We all know the Gabby Petito case. But we don’t all know how it feels to be at the center of something like this.
Not only is the loss of a child a tragic and shocking event — especially at just 22 years old — but for her to have lost her life in such a way that her disappearance and murder (and the subsequent manhunt for her fiancé Brian Laundrie) became the most famous criminal case in years? That puts a completely unique sort of pressure on a family.
Related: Brian Laundrie Ex-Girlfriend Impostor Admits She Made It All Up — After Real FBI Visit!
Gabby’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, shared a little insight into the more surreal aspects of your family’s darkest tragedy going viral, taking to her Twitter on Sunday to vent:
“When you turn on Hulu, and your daughters story is the recommended show to watch. It’s still shocking, feels like I’m outside looking in, this cannot be our life.”
That is… We can’t even imagine. Having your life become a true crime documentary is bad enough, but being reminded of that every time you try to unwind with some TV…
She continued, with more strength than should be asked of a grieving mother:
“We must keep going!!”
When you turn on Hulu, and your daughters story is the recommended show to watch. It’s still shocking, feels like I’m outside looking in, this cannot be our life. ???????? We must keep going!! ????????????????@josephpetito @Jim_Schmidt416 @TaraPetito #justiceforgabby
— Nichole Schmidt (@Nikischmidt927) November 7, 2021
Gabby’s parents, all four of them, have been so strong through all of this. Nichole’s husband Jim Schmidt spearheaded the search when his stepdaughter was still just missing, flying out to Wyoming shortly after she was reported missing. Her ex, Gabby’s dad, Joseph Petito, has been leading the charge to help others in his daughter’s memory.
He and his wife Tara Petito have utilized the spotlight on Gabby to help find other missing girls and to lobby for better laws about missing persons databases and domestic violence.
All this while they still don’t know if they’ll ever get real answers about what happened to their daughter.
Since Brian was found dead in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, near his and Gabby’s home in North Port, Florida, there’s been a real worry that no one would ever know the whole truth. The sole person of interest, the one who suspiciously refused to help Gabby’s parents with the search, isn’t around to answer any questions. Now the only hope seems to be that his notebook, which was found soaked outside his dry bag, will be salvageable by the authorities — and contain some sort of explanation of how and why Gabby died.
[Image via 60 Minutes Australia/YouTube/Gabby Petito/Instagram.]