Brian Laundrie's Parents Face New Disturbing Allegation About Gabby Petito's Death
Gabby Petito's murder case has taken a new twist, and this time, her killer's parents are facing new allegations. As a refresher, the 22-year-old and her fiance, Brian Laundrie, set out for a cross-country road trip in June 2021, but what started as a couple's attempt at adventure soon took a dark turn. In September 2021, Laundrie returned home without Petito, setting off a days-long search for the aspiring social media influencer.
On September 19, 2021, only a few days after she was officially reported missing, authorities found human remains confirmed to be Petito. "Coroner Blue's initial determination for the manner of death is homicide. The cause of death remains pending final autopsy results," the FBI wrote in a tweet at the time. An official autopsy later revealed that Petito had been dead for three to four weeks before she was found. A coroner later confirmed the 22-year-old died of strangulation.
But while Laundrie was initially mentioned as a person of interest and subsequently declared wanted, authorities were unable to make an arrest as he was reported missing a few days before Petito's remains were found. The bizarre case came to a head in October 2021 when investigators found Laundrie's remains alongside a notebook where he confessed to Petito's murder. While authorities announced in January 2022 that their investigation had been concluded and the case closed, new details have revealed that Laundrie's parents intentionally withheld information in the case.
Brian Laundrie's parents are allegedly not as innocent as they claim
In an amended civil lawsuit, Gabby Petito's parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, are accusing Brian Laundrie's parents of withholding information about their son's crime. In the lawsuit, Joseph and Schmidt claim that Brian informed his parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, of Gabby's murder three weeks before her remains were found. As reported by CNN, Brian put a call through to his parents on August 29, 2021, during which he allegedly confessed to Gabby's murder.
After the call, Brian's parents reportedly secured a lawyer who would go on to represent their son throughout the murder case. According to HuffPost, Joseph and Schmidt's new amendment comes in the wake of a deposition during which the Laundries admitted that they were in contact with Brian shortly after Gabby was killed. "Prior to the deposition, we had a belief that they knew, but we didn't know what they knew. In their deposition, they acknowledged that Brian called them frantically. He said Gabby was gone, and he needed a lawyer," Pat Reilly, Joseph and Schmidt's lawyer, explained.
The recent claims come only one year after Joseph and Schmidt received a $3 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the Laundries. "No amount of money is sufficient to compensate the Petito family for the loss of their daughter, Gabby, at the hands of Brian Laundrie," Reilly told HuffPost in an email.