It is a case that causes sympathy, outrage and anger worldwide: the petite Gabby Petito († 22), a young American, goes on a road trip with her fiancé – and does not return home alive. Her body is only found after a long search, after endless days in which her family still fears and hopes for her. And her boyfriend, 23-year-old Brian Laundrie, went into hiding without a word. He makes himself highly suspicious with his behavior.
True crime podcaster Wenger: That is why the Gabby Petito case triggers us(05:53)
Media reports worldwide on the case. The FBI now assumes that Petito is the victim of a homicide, even if the autopsy report is not yet available. So it is still unclear how exactly she died. Laundrie’s role is just as unclear. Did he kill his fiancée? Why did he go home alone? Why didn’t he cooperate with the authorities? Why did he go into hiding now?
“It’s like beauty and the beast”
Media scientist Matthias Zehnder (54) says to Blick: “The case has all the ingredients to touch the reader as much as possible: It is about an innocent young white woman, she is active on social media – and something bad happens to her. These are the ingredients of the original stories that we tell each other: It’s like beauty and the beast. ”
The images of Gabby Petito, sobbing in front of the police officers in Utah after an argument with Laundrie, lost and dissolved, are shared thousands of times. He is said to have beaten her there, said witnesses. The police separate them for one night. Then the two travel on together again. The images of the police operation cast a shadow over the images of a seemingly ideal world that Petito posted on her channel shortly before her death.
Readers can identify with the victim
Then she drives with Laundrie to the national park, where her body is later found. Since then, there have been many hobby detectives on social media looking for clues and clues – among other things because Petito’s father is addressing the public and looking for help on Twitter.
When protagonists seek the public themselves, this also fires attention, says communication scientist Franziska Oehmer-Pedrazzi (38) from the University of Applied Sciences Graubünden. “A similar phenomenon can also be found in the” Maddie “case, in which the parents of the missing girl with the help of PR experts maintained media interest for a long period of time.”
And Matthias Zehnder says: “The story goes so close to the readership because you can identify so well with the victim: it could be your daughter, your sister, your girlfriend.” Petito was a happy young woman, shared pictures from her trip on Instagram, was interested in vegan nutrition, yoga and art, and life in the van. “If she had a different cultural background – a different skin color, a different origin – it would be different,” says Zehnder.
Photo showed up: Is this a recording of the wanted Brian Laundrie?(01:00)
“Perfect mix to cause a stir around the world”
The unsolved case will keep the public in suspense for some time to come. Matthias Zehnder says that the fascination of the case also arises from the crime scene. “The ‘crime scene’ becomes real.” They are stories whose structures are already known, that is, that something bad is happening to an innocent victim. “The murder of this young woman is a pattern that is repeated over and over again in these stories. And we tend to think in patterns, not to look at the world with a neutral eye. ”
True crime podcaster Alexander Wenger (35) also believes he knows what makes this case known beyond national borders. He says to Blick TV: “You have a love drama, you have a murder, a mystery, beautiful young people – the perfect mixture to cause a stir around the world.”
Memorial in Utah (USA): Great sympathy after Gabby Petitos († 22) death(00:58)
“We can revolt from a safe distance”
The most important piece of the puzzle in solving Gabby Petito’s crime will be what her boyfriend says. This could have been caught by a game camera in Baker, Florida. The man whose camera took the pictures reported on Facebook.
Oehmer-Pedrazzi says: “The users of social media can also go on a search for clues themselves. They keep the number of clicks and hashtags circulating about the case in trend. ” This is another reason why the fascination with the Petito case will not be over anytime soon.