North Port police went to the home of Christopher and Roberta Laundrie twice on the day before Gabby Petito was reported missing and three more times on that day.
That was the start of dozens of calls to the Laundrie home since their son, Brian Laundrie, returned home alone from a cross-country trip he was taking with Petito.
Gabby Petito’s body was found in a remote Wyoming campsite on September 19, and an autopsy determined she’d been murdered. Laundrie fled from his parents’ home days earlier, sparking a manhunt.
But on September 10, Petito’s parents, Joe Petito and Nichole Schmidt and their respective spouses, had been seeking information about their daughter for two weeks, since 22-year-old Gabby Petito last spoke with her mother. Gabby’s parents did not know on that date that Brian Laundrie had come back to Florida on September 1, and both he and his parents had refused to speak with them.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Joe Petito was involved in a “public service” call the Laundrie home at about 6:30 p.m. on September 10. Brian Laundrie was not mentioned in the police report for that call, but he was mentioned in reports two police visits to the home the next day for follow-ups.
The New York Post, however, has now reported that North Port police came to the Laundry home about two hours before the call involving Joe Petito for another “public service” call. Joe Petito reportedly was not physically present at the home for the second call but “expressed concern” over his daughter. Both the 4:30 and 6:30 calls were marked “problem settled.”
On September 11, police followed up on the previous days calls at 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. and came back for an “agency assist” call at 8:30 p.m., after the Petitos and Schmidts had reported their daughter missing.
Joe Petito, speaking with Nancy Grace a few days after the missing persons report was filed, said that the family had a great deal of difficulty filing the report. Gabby Petito lived with Laundrie in Florida, the Petitos and Schmidts live in New York, and Laundrie and Gabby were traveling and had most recently been in Wyoming and Utah. None of the law enforcement agencies wanted to take the report, each one saying they did not have jurisdiction. Finally, he said, the Suffolk County Police Department on Long Island took the report.
North Port police called on the Laundrie home after the report was filed — presumably the 8:30 p.m. call. The Laundries would not allow police to speak with their son, and police later acknowledged that they did not even see him that night. They did take the van Laundrie and Petito had been traveling in for a forensic inspection.
Nearly a week later, on September 16, North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison told reporters his detectives knew “exactly” where Brian Laundrie was, but the next day, Laundrie’s parents reported their son missing — and, they said, he had left on September 14.
Laundrie was named a person of interest in Gabby Petito’s disappearance, but he has not been named a suspect. He has been indicted by a federal grand jury for unlawful use of Petito’s PIN number and debit card, and an arrest warrant was issued.
Other calls to the Laundrie home have mostly involved protesters and media. Roberta Laundrie reportedly called 911 when Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” knocked on their door last week, and a neighbor was arrested Thursday after he fought with a protester he claimed trespassed on his lawn.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast
[Featured image: The Laundrie home. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)]
