Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie’s families avoided a civil trial that was scheduled for later this year by reaching a “reluctant” and confidential legal settlement on Wednesday.
According to News Channel 8, the resolution followed a mediation session, according to the lawyers representing both parties. This development comes after Laundrie’s parents, Chris and Roberta, acknowledged in a deposition that they were concerned about Petito when their son contacted them and admitted that she was “gone.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Gabby Petito’s family filed a civil lawsuit in Florida against the Laundries and their attorney, Steve Bertolino, claiming that they were aware of Gabby’s death but chose to remain silent about it.
Court documents indicate that Laundrie called his parents after Petito was killed during a 2021 cross-country trip. Laundrie was “extremely frantic,” according to the documents, and pleaded with his parents to help him.
“After a long day of mediation, a confidential agreement has been reached, to which all parties reluctantly agreed in order to avoid further legal expenses and prolonged personal conflict,” Petito attorney, Pat Reilly, said in a statement.
“Our hope is to close this chapter of our lives to allow us to move on and continue to honor the legacy of our beautiful daughter, Gabby.”
Gabby Petito vanished in August 2021 while on a cross-country road trip with Laundrie, her boyfriend. Her remains were found at a campsite in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming on September 19, 2021. Authorities concluded that she died by manual strangulation.
After murdering Petito, Laundrie is believed to have driven the van the couple was traveling in back to his parents’ home in North Port, Florida, where he arrived on September 1 alone.
Laundrie later drove to a nearby nature reserve in Florida about 10 minutes from his parents’ home, where he committed suicide. Investigators recovered what appeared to be a written confession by Laundrie that he murdered Petito.
Members of the Laundrie and Petito families have been questioned in depositions over the past several months as part of the civil case filed against the Laundrie couple in 2022.
In a separate wrongful-death lawsuit brought by Petito’s family, Brian Laundrie’s estate agreed to pay a $3 million settlement last year.
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[Feature Photo: Gabby Petito & Brian Laundrie/Instagram]
