01x03 - Burn After Reading

[bunniefuu]

[unsettling music playing]

[indistinct chatter]

[reporter]
This breaking news
just moments ago.

Authorities say Brian is also missing.

[reporter ]
Dozens of protesters
descended on the Florida neighborhood

where Brian Laundrie's parents
reside today…

[reporter ]
…saying they're not gonna
leave until they get answers.

Clear the road!

A tremendous twist in this case.
We now have two missing young people.

My first reaction when I saw
that Brian was missing was like,

"No, he's not. He's running."

[reporter ] Nobody knows where he is.
Not police, not FBI.

His parents say they don't know either.

Experts have been asking is this someone

who seems like they would
take their own life,

or is this more like somebody
who would take off.

[Tara] I mean, Gabby was still missing,

and the one person
that was with her now is gone.

[Nichole] It's turning from Gabby
to Brian,

and I was still thinking, "I haven't found
my daughter yet. I need to find my child."

[Loretta] The media shifted
their attention to Brian missing,

but at this point in the investigation,

we needed a body to prove a crime.

We could not arrest Brian.

Our sole focus became finding Gabby.

[dramatic sting]

[reporter]
Still no word from authorities
about her whereabouts.

[reporter ]
Authorities are asking anyone
who saw the couple to contact the FBI.

[Kyle] We asked for the public's help,
and they more than responded.

We began receiving

around two to three hundred tips per day,
throughout the whole country.

Today, someone posted
that they found a picture of Gabby

in the background
of another person's tagged photo.

[tense music playing]

[Norma Jean] I was just scrolling
through my phone,

and there was a TikTok post

from a girl named Miranda.

Hi, my name is Miranda Baker,
and on August th,

my boyfriend and I picked up Brian
at Grand Teton National Park.

I'm hoping this can help
someone identify him

because I saw him from TikTok.

I was thinking to myself, "That sounds
like the person that I picked up."

So, I immediately I called
the Teton County Sheriff.

[music continues]

[Matt] The last known location of the van

was a critical piece of the puzzle for us
narrowing down our search area.

I feel like it was, like,
the second week of September

is when we started really
hearing something about Gabby.

When you hear a nomad go missing,

it… it spreads pretty quickly
in the community.

Social media, it was everywhere.

[woman]
They haven't fully identified it
as Gabby…

[Jenn] And we were paying attention
to the timeline.

The FBI was estimating
the st through the th,

and so we weren't even there at that time.

[tense music playing]

[Kyle Bethune] On August th,

we were just looking for
a place to stay over the night.

Our friends said,
"Uh, Spread Creek, go check it out."

[Jenn] We came, we slept,
and then we went on our way.

I was editing our YouTube video
from the Spread Creek timeline

of August th,

and I was sitting next to my phone,

and I got this notification
from one of our RV friends,

and they said, "Red White and Bethune,
check any footage you have."

"The timeline has changed."

I read the National Park Service post,

and it said August th or th.

All the color and blood
and life drained from my body

because I was, like, "I have it."

[music continues]

[music builds]

That's her van.

That's Gabby's van.

I said, "We're posting this."

And I said,
"We got to get it out here, now."

By the time we woke up the next day,
it was up over around a million views.

I almost jumped out of my seat.
There's the van. They got it.

[Kyle] I was at the forward command post
when we received the Bethune video,

and it did appear to be
the Spread Creek area.

Once I got to the spot
where their van had been parked,

I was able to look at the video
and see that the trees lined up,

and the marks on the ground
where the camper van had been lined up.

This allowed us to corroborate
the information that we already had

from the phone companies,
to give us a much better search area.

[dramatic sting]

[unsettling music playing]

[Matt] On the second day of our search,

we were focusing
basically on the river bottom,

near the area where
they were last known to be camping.

Horseback is a really good way
to search wilderness areas,

so we had a horse team that was
working their way up Spread Creek,

as well as our team on foot.

All of a sudden,

one of the team members saw what
they believed was a body of an individual.

She was laying on her side.

