Brian Laundrie’s parents had “full knowledge” that their son murdered Gabby Petito — and were working to help him flee, the family of the slain Long Island woman alleges in a new lawsuit.
Petito’s grieving parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, believe that Laundrie told his mom and dad around Aug. 28 that he had killed his girlfriend during their cross-country trip.
“While Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt were desperately searching for information concerning their daughter, Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie were keeping the whereabouts of Brian Laundrie secret, and it is believed were making arrangements for him to leave the country,” the suit alleges.
Gabby, 22, was reported missing by her mother in Suffolk County on Sept. 11 after Laundrie returned to his parent’s home in Florida 10 days earlier. The Blue Point native’s body was found at a Wyoming campground on Sept. 19.
The filing recounts the high-profile events of the next few weeks, when Petito’s parents publicly urged Christopher and Roberta Laundrie to divulge information about the case.
As the national media camped out in front of the Laundrie’s North Port house, where Gabby once lived, the family went on a camping trip and it was revealed they were not cooperating with authorities.
Petito’s parents claim that Christopher and Roberta Laundrie were making plans to help their 23-year-old son flee the country.
They also allegedly already knew that Brian had killed Gabby when they issued a statement through their lawyer saying they hoped she would be safely found, according to the suit.
The Laundries “exhibited extreme and outrageous conduct … regarded as shocking, atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community,” the lawsuit filed in Florida’s Sarasota County alleged.
Brian Laundrie was named “person of interest” in Petito’s murder and went missing himself. He was found dead by suicide in a heavily wooded area not far from his parents’ house in October.
Petito’s parents are seeking damages in excess of $30,000 from the Laundries, whose lawyer claimed the suit was “baseless” because his clients were never obligated to speak to anyone about the missing-person cases.
“As I have maintained over the last several months, the Laundrie’s [sic] have not publicly commented at my direction which is their right under the law,” Steven Bertolino said in a statement to Fox 13.
Petito family lawyer Rick Stafford said the Laundries “showed callous indifference” and “compounded [Gabby’s} family’s anguish, pain and suffering by their actions,” according to WABC-TV.
The Post has reached out to Bertolino and Stafford for comment.