Bizarre Reddit posts celebrate 'hero' Brian Laundrie, calls him ‘innocent victim’
The case of Gabby Petito has shocked the whole of the US with many people sympathizing with her family. Many are also praying that her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, with whom she was on a cross-country trip before being murdered will be caught soon. A number of online sleuths are also trying to solve the case so that Gabby gets justice. But weirdly enough, there are also those on Reddit groups who believe Brian Laundrie is "innocent" and are supporting or celebrating him.
The 22-year-old vlogger embarked on the trip with the 23-year-old Brian in July. Her boyfriend came back to his North Port, Florida home on September 1, but refused to tell anyone about her whereabouts, even hiring a lawyer to shut down attempts by the police to talk to him. On September 11, Gabby was reported missing by her family, and a search operation was launched, which ended tragically on September 19 when the 22-year-old’s remains were found inside a national park in Wyoming.
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Brian was named a "person of interest" in the case on September 15, but days later, his parents also reported him missing. They said they saw their son last on September 14. Eventually, an arrest warrant was issued for the young man as he apparently spent $1,000 from a debit card that allegedly belonged to Gabby. He is still missing as search efforts are going on.
There are several Reddit posts that are supporting Gabby and discussing the ongoing probe. The subreddit r/GabbyPetito boasts of more than 135,000 members, but there are some on the discussion website that think Brian is the victim as well as the hero, who has been misrepresented. A subreddit called, r/FriendsofBrian, includes a post that read, “BRIAN LIVES MATTER”.
Another post on the same page stated, “No form of domestic abuse is okay. It is clear that Gabby is a domestic abuser. Brian was a strong person to disclose how Gabby committed domestic abuse against him. It is not easy for an abuse victim to speak about the horrendous treatment inflicted upon them. I hope that Brian can self-reflect and later discuss the horrors of having to live with an abuser and allows others to speak about their abuse.”
Another bizarre theory claiming Brian was a 'hero' added: “I think Gabby killed Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner. Brian probably tried to stop her, but was unable. He then did the only thing he could think of when he saw that Gabby was planning to kill again. During their van life trip, Gabby was reading a book about the Zodiac. Maybe that inspired her to be a serial killer. Or maybe she was possessed by Zodiac himself. Whatever the case, Brian made the ultimate sacrifice. He knew he would be cast as the villain. But he knew that he had to stop Gabby before she could kill again.”
Someone even went on to claim that Gabby was “a man disguised as a girl”. The person wrote, “I'm thinking that Gabby was a male serial killer disguised as a girl. The murders of Kylen Schulte and Crystal turner happened close to where Gabby and Brian were visiting. Gabby could have been holding Brian as some kind of hostage, forcing him to drive her out west where she could do her killing with greater ease in the remote areas of a national park. It's no secret that Gabby was reading a book about the Zodiac while traveling with Brian.”
They added, “Also keep in mind that some guys have wiry strength. It means that while they may not have a lot of muscle mass, they have incredible strength in proportion to their size. A male Gabby could have been greatly abusing Brian this whole time, but "she" was careful to hit him where the bruises could be easily covered up by a shirt. Ever notice that we don't see many shirtless pictures of Brian during their road trip?”
Meanwhile, Reddit’s content policy says, “Everyone has a right to use Reddit free of harassment, bullying, and threats of violence. Communities and users that incite violence or that promote hate based on identity or vulnerability will be banned.” Also, Reddit’s spokesperson told Insider, “We are closely reviewing communities related to the Gabby Petito case, including the subreddits in question. We are enforcing our sitewide policies across the platform and will continue to action the communities, content, and users that violate these policies.”