Brian Laundrie family lawyer denies having contact with fugitive murderer after Gabby’s parents file lawsuit
BRIAN Laundrie’s family lawyer has hit back at Gabby Petito’s parents, denying that he ever had contact with their daughter’s fugitive murderer.
Attorney Steve Bertolino responded to the “baseless claims” after Petito's dad, Joseph, and mom, Nichole Schmidt, filed a civil lawsuit against Chris and Roberta Laundrie on Thursday.
The lawyer reportedly told WFLAJB that he did not have direct contact before Brian left Wyoming on August 31, 2021,
Four days earlier, Laundrie had allegedly murdered his girlfriend, whose death was confirmed in October.
According to the civil lawsuit obtained by The Sun, Laundrie's parents allegedly knew of Petito's murder because Brian confessed to them when he returned from the trip, days before they secured a lawyer.
"It is believed, and therefore averred that… Brian Laundrie advised his parents, Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie, that he had murdered Gabrielle Petito,” it read.
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“On that same date, Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie spoke with Attorney Steve Bertolino, and sent him a retainer on Sept. 2, 2021.”
It claimed that the Laundries had knowledge of Gabby's death and did not reveal it to authorities or Petito's parents, despite their multiple pleas for the truth from the family.
In a statement, released on behalf of the Petito family by attorney Rick Stafford on Friday, they accused the Laundries of “callous indifference to their suffering.”
It read: “Christopher and Roberta had multiple opportunities to disclose Joe, Nichole or the authorities that Gabby was no longer alive and to direct them to her body.
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“Instead, Christopher and Roberta Laundries showed callous indifference to the suffering of Gabby’s family and compounded her family’s aguish, pain and suffering by their actions.”
In a war of words, Brian’s family slammed the lawsuit as “baseless” as the bombshell civil lawsuit, filed in Sarasota County, Florida alleged that Brian's parents were also working on getting him out of the country.
Attorney Steve Bertolino told The Sun: "As I have maintained over the last several months, the Laundrie‘s have not publicly commented at my direction which is their right under the law.
"Assuming everything the Petitos allege in their lawsuit is true, which we deny, this lawsuit does not change the fact that the Laundries had no obligation to speak to Law Enforcement or any third-party including the Petito family.
"This fundamental legal principle renders the Petito’s claims to be baseless under the law."
The Petito's allegations cited in the documents were not previously released by the FBI, which didn't arrest or charge Brian's parents.
The lawsuit didn’t include any documentation or exhibits to back their claims.
It's unclear if that's because the FBI hasn't officially closed Gabby's murder case.
But the lawsuit has been in the works for at least a month.
It came as a coroner determined that Gabby's cause of death was homicide by manual strangulation, but the new lawsuit claims she also suffered blunt force injuries to the head and neck.
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Gabby's body was found at a campsite on September 19, about 1,000 feet from where her van was parked.
Coroners believe she was dead for three to four weeks before her remains were discovered.
