THERE'S a 50-mile section of the Yellowstone Park where murder theoretically can't be prosecuted – but that could be set to change.

The area – dubbed the "Zone of Death" – has a scenic nature backdrop populated by wildlife but no people, so there's no jury pool to fulfil sixth amendment obligations, a renown law professor argued.

So if Gabby Petito had been murdered about 40 miles northwest of where she was found, the killer might've escaped conviction.

There's no indication or reports suggesting a crime involving Gabby or Brian Laundrie took place in the "Zone of Death."

But the close proximity sparked conversation from sleuths and armchair detectives and renewed interest from lawmakers and news outlets.

Shinning the spotlight on the "Zone of Death" is a positive thing, Michigan State University law professor Brian C. Kalt told The Sun.

Kalt first introduced the theory in 2005 in his paper – "The Perfect Crime" – and said it is essentially a two-part problem caused by a convoluted web of jurisdictional technicalities.

The end result is a potential legal loophole that might allow criminals to slip felony prosecution, he said.

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Yellowstone Park sits mostly within Wyoming's borders but extends about 260 square miles into Montana and 50 square miles into Idaho.

The rectangular-shaped Idaho section in the southwest corner of the federal park is less than 50 miles away from Grand Teton Park where Gabby's body was found.

One, states can't prosecute felony-level crimes because Yellowstone Park is federal land, he said.

So the federal court in the District of Wyoming was given jurisdiction over the crimes committed within park's borders.

But the sixth amendment requires a jury to be made up of people from the state of the crime, but nothing but wildlife lives in Idaho's section of the park.

Without a jury, there's no trial.

"It started as a footnote. I wrote it 2004 but held it until 2005 but didn't have a lot of time because my child was about to be born," Kalt told The Sun.

"Now, that baby is graduating high school, and still nothing has been done.

"People say they (prosecutors) wouldn't just let (criminals) go, but my answer is they should. It's in the constitution.

"I’m not trying to incentivize crime, but you can’t fix problems without pointing them out. I just want to close the damn loophole."

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ONE CRIME IN THE "ZONE OF DEATH?"

The theory was never truly tested in court, so no one really knows how a judge would rule on the matter.

The closest a case came to challenging the theory was in 2008 after a poacher illegally shot an elk in the Zone of Death and was arrested by Park Rangers.

The defense raised Kalt's theory, but the judge presiding over the case dismissed the argument.

The suspect ultimately reached a plea deal and agreed not to bring the Kalt's theory to the appeals court.

"It's never been tried again," Kalt said. "But my argument is why wait? It's a simple fix."

Some news Fact Checks on new outlets like Politifact deemed it false; other outlets like the USA Today said it's "missing content."

"I'VE HEARD ALL THE ARGUMENTS"

Kalt said he's heard all the arguments over the years.

"Some say, just redraw the (jurisdiction) lines, but you can’t retroactively redraw the lines for a trial.

"Then they'll say, there will be a change of venue, but federal laws only allow defendant to ask for a change of venue.". 

The judge in the elk poaching case didn’t really get to the sixth amendment question, Kalt said.

"He gave it very little consideration," he said.

Then the case was over after the poacher agreed to a plea deal.

BILL ON THE TABLE TO CLOSE THE LOOPHOLE

There have been a few attempts over the years to close the legal loophole, but they've all sputtered out, Kalt said.

Idaho Rep. Colin Nash, who's a lawyer, is the latest lawmaker to pick up the mantle.

He introduced a bill that would simply give the United States District Court for the District of Idaho the power of prosecution and close the loopholes.

It's currently in a House subcommittee and making its way through the lawmaking process.

“I read this in law school, and it pops up every now and then,” Nash said during a House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee meeting.

“Every time there is a high-profile disappearance in that area, I think about this, and there were two last year, so that’s what brought it up again.”   

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