Petitos v Laundries - live: Family in court to sue her killer’s parents
Lawyers for Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie will come face-to-face in court for the first time on Wednesday as a judge will decide whether a civil lawsuit against the killer’s family can go ahead.
Ms Petito’s parents filed a lawsuit in Florida’s Sarasota County Circuit Court in March alleging that Chris and Roberta Laundrie were aware that their son had killed the vlogger before she was reported missing.
Joe Petito and Nichole Schmidt also accuse the Laundries of planning to help Brian leave the country, and are seeking damages for the “intentional infliction of emotional distress”.
Laundrie family attorney Steve Bertolino has described the allegations as “baseless” and is seeking to have the case thrown out.
The lawsuit alleges Brian Laundrie informed his parents of the Ms Petito’s murder “on or about” 28 August.
“While Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt were desperately searching for information concerning their daughter, Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie were keeping the whereabouts of Brian Laundrie secret, and it is believed were making arrangements for him to leave the country,” the lawsuit says.
Judge Hunter W. Carroll will hear arguments from both sides to determine whether the case can proceed to a jury trial next year.
Petito parents allege Laundrie family knew she was dead
Chris and Robert Laundrie seek to have case dismissed
Petitos seeking jury trial and damages
Gabby Petito was killed by manual strangulation by Laundrie
Brian Laundrie admits killing Gabby Petito in ‘suicide note’ found near his remains
16:05 , Bevan Hurley
The FBI revealed in January that Brian Laundrie claimed responsibility for the murder of Gabby Petito’s death in a “suicide note” found near his remains.
It found Laundrie was solely responsible for the “tragic death of Gabby Petito” as it announced it was wrapping up its four and a half month long investigation.
A notebook recovered near Laundrie’s remains in Florida’s Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park contained a written confession, the FBI said.
“A review of the notebook revealed written statements by Mr Laundrie claiming responsibility for Ms Petito’s death,” the FBI said in a statement.
Brian Laundrie admits killing Gabby Petito in ‘suicide note’ found near his remains
The sad, twisting saga of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie
15:53 , Bevan Hurley
It began with the most modest of announcements.
“Blue Point Woman Reported Missing,” the Suffolk County Police Department tweeted on 13 September.
Not everyone who spotted the announcement would necessarily have feared the worst. It was certainly odd that the vehicle she had been travelling in had returned without her. Yet people are reported missing all the time. And it is not unheard of for young people to get off the grid for all sorts of reasons.
What we know now is that by the time her parents reported her missing, and the Suffolk County Police Department posted its one-line statement, the 22-year-old woman was already dead, having been strangled to death around two weeks earlier in the Spread Creek campsite, 20 miles north of Jackson Hole.
Read Andrew Buncombe’s recap of what the Gabby Petito tells us about America.
The sad saga of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie – and what it tells us about America
