This article may contain spoilers for American Murder: Gabby Petito

American Murder: Gabby Petito

is the latest true crime docuseries to be released on Netflix, and continues to hold a high place on the streamer’s chart after just losing its number one position. At the time of writing, the docuseries sits in the second spot of Netflix’s most popular TV shows, just below Kate Hudson’s comedy series Running Point. Other TV titles included in the list of streamer’s most popular series are the thriller Zero Day, the reality show Love is Blind and dramas like Sweet Magnolias. American Murder: Laci Peterson, another title of the Netflix true-crime series, has also found success recently, and is also in the charts.
Currently sitting at 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, American Murder: Gabby Petito is Netflix’s documentary about the murder-suicide case that became a media sensation in 2021. The show consists of only three episodes, but it’s more than enough for directors Julia Willoughby Nason and Michael Gasparro to provide a great overview of the case. As with every other true-crime show, it includes testimonies by people close to the case, from eyewitnesses to members of the Petito family.

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American Murder: Gabby Petito follows the case of the 22-year-old vlogger who disappeared while on a road trip across the country. Gabrielle Petito decided to become a “vanlifer,” and traveled across the United States with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie. At first, it seemed to be an ideal display of a nomad lifestyle, but then Gabby went missing. Brian instantly became the prime suspect, but then he also vanished. We’d rather not spoil the rest if you know nothing about the case. Per the official synopsis of the documentary series:

A young couple’s cross-country van journey, documented on social media, ends in tragedy when domestic violence shatters their seemingly perfect life. Their story sparks a nationwide investigation and raises questions about family loyalty.

Aside from the cases of Laci Peterson and Gabby Petito, the American Murder series includes another very famous murder case. The first entry is American Murder: The Family Next Door, and it chronicles the case of the Watts family murders, in which a husband and father murdered his entire family and tried to fool an entire nation. The Family Next Door is actually a feature film, and it also holds an 86% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The highest-ranked American Murder entry on Rotten Tomatoes is about the Laci Peterson case, and it sits at 100%.
‘American Murder: Gabby Petito’ Reveals Major Details About the Case But It Also Faced Controversy

Netflix

The TV series reveals a few details about the Gabby Petito case that are mind-blowing. For example, Gabby calling an ex-boyfriend the days before she went missing revealed that she considering leaving Brian at that point. Also, the bodycam footage from the time the couple was pulled over by the police because someone reported seeing Brian hit Gabby, shows the terrible reaction by law enforcement agencies. They saw Gabby in distress and thought the solution was to separate them and simply ask them not to contact each other. The other major revelation was a letter written by Brian’s mother in which she wrote a loving message that concluded with the following: “If you’re in jail, I will bake a cake with a file in it. If you need to dispose of a body, I will show up with a shovel and garbage bags.”
American Murder: Gabby Petito was also the subject of controversy because the directors decided to use AI to recreate Gabby’s voice. Although there’s a message announcing this before the recreation is heard, viewers were not entirely happy with the eerie moment and the use of AI was met with social media backlash, as is normal right now. Catch the series now on Netflix and discover the shocking case for yourself.

American Murder: Gabby Petito

Release Date

2025 – 2024

Network

Netflix

Directors

Julia Willoughby Nason

Cast

Gabby Petito

Self (archive footage)