The family of Gabby Petito filed a lawsuit against the family of Brian Laundrie on Thursday, March 10 on the grounds that not only did Laundrie’s parents know that he killed Petito but were going to assist him in fleeing the country.
The Ill-Fated Trip of Gabby Petito
In the summer of 2021, Gabby Petito left with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie on a cross-country vanlife trip—where travelers live out of their van or car. After visiting Petito’s family in Blue Point, New York in June, the trip started from New York early the following month.
Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie’s trip is noted for several events and accounts from bystanders. These include a domestic dispute call to the Moab City Police Department on Thursday, August 12, and Petito checking out from a motel near Salt Lake City, Utah on Tuesday, August 24 alone.
Petito would speak to her mother and post on Instagram for the last time the following day. Prior to this, Brian Laundrie departed for Florida and claimed to have cleared out a storage unit the two owned to get more funds for their trip. He would rejoin Petito on Monday, August 23.
Their entire trip was scheduled to last for about four months but Laundrie returned to his family’s home in Florida on Wednesday, September 1 in the van that Petito purchased for the trip. Yet Gabby wasn’t with him.
The 22-year-old would be last be seen with Brian Laundrie on Friday, August 27 at a restaurant in Wyoming. Petito’s remains would be discovered at a Wyoming national park on Sunday, September 19, a victim of strangulation.
Following what was initially a disappearance, Brian would leave with his parents for a trip to a Florida campground. He also used Gabby’s bank card and sent a text to her mother which raised suspicion. With an investigation underway into both Gabby and Brian’s disappearances, Laundrie would take his life in October 2021.
The Family of Gabby Petito Files Lawsuit Against Brian Laundrie’s Parents for Acting in Malice
According to the filing, Petito’s mainly believes that Laundrie’s parents “spoke with Attorney Steve Bertolino, and sent him a retainer on Sept. 2, 2021.” The filing also claims that the Laundries were planning to help Brian flee the country.
Reportedly, Laundrie’s sister begged Brian to simply turn himself in while his father is said to have asked him to stay home. His parents would later tell the police that the 23-year-old headed to the T. Mabry Carlton Reserve in Sarasota, Florida.
On Wednesday, January 12, the FBI announced that after going through Brian’s journal, he had admitted to murdering Gabby Petito. He also admitted to using her debit card and sending misleading texts to her family to throw them off.
Perhaps one of the most damning events during the search was Brian Laundrie’s parents coming across their son’s belongings while a search team discovered Brian’s skeletal remains nearby.
It remains to be seen how Joseph Petito and Nicole Schmidt’s case against Laundrie’s parents will develop. Gabby’s parents believe that the Laundries basically interfered with an ongoing federal investigation into their daughter’s death while the Laundries say that they asked that Brian turn himself in. While it may have been simply to answer questions, from an observer’s view of the case, it does appear that they knew more than they were letting on during the search for Petito.
What do you think? Did Brian Laundrie’s parents know what he did and tried to help him flee from justice or did they get caught up in their son’s actions which claimed two young lives?
Let us know in the comments below.
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