Gabby Petito Killing Sparks Move to Change Yellowstone's Zone of Death: Full Details

Gabby Petito's killing and death paved the way for authorities to call for action on Idaho's part of Yellowstone, called "Zone of Death."

According to The Independent, the "Zone of Death" is an area of Yellowstone in Idaho, where no crimes have been reported, and no one could be prosecuted there even for violating the law, due to the Sixth Amendment of the constitution.

Under the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, a person has a right to an impartial jury of the "State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed."

However, Michigan State University Law Professor Brian Kalt theorized that since there was no resident in the "Zone of Death," no one could be prosecuted in the Idaho part of the Yellowstone.

That would change as Petito's death prompted calls from Idaho House to pass a memorial voice vote, which is slated to be determined by a Senate committee in the coming weeks.

According to CBS News, Boise Democratic Representative Colin Nash is sponsoring the joint memorial to formally ask Congress to address the loophole in the "Zone of Death."

It is known that Congress can promote state legislation that would return the Idaho portion of the Yellowstone under the Idaho jurisdiction, while the Montana portion of the Yellowstone to the Montana jurisdiction.

"It's the most encouraging development in this story in the 17 years I've been working on this [Zone of Death]," Kalt said.

As the memorial calls were made by the authorities from the Idaho House, the spokesperson for Idaho's senior Republican Senator Mike Crapo said that the senator has not yet taken a position on the measure. However, the spokesperson said that they "will monitor" the issue closely.

What is the Zone of Death?

According to Professor Kalt's book entitled "The Perfect Crime," the "Zone of Death" is an area where a person could commit a federal crime in the roughly 50 square miles of Yellowstone located in Idaho because there are no residents in the area that would allow a violator to be tried, per NNY 360.

Kalt pointed out that the Yellowstone National Park, including the small portions of the park in Idaho and Montana are under the jurisdiction of the District Court of Wyoming.

However, the professor underscored that was no single major crime reported from the "Zone of Death" since he published his paper in 2005.

The "zone of death" also became a focus of several arts as the area was featured on television and books, increasing its profile. The Independent mentioned that the Idaho area of the Yellow stone was featured in the hit Paramount Network show, "Yellowstone."

It was also featured in the thriller book entitled "Free Fire," where the protagonist search for a mass murderer in Yellowstone.

Brian Laundrie and Gabby Petito's Connection on the "Zone of Death"

Most recently, Gabby Petito's disappearance in the Grand Teton National Park, which is a part of the Yellowstone, gathered traction, paving the way for the topic about the "Zone of Death" to be opened once again.

It can be recalled that Petito went missing on a cross-country road trip with his fiancé, Brian Laundrie, to Oregon. She lost contact with her family in late August while in Wyoming.

Her remains were then discovered in the Spread Creek Dispersed Campground of Grand Teton National Park on September 19. A coroner ruled out that she died of strangulation.

Meanwhile, Laundrie's remains were discovered in a swampy area of Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Florida, along with his notebook on October 20. An autopsy revealed that he died from a single gunshot wound in the head and the manner of death was suicide.

Last month, the FBI revealed that the notebook they recovered contained a written statement from Laundrie claiming responsibility for Petito's death.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written By: Joshua Summers

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