What began with Gabby Petito‘s disappearance in Aug. 2021 concluded with Petito and Brian Laundrie‘s family reaching a civil suit settlement for an undisclosed amount in Feb. 2024. If the civil suit had not been settled, the Petito and Laundrie family were expected in court two months later.
According to the Petito family civil suit, the Laundries intentionally withheld information about Gabby’s whereabouts after she went missing and before she was found dead at Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming. Before she died, Petito and Brian Laundrie, both in their 20s and engaged, were on a cross-country trip from Florida to build an online following as vanlife influencers.
What happened to Brian Laundrie?
Once Petito was reported missing, Laundrie was declared a person of interest in the case. He returned home to Florida and was later found dead by suicide in a nature reserve, along with writings admitting he killed Petito. The Petito family suit alleges that Laundrie’s parents knew she was dead and where her body could be found after Brian contacted them, but that they kept that information secret while the Petito search continued, according to CNN.
Laundrie’s parents said Brian told them Gabby was “gone.“ Brian asked them to get a lawyer, but he provided no specific information about what happened to her. Laundrie’s mother later said the possibility her son killed her may have “crossed her mind.”
What Laundrie and Petito’s parents said
The agreement to settle the suit out of court came after a long day of mediation, Petito’s parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, said in a statement, adding,
“All parties reluctantly agreed in order to avoid further legal expenses and prolonged personal conflict. Our hope is to close this chapter of our lives to allow us to move on and continue to honor the legacy of our beautiful daughter, Gabby.”
via NBC News
Through their lawyer, Steven Bertolino, Brian’s parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, told the Florida news outlet, WFLA,
“[The Laundrie family] participated in mediation with the Petito family and the civil lawsuit has now been resolved. The terms of the resolution are confidential, and we look forward to putting this matter behind us.”
via WFLA.com
If it had gone to court, the Petito civil suit asked for $30,000 for causing “emotional distress” for allegedly keeping Petito’s whereabouts confidential. The Petito family had previously been awarded $3 million in a wrongful death lawsuit, to be paid to Petito’s mother, as the administrator of her late daughter’s estate.
