On March 10, 2022, Gabby Petito’s parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, filed a lawsuit against Brian Laundrie’s parents, Chris and Roberta Laundrie. The parents of Petito believe that the Laundries not only hindered the search for their missing daughter, but assisted their son, whom they believe to be Petito’s killer, according to Rolling Stone. While Gabby’s body was not found until September 19, it is believed that her murder took place in August. However, text messages were sent from Gabby’s phone after the fact, which the lawsuit claims was done by Brian to make it appear that Gabby was still alive.
One of the most jaw-dropping claims in the lawsuit against the Laundries is that Petito’s parents believe that Brian told his parents about Gabby’s death on or around August 28, according to ABC News. Rolling Stone reports that just a few days later, the Laundries had hired Steven Bertolino as their lawyer on September 2. After this, the lawsuit claims, “In an effort to avoid any contact with Nichole Schmidt, on or about September 10, 2021, Roberta Laundrie blocked Nichole Schmidt on her cellular phone such that neither phone calls nor text could be delivered, and she blocked her on Facebook.”
