Gabby Petito’s parents sue Brian Laundrie’s parents over killing
ByCurt Anderson, Associated Press
Petito family news conference Nicole Schmidt, mother of Gabby Petito, speaks alongside, from left, Tara Petito, Gabby Petito's stepmother, Joseph Petito, Gabby Petito's father, Richard Stafford, family attorney, and Jim Schmidt, Gabby Petito's stepfather, during a news conference, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021, in Bohemia, N.Y. (John Minchillo/AP Photo)
(John Minchillo/AP Photo)
ByCurt Anderson, Associated Press
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The parents of Gabby Petito claim in a new Florida lawsuit that Brian Laundrie told his parents he had killed her when he returned home alone from their ill-fated western trip in a converted van.
The lawsuit filed Thursday in Sarasota County Circuit Court contends that Laundrie told his parents on Aug. 28 that he had killed Petito, 22, his fiancee of about a year at the time.
Petito’s disappearance on the trip and the subsequent discovery of her slain body Sept. 19 in a Wyoming national park became a national obsession, augmented by the later search for Laundrie in a Florida nature preserve.
The FBI concluded that Laundrie strangled Petito — with whom he had previous domestic quarrels and violence — and that Laundrie fatally shot himself in the Carlton Reserve swamp after returning home alone Sept. 1.
The lawsuit contends that Christopher and Roberta Laundrie concealed that their son had confessed to the murder from investigators and Petito’s parents while the search for Gabby Petito was ongoing.
“In doing so, Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie acted with malice or great indifference to the rights of (Gabby’s parents) Joseph Petito and Nicole Schmidt,” the lawsuit claims, adding that this conduct was “shocking, atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community.”
The lawsuit adds that the Laundries were “making arrangements for him (Brian) to leave the country.” No evidence was included to back up this claim.
The lawsuit seeks damages of at least $30,000. An attorney for the Laundries, Steven Bertolino, said in a text message Friday that his clients were fully within their rights not to talk. He also denied the lawsuit’s claims in general.
“This lawsuit does not change the fact that the Laundries had no obligation to speak to law enforcement or any third party including the Petito family,” Bertolino said. “This fundamental legal principle renders the Petitos’ claims to be baseless under the law.”
Petito and Laundrie were both from Blue Point, New York, but moved to his parents’ Gulf Coast home in North Port, Florida, in 2019. It was Petito’s van the couple took on their trip from Florida, which was intended to end on Halloween on the Pacific coast.
The lawsuit says that until that trip and her disappearance, the families “had a cordial relationship.”
“Gabrielle Petito had hopes of becoming a travel influencer, a ‘van-lifer’ and document her cross-country travels” on various social media sites, the lawsuit says.
Petito had been in regular contact with her parents and posted frequently on social media about their travels, including YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. The couple had a regular following before the murder mystery took hold.
The FBI says Laundrie sent text messages from Petito’s cellphone to her parents and others in an effort to pretend she was still alive. He was also charged with illegally using one of her credit cards before his remains were discovered in the Florida nature preserve.
Gabby Petito investigation This police camera video provided by The Moab Police Department shows Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito talking to a police officer after police pulled over the van she was traveling in with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, near the entrance to Arches National Park on Aug. 12, 2021. The couple was pulled over while they were having an emotional fight. Petito was reported missing by her family a month later and is now the subject of a nationwide search. (The Moab Police Department via AP) (AP)
Gabby Petito investigation Law enforcement officials investigate home of a young man wanted for questioning in the disappearance of his girlfriend, Gabby Petito, on Monday, Sept. 20, 2021 in North Port, Fla. The officers served a search warrant at the home of the parents of her 23-year-old boyfriend Brian Laundrie, who is wanted for questioning. (AP Photo/Curt Anderson) (Curt Anderson/AP)
Gabby Petito investigation A U.S. Park Ranger vehicle drives in the Spread Creek area in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, just east of Grand Teton National Park off U.S. Highway 89, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, in Wyoming. Authorities say they have found a body believed to be Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito, who went missing on a trip with her boyfriend. (AP Photo/Amber Baesler) (Amber Baesler/AP)
Gabby Petito investigation U.S. Park Ranger officials block vehicle access in the Spread Creek area of the Bridger-Teton National Forest, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, just east of Grand Teton National Park off U.S. Highway 89, in Wyoming. Authorities say a body discovered is believed to be Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito. The FBI said the body was found by law enforcement agents who had spent the past two days searching campgrounds. (AP Photo/Amber Baesler) (Amber Baesler/AP)
Gabby Petito investigation This photo provided by North Port Police Department, law enforcement officials conduct a search of the vast Carlton Reserve in the Sarasota, Fla., area for Brian Laundrie on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. Laundrie is a person of interest in the disappearance of his girlfriend, Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito. (North Port Police Department via AP) (AP)
