# Netflix show on Gabby Petito is heartbreaking but essential | Opinion

[](https://www.usatoday.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/06/14/USAT/74100371007-ny-18.jpg?crop=2207,2208,x0,y0&width=48&height=48&format=pjpg&auto=webp)

### Columnist


#### USA TODAY
[](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/02/21/gabby-petito-found-dead-netflix-series/79425693007/)

#### Columnist


### Title
Domestic Violence

### Body
Docuseries 'American Murder: Gabby Petito' uses text messages, social media videos and interviews with family members to weave a heartbreaking narrative.

#### Narrator
The National Domestic Violence Hotline offers free, confidential support: Call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Text “START” to 88788. Chat live at 

#### Summary
Gabby Petito caught the nation's interest in 2021 when she . After an extensive search, the 22-year-old woman's body was discovered near a camp ground in Wyoming, and a medical examiner ruled that she had been strangled. Laundrie, 23, also went missing after he returned alone to his parents' home in Florida. His body, along with a written confession that he had killed Petito, was found in a park, and his death was ruled a suicide. Now, a new Netflix documentary series, "American Murder: Gabby Petito," uses text messages, social media videos, and interviews with family members to weave a vital narrative about domestic violence.

#### Resource
**Netflix's documentary about Gabby Petito dispels myths about abusers and highlights the primary element of domestic violence − coercive control.**  
**Check out this story onusatoday.com:**  
**https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2025/03/03/netflix-series-gabby-petito-domestic-violence/80572434007/**
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