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GABBY Petito’s ex-boyfriend has admitted the tragic vlogger was his first love as he speaks out for the first time about her murder.
North Carolina native Jackson Hufham dated Gabby Petito before she started her relationship with Brian Laundrie in March 2019.
Petito vanished while on a cross-country road trip with fiancé Laundrie in August 2021.
Her disappearance sparked a nationwide search that ended in the tragic discovery of her body in a Wyoming national forest.
Now, a three-part docuseries on Netflix called American Murder: Gabby Petito has revealed previously unknown details about Petito’s final days – and the first-ever interview with her ex-boyfriend.
Hufham, identified only as Jackson in the doc, revealed his final conversations with Petito in the days leading up to her death.
He called Petito his “first love” and said she texted him just before her murder.
She also told him of her plan to leave Laundrie, who strangled her to death days later.
“Hey, I’m sure I’m the last person on the planet you want to hear from,” Petito texted Jackson on August 22, 2021.
“I would really love to talk to you. I’m only alone until tomorrow.”
NORTH CAROLINA ROMANCE
While it’s unclear how Hufham and Petito met, the former couple likely started their relationship during Petito’s time in North Carolina.
After graduating from high school in New York in 2017, Petito moved to North Carolina, where she lived from September 2017 to January 2019, according to ABC affiliate WTVD.
She worked as a hostess and kitchen aide at a restaurant called Smoke on the Water in Carolina Beach, a beach town about 12 miles south of Wilmington, North Carolina.
Hufham grew up in Wilmington and lives there now, according to his Facebook page.
It’s unclear why or when Hufham and Petito broke up, but she moved to Florida to be with Laundrie in December 2019.
During her time in North Carolina, Petito often posted snaps of the beach and of herself on the Carolina Beach boardwalk.
While Hufham kept quiet about his relationship with Petito over the years, he posted a touching tribute to his ex-girlfriend on social media the day after her body was found.
On September 20, 2021, Hufham updated his Facebook profile picture to an image of a rainbow shining over the site where Petito’s remains were found the day before.
Condolences poured in for Hufham in the comments of the post.
FINAL CONVERSATION
In their last-ever phone call, Petito told Jackson of her plan to leave Laundrie for good.
The former couple talked for hours and Petito “hinted” she had gotten into an argument with Laundrie.
Laundrie was in Florida at the time, one of the rare occurrences that he and Gabby weren’t together on the road trip.
“She was like, ‘I have a plan. I think I want to leave him. I’m gonna do it. I have to figure out when to do it,’” Jackson said.
“And that’s when I was kind of like, ‘What are you talking about? What do you mean you have a plan?’
Brian Laundrie’s family blasts docuseries
Brian Laundrie’s family has spoken out about the new docuseries examining their son and Gabby Petito’s troubled relationship. They told The U.S. Sun through their lawyer:
“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. Each side believes their perspective is correct. Hard to see through the lens of the other with all the noise and distrust.
“To be clear though, there were no contradictions by my clients Chris and Roberta Laundrie. The documentary contained many inaccuracies, incorrect juxtapositions of timelines, and misstatements and omissions of fact – perhaps deliberate to capture their ‘truth,’ perhaps due to simple error.
“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 them in peace.”
“From the sound of her voice and the way she was saying it, I think that she, like, wasn’t sure what he would do or what he could do.
“I think she was wanting to get away, but just didn’t know how to do it.”
Jackson told Petito she could contact him anytime because he “got the vibe that she still might have needed someone to talk to after we hung up.”
He last heard from her on August 27.
“Gabby Snapchatted me, ‘Hey, I’m in Jackson Hole and it reminded me of you,’” Jackson said.
“Later in the day, I had gotten a phone call from her. I was at work and unable to answer it.”
‘FIRST LOVE’
Petito’s body was found in Grand Teton National Park weeks after she went missing.
Hufham revealed he was heartbroken by the news of her death.
“I was devastated,” he said in the docuseries.
“She was my first love.”
The coroner determined Petito was killed by manual strangulation and blunt force trauma to her head and neck.
The rainbow in the image Hufham shared appeared shortly after the coroner left with her remains, Fox News reported at the time.
Petito’s brother, TJ Schmidt, shared the same picture on his Instagram at the time, saying, “She touched the world.”
