THE FBI has named Brian Laundrie a “person of interest” in Gabby Petito’s murder for the first time after finding a notebook in a Florida reserve along with “remains” on Wednesday.
Tampa special agent Michael McPherson told reporters: “The FBI and the North Port Police Department, and our law enforcement partners have been searching the area of the Carlton Reserve for Brian Laundrie, a person of interest in the murder of Gabby Petito.”
“Earlier today investigators found what appears to be human remains along with personal items, such as backpack and notebook, belonging to Brian Laundrie.”
This is thought to be the first time that FBI agents have used the word “murder” in this case.
Partial human remains were found in the reserve Wednesday, and a spokesperson for the Sarasota County Medical Examiner told The Sun that they were also called to the scene.
The remains have not been identified.
“What appears to be partial human remains have been found in the Carlton Reserve in an area previously underwater,” a producer with NBC News was told.
Gabby’s body was found in Grand Teton National park on September 19, eight days after her family reported her missing.
Read our Gabby Petito live blog for the latest news and updates…
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TIKTOK THEORY ABOUT ‘BUTTERFLIES’ IN GABBY’S POSTS
One TikTok video highlights how 22-year-old Petito used butterflies across her social media, before showing a clip comparing her fiancé, Brian Laundrie discussing flies to the cops.
Laundrie – who is considered a “person of interest” in the investigation – says to police in the video, “and the flies here are pretty intense, so the flies have definitely been getting to her”.
One person commented on the video, claiming: “I think sometimes butterflies can be used as a signal that someone is experiencing or survived domestic abuse.”
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STAN THEORY: CHRIS LAUNDRIE’S BUSINESS PARTNER
While the Petito family understands Stan to be a reference to Gabby’s grandpa, there’s a possibility that text wasn’t sent by Gabby at all.
Some followers of the case claim that Brian authored the text but sent the message to Gabby’s mom in error.
One sleuth claimed that Brian, while “out of his mind … grabbed the wrong phone and thus texted the wrong ‘mom’.”
In this instance, the sleuth interpreted Stan to be a reference to one of Brian Laundrie’s dad’s alleged business partners named “Stan Anderson.”
“It actually seems very plausible,” the sleuth added.
“I feel pretty confident that if his father does in fact have a business partner named Stan, the FBI knows & has looked into,” wrote another.
However, there is no evidence to suggest that Brian Laundrie’s dad has a business partner by the name of Stan Anderson.
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STAN THEORY: EMINEM REFERENCE
Others have sensationally insisted Stan may actually be a coded reference to the 2000 Eminem song of the same, which is about an obsessive fan who is desperate to meet his idol.
In the song, Stan grows increasingly more hostile and angry before tying up his pregnant girlfriend and driving her off a bridge in a murderous rage.
As the theory goes, the name Stan was used by Gabby as an attempt to warn her mother that she was in danger without alerting the attention of Laundrie.
However, Gabby’s autopsy confirmed she was not pregnant at the time of her death.
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STAN THEORY: NOT A NAME, BUT AN ACRONYM
One popular theory currently circulating on social media is that the Stan referenced in Gabby’s text is actually an acronym that stands for “Send The Authorities Now.”
In a Facebook group dedicated to finding Petito, some have speculated that’s indeed what STAN means, despite it not being a recognized acronym.
“What if she was scared by didn’t want Brian to get angry so then she added ‘I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls’ just to show him she wasn’t asking for help,” one person theorized.
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‘IN HER SHOES’
Regina Annunziata, who attended the first fundraiser for the Gabby Petito Foundation on Sunday, said that Gabby’s story resonated with her because she “has been in her shoes.”
She said: “I hear a lot of stories where people are saying and myself included, where as soon as you watch the body cam footage, I knew immediately she was being emotionally abused, just based on him charming the cops.
“I personally was in an abusive relationship. So, when all of this kind of went public, it hit home for me. And then just, you know, she was a young, beautiful girl with her whole life ahead of her, it’s just heartbreaking that these things happen and there’s got to be more awareness, so things don’t progress to the point that they did unfortunately for her.”
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‘TIRED FROM TRAVELING’
The Sun stopped by Gabby’s mom Nichole Schmidt’s house in Blue Point on Sunday.
She was asked how the fundraiser was and explained why the family didn’t show up.
“We couldn’t go, we were just too tired from traveling,” she said, adding that the family will be “doing something soon and talking to everyone at once.”
