The community is rallying around Gabby's Petito’s family and friends in
her hometown of Blue Point.
An
autopsy performed Tuesday confirmed that the body found in Wyoming Sunday is
Petito.
The Teton County
coroner ruled the initial manner of death as homicide.
Jennifer McNamara,
a longtime family friend of the Petitos, helped bring the town together.
“The Schmidts and the Petitos are very much a part of
this community,” McNamara says. “It’s very difficult for all of us here to know
the pain that they’re in.”
McNamara is also the founder of the Johnny Mac
Foundation, which lined the streets throughout the community with teal ribbons
before the official announcement was made.
Brookhaven Town Councilman Neil Foley knows the family and says as a father of four he has no words to describe what the family is going through.
"It's been a rough couple of weeks," says Foley. "Bayport-Blue Point has two towns but it's a special community and when something like this happens, we step up. We step up in many ways. We help the family financially, with food, emotionally and that's what we do here."
The president of the Bayport-Blue Point Chamber of Commerce also spoke about how the community is helping the family through this unthinkable time.
News 12's Rich Barrabi spoke with the president of the chamber who said, "The community right now is still devastated and in a state of shock. Wounds are so deep from this. Our town is so close. We are such a close-knit community. We stand together as one constantly. We are two towns, one community, one heart."
The sign honoring Gabby as you enter Blue Point is another way the community has banned together to honor her memory.