Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Gabby Petito BOMBSHELL: Did Brian Laundrie Parents Know All Along Gabby Was Dead?

Episode Date: March 14, 2022

Gabby Petito's parents say Christopher and Roberta Laundrie knew their son, Brian, murdered his girlfriend. Petito and Laundrie were on a cross-country road trip last year when Gabby went missing. Her body was later found in Wyoming, and her death ruled homicide by strangulation. Laundrie returned to his parents' Florida home, alone, driving a van owned by Petito. The FBI says Laundrie confessed to killing Petito in a notebook found with his belongings. The Petito family accuse the Laundries of concealing information a bout their daughter's death and, say the Laundries also tried to hide their son from law enforcement. Brian Laundrie committed suicide in a nature reserve in Florida. Joining Nancy Grace Today: Wendy Patrick - California prosecutor, author “Red Flags” www.wendypatrickphd.com 'Today with Dr. Wendy' on KCBQ in San Diego, Twitter: @WendyPatrickPHD Caryn Stark - NYC Psychologist, www.carynstark.com, Twitter: @carynpsych, Facebook: "Caryn Stark"  Sheryl McCollum - Forensic Expert & Cold Case Investigative Research Institute Founder, ColdCaseCrimes.org, Twitter: @ColdCaseTips Joe Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics: Jacksonville State University, Author, "Blood Beneath My Feet", Host: "Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan" Laura Ingle - Senior Correspondent, Fox News Channel, Twitter: @lauraingle, Instagram: @lauraingletv Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. It seems like just yesterday we got the news that a beautiful young girl, 22-year-old Gabrielle Gabby Petito's body was found out in a dispersed camping area far, far away from home. But where was her boyfriend? The fiance that she traveled across the country with vlogging, video blogging, the whole way about the van life. If you haven't looked at those vlogs, they're incredible. She's really talented. Wow.

He comes home in her van with all of her stuff using her credit cards, but no Gabby. In the last days, a stunning development in the case of Gabby Petito missing, then discovered murdered. Her family has now sued the family of so-called fiance Brian Laundrie, saying they aided and abetted him while hiding the evidence from Gabby's parents as they desperately tried to find their daughter. I mean, when I go pick up the twins at school, when they start being 5, 10, 15 minutes late, I get out of the car and I go looking for them. Children have disappeared on school playgrounds and school areas. Can you imagine what Gabby Petito's parents went through as they called and they called and they texted and they emailed Laundrie's parents and then they find out the worst? Laundrie's home? Gabby's van is parked in the driveway, but no Gabby. How do you think they felt when they find out the Laundries take Brian Laundry on a camping trip? They go camping and they what,

sit around the campfire and have s'mores, but no Gabby. Nobody said, hey, where's Gabby? Can you imagine that feeling in their gut, in their mind, in their heart when her cell phone goes straight to voicemail every single time and they know, but yet they don't know? I don't even want to think about it. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and SiriusXM 111. You know, I used to tell that to juries all the years I tried felony cases. You can't turn away. You cannot turn away from the truth. It is our duty to look at the truth and determine what is just. Joining me in all-star panel to make sense of what we know right now, but first I want you to listen to our cut one from ABC 7. Two heartbroken families now taking the battle to court. More than six months after the murder of Gabby Petito,

her parents, Joseph Petito and Nicole Schmidt, are now suing Brian Laundrie's family. The civil lawsuit filed in Florida on Thursday alleges Brian's parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, knew their son had murdered Gabby on or around August 28th of last year. Petito and her fian fiance left New York early July in a van to travel the country. After several weeks of visiting national parks, Brian returned to Florida in the van without Gabby.

When he refused to cooperate with authorities, suspicion turned to him and then he went missing. His remains were found weeks later. Think about it. We believe Gabby was killed August 28. Her body was not found until September 19. Think about all that time the family was left hanging, blowing in the wind, wondering where is their beautiful girl? With me, an all-star panel to make sense of what we know right now and bringing you the very latest on this lawsuit and what, if anything, we will learn in court.

