Gabby Petito Funeral Arrangements Revealed

By Daniel S. Levine

Gabby Petito's father, Joseph Potito, announced his daughter's funeral will take place on Sunday in Long Island, New York. Petito's parents reported her missing on Sept. 11 after her fiance, Brian Laundrie, arrived at his parents' house in Florida without Petito in their white 2012 Ford Transit Connect van. On Sept. 19, officials found Petito's remains in Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming. The autopsy's preliminary determination revealed homicide as the cause of death. Laundrie has been missing since Sept. 14.

Petito's funeral services will start at 12 p.m. ET on Sept. 26 at Moloney's Holbrook Funeral Home, Joseph announced. There will also be a memorial visitation for her, which is open to the public, reports PIX11. In lieu of flowers, Petito's family asked donations to be made to the Gabby Petito Foundation, which will be established in the future. Donations can be made online at the Johnny Mac Foundation.

Petito and Laundrie began a cross-country trip from New York to the West Coast in their Ford van, with plans to chronicle the trip on YouTube. On Aug. 12, Utah police responded to a domestic disturbance call when the couple was outside the Moonflower Community Cooperative. Police stopped the couple outside the Arches National Park entrance, but no charges were filed. Instead, police asked the couple to spend the night apart. On Sept. 16, the Moab Police Department released body camera footage. On Sept. 23, the City of Moab announced an investigation into the responding police department's handling of the case.

During the drive from Salt Lake City to Yellowstone, the couple stopped at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Petito published her final Instagram post on Aug. 25, but it was a picture from Ogden, Utah. Petito's mother continued receiving text messages from Petito's phone until Aug. 30. Laundrie returned to Florida on Sept. 1, without Petito. Ten days later, her parents reported her missing. On Sept. 19, officials found human remains in Grand Teton National Park and they identified the remains as Petito's three days later. 

Authorities are still searching for Laundrie. On Sept. 23, the FBI's Denver office announced the U.S. District Court of Wyoming issued a federal arrest warrant for Laundrie. A federal grand jury indicted him with one count of intent to defraud due to alleged unauthorized use of a debit card between Aug. 30 and Sept. 1. It is not known who the card belonged to.

"It is my understanding that the arrest warrant for Brian Laundrie is related to activities occurring after the death of Gabby Petito and not related to her actual demise," Steve Bertolino, the Laundrie family attorney, said in a statement to CNN. "The FBI is focusing on locating Brian and when that occurs the specifics of the charges covered under the indictment will be addressed in the proper forum." 

Trending Now: