Mourners pay respects to murdered woman Gabby Petito at New York funeral home
- The 22-year-old’s death on a cross-country trip has sparked a manhunt for her boyfriend Brian Laundrie
- Petito’s body was discovered last Sunday in a remote area in northwestern Wyoming
Queues of mourners paid their respects on Sunday to Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old whose death on a cross-country trip has sparked a manhunt for her boyfriend. Among those who congregated in Holbrook, about 35 miles (56km) east of New York City, were family members, friends and colleagues and people who were touched by Petito’s story even though they did not know her.
“She was a beautiful soul; she was full of life, always smiling,” said Desiree Keeffe, a friend of Petito’s mother, Nicole. “She gave you love. She was just a beautiful soul. She touched everybody like she did now.”
Two fire engines were positioned one on either side of the funeral home, each with its ladder extended, and a line of firefighters was seen filing into the building. Across the street, a chain-link fence was adorned with posters featuring Petito’s image and messages such as, “She touched the world.”
Petito was reported missing on September 11 by her parents after she did not respond to calls and texts for several days while she and Brian Laundrie visited parks in the West.
Her body was discovered last Sunday in a remote area in northwestern Wyoming. Laundrie and Petito grew up on Long Island but in recent years moved to Florida.
Lexi Ruiz recalled working with Petito at a cafe in nearby Patchogue that Ruiz managed.
“She was always willing to help someone else,” Ruiz said. “She was just such a light. Anywhere she went the room lit up. It’s nice to see so many people come together and support her family.”
Inside the funeral home, dozens of floral arrangements and childhood photos of Petito lined the walls, some capturing her travels. One floral arrangement sent from Norwalk, Connecticut read, “I don’t know you but your story broke me.”
Mourners were greeted with a placard bearing a poem titled Let it Be that began with the line, “Do not grieve for me for I am free.”
Petito’s death has been classified as homicide, meaning she was killed by another person, but medical examiners in Wyoming have not disclosed how she died pending further autopsy results.
The couple posted online about their trip in a white Ford Transit van converted into a camper. They got into a physical altercation on August 12 in Moab, Utah, that led to a police stop for a possible domestic violence case. Ultimately, police decided to separate the quarrelling couple for the night. But no charges were filed, and no serious injuries were reported.
Investigators have been searching for Laundrie in Florida, and searched his parents’ home in North Port, about 35 miles (56km) south of Sarasota.
On Thursday, federal officials in Wyoming charged Laundrie with unauthorised use of a debit card, alleging he used a Capital One Bank card and someone’s personal identification number to make unauthorised withdrawals or charges worth more than US$1,000 during the period in which Petito went missing. They did not say who the card belonged to.