American Murder: Gabby Petito is available now to stream on Netflix.
Gabby Petito timeline
Gabby Petito, 22, was last seen on August 24, leaving a hotel in Utah. Here is a timeline of Gabby Petito’s disappearance:
- June 2021 – Gabby Petito and her fiancé Brian Laundrie set off on a cross-country trip across the US.
- July 4 – Gabby posts photos of herself barefoot in Gove County, Kansas.
- July 8 – Gabby posts photos of herself at the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado.
- July 18 – Gabby and Brian post photos of themselves at Utah’s Zion National Park.
- August 12 – Body camera footage was released in September showing an encounter Brian and Gabby had with police in Utah. Police confirmed that no significant injuries were reported.
- August 17 – Brian flies home to Florida to visit his parents, stock up on supplies, and close a storage unit.
- August 19 – Gabby and Brian post a video on their YouTube channel chronicling their trip.
- August 22 – Gabby texts her ex-boyfriend, Jackson.
- August 23 – Brian returns to meet Gabby in Salt Lake City.
- August 24 – Gabby is spotted leaving a hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah.
- August 25 – Gabby Facetimes her mom, Nichole Schmidt, for the final time. In a later police report, Schmidt said her conversations with her daughter revealed “more and more tension” between her and Brian.
- August 25 – Gabby also posts her last Instagram. No location is given.
- August 27 – Gabby messages Jackson for the final time.
- August 27 – Gabby is seen for the final time at a Whole Foods. Witnesses claim they saw Brian in an explosive argument with staff at a restaurant in Jackson Hole, leaving Gabby in tears.
- August 27 – Four hours later, travel bloggers driving through Grand Teton National Park drive past the couple’s van “abandoned” on a dirt road.
- September 1 – Brian returns home to Florida without Gabby.
- September 11 – Gabby’s parents report her missing to Suffolk County police.
- September 14 – Brian’s family issues a statement saying he has retained an attorney and will not be cooperating with investigators.
- September 14 – Brian is allegedly last seen by his family. He reportedly told them he was going hiking in Cartlon Reserve but failed to return.
- September 15 – Florida’s North Port police announce Brian is a person of interest in the case. He is not charged with any crime.
- September 16 – Utah police release body camera footage of the police encounter with Brian and Gabby.
- September 17 – Brian’s parents say they have not seen their son in a couple of days and report him missing.
- September 18 – Police announce they were searching Carlton Reserve in Florida for Brian. Police announce they have not found anything.
- September 19 – Authorities in Wyoming say they found a body in Grand Teton National Park. The FBI announces the body was believed to be Gabby’s but a full forensic identification needs to be completed first to confirm.
- September 20 – Police execute a search warrant on Laundrie’s home, seizing his silver Mustang and a hard drive that may contain “evidence relevant to proving that a felony has been committed.”
- September 21 – Officials announce they will be conducting an autopsy on the remains found in Wyoming to confirm whether or not they belong to Gabby. Police also resumed their search for Laundrie, this time on the Venice side of Carlton Reserve.
- September 21 – The FBI announced the body found in Wyoming was identified as Gabby’s. The cause of death was not yet revealed.
- September 21 – The Teton County Coroner’s office said Gabby’s official cause of death was still pending but the initial manner of death is homicide.
- September 22 – Police continue to scour Carlton Reserve for a trace of Laundrie but yield no leads. A specialist dive team is called in to assist with the hunt.
- September 23 – Officials announced a federal arrest warrant for Brian was issued.
- September 26 – Gabby’s funeral was held on Long Island, New York.
- October 12: Gabby’s autopsy results were made public. Teton County Coroner Dr Brent Blue confirmed Gabby died by strangulation.
- October 20: Laundrie’s personal items were found at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park. A medical examiner was called to the scene.
- October 21: The FBI confirmed the remains found have been identified as Laundrie’s.
- November 23: Laundrie’s autopsy reveals he died from a gunshot wound to the head.
- January 21, 2022: The FBI released its final investigative statement on Gabby’s case. The statement said, “The investigation did not identify any other individuals other than Brian Laundrie directly involved in the tragic death of Gabby Petito.”
- October 1, 2022: The Gabby Petito Story premieres on Lifetime without the family’s approval.
- February 17, 2025 – American Murder: Gabby Petito premieres on Netflix.