Uh, she was wrapped up in a sweater.

The last time we had confirmation
that Gabby was alive was on August th.

We didn't find her until September th.

So between that time frame, we believe
she had been in that same position.

In front of her was
a burn scar on the ground,

as if somebody had tried
to light a small fire,

but we didn't find
any fire-starting materials.

Her boots were off,

and they were next to her body
and next to that fire.

She was not laying in a natural position,

and it appeared
to the investigators at that time

that the crime scene had been staged.

[helicopter rotors whirring]

[Kyle] We had instituted a no-fly zone
over the National Park.

However, there were
still news organizations

that were sending helicopters
towards our search area.

We needed to very quickly
protect the crime scene,

as well as Gabby's dignity.

Later on, the coroner ruled
that Gabby's death was a homicide,

as a result of blunt force trauma
and manual strangulation.

[melancholy music playing]

[Matt] It was

just a lot of mixed emotions.

I think we were all hoping
for a different outcome.

The FBI supervisor went immediately
to inform the family,

so that they would hear from us
and not from the national media.

[music fades]

[morose music playing]

[Jim] The morning of the th,

they told us that, uh, they… they had

found remains
consistent with our daughter Gabby.

And I said, "Are you sure?"

"You… you have to be sure
because I have to make this call."

He said, "I'm going to show you this,
and I don't want to, but…

there's some stuff on here
maybe you can identify."

It was Gabby…

[quivering breath]

…laying on the ground,

on her left side in a fetal position.

Just… Her hair, coming out of her hood
that was over her head.

[sobs]

Just laying… [voice breaks]

…laying there on the ground for weeks.

In the wild.

[shaky breath]

Just left there
like she was a piece of trash,

by someone who was supposed to love her.

[sobs]

And I collapsed to the ground.
And I had to pick up the phone…

and compose myself

and call Niki

and get Joe on the phone
and Tara in a conference call

and tell them, from , miles away,
that our daughter was dead.

It was the worst phone call
I've ever made in my life.

[deep breath]

I remember on September th,
that I got a phone call

that I'd never see my daughter again.

[Tara] I don't remember anything.

[inhales deeply]

[exhales]

It's the worst day

of our life.

[Joe] I think about
the last moments a lot.

I'm sure she was… scared.

And any time she was scared,
she would call me or Jim, you know,

you or Niki.

So.

I don't know who she called out for.

[music continues]

[Nichole] I opened the back sliding door

because the kids were
sitting outside during the call,

and I said, "Everybody, come inside,"

'cause I wanted
to be the one to tell my kids.

[man] It was the worst feeling
I'd ever felt.

I definitely broke down,
like, really hard.

I… I don't honestly even know
if it's still, like, fully hit me.

[Nichole] That was the first time
I saw the girls break down.

[voice breaks] They knew their sister
was never coming home.

[sniffling]

[pensive music playing]

[Rose] I got a text message
from a reporter.

He said, "Did you see the news?"

My heart sunk.

And he said, "They found a body."

And that was the first time in my life
that I could say I was truly speechless.

I've never felt
something like that before.

I think the worst thing is,
it's not even a loss.

It's someone being taken.

Somebody else decided
that they had the right

to take somebody you love
out of your life… forever.

Breaking news tonight
on the disappearance of Gabby Petito…

[Jackson] I was watching a news broadcast,

and they had a breaking news story
that they had found her body.

I was devastated.

She was my first love.

[friend] When the news had broke

that they had found her body,

I just didn't know what to think of it,
you know.

I just wanted to shut it off or wake up,

like it was, you know,
a bad dream or something.

[uneasy music building]

[tense music playing]

[Kyle] Once we found Gabby,

that really just
expanded the investigation.

We now have to start shifting our focus
to who is the suspect,

and how do we start building
this evidence so we can

prosecute this case down the road.

We know that on August th,

around one o'clock,

Brian and Gabby were at a restaurant
in Jackson called Merry Piglets.

While there, a female said she witnessed

Gabby and Brian having
some sort of an argument.

