Brian Laundrie is a “coward” who should turn himself in immediately, Gabby Petito’s family says in an Australian television interview.
“He went home. He’s hiding. He used her credit card,” Petito’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, told 60 Minutes Australia, according to Newsday.
Laundrie returned home alone on September 1 from a cross-country van trip with Petito that began in July. Neither he nor his parents — where he lives — communicated with Petito’s family about his return or her whereabouts, even as Joe and Tara Petito and Nichole and Jim Schmidt were desperately seeking information.
Gabby Petito’s body was found at a remote campsite in Wyoming on September 19, two days after Laundrie’s parents called police to report him missing, saying he had left to go camping and not returned. While Laundrie has not been named a suspect in Petito’s murder, he has been indicted on a federal bank fraud charges for using her bank card to withdraw money from her account after she was last seen.
“Either way you look at it, he’s a coward,” said her father Joe Petito.
“Turn your [expletive] self in now,” added her stepfather Jim Schmidt.
The two sets of parents also said they believe Chris and Roberta Laundrie know exactly where their son is, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
“I don’t know why they’re doing this to us,” Schmidt said. “Their actions don’t show that their son is missing. It shows that they’re just comfortable and they probably know where he is.”
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[Featured image: Brian Laundrie and Gabby Petito/Instagram]