Gabby Petito's parents have revealed the heartbreaking decision they had to make regarding her van, following her murder.
The travel blogger died at the age of 22, after disappearing while traveling around the US in a converted van with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie.
The pair had been living and traveling in the converted white camper van, and documenting their adventures on social media.
However, Gabby was reported missing on August 27, 2021, after failing to check in with her parents, and it was discovered that Brian had returned home to his parents in Florida with Gabby's van but without her.
Tragically, Gabby's remains were found on September 19 in Wyoming, and a search was put out for Brian, who also disappeared.
He was later found dead at a nature reserve in Florida alongside a notebook in which he allegedly confessed to killing Gabby, but claimed he had done it out of "mercy" after she'd fallen and injured herself and was in pain.
The devastating murder-suicide has been charted in a new Netflix documentary titled American Murder: Gabby Petito, which has left viewers with one key question - what happened to Gabby's van?
Her parents revealed to NewsNation that they'd made the decision to have the van destroyed so that it did not fall into the wrong hands.
Her father, Joe Petito, told the outlet: "We crushed the van. We didn’t want the van to be out there and someone owning the van and then saying, ‘Here’s the van that Gabby was…’ So, we had it crushed.”
Joe revealed that he and Gabby's stepmother, Tara Petito, kept a gasoline cap from the van as well as a sticker commemorating Gabby's trip to the Great Smoky Mountains before the rest of the vehicle was destroyed.
Gabby's mother, Nicole Schmidt, revealed that she had taken the decision to forgive Brian for murdering her daughter as it was the only way she was able to move on from the horrific crime.
She told NewsNation: "I have forgiven Brian, and I know that’s what Gabby would have wanted, and I’m moving forward so that I can help other people.
"I don’t think everyone has to forgive. They can when they’re ready, or they might never be ready. But for me personally, I needed to forgive to let that anger go."
Following Gabby's death, her family set up the Gabby Petito Foundation to help groups that support locating missing persons and to provide aid to organizations that assist victims of domestic violence situations.