(Photo : Photo by Octavio Jones/Getty Images)
Gabby Petito's parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, filed a lawsuit against Brian Laundrie's parents, Chris and Roberta Laundrie, for allegedly hiding their son and helping him escape justice. The parents of the victim are allegedly seeking at least $100,000 in damages from the Laundries.
Gabby Petito's parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt filed a lawsuit against Brian Laundrie's parents, Chris and Roberta Laundrie, arguing that the couple was aware of their son's murder crime and tried to help him escape justice.
The lawsuit claims that Chris and Roberta's willfulness and maliciousness. Joseph and Nichole were forced to suffer pain, mental anguish, inconvenience, and loss of capacity for enjoyment of life after the death of their daughter.
Lawsuit Against Laundrie Family
Petito, 22 years old, and Brian, 23 years old, left New York in early July to go on a cross-country road trip in Petito's white Ford transit van. The couple was reportedly able to make it as far as Jackson Wyoming by late August. But on Sept. 1, Brian pulled into his parents' driveway located in North Port, Florida, driving his partner's van and Petito nowhere to be seen.
The civil complaint claims that Brian murdered Petito on Aug. 27, 2021, during their travel alone together. Brian then sent fake text messages between his mobile phone and Petito's cell to try and hide the fact that she was already dead, said court documents and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), as per Fox News.
Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges that Brian confessed to his parents on Aug. 28 about the crime that he committed. Petito's parents also claim that the Laundrie family hired Steve Bertolino, a lawyer and longtime friend, on Sept. 2. The legal expert said that he has been representing the Laundries for many years and called the civil lawsuit "baseless."
The lawsuit said that, while Petito's parents were desperately trying to look for information concerning their daughter's whereabouts, Chris and Roberta were keeping crucial information from authorities, including where their son was hiding and that they were already trying to get him out of the country.
Disappearance and Murder
According to CNN, while a coroner initially ruled Petito's cause of death as manual strangulation, the lawsuit added blunt force injuries to her head and neck as her cause of death. The filing noted that Schmidt's last communication with Petito was on Aug. 27. They also cited a text message from Petito's phone sent later that day where she called her grandfather, "Stan," something that they said she would never have done.
After months-long criminal investigation into Petito's disappearance and subsequent murder, the FBI determined in January that Brian was the one who killed her. Authorities stated that they found a written confession the suspect owned where he confessed to his crimes before taking his own life.
Early into the investigation of Petito's disappearance and death, Chris and Roberta faced widespread criticism and scrutiny. At the time, authorities revealed that the couple had not been cooperative with their questions, claims that Joseph and Schmidt echoed in their lawsuit.
Petito's parents are reportedly seeking at least $100,000 in damages for the pain and mental anguish that they suffered due to the Laundries' actions. Lawyers for either family did not immediately respond to requests for comments regarding the controversy, People reported.
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