I do agree that this could be a social media stunt, but my hunch is that it’s murder in the heat of the moment and post-murder freak-out.
Assuming it was a social media stunt exactly what laws have they broken? It’s not a crime to go off by yourself. Brian refused to talk–he hasn’t lied to the police. It was her parents who started the police reports, media attention.
Or maybe Jonathan Mostow–the movie scenario that I thought of was Breakdown, where the bad guys kidnap Kurt Russell’s wife and send him into town to come up with the ransom money.
What punishment would they be facing? Either of them? Derision, perhaps, but punishment seems a bit of a hard sell, particularly if neither of them called the police—or indeed said anything at all to the police.
Heh. I’m at a brewery now with two of our dogs (Kali & Kizee) and my gf (my gf). She moved away to another table across the Biergarten from me.
She returned, explaining she took a business call and was being polite. I told her I was beginning to think I’d be driving home alone in the van.
We’ve never discussed the case but I was understood.
I’m having trouble seeing the hoax angle. Balloon boys parents called the media immediately to have a news chopper follow the ballon.
What would have been the plan here? Wait for her parents to freak out and call the police and hope that it wound up getting the media coverage it eventually wound up getting?
Relationships are complicated.
Plan as in publicity stunt plan.
How about Sam Peckinpah? Or at least Quentin Tarantino. Exploding heads, ultra violence, cracking dialog.
Who is “the boss” going into the final showdown at the end? Is one or both of the couple going to walk into a crowded newsroom, shoot the anchor on air, and then, just as it seems they’re about to get away with it, the rest of the newsroom (security guards and all) looking on in stunned silence, take a shot at the weather desk just because they don’t like the look of the meteorologist, thus provoking a wild shootout live on national television?
…that certainly would generate a lot of social media buzz.
It’s not about media attention; it’s about social media attention. (I don’t think this is actually what happened, but I can see how it would happen.)
To be internet famous, an “influencer,” is a career goal for the kids these days. There are influencers of every flavor: hair, makeup, pranks, lifestyle, mommies, just plain being hot, etc. etc. Van life is a big one among attractive, fit young people.It can parlay into all kinds of brand sponsorships and ad dollars.
So. Pull a stunt like a scandalous internet “feud” between influencers, or pretend you’re a kickass beekeeper, when it’s all been set up for the cameras, and even adopting children for the social media boost, and enjoy the attention and profit. It all increases traffic, “likes” and the attention of sponsors, until the internet turns on you, which always happens eventually.
I would think the two most likely things are a) murder and b) bf leaves after a fight or even amicably, and she dies via accident. Stunt might be 3rd, but a & b would be like 90% for me and the other possibilities are in the margins.
IANAL, but I suppose they didn’t break any criminal law, since they didn’t (hypothetically) file a false missing persons report (unlike Balloon Boy’s parents who were convicted for doing so, but later pardoned). But, it’s certainly a fine line between that and remaining silent, knowing costly law enforcement resources are being spent looking for someone whose parents (rightfully) reported missing.
If not criminally responsible, maybe they fear being sued civilly to recoup damages. Or, social media hounds that they almost certainly are, they fear loss of revenue from potentially losing their audience in the court of public opinion.
Alternately, perhaps they know they can’t be charged criminally, and they are perpetuating the hoax. That would be a crappy thing to put Gabby’s parent’s through, but maybe they hate the parents and crave the national spotlight.
CNN reporting body found in area of search. Not yet on website, just TV so no links.
Here’s the most comprehensive link regarding the discovery I’ve found so far.
https://abc7ny.com/gabby-petito-brian-laundrie-disappearance-search/11030913/
Thanks for the link.
Fox News has some additional info…
Fox News Digital can also confirm that about 10 minutes after the coroner arrived on the scene, search dogs participating in the search left the search area.
Looks like they’re about to have a press conference in a few minutes:
The “social media hoax” angle is pretty well undercut by the fact that there has been no social media postings from Miss Petito or Mr. Laundrie in weeks. It is, IMO, not possible that they are performing a hoax with an eye on the long game, somehow. The idea just doesn’t hold up to the facts that we know.
Per the press conference, the body is likely Gabby. They are confirming further, but are pretty certain.