Gaby Petito news – latest: Family shares holiday tribute, saying ‘Live with love, laughter and gratitude’

Here’s another image of the memorial bench dedicated to Gabby Petito, which was installed outside North Port city hall in Florida, this week.

The Gabby Petito Foundation thanked A Squared Fabrication, a local furniture company, “for this beautiful work of art dedicated to our Gabby Petito.”

It added in an Instagram post: “Our family is so grateful for you hard work, dedication and love for Gabby’s legacy.”

The months-long investigation by North Port police into the disappearances and deaths of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie allegedly cost more than $100,000 (£74,000) in overtime pay.

A spokesperson for the North Port Police Department said on Monday that although it did not track how much it was spending on its investigations, the cost of paying overtime was over $100,000 (£74,000).

As Gino Spocchia writes, a spokesperson for North Port police told reporters for ABC7 and the North Port Sun that the $119,358 (£89,000) reflected more than 2,000 hours in overtime by North Port Police Department investigators.

That was about 30 times more than in September 2020, when 105 hours in overtime cost the force $3,800 (£2,800).

The department has faced criticism for failing to track Brian Laundrie during the week he went missing, believing he was at home when he had actually left for the Florida nature reserve where his body was found four weeks later.

That was despite the FBI allegedly being informed of him going missing on 13 September, and the 23-year-old being a person of interest in the disappearance of his fiancé, 22-year-old Gabby Petito.

A reminder of the timeline into the search for Gabby Petito...

ICYMI: Timeline of events in Petito-Laundrie case

2 July – Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie leave New York for van-life road trip.

12 August – The couple is seen arguing in Moab City, Utah. Concerned bystanders call the police, who intervene, capturing the altercation on video on the officers’ body camera. One officer describes the incident as a “mental health crisis”.

17 August – Laundrie flies from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Tampa, Florida, alone, to collect some items and close a storage unit as the couple allegedly contemplates extending their road trip.

23 August – Laundrie returns to Salt Lake City to rejoin Petito.

24 August – Petito spotted checking out of a hotel in Salt Lake City with Laundrie.

25 August – Petito has a video call with her mother.

27 August – Louisiana couple see Petito and Laundrie involved in a “commotion” at the Merry Piglets Tex-Mex restaurant in Jackson, Wyoming. Last known sighting of Petito.

30 August – last text messages sent from Petito’s phone.

1 September – Laundrie returns to North Port, Florida, where the couple lived, without Gabby.

11 September – Petito’s family launch missing person’s investigation

14 September – Police declare Laundrie a “person of interest” in the case.

17 September – Laundrie’s family call investigators to their home, admit Brian has been missing since 14 September.

19 September – FBI announce that a body has been discovered in Wyoming, believed to be Petito.

20 September – FBI search the Laundrie home, declared it a crime scene.

21 September – Petito family attorney confirms that the body found in Wyoming is Gabby. FBI confirm her death to be a homicide.

23 September – FBI issue federal arrest warrant for Brian Laundrie, related to “activities following the death of Gabby”.

12 October – Teton County Coroner announces Petito’s cause of death was strangulation.

20 October – Human remains discovered in Florida’s Carlton Reserve, alongside personal items that belonged to Laundrie.

21 October – FBI match Laundrie’s dental records to human remains found in the Carlton Reserve.

23 November - Autopsy results confirm Brian Laundrie died from self-inflicted gunshot wound to head and verdict of suicide recorded.

Brian Laundrie’s parents said earlier this week they hoped that the result of an examination into his cause of death brings closure to both their family and that of Gabby Petito, his fiancé who was murdered in August.

As Oliver O’Connell writes, the family attorney Steven Bertolino announced that Mr Laundrie has died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, and said: “Chris and Roberta Laundrie have been informed that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death was suicide.”

Ms Petito’s family in turn said it had been made aware of the news.

As Sheila Flynn writes, the family of Brian Laundrie have said there will no funeral service for the 23-year-old, whose body was found following a months long manhunt in Florida.

He will instead be cremated, and it remains unclear when this will happen.

Gabby Petito’s father, Joseph Petit, posted a moving Thanksgiving Day message to his daughter Gabby.

Calling on families to hug one another, he wrote: “Thanksgiving, a day for being thankful, thoughtful, and giving”.

“Hug your family and friends. Be thankful for the time you get to spend with them all. We miss you #Gabbypetito You should be with us but now all we have are the pictures.”

Gabby Petito’s stepfather Jim Schmidt paid Thanksgiving tribute to his family, including Gabby, his mother and grandmother whom he lost in the same year.

“Went to visit mom today. Our first thanksgiving without her, grandma, and Gabby. I miss you all immensely,” he tweeted. “I know you are all together watching over us. Life is truly a gift and love every minute of it. Be present in every moment with your family, and live life to the fullest.”

Mr Schmidt added that his mother passed away in April after battling pancreatic cancer for 11 months, while he lost his grandmother “a week after Gabby’s service”.

Lawrence Kobilinsky, a former FBI agent, told News Nation Now on Wednesday night that although “we don’t know the make, the model or the calibre” of the missing gun, he had “a feeling that law enforcement knows very well.”

He told the news channel: “We know that Brian owned a pistol. The father, Chris, owned about 10 different hand guns and one of them was actually missing when the police came around September 13 or so, September 17, to collect evidence from the home”.

He went on to say that a metal detector would be able to find such a pistol or bullet shells, but that it was unclear if the FBI had found any such weapon because “guns don’t just walk away”.

The agency has so far not commented on the matter.

Following the installation of a new memorial bench dedicated to Gabby Petito earlier this week, the father of the 22-year-old has asked anyone who takes a photo with it to share it online using the hashtag #GabbysBench.

As WTSP-TV reported, the bench was unveiled in a small private ceremony including almost 30 members of the Petito family earlier this week.

The bench was installed at the same spot where a makeshift memorial to the YouTuber was created following her disappearance in September.

Both of Gabby Petito’s parents, Joseph Petito and Nicole Schmidt, posted touching Thanksgiving Day messages to their daughter on Thursday.

Calling on families to hug one another, Mr Petito wrote: “Thanksgiving, a day for being thankful, thoughtful, and giving”.

“Hug your family and friends. Be thankful for the time you get to spend with them all. We miss you #Gabbypetito You should be with us but now all we have are the pictures.”

Ms Schmidt meanwhile wrote: “Gabby will forever remind me to be grateful for every moment, every breath, and every memory. I will cherish what I’ve had, and have in the present, always. Live with love, laughter and gratitude.”