Gabby Petito's parents have heartbreakingly revealed they still get 'signs' from their late daughter from beyond the grave.
The case dominated the headlines in 2021 after Gabby was reported missing in September while on a four-month journey around the US in a van with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie.
Gabby's parents raised the alarm after failing to hear from her from late August 2021, and a huge search was initiated to locate the missing 22-year-old.
Tragically, 18 days later, her remains were found, and an autopsy revealed that she had been strangled to death.
A manhunt began for Brian, 23, who was deemed the prime suspect in her killing after he had returned to his parents' home in Florida in early September without Gabby.
Brian was also later found dead, having taken his own life, with a journal found near to his body detailing his confession to having killed Gabby.
The tragic death of their daughter devastated Joe Petito and Nichole Schmidt, both 45, however, they have revealed that they believe they still see signs from her from beyond the grave.
Speaking to People, Joe and Nichole - along with their spouses, Tara Petito, 43, and Jim Schmidt, 42 - revealed how they know Gabby's spirit is still around them.
Tara explained: "She sends us butterflies and rainbows. We'll see her initials. She'll send me signs, and I start texting them. As I'm texting them to Nichole, Nichole is getting the same signs."
Gabby's mom Nichole confirmed: "It'll be at the same time."
Her father, Joe, added: "Tara woke up the other day at 3:19, Gabby's birthday," to which Tara said: "She’s always with us."
Through the heartbreak of Gabby's death, her parents and step-parents have found healing and purpose by using the attention gained by their case to help prevent similar tragedies from happening to others.
The foursome, who live two hours from one another in Florida, created a nonprofit called the Gabby Petito Foundation to raise awareness of domestic violence as well as advocating for tougher laws and policies governing how police respond to reports of intimate partner abuse and missing persons.
Nichole explained: "We have to prevent this from happening to other people. It keeps us strong.
"Gabby works through us. We can't not do it. We have to move forward and change the world together."
Joe added that seeing the effects of their work helps spur them to keep going, adding: "When you help one person, you ... help change the course of their life in a positive way, and you want to do that again.
"We get emails and messages on social media on how many people have left their bad relationships because of Gabby's story."
They have also donated $100,000 in 2022 to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, and have championed the Black and Missing Foundation and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, after it was claimed Gabby's case got more attention than similar stories of missing women that were not white.
