It’s been nearly seven months since the murder of Gabby Petito, but that hasn’t stopped her parents from demanding justice. If you recall, Gabby’s story was on every major news outlet after her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, killed her while they were traveling across the United States in a van last August. Yesterday, Gabby’s parents filed a civil lawsuit in a Florida court against Brian’s parents, alleging they knew Gabby’s murder.
According to CNN, in the filing, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt claim that Brian advised his parents that he murdered their daughter on August 28th, 2021, one day after Gabby’s death. The lawsuit states, “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 they were making arrangements for him to leave the country.”
In addition, the lawsuit also claims that on August 30th, Brian sent a text message to Nichole pretending to be Gabby. He claimed to have no service in the message while in Yosemite Park. However, the family believes the message was sent to make Nichole believe her daughter was still alive. Unfortunately, the last communication Nichole received from her daughter was on August 27th, according to the suit.
This is the day they believe she was was killed by manual strangulation. The family cites a text message sent from Gabby’s phone later that day where she referred to her grandfather as “Stan,” also led them to believe it wasn’t Gabby communicating with them. Her parents said that Gabby never called her grandfather by that name.
Gabby’s parents are asking for a judge to compensate them for pain and suffering, mental anguish, inconvenience, and the loss of the capacity for enjoyment of life experienced in the past and the future. Reports do not show a monetary amount listed. Roommates, drop a comment and share your thoughts on this case.
Want updates directly in your text inbox? Hit us up at 917-722-8057 or click here to join!