NORTH PORT, Fla. — Recently filed court documents allege Brian Laundrie's parents and attorney knew he killed his fiancée Gabby Petito in August 2021 while the couple was on a road trip in Wyoming and kept that information from Petito's family while they searched for the 22-year-old.
A complaint filed on Nov. 30 on behalf of Petito's parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, alleges not only did the Laundries and their attorney, Steven Bertolino, know Brian had killed Gabby but took actions that kept Gabby's parents in the dark while they were trying to find her.
The complaint says that before Gabby and Brian's trip out west, both of their parents had a "cordial" relationship and were happy for the couple after they got engaged. The documents go on to establish the last time Gabby contacted her parents before Brian beat and strangled her to death.
Following Gabby's death, the complaint alleges Brian tried to hide the fact she was dead by sending text messages between his phone and Gabby's. On Aug. 27, 2021 — the day Gabby is believed to have been killed — Brian allegedly sent a text from Gabby's phone to Nichole Schmidt pretending to be her and referencing Gabby's grandfather by his name, something the 22-year-old never did.
Two days later, on Aug. 29, 2021, Brian "frantically" called his parents saying Gabby was "gone" and he needed a lawyer, the complaint said. That same day, the Laundries retained Bertolino and told him Gabby was "gone."
From this point, the complaint alleges, the Laundries and Bertolino kept vital information about what happened to Gabby from her family.
Brian returned to his parents' North Port home on Sept. 1, 2021, in Gabby's van without her. At no point did the Laundries contact Gabby's family, the complaint said.
"While Gabrielle Petito's family was suffering, the Laundrie family went on vacation to Fort DeSoto Park on Sept. 6-7,2021," the complaint says in part. "They went on vacation knowing that Brian Laundrie had murdered Gabrielle Petito, it is believed that they knew where her body was located, and further knew that Gabrielle Petito's parents were attempting to locate her."
Gabby wasn't reported missing until Sept. 11, 2021. Her body was found on Sept. 19 in Bridger-Teton National Forest. According to Laundrie's parents, Brian left for the Carlton Reserve on Sept. 13. In October 2021, authorities said they found human remains near some of his belongings found at the reserve. He reportedly took his life and left behind a notebook confessing to Gabby's murder.
While Gabby was still considered missing, the complaint alleges Bertolino issued statements on the Laundries' behalf expressing concern and "hope" that she would be found, all while knowing she was dead and potentially even knowing where her body was.
"In issuing the statements, Christopher Laundrie, Roberta Laundrie and Steven Bertolino engaged in conduct which was intentional or reckless and they knew or should have known that the statement would cause emotional distress and knew or should have known that Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt would likely suffer emotional distress from the statements."
The complaint also accuses the Laundries of keeping Brian's whereabouts a secret while also refusing to respond to Gabby's parents' pleas for information. Roberta Laundrie even went so far as to block Schmidt's number and block her on Facebook back on Sept. 10, 2021, documents say.