Gabby Petito and the dark side of van
life: Violence, loneliness and more
New York Post,
by
Doree Lewak
Original Article
Posted By: earlybird,
9/26/2021 3:26:43 PM
When Nikita Crump, a popular van-life blogger, discovered that she had the exact same white Ford Transit van as Gabby Petito, she shuddered.
(snip)
The van-life community is reeling from the homicide of Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old Long Island native who never returned home from a roadtrip with fiancé Brian Laundrie. Petito’s remains were found in a Wyoming campground on Sept. 19, and Laundrie, a person of interest in the case, has gone missing. On social media over the summer, Petito posted smiling photos of herself and Laundrie in front of beautiful landscapes, but such photogenic moments seemed to have concealed darker truths about her life on the road.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
walcb 9/26/2021 3:56:03 PM (No. 927232)
Pack a pistol that will end most of those unwanted confrontations.
23 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
DVC 9/26/2021 4:00:42 PM (No. 927235)
FTA, "She sleeps with her keys within reach, should she need to make a quick exit."
And when threatened by a man with a machete, he fortunately let her drive off. You have as much security as you brought with you. If you are inside the van, the ability to drive off is definitely some security against unarmed troublemakers. I'm glad that she hasn't run into an armed violent person, or an unarmed one while she was away from the van.
Ya'll be careful out there. 99.9% of folks are nice people. But, occasionally you run into one of the other kind.
19 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Rumblehog 9/26/2021 5:16:43 PM (No. 927288)
You are known by the company you keep. He appeared like such a nice guy. Every young girl should have to write a book report on Ted Bundy before venturing out into the dating world.
No girl was ever murdered by a young beau who honored her chastity.
10 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
XCenturion 9/26/2021 5:35:14 PM (No. 927300)
I wonder if the race baiter Joy Reid considers it racist because Gabby and her boyfriend were traveling in a WHITE van?
12 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
ramona 9/26/2021 5:36:29 PM (No. 927301)
This article paints a somewhat darker picture than the more balanced piece from Rolling Stone posted below. I agree with Poster #2 that most people are nice but the reality of the creepy stranger is also part of life. Poster #3 makes an excellent point, as well. Many of these "van lifers" are traveling with a partner, not someone with whom they have made a life commitment to each other. I hope the case of Gabby P. sounds an alert to the young and naive women who live in a culture that no longer teaches them to value that commitment (since marriage has been redefined and diminished).
Ramona (the Pest)
22 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
bad-hair 9/26/2021 6:19:38 PM (No. 927322)
All of this to apparently avoid paying for a hotel room? People are crazy.
2 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
earlybird 9/26/2021 6:35:09 PM (No. 927332)
Those who believe they have known each other in high school can have different goals as they grown older. And they develop at different rates. In this case, the young woman had had a dream for quite a while. She thought he would share it. I believe that he - somewhat of an underachiever (not to mention small and very bald) at 23 was jealous of what he saw was her becoming a sort of internet star. She had drive, a desire to do something that mattered to her. He really had none. He still had a teenager’s room in his parents’ home. It’s my opinion that he really didn’t feel very good about himself. So he took this trip with her on her saved money (he told the cops who wanted to put him in a hotel to separate them for a night that he had no money, couldn’t afford it), and ended up disparaging what she was trying to do, telling her she’d never do it, being what she called a “downer” - then locking her out of her van and telling her to “calm down”… It was very important to him to be engaged to her. She thought they were too young. A barnacle like Brian could never share happiness with any woman.
14 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
RuckusTom 9/26/2021 8:15:58 PM (No. 927393)
It's very strange that there were was a lesbian couple shot to death in that same area. And, hate to say it, but "person of interest" does not equal an arrest warrant. On top of that Mr. Laundrie knows (or knew) his 5th Amendment rights.
1 person likes this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
snakeoil 9/26/2021 8:18:18 PM (No. 927396)
Can't imagine living out of a van or smaller vehicle. Showers and bath rooms would too much of a challenge. Especially during the winter. Feel sorry for the young woman. But everyone has choices to make. Hers were bad.
7 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
downnout 9/26/2021 8:34:52 PM (No. 927405)
I don’t want to sound unkind but these people are risking their lives over “the dream”. They need to grow up, find a productive job and stop daydreaming. You can’t live in Fantasyland forever.
11 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
earlybird 9/26/2021 11:15:31 PM (No. 927476)
Re #8, a grand jury in Wyoming indicted Laundrie for unauthorized use of debit cards belonging to an unnamed person to the tune of $1,000…between 8/30 and 9/1, the dates when he was traveling back to his parents’ home in Florida. That is a crime. He has not been indicted for Gabby’s murder.
3 people like this.
Below, you will find ...
Most Recent Articles posted by "earlybird"
and
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)
Comments:
Now come the cautionary tales - the warnings - from those who have lived or are living the #vanlife. Not all beer and skittles. I cannot imagine having to live a daily “curated for YouTube or Instagram” life at home, always smiling… I can only imagine it in a tiny van. And we have read that Brian was a loner who liked to go off by himself for weeks, camping in the wilderness. He also displayed a penchant for the very dark side of life. The stress would be unimaginable. The persons cited in this article know firsthand.