It looked as though
Brian was really upset.

Pissed off, I would say. He was angry.

They got up very abruptly and just like,
you know, walked out the restaurant.

Gabby was really upset. She was crying.

[Jackson] When I got the call on the th,

I think back on the fact that
maybe if I did answer that phone call,

I could've helped, or there could've been
a different outcome.

[Kyle] After that,
they went to the Whole Foods

where they were seen on camera.

[music continues]

Once they leave the Whole Foods,

they begin to drive up
to the Spread Creek area from Jackson.

Video taken by the Bethunes
show the white van on the side of the road

between : and : p.m.

[Jenn] As we passed by the van,

it just looked super dark,
really closed up,

and I think I just assumed
they were out hiking

or taking advantage of the outdoors.

Around :,

she sends the last known
text message to her mother…

[text tone]

…speaking about how she could make
more money as a solo female van lifer.

We were able to look back
and look at her usage of her computer.

Around :, she was moving
computer files around on her hard drive,

so we believe she was alive
during that time

because the files were video files,

and this was consistent with
the patterns she had done prior.

By the next day,

we have no information
indicating that Gabby is still alive.

We were able to look back
and look at all of her devices,

like the phone and her computer,

and at that point,
there was no more movement.

The investigation found
that Brian k*lled Gabby

and moved her body to where it was found.

[music fades]

[tense music playing]

On the th,

Brian had left from the Spread Creek area

and had hiked up north
towards the Colter Bay camping area.

Along the way, he was taking photos.

Some of them were scenic,
but he was also taking a lot of pictures

of bones of animals that were deceased.

On the th,

there was cell phone tower data
that showed at :,

he calls his mom, Roberta,
and has about a -minute call.

His father then contacted an attorney.

They continue having calls
back and forth with each other

until about : in the afternoon.

Information from the phone companies
show that as Brian is hiking,

text messages are being sent
to Gabby's phone,

which was back at the Spread Creek area.

[text tone]

Hi, my name is Miranda Baker,
and on August th,

my boyfriend and I picked up Brian
at Grand Teton National Park.

[Kyle] : on the th,

Brian was picked up by Miranda Baker,

and they began giving him
a ride south towards Jackson.

At around : or :,
Brian was picked up by Norma Jean,

and she gave him a ride to the entrance
to the Spread Creek camping area,

where he had left the van.

[text tone]

Text messages to Gabby's phone
are not read until Brian gets back

to the Spread Creek area,
where Gabby's phone was left.

[text tone]

The activity between the two phones
was almost instantaneous.

Brian was holding both phones
and talking directly to himself.

It was apparent
that he was trying to create an alibi.

[music continues]

[Kyle] On August th, Brian departed
from Wyoming to travel back to Florida.

A text message is sent
from Gabby's phone to her mother's phone,

requesting that the mom
speak to the grandpa

because the grandpa
had been contacting Gabby.

He stops at multiple gas stations.

Through credit card records,
we know that he uses Gabby's debit card

to pay for gas.

Also on the trip,
there's a Zelle transaction,

from Gabby to Brian…

that says, "Goodbye Brian,
I'll never ask you for anything again,"

and transfers $
from Gabby's account to Brian's account.

And we know Gabby was deceased,
and this was Brian using multiple devices

to send this to himself.

What this did, is it goes
from him being a missing person,

to now making him a federal fugitive.

[Loretta] On September rd,

a federal arrest warrant
was issued for Brian.

[dog barking]

[officer] This dude potentially
has a g*n, right?

[officer ] Yeah.

[officer] Last chance!
If you're in the shed,

come out now, make yourself known!

Breaking news. Authorities just issued
an arrest warrant for Brian Laundrie.

[reporter] The FBI is asking the public
for help in finding him.

We had over , tips generated
just to the FBI alone.

[woman] Someone just showed me this
on YouTube.

A person ducking up and down,
up and down on this video.

And a lot of people are saying that
it looks very similar to Brian Laundrie.

[man]
The lady who took this photo
said he ran to the woods

as a police car drove by.

