The Gabby Petito memorial in Brian Laundrie’s front yard is torn down
A makeshift memorial for Gabby Petito built on the Laundrie family's front yard has been torn down.
Ms Petito was a 22-year-old vlogger who disappeared after her finace, Brian Laundrie, returned from a road trip without her in early September. Her body was eventually located on 19 September in Wyoming. Mr Laundrie – the only person of interest in the case – also disappeared, launching a weeks long manhunt. His remains were found on 20 October in a Florida nature reserve.
Originally from New York, Ms Petito had been living with her boyfriend at his parents' home in North Port, Florida. Reporting shortly after Ms Petito disappeared claimed that the Laundries were refusing to help police. Ms Petito's family on several occasions made media appearances practically begging the Laundries to provide any morsel of information that could have led them to their daughter. After the pleas from Ms Petito's family were ignored, incensed protesters began showing up outside the Laundrie home, some with megaphones, to chide and harass the family.
One protester claimed she flew in from Hershey, Pennsylvania, and spent her time in Florida screaming at the house, even going so far as to say it should be "burned down”.
The protests eventually caught the attention of the true crime fans following along with the story online. They began sending flowers memorialising Ms Petito to the Laundries’ home, and before long a small memorial was formed near the edge of the family's front yard. The memorial eventually grew to include more direct attacks on the Laundrie family, including a sign insinuating the family hides bodies and another calling them the "dirty Laundries”.
On Thursday, the mini-memorial was removed by North Port police, fearing the items would be destroyed by inclement weather and disrupt drainage on the street.
"Ahead of severe weather today, the City of North Port has received several complaints about signs located on Wabasso Ave," city spokesman Josh Taylor told Fox News Digital in a statement. "Per City Sign Code and storm water code, these signs are in violation and are not allowed in the road right-of-way."
According to city officials, the items gathered in the Laundries’ yard violate stormwater drainage codes.
The removal of the memorial is likely a small victory for the Laundrie family, who have been hounded by both the press and the constant criticism of the protesters for weeks. Shortly after it was revealed that the remains found in the Carlton Reserve were those of Mr Laundrie, the man's father, Chris, asked the press to let them grieve in peace.
The family spent two days grieving privately before returning to their home in North Port.
