Gabby Petito’s stepdad breaks down as he relives moment he identified vlogger’s body after Brian Laundrie killed her
GABBY Petito's stepdad has relived the moment he identified her body in 2021, breaking down in tears as he recalled the experience.
Gabby's body was found on September 19, 2021, in Grand Teton National Park after she went missing while on a road trip with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, whose remains were later recovered in Florida.
Brian admitted to killing Gabby in a journal that was recovered near his remains, the FBI confirmed.
The case quickly gained national attention and sparked conversations around domestic violence and abuse.
After Gabby's death, her parents and stepparents, Nichole and Jim Schmidt, and Joe and Tara Petito, started the Gabby Petito Foundation to spread awareness of the warning signs of domestic violence.
At CrimeCon 2023 in Orlando, the two couples appeared at a panel entitled Gabby Petito's Legacy: A Family's New Purpose where they discussed the foundation - but also recalled details of the early days of Gabby's disappearance.
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Jim recalled how it was two years ago earlier this week that Gabby's body was found.
He was on the ground in Wyoming assisting with search efforts when he received a phone call that they had found remains that needed to be identified.
"You know, time was of the essence to call home and tell everybody and get everybody on a group call," Jim said at the convention on Saturday.
"And I think the hardest part about that," he said through tears, "was not being there with my family when I had to make that call.
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"Having to make that call, you know, just feeling alone while I was there and helpless and not being able to support all of them and hold them.
"It was a rough day.
"It's a day that I'll never forget."
Jim went on to share that as a former fire chief on Long Island, he saw "a lot of bad things."
"You know, that's what we do for a living," he continued.
"Having identified her was single-handedly the worst thing I ever had to do in my life.
"It's a moment I will never erase from my mind."
'SAVING SO MANY LIVES'
Gabby's parents also shared how video footage released from the case has helped other domestic violence victims escape their situations.
"I've gotten story after story of like, 'I've seen Gabby in the video and I left and I couldn't even be more thankful for that video to have surfaced for knowing that,'" Nichole said.
"It's saving lives and I'm just so proud of Gabby for, you know, being that, that hero to everybody, even though she's not here with us anymore, she's saving so many lives."
The family also shared that the video is being used across the country to train police officers and other first responders.
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"If you can't use a tragedy like that to learn, we're failing," the family said.
"The more we can learn from our situation, the more we can help others, and that's how we have to go forward."