[man ]
A possible sighting
of Brian Laundrie in Ocala, Florida.

[reporter]
Dog the Bounty Hunter joined
the search for Brian Laundrie.

[Dog the Bounty Hunter]
I know the kid knows me.

Probably one of my fans.

We get a scent of a trail…
We get a scent, he's done.

[music fades]

[Loretta] In order to find out
what happened next,

we need to retrace Brian's steps.

On the morning of September th,

three days before Brian's parents
reported him missing to the cops,

we learned that somebody
had left their car in the park

for a substantial amount of time.

[dramatic music playing]

They reported that
to the North Port Police Department.

They ran the plates, and it turned out

it was the Laundries' car.

[pensive music playing]

After learning about
the car being ticketed,

the Laundries picked up the car
from the park and drove it back home.

[officer] Is it this, uh, this Mustang?

[protester] Where's Gabby?!

[Loretta] They informed law enforcement
that the park where the vehicle was found

was one of Brian's favorite places
to go hiking.

[music fades]

We learned that Brian told the Laundries
that he was going for a hike

to relieve some steam from the pressure
of the people in the crowd

that had collected
outside of the Laundries' house.

[protesters] We want answers!

[Loretta] He had taken a backpack
full of hiking equipment, a tent, food.

They believed he was going to return.

It wasn't uncommon for Brian to go hike

and stay out in the woods
for a couple days.

[eerie music playing]

It was for this reason that the Laundries
did not contact police about the car,

because they were holding out
that he would return home.

[reporter] And police are now admitting
they lost track of Brian Laundrie

after they confused him for his mother.

[text tone]

[text tone]

[text tone]

[text tone]

[text tone]

[text tone]

[tense music playing]

[Loretta] On September th,

we began the search for Brian
in the park where the Mustang was found.

It was not an easy search.

The Myakkahatchee and the Carlton Reserve

essentially create one giant park.

It's approximately square miles,
so over , acres.

You're gonna see the trail
once you get there,

but this is gonna intertwine.

[Loretta] We collaborated with
our state and local partners.

We had volunteer agencies out there.

Team two is gonna be
half of Sarasota County.

[indistinct radio chatter]

Everybody wanted to be a part
of this search.

[drone buzzing]

[Loretta] We had drones trying to locate
just any activity that we could see,

maybe some wrappers on the ground,
maybe a heat signature.

We had dogs that were
picking up some scents,

but they were being attacked
by alligators.

We also had weeks of rain,

so the park had completely flooded out,

and the areas to be searched were
literally waist-deep or up to your chest.

We had people walking through that
for weeks, trying to locate Brian.

[music fades]

On October th,

the park managers opened
the park to the public.

It had been closed
because of the flooding.

[tense music playing]

We were informed that the Laundries
were going to go to the park

as soon as it opened
to try to locate Brian.

Law enforcement also went out there.

[tense music continues]

The Laundries began their search
approximately at : a.m. in the morning.

They knew where their son liked to hike.

They knew where
he liked to camp out there.

There was so much tension in the air.

They did not emote.

About an hour into the Laundries' search,

Chris Laundrie found the waterproof bag
that belonged to Brian.

Forty-five minutes after that,

Brian's remains were located.

It was approximately a mile
from where he had parked his car.

His belongings were still there.

His clothes were still there.

His shoes were still there.

But he had completely decomposed,
all the way down to the bone.

The autopsy report later determined
that the cause of death

was suicide by a g*nsh*t wound
to the head.

His parents found his remains.

That blew my mind.

I didn't even believe it.
I thought it was, like, fake news.

I was like, "What do you mean?
This makes no sense."

I was pissed off, to be honest.

I just wanted… answers,

and when we found his remains,
their answers went out the door.

I know you have a lot of questions,
but we don't have all the answers yet.

We are working diligently
to get those answers for you.

[music fades]

[Loretta] Inside the waterproof bag
were pictures of Brian and Gabby.

[somber music playing]

There was also a waterproof notebook
that Brian had written in.