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GABBY’S MOM WANTS BRIAN JAILED ‘FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE’
In a heartbreaking interview that laid bare her devastation and anger, mom Nichole Schmidt slammed Laundrie as a “coward” who “knows what he is doing”.
In an interview with 60 minutes, Gabby’s mom Nichole said: “He is a coward. “I just want to get him in a cell for the rest of his life.”
“I don’t want to say he is insane or anything, he went home, he’s hiding, he used her credit card.”
“I mean, that’s not someone who has gone crazy. He knows what he is doing.”
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‘SHE SETTLED FOR HIM’
Livingston claimed he got to know Gabby because she would come to visit Laundrie a few times a week.
“Gabby, she was always a sweetheart, very peaceful,” he told Fox News.
“She was always really nice to me, and she was really outgoing.”
“Once I realize that the person who was missing was somebody I actually knew, it hit me like a tidal wave,” Livingston continued.
“I think the only reason why she settled for him is he wanted to travel.”
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‘VERY POSSESSIVE’
Livingston added that Laundrie would reportedly attempt to mark his territory with Gabby.
“He would come over and do the boyfriend thing, put his arm around her, give her a kiss, very possessive,” Livingston claimed to Fox News.
However, “He was a good employee who knew how to talk to people,” he noted.
“He knew how to make people like him, he knew how to make people happy, and he knew how to make people buy the product that we had, honest.”
“He had the same kind of air you would be taught if you worked at a dealership.”
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FORMER COWORKER SAYS BRIAN WAS ‘A CHAMELEON’
Brian’s former coworker 31, also described Laundrie as a “chameleon” who always had his hands clean despite their work with plants and dirt.
Laundrie would also make money on the side by selling drawings, he claimed.
“I remember from back then he was a big yoga nut, always telling me, ‘I gotta worry about my zen,’” Livingston said.
“And I thought he was this weirdo.”
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FORMER COWORKER SAYS BRIAN LAUNDRIE WAS ‘A WEIRDO’
Brian Laundrie was a “weirdo” who had a “quick temper,” a former co-worker has claimed.
Michael Livingston, who claims he worked with Laundrie in a New York garden center for part of 2017 and 2018, said Gabby Petito’s fiancé was a “yoga nut.”
He added that Brian was “very possessive” over Gabby, but alleges Laundrie was good at “making people like him.”
“He never came across as the kind of person that would be the killing type,” he told Fox News at a memorial for Gabby in Patchogue, New York, on Sunday.
“But he did have that tendency to be — I don’t wanna say the wrong thing and make him sound worse than he already is — he was kind of a guy who would get p—ed off pretty quick.”
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DID BRIAN KILL HIMSELF?
Local Florida Private Investigator Bill Warner told The Sun that Laundrie is “most likely dead in the reserve.”
“It’s basically over … most likely he is dead in the reserve, possibly killed himself, not likely he just sat there and waited to die,” he speculated.
“Parents and sister vindicated, they did not know where he was, had no contact with him, it was all Brian’s plan that he kept to himself,” Warner also claimed.
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GABBY’S FAMILY HAS NOT YET SPOKEN
Gabby Petito’s family has not yet spoken after reports that partial human remains have been found in the search for Brian Laundrie.
The family has previously said that they hoped Laundrie would be found alive.
He is only a person of interest in Gabby’s murder.
The remains reportedly found on Wednesday have not been identified.
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POSTPONED WEDDING
Gabby’s stepfather Jim Schmidt previously revealed that Gabby and Brian Laundrie had planned a small beach ceremony to tie the knot, however, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic thwarted their plans.
“Covid happened so they put [the wedding] on hold,” Jim told Fox News last month. “They said they were going to live life.”
Ultimately, the couple decided to put their plans for marriage on the back burner and instead began planning what would later prove to be an ill-fated trip across the US, touring the country’s national parks.
According to Gabby’s mom, Nichole Schmidt, the pair also decided they were too young for marriage and opted to call off their engagement and went back to dating while plotting out their trip.
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‘HUMAN REMAINS FOUND ARE LIKELY BRIAN’S’
Steven Bertolino, the attorney for Brian’s parents Chris and Roberta, said it is a “strong probability” the remains belong to the 23-year-old, as he revealed that Chris himself was first to discover a “dry bag” belonging to his son near the entrance to the Carlton Reserve in North Port, Florida.
