BRIAN Laundrie’s parents will not be given the notebook found by his remains if their bid to get access to his estate is successful, the family’s lawyer has said.
Chris and Roberta Laundrie placed a petition in Sarasota County court last month to be granted access to the 23-year-old’s belongings, which includes two bank accounts containing $20,000, according to the filing.
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Yet the items taken by the FBI and cops linked to the investigation will not be included, attorney Steve Bertolino said.
“The petition is simply to administer his estate, which is primarily the bank account,” Bertolino told Fox News.
“The return of property by law enforcement is separate.”
The public had hoped that the contents of the notebooks could shed some light on the final weeks before the 23-year-old died by suicide in Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Reserve, Florida.
Laundrie was pictured with notebooks while traveling with fiancee Gabby Petito.
In one photo, Brian was tucked under some blankets next to a stream and appeared to be relaxing in a hammock while they explored the Appalachian Trail in Georgia.
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A green spiraled notebook was seen stacked on top of a paperback edition of Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk with a handful of fine point ink pens.
And, during their ill-fated cross-country road trip, an orange notebook can be seen inside a tent while the young couple was camping at Zion National Park, Utah.
Other notebooks appear to be shelved inside Gabby’s immaculately decorated 2012 Ford Transit Connect van’s interior.
The FBI has not revealed whether it will return the notebooks to the Laundrie family or the other items found with his body last year.
Yet according to Bertolino, once the FBI closes the case on Gabby’s murder and Brian’s death by suicide, “retained property will be returned to its owner.”
The FBI has also not said if they have found further information about Laundrie’s last weeks or Gabby’s death in the notebooks.
NOTEBOOKS ‘BEING PRESERVED’
It is unclear whether the notebooks are legible after being under floodwaters for weeks.
“It is unlikely the notebook’s contents are legible if they were underwater for weeks,” former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Fox.
“Laundrie’s body was described as skeletal ‘remains’ and the FBI needed dental records to identify him. The human body can withstand water and wildlife better than paper.”
One expert suggested the notebook is being “preserved” by the FBI to aid with the investigation.
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe told CNN the journal could help to understand Laundrie’s “motive” or his feelings about fiance Gabby Petito.
McCabe said a team of law enforcement experts can help to dry out their paper, “trying to recover the writing, the ink marks, and fingerprints.”
He added: “In terms of understanding Laundrie’s motive, his feeling about Petito, maybe event any kind of notes or comments he may have made about the events—that notebook could shed a lot of light on those issues.”
MONEY CONCERNS
Laundrie returned to Florida without Gabby on September 1 and her family reported her missing almost two weeks later.
Gabby’s body was found in a national park in Wyoming on September 19.
The coroner ruled her cause of death was homicide by strangulation.
Laundrie has never officially been named a suspect in her death but a warrant was issued for his arrested after it emerged he spent $1,000 on Gabby’s card to get back to Florida.
The couple had last been seen together in a restaurant in Wyoming where staff said there had been an argument about them paying the bill.
It came only days after they were stopped by cops in Moab, Utah, after a witness said that Laundrie hit Gabby in the street on August 12.
In bodycam footage, Laundrie is heard saying that he would not have money to stay in a motel for the night as cops asked the couple to separate.
GABBY’S FAMILY CLAIM
However, questions have been raised about his financial situation after the contents of his bank accounts were disclosed in the estate filing.
Gabby Petitio’s mother Nichole Schmidt has also filed a claim to the estate petition asking for the murdered 22-year-old’s belongings to be given back to the family.
The Laundrie family lawyer has said they will not contest the claim.
As Brian didn’t have a will, an expert explained in a previous interview with The Sun that his dad Chris and mom Roberta have to go through the courts in a technical but common procedure in Florida.
According to court records, Chris and Roberta filed a petition in Sarasota County court on December 8, and the first hearing in the matter was expected on January 5.
The couple is requesting to become administrators of his estate.
Records show they submitted Brian’s death certificate in court along with information about his bank accounts and property.
The FBI investigation into Gabby’s death remains open.
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Ex-FBI deputy director explains why finding Brian Laundrie’s notebook is important
