Friends, family flock to Long Island to mourn Gabby Petito

By ARIJETA LAJKA

HOLBROOK, N.Y. (AP) — Lines of mourners paid their respects Sunday for Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old whose decease connected a cross-country travel has sparked a manhunt for her boyfriend.

Among those who congregated successful Holbrook, astir 35 miles (56 kilometers) eastbound of New York City, were household members, friends, co-workers and radical who were touched by Petito’s communicative adjacent though they didn’t cognize her.

“She was a beauteous soul; she was afloat of life, ever smiling,” said Desiree Keeffe, a person of Petito’s mother, Nicole. “She gave you love. She was conscionable a beauteous soul. She touched everybody similar she did now.”

Two occurrence trucks were positioned 1 connected either broadside of the ceremonial home, each with its ladder extended, and a enactment of firefighters was seen filing into the building. Across the street, a concatenation nexus obstruction was adorned with posters featuring Petito’s representation and messages specified as, “She touched the world.”

Petito was reported missing Sept. 11 by her parents aft she didn’t respond to calls and texts for respective days portion she and Brian Laundrie visited parks successful the West.

Her assemblage was discovered past Sunday successful a distant country successful northwestern Wyoming. Laundrie and Petito grew up connected Long Island but successful caller years moved to Florida.

Lexi Ruiz recalled moving with Petito astatine a cafe successful adjacent Patchogue that Ruiz managed.

“She was ever consenting to assistance idiosyncratic else,” Ruiz said. “She was conscionable specified a light. Anywhere she went the country lit up. It’s bully to spot truthful galore radical travel unneurotic and enactment her family.”

Inside the ceremonial home, dozens of floral arrangements and puerility photos of Petito lined the walls, immoderate capturing her travels. One floral statement sent from Norwalk, Connecticut, read, “I don’t cognize you but your communicative broke me.”

Mourners were greeted with a placard bearing a poem titled “Let it Be” that began with the line, “Do not grieve for maine for I americium free.”

Petito’s decease has been classified arsenic homicide, meaning she was killed by different person, but aesculapian examiners successful Wyoming haven’t disclosed however she died pending further autopsy results.

The mates posted online astir their travel successful a achromatic Ford Transit van converted into a camper. They got into a carnal altercation Aug. 12 successful Moab, Utah, that led to a constabulary halt for a imaginable home unit case. Ultimately, constabulary determination decided to abstracted the quarreling mates for the night. But nary charges were filed, and nary superior injuries were reported.

Investigators person been searching for Laundrie successful Florida, and searched his parents’ location successful North Port, astir 35 miles (56 kilometers) southbound of Sarasota.

On Thursday, national officials successful Wyoming charged Laundrie with unauthorized usage of a debit card, alleging helium utilized a Capital One Bank paper and someone’s idiosyncratic recognition fig to marque unauthorized withdrawals oregon charges worthy much than $1,000 during the play successful which Petito went missing. They did not accidental who the paper belonged to.