Brian Laundrie sleuths fear Gabby Petito suffered a gruesome death after stepdad spoke about her TORSO

INTERNET sleuths fear slain vlogger Gabby Petito may have suffered a gruesome death following comments her stepdad made in a recent TV interview about her “torso”.

The remains of 22-year-old Gabby, of Long Island, New York, were found at a campsite near Grand Teton National Park, in Wyoming, on September 19.

Dr. Phil/ CBSJim Schmidt spoke to Dr. Phil last week about a memorial he left where Gabby’s remains were found in Wyoming[/caption]

gabspetito/InstagramGabby was found dead on Sept. 19, with an autopsy determining her manner of death as a suicide[/caption]

She had been part-way through a cross-country road trip with her fiance Brian Laundrie, 23, when she stopped making contact with her family on August 27.

On September 1, Laundrie quietly returned home alone to Florida in the couple’s repurposed van but offered no explanation for where Gabby was and refused to cooperate with police.

Gabby’s mom eventually reported her missing on September 11. Brian then vanished on Sept. 13 just days before Gabby’s decomposed body was found by investigators at a campsite the couple had been staying at.

Investigators ruled her manner of death a homicide but have not yet revealed a cause. An announcement is expected on Tuesday afternoon.

Laundrie, meanwhile, has not yet been named as a suspect in her murder but is wanted on charges of bank fraud after he allegedly racked up $1,000 on a card belonging to Gabby in late August and early September. He has now been missing for more than four weeks.

THEORIES MOUNT

While Gabby’s family and the rest of the watching world wait for answers, conspiracy theories are running rife online as web sleuths and armchair detectives attempt to unfurl the mystery surrounding the case.

A new theory to emerge on a dedicated Facebook discussion page about the case is that, during an interview with Dr. Phil last week, Gabby’s stepdad Jim Schmidt hinted that his daughter suffered a gruesome demise and was possibly even dismembered by her killer.

Read our Gabby Petito live blog for the very latest news and updates…

“So I watched both Dr. Phil episodes and I don’t know if anyone else caught this but the stepdad said he wanted to build a cross where her body was found,” one sleuth wrote, “so he acted police [for the exact spot] where they found her.

“He said they told him her torso was found here and pointed to the spot and the stepdad asked where would her head have been so the officer told him.

“So … I’d assume they only found her torso meaning she was not intact and only her torso was found,” they continued. “They only had her favorite sweatshirt to make the ID according to her stepdad.

“Anyone else catch that or did I miss something?”

The wild claim centers on remarks made by Schmidt last week, during which he was speaking to Dr. Phil about a small cross made of stones that he left where Gabby was found.

”It was exactly where they found her,” Schmidt said at the time. “So, I laid the cross directly over where her torso was. I was told the direction in which her head was laying that’s where I placed two flowers in the ground right where her head was.”

JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS

As Schmidt’s full remarks would appear to indicate, Gabby’s remains were seemingly found intact, and his references to her head and torso appear to speak to the position she was found lying in.

The sleuth’s comments attracted a great deal of response from the wider Facebook community, receiving over 260 comments and numerous crying-face and shock-faced emojis.

However, not all bought into the theory, with a number accusing the post’s author of jumping to conclusions.

“I remember reading that he put the cross where her body was and stuck flowers in the ground where her head was…”, one respondent wrote in retort, attaching a picture of the cross with the flowers circled.

“I think he meant he placed it where her torso was and put the top of the cross on the end they said her head was,” chimed in another, “not that her head was detached – just what way she was facing.”

The cause of Gabby’s death and additional details about her final moments are expected to be revealed in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

‘GLARING’ INJURIES

Forensic expert Joseph Scott Morgan told The Sun this week that he expects Gabby’s autopsy to show “glaring” injuries, and that the vlogger may have been neglected and starved if her relationship with Laundrie was abusive.

Morgan said it was “fascinating” the Teton County Coroner announced the manner of death as a homicide just two days after Gabby’s body was found last month.

He said that a coroner generally finds it easier to find the cause of death such as strangulation, gunshot, or medical emergency. 

They then work from this to determine if the cause of death falls under homicide, suicide, natural death, accidental or undetermined.   

“That’s counterintuitive actually for what we do in my field,” Morgan, host of the podcast Body Bags, explained.

“It’s interesting that they came out with the manner first, that’s the fascinating thing. 

“Based on my career experience, I can say that they saw something glaring. They saw something glaring.”

APThe memorial left at the campsite is seen above[/caption]

Youtube / Nomadic StatikGabby and Brian were part way through a cross-country road trip when she was killed[/caption]