He wrote multiple letters to his family,

mostly to say that he loved them
and to say goodbye to them.

There was a story in there

leading up to what happened to Gabby.

[camera shutter clicks]

[music fades]

[Jim] Not one of the versions
of Brian's account was accurate

by the findings of Gabby's autopsy.

The sole cause of… of her death
was strangulation,

and nothing remotely
or even close to what he said.

[melancholy music playing]

Brian wrote in his letters,
expressing wanting to come to New York,

come to Long Island to confront me

and to confess what he did

so that we could take care of him.

I always found it odd
that he wrote in there,

"Leave my parents out of this.
They didn't do anything wrong."

[Rose] I think the Burn After Reading
letter from Roberta is disgusting.

I personally love my mother,

but I'd be very concerned
if she sent me a letter like that.

[Tara] The first time we saw that letter,

we were just so in shock and angry that,
how could she write…

this letter?

It's just disgusting.

Made me sick to my stomach.

[reporter] She told him,

"I'll bring you a shovel
to help bury the body"?

Wow.

Wow.

[Loretta] We still don't know the extent
of Brian's parents' involvement,

but what we do know
is that on August th,

Brian made a flurry of calls
to his parents.

They contacted each other multiple times.

We learned that he told them
Gabby was gone,

and that he needed a lawyer.

We found out Brian made
a frantic phone call

to his parents that Gabby is gone

and he needs help.

[Loretta] At which point,
his parents wired money to a lawyer.

[Jim] They contacted their attorney
and wrote him a big check

and said that they didn't know anything
other than she was gone.

We… we don't know anything.

You're gonna throw $,
of your hard-earned cash

out on a lawyer from f*cking Wyoming?

And you're telling me
you didn't ask where she was?

That's some bullshit.
I'll tell you that right now.

[Jim] I don't think the amount of money
they paid their attorney

would be for anything less
than to represent somebody for m*rder.

[music continues]

We knew at that point we weren't ever
gonna get remotely close to the answers

that we were hoping for,

because the only two people
that truly knew what happened

are now both gone.

[music fades]

[friend] My image of Brian
has completely shattered.

[sad music playing]

He did something awful.

There's no taking it back.

I was Brian's friend,

but I was also very close with Gabby.

I think about her family nonstop.

[sobbing]

[Tara] You grieve every day.

You can smile, the pain is always there.

[inhales deeply]

-It never goes away.
-It never goes away. [exhales]

[music fades]

Gonna visit Tetons and Spread Creek.

Gonna go check it out.

[hopeful music playing]

We decided as a family
that we all wanted to go visit the spot

where Gabby was found.

We wanted to take Gabby's siblings.

We also brought Jackson and Rose.

As soon as I landed, the only words
coming out of my mouth was, "Oh my gosh,"

because of how beautiful it was.

[music continues]

[camera shutter clicking]

[Nichole] Here we are at Spread Creek.

Beautiful day here.

We're gonna make our way over to the spot.

[indistinct conversation]

[Nichole] Once we got to where Gabby was,

you could feel her presence
and her spirit there.

[Jim] I know. I know.

[TJ] I love you, Gabs.

[woman] Fresh, new.

[Nichole] It was just
such a beautiful moment.

I brought Gabby's ashes.

The kids all kind of walked around
and found different areas

to throw Gabby's ashes.

-[sister] Mom, we did it okay.
-[Nichole] All right.

Gabby's younger sister and I
did ours together,

and it was so hard,

but it was so

exactly what Gabby would want.

[indistinct conversation]

[Nichole] It was just really healing
to be with everybody and…

We truly felt close to Gabby that day.

I have a photograph,

of a huge orb in the middle.

I don't know if people believe in that,
but there's an orb there,

and I know that Gabby was there with us.

[music continues]

[Jim] Although we lost Gabby,

many other people have been saved
because of her.

[Rose] We get messages saying,

"Hey, Gabby's story is
what made me leave my boyfriend."

"I got help, and I'm doing what I can."

And it is beautiful and heartwarming.

