Gabby Petito’s family open memorial visitation to the public as stepfather brings her remains to New York

Gabby Petito memorial visitation in Long Island will be open to the public

A memorial visitation for Gabby Petito being held in New York on Sunday will be open to the public.

The Petito family announced the memorial will take place at Moloney’s Holbrook Funeral Home, in Long Island from 12pm to 5pm.

Ms Petito’s remains were located in the Bridger-Teton National Forrest in Wyoming on Sunday, and an autopsy confirmed her death was a homicide. The cause of death has yet to be released.

She was brought back to New York by her stepfather Jim Schmidt, who assisted in the FBI-led search for Ms Petito.

Gabby Petito has been returned home to Long Island, New York (Facebook.com/FindGabby)

Mr Schmidt laid a stone cross and flowers at the exact spot where her remains were found in Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forrest.

Her boyfriend Brian Laundrie was named a person of interest in the case last Wednesday. He has not been seen since leaving the family home in North Port, Florida the day before, telling family he was going hiking in the nearby Carlton Reserve.

A massive manhunt in the reserve has not found any trace of the missing man.

On Thursday, he was charged with bank fraud for the use of an ATM card in the days after Ms Petito disappeared.

The FBI issued an arrest warrant for him.

Ms Petito, 22, grew up in Suffolk County, Long Island, attending Bayport-Blue Point High School.

After graduating she moved to North Carolina where she worked at the Smoke on the Water cafe in Wilmington from September 2017 to January 2019.

The restaurant has set up a table in her memory with flowers, photos, lights, and a sign saying: “Reserved for Gabby Petito”.

“She was a good soul, a good spirit, and touched so many lives,” general manager Lara Witschen told WWAY.

“That’s what we want her to be remembered for.”