“The probability is strong that it is Brian’s remains, but we’re going to wait for the forensic results to come in and verify that,’” said Steve Bertolino said during an interview with CNN host Chris Cuomo.
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GABBY’S WEDDING PLANS
The 22-year-old vlogger had mapped out several design schemes and alfresco ideas for her nuptials on her Pinterest page in an album poignantly titled “Life goals”.
The curated collection of images, which include photos of outdoor ceremonies and beachfront banquets, is shared with Brian Laundrie, his mother Roberta, and a fourth account by the name of “PinJunkeeMama”.
A sub-folder within the album, titled “Oh Baby” and shared between the same four people, indicates that Gabby and Laundrie may have been planning to eventually have a child together.
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BRIAN’S PARENTS COULD’VE AIDED COPS TO FIND REMAINS
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani said that if the remains found on Wednesday turn out to be Brian Laundrie’s body, his parents Chris and Roberta will likely be vindicated – despite angry protesters and commentators claiming they have been obstructing justice.
“The fact they may have led investigators to their son’s possessions and possibly his remains – that all undercuts the argument that they were aiding and abetting his escape,” Rahmani said.
Rahmani added: “That leads me to believe they’ve been cooperative and not the other way around.”
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‘GABBY SETTLED FOR BRIAN’
Alleged former co-worker of Brian Laundrie, Michael Livingston, claimed he got to know Gabby because she would come to visit Laundrie a few times a week and that “she was always a sweetheart, very peaceful,” he told Fox News.
“She was always really nice to me, and she was really outgoing. Once I realize that the person who was missing was somebody I actually knew, it hit me like a tidal wave,” Livingston continued.
“I think the only reason why she settled for him is he wanted to travel.”
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HAS BRIAN LAUNDRIE BEEN CHARGED? CONTINUED
Although Brian has not been charged with any crime in relation to the murder, the FBI issued a warrant for his arrest for the unauthorized use of Gabby’s debit card.
Bank records show that from August 31 to September 1, four days after the couple was spotted at the Merry Piglets restaurant, Brian swiped Gabby’s Capital One card, running up a balance of $1,000.
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BRIAN’S DAD ‘FOUND BAG CONTAINING BRIAN’S ITEMS’
Laundrie family attorney told NewsNation’s Brian Entin that it was Brian Laundrie’s dad Chris who found a bag containing some of his son’s items.
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STEEL BENCH AS GABBY PETITO MEMORIAL
A steel bench will act as a memorial to Gabby Petito in North Port, Florida.
“The family is grateful that their daughter’s life, their relative’s life has touched so many people. This is for her to be remembered,” North Port Mayor Jill Luke told Fox News on Saturday.
“They’re grateful for people who brought things, for the gentleman who is preparing the bench, for those who are showing the respect and honor for their daughter.”
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THE 911 CALL
According to reports, a 911 call on August 12, 2021 reported that a woman, possibly Gabby Petito, was subject to domestic violence outside of a grocery store. This call was made before Gabby Petito was reported missing.
“I’d like to report a domestic dispute,” the caller said. “We drove by and the gentleman was slapping the girl. They ran up and down the sidewalk, he proceeded to hit her, hopped in the car and they drove off.”
Police later stopped the couple in response to the call. Gabby revealed through tears that the two had been fighting, citing “personal issues” between the two.
Gabby revealed to the cops that the couple were arguing regarding her OCD and her frustrations toward the disease.
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50 CENT: ‘GABBY’S GOT EVERYBODY’S SKELETONS COMING OUT’
The rapper shared a post to Instagram on Wednesday suggesting Gabby’s case has helped uncover other missing persons cases.
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LAUNDRIE PARENTS ‘TORTURED,’ SAYS LAWYER
Steven Bertolino, the lawyer representing Brian Laundrie’s parents, has told Insider that “they are being tortured in their own home by these protesters outside” as the public continues to linger around their property during the search for their fugitive son.
Bertolino added that Chris and Roberta Laundrie “are being followed when performing basic tasks like food shopping” and that “and all of the foregoing is occurring when they have no idea whether their son is alive or not.”
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GABBY’S FAMILY HAS NOT YET SPOKEN
Gabby Petito’s family has not yet spoken after reports that partial human remains have been found in the search for Brian Laundrie.
The family has previously said that they hoped Laundrie would be found alive.
He is only a person of interest in Gabby’s murder.
The remains reportedly found on Wednesday have not been identified.