Netflix/TikTokEver since American Murder: Gabby Petito dropped on Netflix, details from the original 2021 investigation have continued to resurface, but one involving Brian Laundrie live-streaming from a boat simply doesn’t add up.
During the search for Gabby in September 2021, Brian went on the run, leading to a social media frenzy as internet sleuths attempted to piece together the case. In some instances, this actually helped the official police and FBI investigation.
As revealed in the Netflix docu-series, two #VanLife YouTubers helped officials narrow down the search area after realizing they had footage of Petito’s van in the background. However, there were plenty of false rumors and speculation too, some of which circulate to this day.
A conspiracy theory emerged after Brian’s remains were found that his parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, helped him to fake his own suicide. Although it’s since been disproven, not least by the autopsy results, a viral video connected to these claims has resurfaced. Warning: some may find this content distressing.
Brian Laundrie boat live stream video was debunked
During the manhunt for Brian, a three-second clip circulated on TikTok showing a green boat in a body of water, with followers of the case claiming it was a live-stream accidentally shared on Brian Laundrie’s Instagram account. However, these claims are false.
The theory suggested that, after murdering Gabby, Brian went on the run to evade capture with help from his parents. This footage led to the belief that he had gone out to sea and accidentally exposed his big secret while the FBI and the police searched for him.
At the end of the clip, a shot shows an empty milk carton floating in the water, which further fuelled speculation. Some commenters suggested it was a means of covertly communicating with his parents.
The footage was shared on Providence Now’s account, alongside a TikToker saying, “It appears that Brian Laundrie is still alive. Yesterday, on his Instagram account, it accidentally went live for two to three seconds.
“This is what viewers saw. It looked like he was on a boat and then it collapsed. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more.”
In another TikTok, text over the screen reads, “The milk carton seen in the video leaves questions as to whether or not the milk Brian’s father bought and the milk carton in the water were signals to each other.”
NetflixYouTuber Joseph Morris further added to the theory, suggesting that the Instagram Live incident was “the real reason the FBI called off the investigation in the Florida wildlife refuge.”
However, not only had the investigation not been called off, but Morris has been involved in a number of misinformation scandals, including accusations that he faked evidence in the Idaho Murders case.
Eventually, the claims the footage had come from Brian’s account were debunked. True crime TikToker Riley Lively did some digging and found the original footage, which had nothing to do with the case and was shared in 2020.
The rest of the clip shows what happened after the fact: two unrelated individuals on a fishing trip.
Laundrie parents’ garden sparked false underground bunker theory
Another false conspiracy theory that emerged during the manhunt was that Brian was hiding in a secret underground bunker, situated beneath a flower bed in his parents’ back yard.
Speculation sparked from drone footage of Christopher and Roberta in their garden after Gabby’s body was found. They are going about their day when Christopher spots the drone, and they both walk back to their house.
But internet sleuths zoomed in on the clip to find a small corner of the flower bed moving, sparking a theory that it was Brian’s hand. As said by one TikToker, “It’s a little too grainy to tell 100% but there’s definitely something moving.”
Of course, this theory falls apart with even the slightest scrutiny – if Brian had truly been underground, his hand wouldn’t be breaking through loose soil without any visible entrance. And more importantly, the FBI’s extensive search of the property would have uncovered any hidden bunker.
Then there’s the autopsy results. Many spectators were suspicious due to the fact that Brian could only be identified by his dental records, leading to suggestions that his parents had planted his teeth there, allowing him to run away.
But this wasn’t just a couple of teeth. As was determined by the District Twelve Medical Examiner, a “vast majority of the skeleton” was recovered, including the entire lower jaw with 15 teeth still in place, as well as the upper jaw bone with nine teeth.
The reason his remains had degraded so much was because the area in which he was found had been flooded in recent weeks, which hindered their search. Only once the flooding had cleared were they able to recover the hundreds of bones that remained.
Real Brian Laundrie update surfaces in FBI documents
Although the conspiracy theories have been debunked, real evidence has emerged since the release of Netflix’s American Murder: Gabby Petito, with a witness saying Brian was “acting like a lunatic” before the murder.
E! News has seen a copy of the newly-released FBI report, which was originally composed in September 2021. It states that a witness saw the couple’s argument in Moab, Utah, which led to the police being called.
He and his family parked up to check Gabby was okay. “During the time [redacted] and his family were observing the couple,” the document stated. “The male ‘acted like a lunatic,’ sporadically opening and slamming doors and pacing around the van.”
The witness said it looked like Brian was “pleading” with Gabby at one point, with the report adding, “The male ultimately pushed the females [sic] legs into the passenger side of the van, closed her door, and entered the driver’s side of the vehicle.
“The male subsequently put his head between his hands and both passengers appeared to be crying.”
American Murder: Gabby Petito is streaming on Netflix now. For more on the case, take a look at what the docu-series didn’t show, what Cassie Laundrie said to viewers on Instagram, and what the ‘burn after reading’ letter said. You can also check out the new documentaries coming to streaming this month.
