Gabby Petito & Brian Laundrie’s parents meet in ‘gut-wrenching’ closed-door deposition for 1st time since murder
THE parents of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie have come face-to-face for the first time since the young vlogger's murder in 2021.
The legal team for the Petito family grilled Christopher Laundrie during a closed-door deposition at Saratoga County court in Venice, Florida, on Tuesday as their civil case inches closer to the May 2024 trial date.
Christopher's testimony was described as "gut-wrenching."
"It was extremely hurtful to listen to someone that has no remorse and no compassion for the girl they would call their daughter-in-law," Gabby's mom, Nichole Schmidt, told local NBC affiliate WFLA.
Schmidt attended the depositions remotely, while Christopher, Roberta Laundrie, their longtime attorney Steven Bertolino, and Joesph Petito were present.
Roberta will be questioned on Wednesday.
Read more in The U.S. Sun
"[Wednesday] will be worse," Schmidt told the outlet.
Petito family attorney Pat Reilly is handling the questioning of the Laundries.
The questions have not yet been revealed publicly.
'BURN AFTER READING' NOTE
Roberta's deposition will come months after her so-called "burn after reading" letter to her son Brian Laundrie became public.
Most read in The US Sun
The note, which Roberta claims she gave to her son before Gabby went missing, eerily describes how she would help Brian dispose of a body.
"Nothing can make me stop loving you, nothing will or could ever divide us," the note read.
"No matter what we do, or where we go, or what we say - we will always love each other.
"If you're in jail, I will bake a cake with a file in it. If you need to dispose of a body, I will show up with a shovel and garbage bags."
The letter ends with Roberta warning her son to "watch people's actions to know if they love you - not their words."
"Nothing can separate us, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not threats, not even sin, not the thinkable or unthinkable can get between us."
Gabby's parents claim Roberta wrote the note around the time of their daughter's disappearance as she references a shovel and burying a body.
The young couple were on a cross-country road trip during the summer of 2021 when Gabby, 22, was strangled to death by Brian, 23.
On September 19, 2021, Gabby's remains were discovered in Wyoming's Teton National Forest days after Brian had returned to Florida before he vanished.
Authorities launched an extensive search for Brian before his body was finally discovered in the swamps of a Florida park on October 20.
Brian's journal was found near his body, where he confirmed that he killed Gabby.
Read More on The US Sun
The Petito family is suing the Laundries and Bertolino for intentional infliction of emotional distress, claiming they were aware of their daughter's murder soon after she went missing.
The Petitos claim the Laundries did nothing but issue a statement through Bertolino expressing false hope that Gabby would be found.