Gabby Petito Family to Celebrate First Christmas Without Her, Takes Action to Ensure No One Else Suffer the Same

The families of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie will be celebrating their first Christmas without them.

Ahead of Christmas Day, Petito's family took action to honor her memory by financially supporting groups working to track down missing persons, the Independent reported.

As the family prepared for their first Christmas without her, the foundation, established in Gabby Petito's name, announced this week that it had made donations to three groups working to help locate missing persons.

This money was initially intended to help in the search effort to find Petito. But when her body was found at the Spread Creek Dispersed Campground near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on September 19, the money was transferred to the control of the Gabby Petito Foundation.

The AWARE Foundation, the first organization Petito's parents asked for help in getting the word out that she had gone missing, received donations from the family.

The other two groups were the National Domestic Violence Hotline, and the Safe Space, a certified domestic violence shelter in Florida.

"We want to honor Gabby's memory and life by ensuring that no one ever has to experience what she did," Nichole Schmidt, Petito's mom, said in a statement.

According to Petito's dad, Joe Petito, the three organizations "are doing incredible work on the front lines of missing persons and responding to those impacted by abuse."

Petito's parents said they wanted survivors to know that they are not alone and there are groups ready to help them. A foundation's board member told The Independent that $20,000 was donated to the National Domestic Violence Hotline and $15,000 each to the other groups.

The Gabby Petito Foundation

The Gabby Petito Foundation was launched in late September, shortly after federal officials confirmed the death of Brian Laundrie's fiancee.

Petito's family formed the foundation to address the needs of organizations that support locating missing persons. The foundation also aims to provide aid to organizations that assist victims of domestic violence through education, awareness, and prevention strategies.

Petito's mom earlier said, "the foundation is a way of us grieving."

"For me, it means preventing this from happening to someone else... That's what we're trying to do here. And that's justice, for me, it's helping others," Nichole noted.

In an interview with WFLA Now last month, members of Petito's family said helping others, especially the victims of domestic violence, and making the world a better place can be seen as a form of justice for the death of the YouTuber.

Petito's mom noted that even though she can't do it, she will try "saving the world" because "that's Gabby's legacy." Nichole added that justice for her was "helping others."

Petito's stepmom, Tara Petito, echoed what Nichole said, noting that saving even a single person "would be justice."

"Just going forward, that's really what we would like to do. To save... or help her story get there so people know that we care," Tara noted.

Joe Petito said the family tried to stay focused and put their energy toward the foundation they put up in honor of their late daughter.

"It's hard. We're still grieving and it's going to be a process for a long time... I think starting the foundation is a way of us grieving and getting through this," he noted.

Deaths of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie

Gabby Petito disappeared on a cross-country road trip with Brian Laundrie. The couple was traveling to Oregon when the YouTuber stopped communicating with her family in Wyoming in late August.

Laundrie was named a person of interest by the North Port police after returning home alone on September 1 or 10 days before Petito was reported missing by her family.

A Teton County, Wyoming coroner said Petito was strangled to death by a "human being," and the manner of death was homicide.

After a month-long manhunt, the North Port police and the FBI agents found Laundrie's remains in a swampy area of Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park on October 20.

The partial skeletal remains were confirmed to belong to him after a review of dental records. According to the autopsy report, Laundrie died of a gunshot wound to the head, and the manner of death was suicide.

Brian Laundrie was never charged in connection with Gabby Petito's murder. But an arrest warrant was issued for him for allegedly using his fiancee's debit card after her death.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Joshua Summers

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