Netflix series documents Gabby Petito's final days on ill-fated trip with Brian Laundrie

A new Netflix documentary series on Gabby Petito, the Long Island woman who disappeared in 2021 while on a cross-country trek with her fiance, Brian Laundrie, and was later found dead, has premiered.

"American Murder: Gabby Petito," which features interviews with her mother, Nichole Schmidt, began streaming Monday.

"While taking viewers on a journey through Gabby and Brian's final days together, the series will unveil the tragic reality behind their Insta-perfect life and reveal painful moments where their story might have taken a different turn," reads a synopsis of the documentary, provided by Netflix.

Schmidt's attorney did not respond to a message seeking comment.

A 1-minute, 48-second trailer, which has garnered more than 315,000 views on Netflix's YouTube account, shows much of the glossy footage shot by the pair as they documented their "van life" lifestyle that saw them travel from Long Island to the scenic Mountain West.

It also features police body camera footage — previously reported by Newsday — of a traffic stop that captured the aftermath of a domestic dispute, and a fleeting police investigation, in Utah between the couple weeks before Petito disappeared. 

Her remains were later found in a remote area of the Brider-Teton National Forest in Wyoming, where authorities said she was last in communication with her family after embarking on the cross-country trip with Laundrie.

A Utah judge last year dismissed a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Moab, Utah, alleging that police failed to protect Petito during the traffic stop.

Petito, 22, a native of Blue Point, left Long Island in July 2021 with Laundrie, in a white van destined for the West Coast.

The pair documented their travels for social media, including a video blog curated by Petito.

Laundrie, 23, returned to his Florida home on Sept. 1, 2021, without Petito, who had last spoken to her mother days earlier. Her family has alleged that Laundrie and his parents refused to discuss Petito's whereabouts with them or the police.

Petito's body was found Sept. 19, 2021.

She died as a result of manual strangulation and blunt force injuries to the head and neck, the medical examiner said then.

Laundrie died by suicide. The FBI said Laundrie confessed to killing Petito in writings in a notebook found after his death, Newsday previously reported.

The Netflix trailer begins with video of Petito and Laundrie sitting in the van and introducing themselves to their audience, keying up a tour of the vehicle.

The trailer then shows the pair smiling — kissing and embracing for the camera.

"Behind the scenes they would get into arguments,"  says a woman who appears in the documentary and shares details of the couple's relationship.

The trailer also features body camera footage of police in Florida attempting to speak to Laundrie's parents at the inception of their investigation and the protesters who later took up residence outside the Laundrie home.

Steven Bertolino, who was the East Islip-based attorney for the Laundrie family, said Netflix reached out to them but they declined to take part in the documentary.

The trailer shows Petito's white van being towed by police from the Laundrie driveway and then cuts to a tearful Schmidt.

"I knew something bad happened," Petito's mother says, crying.

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.