Instagram Gabby Petito posted images on her van life Instagram page of her road trip with fiance Brian Laundrie.
Web sleuths have theorized that Gabby Petito was pregnant when she was killed during a road trip with Brian Laundrie in Wyoming, and the internet sleuths claim to have spotted a sonogram in a YouTube clip. Authorities released no evidence that Petito was pregnant, and the claims that she was expecting a child were only speculation.
The theory has now been disproven. Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue revealed Petito’s cause and manner of death during a brief press conference Tuesday, October 12, 2021. He said she died by strangulation, and said that she was not pregnant. Read more about that here.
“She was not pregnant,” Blue said simply.
The FBI and other law enforcement agencies are conducting a massive search for Brian Laundrie after the body of his 22-year-old fiancée, Petito, was found near Grand Teton national park in Wyoming Sunday, September 19, 2021. Officials ruled her death a homicide. Her official cause of death is pending final autopsy results, The Guardian reported. Petito was reported missing on September 11, 2021, 10 days after Laundrie returned home alone from a cross-country trip.
The case has gained widespread attention. Petito was a van life blogger with a large following on Instagram and YouTube, where she documented her travels with Laundrie.
Here’s what you need to know:
Web Sleuths Claimed They Saw a Sonogram in a YouTube Clip
Rewatching the Red White and Bethune video and as they’re approaching #GabbyPetito & #BrianLaudrie‘s van is this a spiral notebook, sonogram pictures, and some sort of document just laying on the side of the road?
The International Business Times reported that rumors of Petito’s speculated pregnancy began with images from a YouTube clip that web sleuths claim showed a sonogram.
One Twitter user shared a still image from the clip, with items on the ground circled in red.
“Rewatching the Red White and Bethune video and as they’re approaching #GabbyPetito & #BrianLaudrie’s van is this a spiral notebook, sonogram pictures, and some sort of document just laying on the side of the road?” the post said.
The video was posted on the Red White & Bethune YouTube channel, The channel is run by a family of travel vloggers who knew Petito, according to their page.
Pinterest Board Screenshots Also Drew Speculation That Petito Was Expecting a Child
My theory is #GabbyPetito was pregnant with #BrianLaundrie’s child. That he murdered her because of it, I am basing this off of her Pinterest. #justiceforgabbypetito
Another source for the false pregnancy rumor was one of Petito’s Pinterest boards. Petito had a Pinterest board called “Oh Baby,” which was a subsection under a board called “Life Goals,” according to screenshots and the International Business Times.
The board included baby items, images of mothers and toddlers, and women who shared pregnancy photos of themselves, according to IBT.
“My theory is #GabbyPetito was pregnant with #BrianLaundrie’s child. That he murdered her because of it, I am basing this off of her Pinterest. #justiceforgabbypetito,” one Twitter user wrote, sharing a screenshot of the Pinterest board.
New Details Emerged in the Case, Including a Reported Sighting of Petito & Laundrie Arguing at a Restaurant
A witness, Nina Angelo, told CNN that she and her boyfriend, Matt England, saw a “commotion” at The Merry Piglets between Petito and Laundrie as the couple was leaving the Tex-Mex restaurant August 27. Angelo told CNN Petito was crying and Laundrie was “visibly angry,” walking in and out of the restaurant and “continuing to show anger toward the staff around the hostess stand.”
While Angelo said she did not observe any physical violence, the incident was enough to cause the couples’ waitress to appear “visibly shaken.”
The Merry Piglets posted on their Facebook page, saying Petito and Laundrie were spotted there. The post said they relayed information to the FBI.
“Yes, we can confirm Gabby and Brian were in Merry Piglets. We have not deleted any comments or messages on social media. The screen shots you see were direct messages to our account and not public. We have already notified the FBI and they are aware. We are letting them do their jobs and we are respecting Gabby’s family and have nothing further to comment,” the post said.
READ NEXT: Gabby Petito: Cause of Death & Final Autopsy Report