Investigators are reportedly reviewing possible links between the disappearance of a 22-year-old woman and the unsolved murder of a married couple found dead in Moab, Utah last month.
As previously reported, Gabby Petito vanished during a road trip this summer with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie. Her family reported her missing this past weekend, and after not having heard from Gabby since late August. Laundrie is believed to have returned home to Florida on September 1 in the converted camper van the couple had been traveling in; which is reportedly registered to Petito. He has been named a person of interest in the investigation but has not yet been charged with a crime.
On Thursday, police in Utah released body cam footage of the couple speaking to police officers, who had responded to a witness report of a possible domestic incident in Moab on August 12. The couple reportedly had an altercation, preceded by anxiety and tension that had been building up during their trip, in which Petito lunged at Laundrie, leaving him with scratches. No charges were filed and the couple was cooperative with police, agreeing to spend the night separately and reconnect the next day. Instagram posts indicate the pair continued their travels after that, but the last time Petito’s family spoke to her was via FaceTime on August 23 and 24. Petito’s mother also received a text message from her daughter’s phone on August 30, which read, “No service in Yosemite.” The mother has said she does not believe the text came from her daughter.
The day after the police-involved incident in Moab, a married couple was last seen leaving a bar on Main Street in Moab. The bodies of Crystal Turner, 38, and Kylen Schulte, 24, were found fatally shot five days later. Police have not yet named any suspects in the double homicide.
As Fox News reports, Petito and Laundrie had been at Moonflower, an organic co-op, on the day of the police incident. Kylen Schulte worked at the same co-op at the time of her disappearance. Authorities in Utah are examining any possible connections between the double homicide and Petito’s disappearance.
“We’re looking at everything, I mean, anything and everything that was suspicious around that time or we’re not ruling anything out at this time,” a spokesman for the Grand County Sheriff’s Office told Fox News Wednesday. “So we’re just investigating the information as it comes in.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, the murdered couple had also been camping in the area in a converted vehicle. The couple had reportedly told family members that they planned to move campsites because of a weirdo camping near them that was freaking them out.”
This person has not been identified.
Authorities from multiple agencies are expected to hold a press conference on Thursday to share the latest updates in the search for Gabrielle Petito.
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[Feature image: Crystal Turner and Kylen Schute/Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie]
