Is The Lifetime’s New Movie Based On A Real Event?

The Gabby Petito Story is a crime drama film produced by Lifetime and directed by Thora Birch. The film follows Gabby Petito as she embarks on a road trip across the country in a van with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie.

What begins as a happy adventure for two lovers quickly turns terrifying for Gabby, who begins to find Laundrie’s behavior problematic. The 2022 film, which stars The Gifted’s Skyler Samuels as Gabby and Evan Hall as Laundrie, follows the couple as they navigate the difficulties that develop in each other and ultimately determine destiny rewrite by Gabby and Laundrie. Reminiscent of a slew of other true crime movies and TV shows, the realistic study of Gabby’s life must have left audiences hungry to know more about the film’s background and how it came to be. Now let me tell you everything you need to know about this topic!

Also Read: The Story of Gabby Petito: Locations, Cast and More Details of The New Lifetime Movie

The Gabby Petito Story: Is the Movie Based on a True Event?

The film The Gabby Petito Story actually draws inspiration from real events. The events before and after the death of Gabby Petito, who was reported missing in September 2021, are the focus of this film. Gabby has lived her entire life in the town of Blue Point, New York, where she was born. Gabby reportedly started dating Brian Laundrie in March 2019 and the couple got engaged the following year, 2020.

The couple completed their first trip across the country in 2020, which took them from New York to California, and then embarked on their second trip in July 2021. A confrontation between Laundrie and Gabby was reportedly the subject of a call to 9-1-1 on August 12, 2021. Police Department officers decided to keep them separated for the night.

The last post Gabby ever made on her Instagram account was on August 25, 2021, the same day her and Laundrie’s van was seen in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. After about a week had passed, Laundrie walked back to his house alone, without his fiancée.

Laundrie, who allegedly refused to take part in the inquiry, became a person interested in Gabby’s kidnapping after her mother filed a missing person’s report about ten days after Gabby’s disappearance. After a week had passed, it was discovered that Gabby was missing and the search for Laundrie, who had also disappeared, began at Carlton Reserve. The bones of a human were found on September 19, 2021 in the area around Grand Teton National Park.

Over time, it was determined that the remains were indeed Gabby’s, and an autopsy determined the cause of death to be homicide caused by “blunt force injuries to the head and neck with manual strangulation,” as stated in the report, compiled by the FBI. Laundrie was the subject of an arrest warrant. The remains of a human were discovered at Carlton Reserve on October 20, 2021, and the FBI determined the next day that those bones belonged to Laundrie. Attorney Steven Bertolino claims Laundrie took his own life by shooting himself in the head with a gun. Laundrie’s family is devastated by the news. On January 21, 2022, the facts behind Gabby’s murder were released to the public for the first time. According to the report, prepared by the FBI, Laundrie admitted his guilt in Gabby’s murder in written remarks discovered in a notebook he owned.

Also Read: Into The Deep The Submarine Murder Case (2022) Movie Review – A shocking and breathtaking documentary

What does the director say about the film?

The documentary, directed by Thora Birch, strives to recreate the events leading up to Gabby’s death by examining the real causes of the murder, rather than just showing those events. “It is important to emphasize that the events that took place are not the focus of this story. It’s important to understand what happened. The main focus of this narrative is to analyze Gabby and Brian’s relationship to where they are now. Something along the lines of “How did you get lost in the woods that horrible night?” What caused all of this?’” Skyler Samuels gave the following explanation to ET Online. The actress continued, “Because that’s the element that hasn’t been talked about in all of this media attention about her disappearance and death, and that’s what we’re really focusing on.”

Thora Birch regards the film she was directing as a “cautionary tale” for people who have experienced events similar to those that led to Gabby’s death. The director also has high expectations that the film would serve as a “wake-up call” for people in similar situations. According to Birch, “there are many, many, many Gabby Petitos out there,” as stated in the same interview with ET Online. This, according to Birch, is one of the reasons she believes her film matters. On the other hand, Gabby’s family has made it clear that they will not be taking part in the Lifetime film in any way.

“We felt it was important for our followers to know that the Gabby Petito Lifetime film is not affiliated with the Petito family and they have not given their approval for the film,” the Petito family said. In a statement shared by The AWARE Foundation, Gabby’s family expressed their gratitude to Lifetime for producing the film on their own initiative. A number of people on social media have claimed that Lifetime is “profiting” from Gabby’s death, prompting the network to issue a statement in response to widespread backlash against the film.

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