[Nichole] We started
the Gabby Petito Foundation.

We wanted to bring attention

to the dangers and the signs
of domestic violence,

more awareness,

prevention.

They're looking for help. "All right,
I'll go to the Gabby Petito website,

the foundation page.
What do I do? I need help."

And there is a literal help button
on that page.

You can click on it, and it will guide you
to the right resources.

[music continues]

This story is unique,

but I will tell you that there are so many
other people out there missing, and…

[voice breaks]

They are important too.

So, my work is important.

Victims' lives are important.

[Nichole] I have spoke with many families

who are still looking
for their missing loved ones,

and that is heartbreaking.

[reporter]
Petito's story
has renewed debate

about which cases get attention,

and the media's seeming infatuation
with missing white women.

Imagine the men, women, and children

in the community
where Gabby Petito went missing

who know that for the last ten years,
more than Indigenous people

have gone missing,
and nobody has said a word,

and one missing white woman
turns up in their backyard,

and the world pays attention.

When I heard that,
my initial reaction wasn't a positive one.

Saying Gabby's color was the reason,
you know, I was taken aback by that.

This isn't saying
Gabby Petito is not important.

What it is saying is that there's
an over-representation in media

when white women go missing,
and an under-representation in media

when Black, Brown,
and Indigenous women go missing.

And then I started to look into it.

The FBI had over ,
active missing person cases

at the end of last year,

and % of those were people of color,

and only a fraction of those cases
were even covered on the news.

[Mara] The media is very powerful.

When everybody knows their face,
it makes a real difference.

A domestic violence bill is sailing
through the Capitol with huge support,

including the backing
of Gabby Petito's parents.

You should not fear the ones you love.

[reporter ]
Petito's parents
on Utah's Capitol Hill,

speaking out in favor of Senate Bill ,

a bill that would require police
to ask questions

to determine if an intimate partner
is at risk of being hurt or k*lled.

If this lethality assessment,
which I've immersed myself in

over the last couple of weeks,

had been used,

I know in Gabby's case,
if it had been used,

I believe she'd still be here today.

[music fades]

[poignant music playing]

It's still hard for us to realize
that Gabby's gone, that she's not with us.

I can only hope we've made her proud,
and she's looking down on us

and saying, "Thank you for being my voice
when I couldn't speak anymore."

[Nichole] Every time I get upset
about missing her,

I hear her voice in my head say,
"Mom, I'm fine, stop." [laughs]

She just wants me
to just have fun and live life,

and it's a really important message.

[Rose] Right before I met Gabby,

I was in a a*usive relationship.

Gabby was the one
that convinced me I deserved more.

I'm choosing to live my life because
it's what Gabby would want me to do.

I think I'm doing good.
I think she'd be proud.

[Nichole] Gabby really loved life.

Biggest,

fearless

life you could live.

And I was so proud of her.

She's inspired us to be better every day.

["Take My Hand" by Matt Berry playing]

♪ So take my hand, we'll disappear ♪

♪ To a pub that's not too far from here ♪

♪ Though I don't know you
And you don't know me ♪

♪ I just had to talk to you, you see ♪

♪ The arrogance, a foolish move ♪

♪ If you take a risk, your odds improve ♪

♪ See, you don't know me
And I don't know you ♪

♪ I'm not weird or q*eer, my aim is true ♪

♪ Everybody I know these days
Is boring me ♪

♪ Or ignoring me, but not you ♪

♪ So take my hand, we'll disappear ♪

♪ To a pub that's not too far from here ♪

♪ Though I don't know you
And you don't know me ♪

♪ I just had to talk to you, you see ♪

♪ So say you'll come, please don't go ♪

♪ You could be the one for all I know ♪

♪ Well, I don't know you
Though I'd sure like to ♪

♪ I can see the light, it looks like you ♪

♪ So say you'll come, please don't go ♪

♪ You could be the one for all I know ♪

♪ Well, I don't know you
Though I'd sure like to ♪

♪ I can see the light, it looks like you ♪

[music fades]