Gabby Petito investigation A coroner's vehicle drives away in the Spread Creek area of the Bridger-Teton National Forest, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, just east of Grand Teton National Park off U.S. Highway 89 in Wyoming. Authorities say a body discovered is believed to be Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito. The FBI said the body was found by law enforcement agents who had spent the past two days searching campgrounds. The cause of death has not yet been determined, said FBI Supervisory Special Agent Charles Jones. (AP Photo/Amber Baesler) (Amber Baesler/AP)
Gabby Petito investigation A Teton County Search & Rescue vehicle leaves a road that is blocked by U.S. Park Ranger vehicles in the Spread Creek area of the Bridger-Teton National Forest, just east of Grand Teton National Park off U.S. Highway 89, in Wyoming, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021. Authorities say a body discovered is believed to be Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito. The FBI said the body was found by law enforcement agents who had spent the past two days searching campgrounds. (AP Photo/Amber Baesler) (Amber Baesler/AP)
Gabby Petito investigation This police camera video provided by The Moab Police Department shows Brian Laundrie talking to a police officer after police pulled over the van he was traveling in with his girlfriend, Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito, near the entrance to Arches National Park on Aug. 12, 2021. The couple was pulled over while they were having an emotional fight. Petito was reported missing by her family a month later and is now the subject of a nationwide search. (The Moab Police Department via AP) (AP)
Gabby Petito investigation A sign for Spread Creek Road is seen in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021. Authorities say a body discovered is believed to be Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito. The FBI said the body was found by law enforcement agents who had spent the past two days searching campgrounds. (AP Photo/Amber Baesler) (Amber Baesler/AP)
Gabby Petito investigation This photo provided by North Port Police Department, law enforcement officials conduct a search of the vast Carlton Reserve in the Sarasota, Fla., area for Brian Laundrie on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. Laundrie is a person of interest in the disappearance of his girlfriend, Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito. (North Port Police Department via AP) (AP)
Gabby Petito investigation A vehicle drives in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, just east of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021. Authorities say a body discovered in the area is believed to be Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito. The FBI said the body was found by law enforcement agents who had spent the past two days searching campgrounds. (AP Photo/Amber Baesler) (Amber Baesler/AP)
Gabby Petito investigation Police tape blocks off the home of Brian Laundrie’s parents in North Port, Fla., Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. Laundrie, 23, was traveling on a cross-country road trip with Gabby Petito, 22, who went missing in August. Petito’s body was apparently discovered over the weekend at Grand Teton National Park. Laundrie is wanted for questioning, but has not been seen for several days. (AP Photo/Curt Anderson) (Curt Anderson/AP)
Gabby Petito investigation This police camera video provided by The Moab Police Department shows Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito talking to a police officer after police pulled over the van she was traveling in with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, near the entrance to Arches National Park on Aug. 12, 2021. The couple was pulled over while they were having an emotional fight. Petito was reported missing by her family a month later and is now the subject of a nationwide search. (The Moab Police Department via AP) (AP)
Gabby Petito investigation This Thursday, Sept. 16, 2021, photo, shows a Suffolk County Police Department missing person poster for Gabby Petito posted in Jakson, Wyo. Petito, 22, vanished while on a cross-country trip in a converted camper van with her boyfriend. Authorities say a body discovered Sunday, Sept. 19 in Wyoming, is believed to be Petito. (AP Photo/Amber Baesler) (Amber Baesler/AP)
Gabby Petito investigation In this photo provided by North Port Police Department, law enforcement officials conduct a search of the vast Carlton Reserve in the Sarasota, Fla., area for Brian Laundrie on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. Laundrie is a person of interest in the disappearance of his girlfriend, Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito. (North Port Police Department via AP) (AP)
Gabby Petito investigation Members of the media, left, stand by the side of the road as U.S. Park Ranger vehicles block the access in the Spread Creek area of the Bridger-Teton National Forest, just east of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021. Authorities say a body discovered in the area is believed to be Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito. The FBI said the body was found by law enforcement agents who had spent the past two days searching campgrounds of Grand Teton. (AP Photo/Amber Baesler) (Amber Baesler/AP)
Gabby Petito investigation In this photo provided by North Port Police Department, law enforcement officials conduct a search of the vast Carlton Reserve in the Sarasota, Fla., area for Brian Laundrie on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. Laundrie is a person of interest in the disappearance of his girlfriend, Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito. (North Port Police Department via AP) (AP)
