Who are Brian Laundrie’s parents?
BRIAN Laundrie's parents have been at the center of the Gabby Petito case as many people believe they know more than they are claiming.
In March 2022, Gabby Petito’s family filed a lawsuit against Brian's parents.
Who are Brian Laundrie's parents?
Brian's father Christopher 'Chris' Laundrie and mother Roberta Laundrie are residents of Wabasso Avenue in North Port, Florida.
According to their tax documents, they own a 10,000-sq.ft property in the area.
Celebrity bounty hunter Duane Chapman, who famously goes by Dog the Bounty Hunter, was convinced the 23-year-old turned to his parents for help based on the suspicious way they had been acting throughout the whole investigation.
Online sleuths have also stated that they think Brian and his parents had been using code words to write letters back and forth.
Read More on the Gabby Petito Case
On October 21, 2021, two police detectives paid a visit to Brian's parent's house before Chris and Roberta Laundrie went to Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park looking for their son to help law enforcement.
Some of Brian's belongings were found in the park located near what was identified as 'skeletal remains.'
After the discovery of his body, they were spotted returning home with a bag that web sleuths claim was made by their son and covered in his artwork.
Prior to that, the Laundrie family's attorney, Steve Bertolino, revealed that Brian was visibly "upset" when he left his parents' home for the last time.
He told NBC: “Brian was very upset when he left”, adding that Chris Laundrie "conveyed to me several times that he wished he hadn't let him go, but he couldn't stop him."
In a subsequent interview with TMZ, the attorney said he "couldn't answer" the reason why the 23-year-old decided to leave but added he was “distressed” at the time.
Steve added: “He just did not seem himself. As Roberta Laundrie pointed out you just do not know what someone is thinking inside.
"They’re looking back and trying to figure out what his disposition was that day."
When was Brian Laundrie's body found?
On October 21, 2021, an FBI statement confirmed that the human remains found at the T. Malbry Carlton, Jr. Memorial Reserve and Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park were Brian's.
While searching the Myakkahatchee park the day prior, authorities found remains not too far from a backpack and notebook believed to be Brian's.
The remains were found in an area of the park that was previously underwater. A medical examiner and cadaver dogs were sent to the scene to help with the investigation.
At the time of the finding, it was only reported that the remains were bones. However, a later comparison of dental records confirmed that the human remains belonged to Brian.
An autopsy report by the Sarasota, Florida, Medical Examiner stated Brian's cause of death to be from a gunshot wound to the head - a result of a murder-suicide.
Did Brian Laundrie kill Gabby Petito?
Gabby Petito died of homicide and as announced on October 12, 2021, by Teton County Coroner Dr Brent Blue, her autopsy report revealed her cause of death to be strangulation.
After the results of her autopsy were announced, Brian's family attorney, released a statement saying: "Gabby Petito’s death at such a young age is a tragedy."
Bertolino stated, "While Brian Laundrie is currently charged with the unauthorized use of a debit card belonging to Gabby, Brian is only considered a person of interest in relation to Gabby Petito’s demise."
Back on September 23, 2021, the FBI issued a warrant for Brian's arrest accusing him of using "unauthorized debit cards after Gabby Petito’s death."
At the time, Brian was only a "person of interest" in the case as authorities continue their investigation.
It wasn't until October 21, 2021, that Brian became a "person of interest" in her murder.
Do Chris and Roberta have any other children?
As far as we know, Chris and Roberta have one other child, Cassie, 32.
Brian's sister had been very open about the case and has appeared on Good Morning America multiple times in hopes that Brian would have returned home.
Cassie was last seen on the show during their October 5, 2021, broadcast and once again urged her brother to come forward.
She begged her fugitive brother to "get us out of this horrible mess" following the death of his girlfriend.
"I really wish he had come to me first that day with the van because I don't know [if] we'd be here," Cassie said.
"I worry about him," she continued. "I hope he's ok and then I'm angry and I don't know what to think. I'd tell my brother to just come forward and get us out of this horrible mess," she concluded.
It came just hours after Cassie broke her silence to reveal she "doesn't know" if her brother killed his fiance Gabby Petito - or if her parents are involved in his weeks-long disappearance.
Will Brian Laundrie's parents be charged in connection to Gabby Petito's death?
As the investigation into Gabby Petito's murder continues, their lawyer told The Independent on January 21, 2022, that Brian Laundrie's parents would not be charged in connection to her murder.
“To my knowledge, there will be no charges,” family lawyer Steven Bertolino told the outlet at the time.
However, the Laundries have been criticized for not actively participating in the investigation or helping the FBI.
Following a nearly five-month investigation, the FBI updated the Petito family on January 20, 2022.
“We truly appreciate the FBI’s diligent and painstaking efforts in this extremely complicated case," the Petito family said in a statement after the update.
“The quality and quantity of the facts and information collected by the FBI leave no doubt that Brian Laundrie murdered Gabby.”
On March 10, 2022, Gabby Petito’s family filed a lawsuit against the parents of Brian Laundrie.
They accused the Laundrie family of knowing their son murdered Petito and were planning to help him leave the country.
"In the new lawsuit, Petito’s parents allege that Laundrie told his parents what happened 'on or about' Aug. 28," according to New Channel 8.
"In the lawsuit, Petito and Schmidt accuse the Laundrie family of acting 'with malice or great indifference to the rights of' Petito’s family."
According to CNN, Brian's mother wrote a letter to him that included references to getting a shovel and burying a body, an attorney representing Gabby's parents said during a court hearing on February 14, 2023.
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The Laundrie family's attorney has filed multiple motions to dismiss the Petito's lawsuit against them - all of which have, so far, been unsuccessful.
On May 24, 2023, attorneys will decide whether the jury will see the letter that Roberta wrote to Brian. Per the Laundries' lawyers, the note was written before Brian and Gabby had even left for their trip and is irrelevant as a result.