Last year, all eyes were on Brian Laundrie, the 23-year-old who arrived to his Florida home by himself after going on a cross country trip with his fiancé Gabby Petito.
Everybody was suspicious that Laundrie had killed Petito, and when Petito’s body was discovered in Wyoming, he disappeared, only for his body to be found in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Petito’s family filed a civil lawsuit against Laundrie’s back in March, claiming that his parents helped him escape after law enforcement discovered a notebook with “written statements by Mr. Laundrie claiming responsibility for Ms. Petito’s death.”
Now, fast forward a few months, and we’re at the first hearing for the lawsuit against Laundrie’s parents.
According to News 4 Jax, the lawsuit states that Christopher and Roberta Laundrie hid from investigators that Brian had confessed to them about the murder of their daughter, as the search for Petito went on.
The lawsuit claims:
“In doing so, Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie acted with malice or great indifference to the rights of (Gabby’s parents) Joseph Petito and Nicole Schmidt.”
It also claimed that the conduct was “shocking, atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community.” It also notes that Laundrie’s parents were making arrangements for him to “leave the country.”
The lawsuit seeks at least $30,000 in damages, and Laundrie’s family’s attorney Steve Bertolino were in their rights to not speak:
“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 Petitos’ claims to be baseless under the law.”
However, the Laundrie parents didn’t show up for the hearing, meanwhile the Petitos on the other hand, were in the court room. Nothing obligates the Laundrie family to be present, however they’ve managed to stay out of the public eye since the investigation concluded.
It appears as though they will continue to do so.
The judge plans to rule on whether or not the case will proceed to trial in the next two weeks.
You can watch the full hearing below:
