Gabby Petito Was Last Seen Alive at Merry Piglets Mexican Grill
Published Sept. 23 2021, 2:24 p.m. ET
A couple from New Orleans alleges that they witnessed Gabby Petito and her boyfriend Brian Laundrie having a blowout fight at Merry Piglets Mexican Grill in Jackson, Wyo. Nina Celie Angelo and Matthew England claim that they were sitting next to Petito and Laundrie at the Tex-Mex restaurant on Aug. 27.
22-year-old Petito and 23-year-old Laundrie had embarked on a cross-country van trip back in July. Petito's story made national news when her parents reported her missing on Sept. 11. Many followers of the case found Laundrie's actions after Petito went missing to be incredibly suspicious — he returned to his home in Florida with Petito's van on Sep. 1, but without Petito. Petito's body was found at the Spread Creek Dispersed Campground in Wyoming on Sept. 18.
Petito's death was ruled a homicide by the Teton County coroner Brent Blue. Her official cause of death is still pending. So how does the alleged incident at The Merry Piglets Mexican Grill tie into the ongoing case?
Gabby Petito's appearance at The Merry Piglets was the last reported sighting of her in late August.
Angelo revealed via her Instagram stories that she and England reportedly witnessed Petito and Laundrie having an argument at The Merry Piglets restaurant in Jackson, Wyo. on Aug. 27. The restaurant is about a 40-minute drive from where investigators would later find Petito's body at Spread Creek.
Per a Newsweek report, Angelo alleged that Laundrie and Petito made a tense scene at the restaurant.
"They like left abruptly, and [Petito] was standing on the sidewalk crying and [Laundrie] walked back in and was, like, screaming at the hostess and then walked back out...And then he walked back in, like, four more times to talk to the manager and to, like, tell the hostess off."
Angelo went into further detail about the incident, alleging that Laundrie had a "standup" fight with the waitress. She also observed that Petito was crying and attempted to reportedly apologize for Laundrie's behavior. Angelo and England have stated that they were at The Merry Piglets around 1-2 p.m. on Aug. 27, and England has a receipt from the restaurant that day to corroborate their claim.
Merry Piglets restaurant confirmed on their Instagram page that Petito and Laundrie were at the restaurant as well, but stated they would not be publicly commenting further on the case.
Angelo was not certain of what caused the incident between Petito, Laundrie, and the staff of Merry Piglets. She speculated that Laundrie was mad about the bill. Per a report from Fox News, Angelo did witness Laundrie acting "aggressive," toward multiple female employees at Merry Piglets, including a server, hostess, and a manager.
Angelo's sighting of Petito was the last time Petito was seen alive. The incident could potentially help narrow down exactly when Petito was murdered. Angelo also posted a screenshot from Merry Piglets stating that there was no video footage of the incident.
No suspect has been officially named in Petito's murder, but Laundrie refused to speak on Petito's initial disappearance when he returned to Florida on Sept. 1. Investigators have been searching for Laundrie since he was reported missing on Sep. 14. Hopefully, justice for Petito will eventually be served.
If you have information about Brian Laundrie's disappearance, you can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS, the North Port Police Department at 941-429-7382, or the FBI Tampa Field Office at 1-800-CALL-FBI