Gabby Petito stories: True or false? Part 1

The "best friend"

Whenever a big story is in the news, many people will appear in the press claiming they have some connection with that story. Are they telling the truth? Are they just looking for their five minutes of fame? Their words will tell us.

We’re back the Gabby Petito story. Rose Davis claims to have been Gabby’s best friend. Here are some of her words:

"At the time, it just seemed like he was jealous, Honestly, it seemed like a jealousy problem, which I understood because, you look at Brian and then you look at Gabby and you're like, 'Gabby, you could have anyone in this entire world.’"

"He did have jealousy issues and that was apparent. I mean that you could see right through it when after you hang out with them just a few times.”

To her mum: "I said, 'Something's a little off about him. I don't know what.' It was the first thing I said. My mom said that to me when she went missing. She was like, 'Didn't you say he was weird?’"

'I used to consider him a friend, for sure, because I'd hang out with them a good amount, He had this composure as a sweet, nice, caring guy. But you could tell he's a little off, a little weird. Like, he'd set up our hammocks when we'd go to beach, but wouldn't sit with us, which I found bizarre.

'On the outside [Brian] is very charismatic, seems very loving. There is no doubt in my mind that she loves him and from how I have always seen it he loves her.

'Of course, like any relationship there were arguments. She would come and stay at my house when there were arguments, to get away from it. Within the first year I want to say at least seven to ten times. 

'I do believe that their relationship as they kept going on was getting more problematic. It just seemed like there was more and more arguments. Everything she did, I feel like he thought was wrong.

'Even as she said in the bodycam, he didn't even support her with her blog. That's not what a fiancé or boyfriend does. That in itself made me feel that it continued to get worse.’

Let’s break it down

"At the time, it just seemed like he was jealous, Honestly, it seemed like a jealousy problem, which I understood because, you look at Brian and then you look at Gabby and you're like, 'Gabby, you could have anyone in this entire world.’"

"He did have jealousy issues and that was apparent. I mean that you could see right through it when after you hang out with them just a few times.”

The first thing I noticed here was a tense change. Everything is in past tense apart from “you look at Gabby and you’re like,  ‘Gabby you could have anyone’ “ which is in the present tense. This suggests that Rose is making the past fit what she knows now. In fact she seems to talk herself into that in the next line where it gone from “seeming” he had a jealousy problem to “he DID have jealousy issues”

The use of “honestly” is a flag here too. It is usually a sign that there is a need to convince that the truth is being told, especially when no one has expressed scepticism about her story.

Little means a lot

To her mum: "I said, 'Something's a little off about him. I don't know what.' It was the first thing I said. My mom said that to me when she went missing. She was like, 'Didn't you say he was weird?’”

Now we move from specifics to vagueness, he had a jealousy issue now he’s “A little off, I don’t know what”. It’s interesting that Mom’s line wasn’t “you did say he was weird” but a question, Rose obviously hadn’t shared any strident views about Brian with her mum.

'I used to consider him a friend, for sure, because I'd hang out with them a good amount, He had this composure as a sweet, nice, caring guy. But you could tell he's a little off, a little weird. Like, he'd set up our hammocks when we'd go to beach, but wouldn't sit with us, which I found bizarre.”

There are no qualifiers on the positive sides of Brian’s character - he’s sweet, nice and caring. There’s no attempt to minimise his good points or maximise them. The bad parts of his character are both downplayed with little “a little off, a little weird”.

I think Rose basically liked Brian but given what has happened she has gone back in time and reassessed her opinion. Maybe she’s realised she missed some signs of his character, maybe she’s saying she noticed his flaws to look like a better friend.

This is indicated by the tense change again. “He HAD this composure as a sweet, nice, caring guy” all past tense and then “You could tell” still past tense “he’s a little off, a little weird” present tense.

As for what the deal with the hammocks is… I have no idea!!

Making your mind up

'On the outside [Brian] is very charismatic, seems very loving. There is no doubt in my mind that she loves him and from how I have always seen it he loves her.

'Of course, like any relationship there were arguments. She would come and stay at my house when there were arguments, to get away from it. Within the first year I want to say at least seven to ten times. 

'I do believe that their relationship as they kept going on was getting more problematic. It just seemed like there was more and more arguments. Everything she did, I feel like he thought was wrong.

'Even as she said in the bodycam, he didn't even support her with her blog. That's not what a fiancé or boyfriend does. That in itself made me feel that it continued to get worse.’

This segment leads me to believe Rose wasn’t as close to Gabby as she’d like us to believe. She quickly goes from saying that “I have always seen.. he loves her” to describing behaviour which is not loving at all.

We can see that Rose and Gabby may not have been that close in a lot of Rose’s words. She only “believes” their relationship got more problematic. Someone with closeness would know, either through being told or through observation.

In the last line here, Rose says she has made a judgment based on the bodycam footage. Looking at the words she’s used, I suspect that she was an acquaintance of Gabby and Brian but not a close one. She’s now using what we all know to show she had some inside knowledge beforehand.

Are there some words out there you’d like to look at? Leave a comment below or see the about section for contact details.