Gabby Petito was reading book about Zodiac Killer before she disappeared
NORTH PORT, FLORIDA: Gabby Petito, the Florida roadtripper who went missing while on a cross-country tour with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie, was pictured reading a book about a serial killer in an Instagram highlight. Authorities continued to look for clues about the 22-year-old's disappearance. The haunting book may help officers locate the missing vlogger.
Meanwhile, Petito's mother Nicole Schmidt said the last text she received from her daughter's phone was on August 31, noting the lack of signal at a national park. However, the embattled parent has suggested it was not written by the YouTuber, but someone who wanted to hide the fact that she had gone missing.
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Petito appeared to be reading 'Zodiac: The Shocking True Story of the Hunt for the Nation's Most Elusive Serial Killer' in one of her Instagram highlights. The book is about author Robert Graysmith’s investigation into California’s unsolved Zodiac murders. In the post, Petito appears to be reading a copy of the book with a cup of coffee while Laundrie sits opposite her at a table. She wishes her more than 142,000 followers a 'Good Morning.'
MEAWW previously reported how the Spotify account of Gabby, which she apparently shared with Brian, centered around love and heartache. One of the songs was Matt Berry’s, “Your woman is your angel, is your left side, is your whole life; easily the most beautiful thing in the world. She’ll soothe you She’ll accuse you She’ll confuse you She’ll lose you But always be the best friend you have in the world.” Other songs on the list were, “Take My Hand,” and “The Badger’s Wake”. Her Spotify account also revealed that, on August 30, a new list was created that was named, “Selfconsumption”.
Earlier, Moab police reported that they responded to an "incident" involving the 22-year-old and her boyfriend Brian Laundrie on August 12, around two weeks before her family last heard from her. However, authorities did not give much detail related to that incident at the time. The police reports revealed that Petito and her boyfriend had a scuffle near a Utah national park last month, exchanging blows. Petito allegedly told police that tension between the two "had been building over the last few days". Petito also told cops that she feared her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, was going to drive off and leave her behind.
The Florida native was on a cross country trip to Oregon with her boyfriend when she lost contact with family and stopped posting to social media pages, all of a sudden. Petito's last known location is believed to be in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming in late August, while Laundrie returned his home to North Port, Florida on September 1 in the white Ford Transit van the couple was using. Petito was reported missing to the Suffolk County Police Department by her family on September 11.
The North Port, Florida Police Department is now the primary investigating agency in the case, in partnership with the FBI and the Suffolk County Police Department. Laundrie, who has been named as a "person of interest", has lawyered up and not provided any helpful details to investigators at the time of writing.
Laundrie's family issued a statement through his lawyer on Tuesday, September 14. "This is an extremely difficult time for both the Petito family and the Laundrie family. I understand that a search has been organized for Miss Petito in or near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming," the statement read. "On behalf of the Laundrie family it is our hope that the search for Miss Petito is successful and that Miss Petito is re-united with her family. On the advice of counsel the Laundrie family is remaining in the background at this juncture and will have no further comment."