(NewsNation) — The mother of Gabby Petito said she was told Brian Laundrie’s room was “completely gutted and renovated” soon after he disappeared.
Petito went missing in 2021 while on a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend, Laundrie. Her body was later found in Grand Teton National Park, with Laundrie being accused of her death.
Nichole Schmidt went on “The Squeeze,” hosted by Taylor Lautner and his wife, Tay, and said someone told her, “None of his things were there anymore. All his things were gone.”
Gabby Petito’s van ‘completely cleaned out’: Nichole Schmidt
Schmidt said, “That very same week, Gabby was missing, and cops were going to their house to try to get a scent from their dogs to look for Brian. All his things were gone. His room was completely empty, just gone.”
She also told the couple that the van Petito and Laundrie had used to drive across the country had been “completely cleaned out.”
“The mattress was never recovered. Gabby’s stuff was packed away in a closet. I don’t understand. Yeah… Just strange behavior, she said.
Overall, Schmidt did say she was frustrated with Laundrie’s parents. “It drives me absolutely insane. That’s the one thing I can’t let go of… I’m trying to figure out, what can I do to make them pay for what they did? But there’s nothing I really can do.”
Gabby Petito case becomes nationwide investigation
Petito went missing in 2021 while she was on a cross-country road trip with Laundrie. The couple had converted a camper van into a livable home and had been driving it to various places. During that time, Petito was documenting their journey through her YouTube channel.
When Laundrie returned home with no sign of Petito, it caused a nationwide investigation.
Police believe that Laundrie killed Petito before he killed himself in Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Florida. Petito’s body was found in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming on Sept. 19, 2021. Laundrie’s body was found near the Carlton Reserve in Florida on Oct. 20, 2021.
Petito’s family eventually launched the Gabby Petito Foundation to fight domestic violence and advocate for missing persons around the United States.
‘American Murder: Gabby Petito’ called ‘one-sided’ by Brian Laundrie’s family
In February 2025, Netflix released the documentary series “American Murder: Gabby Petito.” According to a statement given to PEOPLE, the attorney for Chris and Robert Laundrie said it doesn’t show the full story.
“The documentary was what we expected. One perspective depicted as the ‘truth’ as seen through their lens. Similar to Republicans and Democrats fighting it out lately. Hard to see through the lens of the other with all the noise and distrust,” attorney Steven Bertolino said.
The Laundrie family did not participate in the “American Murder: Gabby Petito” documentary series. However, according to PEOPLE, the family did admit that Laundrie killed Petito in a statement.
Gabby Petito was reported missing on Sept. 11. (Source: Suffolk County Police Department) 
This police camera video provided by The Moab Police Department shows Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito talking to a police officer after police pulled over the van she was traveling in with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, near the entrance to Arches National Park on Aug. 12, 2021. The couple was pulled over while they were having an emotional fight. Petito was reported missing by her family a month later and is now the subject of a nationwide search. (The Moab Police Department via AP) 
Supporters of “Justice for Gabby” gathered at the entrance of Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in North Port Florida on Oct. 20, 2021. (Photo by Thomas O’Neill/NurPhoto via Getty Images) 
FILE – Nichole Schmidt, mother of Gabby Petito, whose death on a cross-country trip has sparked a manhunt for her boyfriend Brian Laundrie, speaks alongside, from left, Tara Petito, stepmother, Joseph Petito, father, Richard Stafford, family attorney, and Jim Schmidt, stepfather, during a news conference, Sept. 28, 2021, in Bohemia, N.Y. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File) 
In this image taken from police body camera video provided by the Moab Police Department, Brian Laundrie talks to a police officer after police pulled over the van he was traveling in with his girlfriend, Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito, near the entrance to Arches National Park in Utah on Aug. 12, 2021.(Moab Police Department via AP, File) 
FBI agents begin to take away evidence from the family home of Brian Laundrie after the disappearance of Gabby Petito in 2021. Lawyers for Laundrie and Petito’s families have since argued over the importance of a letter written by Laundrie’s mother, which was in her son’s possession and gathered by the FBI following his death. (Octavio Jones/Getty Images) 
Previously unseen video shows Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie shopping together at a Wyoming Whole Foods store not long before her death. (Town of Jackson Police Department) 
FILE- In this image taken from police body camera video provided by The Moab Police Department, Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito talks to a police officer after police pulled over the van she was traveling in with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, near the entrance to Arches National Park on Aug. 12, 2021. The family of Petito filed a notice of claim Monday, Aug. 8, 2022, of plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the tourist town of Moab, Utah, over police officers’ handling of an encounter with Petito and her boyfriend weeks she was found dead in Wyoming. (The Moab Police Department via AP, File) 
Two children are seen at a memorial for Gabby Petito in her hometown of Blue Point, New York, in Sept. 2021. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images) 
Gabrielle Petito (Nomadic Statik YouTube/Gabrielle Petito via NewsNation)
“We all know Brian took Gabby’s life, and Brian then took his own as well. Let the parents of both Gabby and Brian mourn and remember them in peace.”
Schmidt said during The Squeeze podcast that, at first, her family didn’t want to participate in a documentary. However, they wanted to tell their story on their terms. So they decided to meet with producers and Netflix. Schmidt said, “In the end, I think it was beautiful.”
“They did a beautiful job for Gabby. I think they did great,” Schmidt said.
‘I always think about the last hug that I gave’ Gabby Petito: Nichole Schmidt
Launter and his wife also spoke with Schmidt about who Petito was as a person and how she was growing up.
“She just became this amazing, brilliant artist… Just a natural at everything she did,” Schmidt recalled. She also remembered Petito as someone who was very tidy, always liking everything in its correct place.
When she first thinks of her daughter, she said, “I always think about the last hug that I gave her… I cherish that hug so much, and I talk about it all the time, because it’s my favorite thing.”
When Petito went missing, Schmidt said, “I was able to make a Facebook post… 24 hours later, it was shared all over the country already.” She said the FBI had called her the next day, and the investigation began.