Gabby Petito: Brian Laundrie told parents fiancee was 'gone' as he contacted them 20 times in 2 days
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or chat at thehotline.org
NORTH PORT, FLORIDA: Brian Laundrie made up to 20 phone calls to his parents in a span of just two days after confessing to them that his fiancée, Gabby Petito, was 'gone'.
The calls occurred shortly after the 22-year-old was last seen alive, while Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, have maintained that they were unaware of their son, 23, killing Gabby as well as the location where her body was dumped.
Brian Laundrie frantic calls to his parents after killing Gabby Petito
The revelation came to light during depositions related to the ongoing civil case brought by Gabby's parents, Nichole Schmidt and Joseph Petito, against the Laundries for pain and emotional distress.
The startling disclosure came on Sunday, August 29, 2021, in a call that lasted 55 minutes, followed by another at 9:20 pm lasting 22 minutes. This initiated a flurry of up to 20 calls between Brian and his parents, primarily with his mother, Roberta, on Monday, August 30.
The urgency of these calls starkly contrasted with Brian's previous sporadic communication pattern, having called his parents only five times in the two months, during the pair's doomed road trip from Florida to Utah and Wyoming in the summer of 2021.
Almost three weeks later, on September 19, Gabby's remains were found in an undeveloped camping area in Grand Teton National Forest, Wyoming. Subsequently, it was disclosed that Brian had strangled her before driving back to his parents' residence in North Port, Florida, using her 2012 white Ford Transit van on September 1.
Following police initiation of an investigation into his fiancée's disappearance, he disappeared, eventually taking his own life with a gunshot to the head in an alligator-infested swamp near his home.
Christopher and Roberta Laundries' disturbing demeanor during calls
During these calls, Brian disclosed to his father, Christopher, that Gabby was 'gone', expressing a need for a lawyer. Family lawyer Steve Bertolino in Long Island, New York, was subsequently contacted by Brian's parents. The attorney instructed the Laundries to remain silent.
The depositions uncovered Brian's parents' demeanor during these calls, with Christopher allegedly dismissing the gravity of 'gone' and Roberta exhibiting a cold and unemotional response. "Brian told Christopher, 'Gabby's gone, I need a lawyer.' And he was frantic in Christopher's words," Petito family attorney Pat Reilly said.
Christopher Laundrie refused to acknowledge Gabby Petito was dead
"They refused to acknowledge that that meant Gabby was dead, which flies in the face of logic. If your son calls and he's frantic and he says she's gone, I need a lawyer. What other explanation of 'gone' could there be?"
The attorney added that Christopher dismissed the meaning of 'gone' in his deposition as dead by saying "something to the effect of, well, there were times that Gabby would leave and go away for a couple days to meet with her friends or she'd just leave for a couple hours when she was living with us."
"That was his explanation for why he couldn't admit that 'gone' meant she was dead. It was a flurry of calls on those two days. The calls between Brian and his parents prior to that were very sporadic, around five," Daily Mail reported.
Roberta Laundries' unemotional facade
Reilly said that Roberta, 57, "didn't show any emotion," adding, "Roberta is cold, a very cold woman. She's unemotional, defensive." "Christopher is a different personality, he's more unassertive, polite and matter of fact. He wasn't as stoic as Roberta, and I don't mean that in a positive way."
Having relocated from her native Long Island after becoming engaged to 23-year-old Brian, Gabby moved in with the Laundries. It was from there that the couple embarked on their journey in the van in June 2021.
Further, the attorney slammed both for being inconsiderate towards Gabby's parents and their emotional turmoil of not knowing where their daughter was. "They were parents themselves and Gabby was going to be their daughter-in-law. How could they stay quiet when they know she's no longer living? questioned Reilly.
"They know Gabby's parents are frantically searching, they know they can bring some sense of relief to their suffering by letting them know where her body is. And instead they allowed the body to remain out there in the wilderness to be attacked by animals or whatever else was out there. It's just unconscionable."
The Laundries and their lawyer face lawsuit from the Petito family
Gabby's parents, who are actively seeking justice, find themselves enduring persistent emotional distress due to the Laundries' failure to cooperate and display empathy. Additionally, Attorney Bertolino is facing legal action for similar reasons in a trial scheduled for May.
Even amid their enduring personal pain, Gabby's parents, as noted by Reilly, have "sympathy and empathy" towards the Laundries, acknowledging that they too have experienced the loss of a child. "But that is something they don't see they are getting from Roberta and Christopher."
The Petito's maintain their resolve to seek justice and hold the Laundries accountable. The $3 million settlement reached in a wrongful death lawsuit in November 2022 is directed towards the Gabby Petito Foundation, aimed at supporting the search for missing persons and aiding domestic violence survivors.
