BRIAN Laundrie’s parents will have to “wait and see” what evidence Gabby Petito’s family has against them, according to the Petito’s lawyer.
Attorney Pat Reilly issued the ominous warning after Chris and Roberta Laundrie filed a motion on Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit that alleges they knew their son had killed the vlogger.
The motion to dismiss the case claims the Petito’s lawsuit is “baseless and frivolous.”
Lawyer Steve Bertolino filed the motion in court on behalf Brian Laundrie’s parents, Chris and Roberta.
But a Petito family representative doubled down, saying they have evidence to support their accusations.
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“If we didn’t believe it was true, we wouldn’t have put them in the complaint,” Reilly told WFLA about the claims in the lawsuit he filed against Chris and Roberta earlier this month.
“They’ll have to wait and see.”
The lawsuit, filed on March 10 on behalf of Petito’s parents Joe Petito and Nicole Schmidt, accuses the Laundries of knowing their son Brian had killed Petito.
The suit also accuses the Florida couple of helping their son as he attempted to leave the U.S. following Petito’s murder.
According to the lawsuit, the Laundrie’s retained their lawyer on September 2, 2021, the same date the parents allegedly learned their son had killed Petito.
“It is believed, and therefore averred that… Brian Laundrie advised his parents, Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie, that he had murdered Gabrielle Petito,” the lawsuit states.
The motion filed by the Laundrie’s on Wednesday asks the judge to dismiss the ‘baseless’ lawsuit.
“A motion to dismiss the baseless and frivolous lawsuit commenced by Gabby Petito‘s parents was filed in court,” Bertolino said.
“The Laundries have exercised their constitutional right to refrain from speaking and have relied on counsel to speak for them. This is not only common practice in our civilized society but it embodies the exercise of fundamental rights under the United States and Florida Constitutions.”
Petito disappeared late last summer while travelling across the country with her fiance, Brian Laundrie.
News that the 22-year-old was missing grabbed national headlines as authorities searched for her in Wyoming, where she’d last been seen alive.
Meanwhile, Laundrie had left Wyoming and returned to Florida, where he and Petito had lived together before embarking on their road trip.
In late September, Law enforcement officials soon found Petito’s remains in Teton County, Wyoming.
She is believed to have died around August 28, 2021 after being strangled, the cause of death cited in the coroner’s report.
Laundrie is accused of using Petito’s cell phone to send text messages to her parents after she died in an effort to conceal her death.
While the search for Petito was underway, Laundrie too went missing.
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The lawsuit claims Laundrie’s parents helped his efforts to flee.
“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 lawsuit reads.
Laundrie’s remains were later uncovered in an sprawling reserve in western Florida. Authorities said the cause of death was suicide.
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