Stream It Or Skip It: 'American Murder: Gabby Petito' on Netflix, a docuseries about a van life vlogger who was murdered by her husband (2025)

American Murder: Gabby Petitio, directed and produced by Julia Willoughby Nason and Michael Gasparro (Dr. Phil McGraw is one of the executive producers), is a three-part examination of the murder of Gabby Petito, a popular “#VanLife” vlogger, and the hunt for her husband, Brian Laundrie. That hunt involved a possible cover-up by Laundrie’s parents, and the eventual discovery of Laundrie’s body, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

AMERICAN MURDER: GABBY PETITO: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: “August 12, 2021. Moab, Utah.” As a van drives along a mountainside road, we hear someone call a domestic dispute to 911. The caller says he saw a man slapping a woman.

The Gist: American Murder: Gabby Petitio‘s filmmakers talk to Petito’s parents and stepparents, as well as a close friend of the couple, and a friend Petito met during her time on the road with Laundrie. The first episode starts with the domestic violence call that preceded Petitio’s death, with the police in Moab pulling over the van that the couple lived in as it swerved on the road. The police spoke to both Petito and Laundrie and determined that Petito was the aggressor, but instead of arresting anyone, they brought Laundrie to a hotel in order for the two of them to get space from each other.

From there, the episode examines Petito’s life on Long Island and her love of art and media. Her relationship with Laundrie looked ideal, and the sight of them on social media made them look like the perfect couple. However, Petito’s parents sensed something was “off” with Laundrie, as well as Rose Davis, who met Petito’s through Bumble For Friends. We hear about why the couple made a 2012 Ford Transit Connect van into a mobile home and set out to travel the country.

However, Petito’s idea to make “#VanLife” videos proved to be an irritant to Laundrie, and we see shots where there’s tension between them. We also see texts that show Laundrie’s controlling nature, manipulating Petito when she would go somewhere without him.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? American Murder: Gabby Petito is the second docuseries under the American Murder rubric; the first was 2024’s American Murder: Laci Peterson. For a wholly unrelated look at the whole #VanLife movement, check out the 2020 feature film Nomadland, which won Best Picture, Best Director (Chloe Zhao), and Best Actress (Frances McDormand) at the 2021 Oscars.

Our Take: The episodes of American Murder: Gabby Petito cover the three major phases of the Petito case, which was all over the national news media in 2021. The first episode talks about the days leading up to Petito’s disappearance, the second episode discusses her disappearance and Laundrie’s escape to his parents’ house in Florida, and the third discusses the aftermath of the discovery of Petito’s body, including the pursuit of Laundrie, his suicide, and the possible role his parents had in covering things up.

Does it give a little more insight into this case than the splashy news coverage did less than four years ago? Absolutely, given that we hear from Petito’s parents and friends and see bodycam footage of police in Moab dealing with the couple after the domestic violence call was made.

That being said, the facts of the case are pretty well-known to anyone who was paying attention to the news coverage, whether it was on traditional media or online, and there doesn’t seem to be anything new to learn from this docuseries as far as those facts are concerned.

What people might get out of the series, though, is a more complete look at Petito. As with most stories, the news coverage of Petito’s disappearance was simplified, showing a pretty blonde “#VanLife” vlogger, and once attention turned to Laundrie with regards to her disappearance and murder, those happy-seeming videos of the two of them were played without a lot of context.

The series isn’t trying to make a comment on vlogging or trying to make a living via social media. It’s showing Petito as an artistic young woman who was loyal to Laundrie despite his controlling nature and wanted to travel the country. At its essence, what happened to Petito isn’t much different than other cases where a controlling, abusive spouse turns to extreme violence when they think their marriage is going to break apart. It’s just that in this case, the story has a 2020s spin to it. For the most part, though, it’s yet another case of how a couple looks to the outside world is no indication of the dynamic that occurs between them in private. And that’s always a fascinating subject to explore.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: Jackson, Petito’s ex, sits down and talks about her desperate call to him after she and Laundrie got back together after the Moab incident. “I think she wasn’t sure of what he could do, or what he would do.”

Our Call: STREAM IT. While American Murder: Gabby Petito probably won’t tell you much more about the Petito case than what the news media did, some of the context it provides certainly gives the story more depth than the splashy tabloid headlines did.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.