Brian Laundrie's mom faced possible arrest, perp walk after Gabby Petito's body was found, says attorney

NORTH PORT, FLORIDA: According to Roberta Laundrie's attorney, an FBI agent had discussed the possibility of her being arrested and having to go through a perp walk in the days following the discovery of Gabby Petito's body.

Steven Bertolino, a lawyer of the Laundries, claims his clients were prepared to face public scrutiny in a press conference possibly scheduled for September 21, 2021, two days after the discovery of her remains in Wyoming.

Laundries' attorney Steven Bertolino claims the FBI told him they might arrest Roberta if the press conference was held

"I spoke to Chris and Roberta about this and I said, we need to set forth what happened at least from their perspective. And I scheduled a press conference," said Bertolino in an October 2023 deposition, as per NewsNation. 

The attorney claims that the FBI informed him that Roberta, Brian Laundrie's mother, might face charges after learning of plans for him and possibly the Laundries themselves to make public statements.

Bertolino claimed, "I got a call from the FBI and they indicated to me, and I won’t say no uncertain terms, but they indicated to me in terms that were clear that I should not have the press conference."

He further added, "I had my suspicions as to why and they indicated that if I went forward with the press conference that they were going to arrest Roberta and put her through a full perp walk, including but not limited to, statements in front of the camera and everything else." 

"That came from Bryan Gee, the New York agent I was dealing with," mentioned Bertolino.

The longtime attorney of the Laundries also claimed that the FBI apparently gave away what charges Roberta might have faced, adding, "I discussed it with Roberta and we were at a loss as to what they could possibly be charging her with and I had I don’t want to misspeak but I believe I had back and forth conversations with Bryan Gee as to what, what is here and he could not tell me."

Bertolino stated, "All he would tell me was that he believed it was something electronic. It was something they believed Roberta had done with electronics." 

Steven Bertolino conjectures the FBI didn't want the Laundries to hold a press conference owing to internal issues in the investigation

Bertolino continues by saying that he has no idea what charge relating to electronics the FBI could use to detain Roberta, other than the fact that she went with her son to buy a new phone after he got back from Wyoming without Petito.

He apparently told Gee that getting a cell phone for their child is something that a lot of parents, including him, do on a regular basis.

"If that’s what you’re charging her with that she went to the store and bought him a cell phone, Roberta will do the perp walk. And Roberta told me in no uncertain terms, I will put my head down and do the perp walk because I have nothing to give them," asserted Bertolino. 

The attorney claims that Brian's parents have finally acknowledged what their son told them. Roberta was never charged after Bertolino decided to call off the Laundrie press conference.

Bertolino never brought up the subject of Christopher Laundrie, Brian's father, facing the possibility of being detained by the FBI.

Toward the end of his deposition, the attorney offered a theory as to why the FBI supposedly opposed the Laundries' plans to hold a press conference.

He cited the alleged discord that was thought to have existed between FBI agents and the North Port Police Department following their mistaken identification of Brian Laundrie as Roberta when the two left the Laundrie residence in September 2021.

"I believe that part of the reason they didn’t want me to speak the following week is that they didn’t want me to talk about all the disarray that they were having," noted Bertolino, adding, "That’s my belief."

During the FBI's investigation, which ended in January 2022, Brian's parents were never charged, even in light of the widely publicized probe into Gabby's apparent murder in 2021 at the hands of her fiance.

Joe Petito and Nichole Schmidt, Gabby's parents, are currently suing Brain's parents in civil court for purposeful infliction of emotional distress. Their lawsuit alleges that the Laundries knew that she had been murdered but did nothing but issue a statement in the hopes that Gabby would be located.

The trial is slated for May 13, 2024, in Venice, Florida.