Gabby Petito case: Brian Laundrie’s parents could go on trial in weeks as judge cites Depp Heard case

ICYMI: Brian Laundrie’s parents knew where Gabby Petito’s body had when they put out a statement hoping she would be found, a civil court hearing has been told.

Ms Petito’s parents Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt are suing the Laundries in Florida’s Sarasota County Circuit Court alleging that Chris and Roberta Laundrie deliberately withheld that their son had killed the vlogger before she was reported missing.

Bevan Hurley has the story.

ICYMI: Gabby Petito’s mother Nichole Schmidt could be seen rubbing a heart-shaped locket as the hearing continued.

ICYMI: In a separate civil lawsuit, Gabby Petito’s mother has filed a wrongful death claim against Brian Laundrie’s estate seeking $30,000 in damages.

Nichole Schmidt states in the suit that Laundrie intentionally killed her 22-year-old daughter, causing her and her ex-husband Joseph Petito to incur funeral and burial expenses, and suffer “a loss of probable future companionship, society and comfort”.

Ms Schmidt is seeking a trial by jury and a judgment for compensatory damages in the suit.

Read more:

ICYMI: Gabby Petito, 22, an aspiring social media star who went missing in late August during a “dream” cross-country road trip from New York to Oregon with her fiancé, was strangled to death, and her body found in a Wyoming national park.

More than a month later, skeletal human remains found inside the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Florida were confirmed to be those of her fiancé Brian Laundrie.

Autopsy results showed Laundrie died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and a notebook found alongside the remains contained a note claiming responsibility for the murder.

Read about the background to the case here.

ICYMI: The FBI revealed in January that Brian Laundrie sent text messages to Gabby Petito’s phone to try and make the authorities think the murdered young woman was still alive.

As the FBI concluded its investigation into her murder and made clear there was no plan to charge Laundries’ parents in connection with her disappearance, the FBI said it had examined text messages sent by Laundrie to his fiancée’s phone after he had murdered her.

“After Ms Petito’s death, there were several text messages identified between Mr Laundrie’s telephone and Ms Petito’s telephone,” said the final report.

“The timing and content of these messages are indicative of Mr Laundrie attempting to deceive law enforcement by giving the impression that Ms Petito was still alive.”

The authorities said they had also examined Laundrie’s belongings and found among them a notebook in which the 24-year-old confessed to killing her.

ICYMI: The hearing to determine whether a civil lawsuit brought by Gabby Petito’s parents can proceed to trial is scheduled to begin at 1.30pm ET in the Sarasota County Circuit Court in Venice, Florida.

Fox News reports that the Petito-Schmidt families will attend the hearing in person. However, the Laundries are not planning to attend or appear via video link.

Florida attorney Pat Reilly will represent the Petito family.

Matthew Luka will appear as a defense attorney for the Laundries. Their family attorney Steve Bertolino is also expected to appear via video link.

The hearing is open to cameras.

Judge Hunter W. Carroll will hear arguments from both sides to determine whether the case can proceed to a jury trial next year.

ICYMI: “These people were not strangers, their son was engaged to marry Gabby Petito, she had lived with them for about a year, they had visited their home, they had a cordial, warm and friendly relationship, they knew how much Gabby meant to Joe and Nichole,” said Mr Reilly, who called a statement released by the Laundrie family’s lawyer as “callous” and “terrible.”

The statement released by the Laundrie’s lawyer during the hunt for Petito that he is referring to was as follows.

“It is our understanding that a search has been organised for Ms Petito in or near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. On behalf of the Laundrie family it is our hope that the search for Ms Petito is successful and that Ms Petito is reunited with her family.”

Mr Reilly went on to say that the statement “was a lie that gave false hope to gabby's parents that she might be found alive."

Johnny Depp’s defamation of Amber Heard was raised during a civil court hearing to determine whether Gabby Petito’s family can sue the parents of Brian Laundrie.

Ms Petito’s parents Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt allege that Chris and Roberta Laundrie released a misleading statement through their lawyer that their daughter was still alive when they knew their son Brian had already killed her.

Judge Hunter W Carroll brought up the defamation ruling against Mr Depp, which was due to a statement made by his lawyer that Ms Heard’s abuse allegations were a “hoax”.

“Aren’t we responsible for the words that we say, when we say them,” the judge asked during the Wednesday hearing, adding: “Johnny Depp just got found civilly liable for defamation for what his attorney said, right?”

Continue reading the full story from The Independent’s Bevan Hurley below:

ICYMI: Many questions remain unanswered, but the case is a tragedy for all concerned, writes Andrew Buncombe.

The lawyer representing the parents of Brian Laundrie says he has “no regrets” with how Chris Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie handled Gabby Petito’s case.

“What I knew, or what Chris and Roberta knew, we did not have to disclose, to any third party, and specifically to law enforcement, or the Petito family,” Steven Bertolino said during an interview with NewsNation on Wednesday night.

The remarks came hours after an initial hearing in the lawsuit brought forward by Ms Petito’s parents, who allege that Chris and Roberta Laundrie released a misleading statement through their lawyer that their daughter was still alive when they knew their son Brian had already killed her.

“I did everything the right way. We have no regrets. The parents did everything the right way, and they have no regrets,” Mr Bertolino said, before highlighting that it was not in his purview to comment on what the pair knew or didn’t know at the time of Ms Petitio’s disappearance.

“I can tell you what I knew … perhaps, one day what Brian knew, but none of that’s gonna happen tonight on this show,” Mr Bertolino closed.