American Murder: Gabby Petito

8.0 stars.

I started the first episode and didn't get out of my seat until it was all over. This is a riveting and engrossing documentary. I have to say this story resonates, because there is so much evidence: documentation, pictures, video, texts, and phone calls. We are living in an information age that is on steroids.

This is the type of crime he could not get away with, and this young man floundered so badly that there was no way out. My opinion is that he missed her so dearly, that he took his own life. He went home for several days to say goodbye to his parents, but I'm sure his parents did not have any hint of his motivations, which were to return to the woods and end his life.

After the crime, he drove the van back home and his parents had called the lawyer immediately after he told them some thing that happened. There was absolutely no way he was getting away with this crime, but again, I don't think that's the primary reason why he took his life. He was codependent on this woman and his identity was wrapped up in her. We can see that he loved her too much. This is what happens when a person becomes too dependent on another person, and he likely already had a certain level of pre existing psychological issues. She had issues too, and she likely had broken up with him right before the act.

But my point is that this documentary is very captivating.

This 3 part documentary will bring tears to your eyes.

And make you hate not just another coward killer, but hate that cowards parents as well. You will witness the sorrow and anguish as these well filmed documentaries elicit way too well. What makes it sadder is as you watch it, you begin to wonder why the coward killers despicable mother and father where never charged for their part in this murder case. You will wish those maggots a painful experience. But also makes you wonder about the fragility of life of all ethnicities of the many thousands of missing people who never got the same coverage. The overall feeling will leave you hating so many people but also make you wonder about people around you.

As Episode 1 of "American Murder: Gabby Petito" (2025 release; 3 episodes ranging 39 to 48 min) opens, it is "August 12, 2021, Moab, Utah", and based on an anonymous tip, Utah police pulls over a van to question a couple. Turns out to be Brian and Gabby, a young couple on a cross-country road trip. When Gabby is questioned outside the van and away from Brian, she crumbles. We then go back to "March 19,1999, Long Island, NY", when Gabby is born, and we get to know her background an upbringing. At this point we are 10 minutes into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: I was vaguely familiar with these events, but to now see it laid out as clearly and as detailed as this documentary mini-series does, only brought a sense of immense sadness and a disgust of the cruelty with which one person murders another, and for what? The mini-series is helped immensely by the fact that so much footage was filmed by Gabby in particular (she was prepping to start a vlog about their cross-country travels). This mini-series also focuses on the role of Brian's parents in all of this. How these people sleep at night, I have no clue.

"American Murder: Gabby Petito" has just started streaming on Netflix. Not sure why this is presented in 3 short episodes, as opposed to a feature-length documentary. I watched this in a single setting, and I suspect I will not be the only one. If you are interested in true crime documentaries, I readily recommend you check this out and draw your own conclusion.

Best documentary to date on this sad story; there have been a few.

The length of the documentary (3 episodes each under an hour long) was the perfect length to cover the story comprehensively, without being redundant.

The criticism of Utah police's handling of the Moab incident is unwarranted. What else were they supposed to do?? These are ADULTS. Do you want Daddy Government making personal decisions for everyone? As if that hasn't gone far enough already. They handled the situation professionally, and did all they could, which was to advise these two to go their seperate ways for the night and cool off. The only alternative would have been to arrest BOTH of them (they both had physical fight marks on them). Most arrests do nothing except create lasting arrest records, which can and do destroy lives. So no, Moab police did nothing wrong.

Brian's parents are human garbage, and I'm truly surprised aiding and abetting charges weren't filed against them. No words.

Solid documentary about a very sad story.

I have been following Gabby's case since I first heard about it. I was intrigued to watch this documentary to put all the pieces together and watch the clips. This documentary is as fascinating as it is sad. To see such a beautiful vibrant young lady like Gabby have her life snatched away by an insecure cretin is heartbreaking. The fact that the Laundries who knew what was going on were not prosecuted in any way is shocking too. There are so many if only in this story. If you like watching true crime documentaries then this one is definitely worth the watch. It helps build awareness and makes you want to keep your children a little closer.