By Kayla Ngai
Should parents be held accountable for protecting their son? In July 2021, Gabby Petito traveled cross-country with her fiance, Brian Laundrie. Throughout the trip, the couple was witnessed having multiple altercations. One anonymous 911 caller reported that “the gentleman was slapping the girl” along with the details on their white van and license plate. In Sept. 2021, Gabby had stopped responding to her family and they reported her missing; Brian returned to his parent’s home alone. Gabby’s body was found on Sept. 19th, 2021. Eventually, Brian committed suicide and owned up to murdering Gabby. Now, Gabby Petito’s parents are suing Brian Laundrie’s parents claiming that “the Laundries did not contact Petito’s parents when their son arrived home in North Port, Florida, without his 22-year-old fiancée.” I believe that the Laundries are hiding what they knew and purposely helped hide their son from the authorities. However, I don’t think that just suspicions are enough to indict them or be worthy of a lawsuit.
Months after the start of Brian and Gabby’s trip, the Petito family started to sense that something was wrong. Gabby had contacted her family regularly while she was away for the trip, but in Aug. 2021, communications suddenly stopped. This continued and on Sept. 1, Brian was the only one to return to their home in Northport, Florida. On Sept. 11, the Petitos reported Gabby missing because they could not get into contact with her. A few days later, Brian went missing as well.
On Sept. 19th, however, the Petito family’s worst fears were confirmed: Gabby’s remains were found near an underdeveloped camping area within Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. It was later revealed that the cause of her death was strangulation (along with blunt-force trauma injuries) and that she was killed 3 to 4 weeks before she was discovered. The next day, Brain Laundrie’s parents were brought into questioning, but they kept quiet.
A month later, on Oct. 20, Brian Laundrie’s body was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in Florida’s Carlton Reserve. The FBI found a notebook near Laundrie’s corpse, confessing to his crime. Additionally, the FBI was able to confirm that Brian had used Gabby’s debit card without authorization, and sent correspondence through her phone after her death to deceive others into thinking Gabby was still alive.
Recently on Mar. 30, 2022, Brian Laundrie’s parents, Christopher and Roberta, filed to deny a lawsuit brought on by Petito’s parents, Joseph and Nicole. The Petitos filed a lawsuit “alleging [the Laundries] knew their son Brian Laundrie murdered Gabby Petito and were working to help him flee the country.” They speculate that Brian told his parents about his crime on Aug. 28, 2021.
Joseph and Nicole Petito state that the Laundries’ silence caused emotional damage. When the Laundrie parents were called in for questioning when Gabby’s body was found, they exercised their right to remain silent. Steven Bertolino, their lawyer and longtime friend, spoke exclusively for the couple who called the charges “baseless” and “frivolous.” He argued that the Petitos’ emotional state is not directly the result of the Laundries’ actions and that their stress was an “unavoidable” part of the situation. Although their pain overall may have been unavoidable, the Laundries’ silence most likely multiplied the Petitos’ worries and worsened their mental state.
Additionally, the lawsuit outlined that the Laundries failed to contact the Petitos about their son returning home without Gabby. Instead, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie found a lawyer right away. In all honesty, the circumstances sound suspicious.
However, the Laundries claimed they’ve done nothing wrong and that Gabby’s death was “unfortunate.” Bertolino explained that “compelling individuals to respond to inquiries by private citizens or law enforcement through a civil action like this would turn our entire constitutional system, and the freedom afforded individuals in this country, on its head.” In other words, Bertolino advocated that Christopher and Roberta are protected by the Constitution as it was their right to remain silent under that law. Yet, if the Laundries knew about Gabby’s death, their silence would be considered inhibiting an investigation.
Although I don’t have children of my own, if my child did kill someone, I would turn them in. Of course, as a parent, one’s main responsibility is to protect your children. However, this does not mean helping them hide from the law. A good parent encourages their child to admit their mistakes and face the consequences of their actions.
I believe that Christopher and Roberta Laundrie knew about Brian committing murder and that the accusations by the Petitos were correct. For one, the Laundries called a lawyer and remained silent for the entire investigation which sounds suspicious. Also, the lack of empathy that the Laundries carried, noting that Gabby’s death was only “unfortunate,” demonstrates their lack of acknowledgment for their son’s actions and the pain he caused.
However, even with all this information, I think the Petitos’ lawsuit will be dismissed. The Laundries’ actions raised suspicions, but I don’t think the evidence is concrete enough to label them as conspirators. Although their actions may be dubious, there is no proof obtained, as of yet, of the Laundries’ committing any crimes or being involved in their son’s atrocity. Thus, there is no plausible or solid reason for the lawsuit to be filed. Be that as it may, I hope that Joseph and Nicole Petito get the justice they deserve.
