure that he’s somewhere out in the wilderness.
“He's out there. He is," she insists. "If he's alive, he's out there, camping out ... He lived in the Appalachians by himself for months."
He has now been missing for at least 10 days, with no luck from the search parties that are now entering their sixth day of searching.
People believe that he could be anywhere by now, and investigators say it could have been very easy for him to leave the country without detection — especially now that we know he has money to support him.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice and politics.