First of all, a California prosecutor, author of Red Flags, Wendy Patrick. She's a star of Today with Dr. Wendy KCBQ, and you can find her at wendypatrickphd.com. Renowned psychologist joining us out of Manhattan, Karen Stark. You can find her at karenstark.com. That's Karen with a C. Cheryl McCollum, founder and director of the Cold Case Research Institute, forensic specialist. And you can find her at coldcasecrimes.org professor forensics jacksonville state university author of blood beneath my feet on amazon is star of a brand new another brand new hit series this is body bags with joseph scott morgan on iheart but first to senior correspondent, special guest joining us, Fox News, Laura Engel. Laura, does it never

end with the laundries? Does it never end? I mean, don't you think that at some point they would have held out an olive branch for Pete's sake and said, listen, we're going to fly to your place this weekend. I know you hate us right now, but let us tell you our side of what happened, what we knew, when we knew it, what we thought we knew, what we didn't know to set your heart at rest. Can they not do that? And if not, why not, Laura Engel? You know what? It's been months later. Hi, Nancy. You know, we knew that this was coming. We knew that the family members of Gabby Petito, the parents, the two sets were going to be filing

a lawsuit. And last week, it was finally put down in black and white. It is a civil lawsuit filed against Chris and Roberta Laundrie. And while there is not a ton of evidence listed in the civil lawsuit about what they knew and when they knew it, in terms of just the detail, they do lay out the dates that it is believed that on or about August 28th, Brian Laundrie advised his parents that he had murdered Gabrielle Petito. And on that same date, Chris Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie spoke with their attorney, Steve Bertolino, and sent him a retainer just a few days later, September 2nd. And when you go through this lawsuit, you're right, Nancy, you think about, you're reminded of the dates, of the timing, of the pacing, of when the couple was last seen out west,

when Brian Laundrie returned to Florida in Gabby's van without her, and then that radio silence that broke everyone's heart as everyone stood outside of the Laundrie's home saying, where is Gabby? Do you know something? Well, this lawsuit, you know, states in black and white, the civil lawsuit asking for damages that they knew and that they did not share that information. And we remember I was at the press conference for Gabby Petito's parents when Rick Stafford came out and read a statement saying, we beg you to tell us as a parent, how could you let us go through this pain and not help us? And, you know, I think that the other thing that we kind of surmised from this lawsuit is that these, this family, if they knew, and it appears that they did roll the dice and said, we're not going to say anything because I was in Wyoming when Gabby was found. I went to that campground where her body. I remember that.

Was and so and it was it was beautiful and the trees had just turned, but it turned really cold and icy and snowy very, very soon after. So you've got to think, did everybody on the laundry side think that if they just stayed quiet long enough, maybe she would not. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. You just gave me an idea, Laura Engel. First of all, talking to you is like drinking from a fire hydrant. It's just so much information at once. I couldn't even write the notes fast enough.

I know everybody on the panel has a ton of questions for you too, but the idea you just gave me, I want to know where we're getting the date, August 28th, that that's the day we believe Brian Laund laundry told his parents i murdered gabby and i can guarantee you technical legal term that that's not what he said he didn't say right i beat her i bludgeoned her head then i strangled her until she died. No, no, no. He probably made up some BS about, oh, she said this and then she hit me and I hit her

back and oh, she fell and hit her head on a rock and died. It's going to be some total cockamamie crap like that. Okay. But you told me August 28th and I'm assuming we're defining what? It's on page three of the, it's on page three. I was about to say, I'm assuming you're dividing what it's on page three of the it's on page three I was about to say I'm assuming you're dividing that from the document but you gave me an idea

crime stories with nancy grace wendy patrick california prosecutor how often have we seen people like sherry papini right now who is been charged with a false claim that she had been kidnapped and all the money, about a quarter of a million dollars to search for her when she was shacked up at her old boyfriend's place the whole time. Really? Think about it. If the laundries knew, if it could be proven the laundries knew Gabby was dead and they let law enforcement and all of the personnel involved, the U.S. Marshals, the FBI, the local law enforcement at Northport, the law enforcement at the Grand Teton's. Everybody's searching. How much did that cost? And the whole time they knew she was dead and they knew where could they be prosecuted? Yes. No. In a nutshell, Wendy Patrick. I think yes. And I think that what you're going to find out with this civil lawsuit might yield the type of evidence that criminal authorities might use to build their own case. If they knew something at a time when they could have prevented further harm, when they could have prevented further expense, when they could have spared law enforcement the time and resources. Think about the resources that were expended

looking for Gabby if they knew she was dead. Now, on the other side of that, you could argue, well, what exactly did they know? And I think you cued that up nicely. What did Brian actually say? The lawsuit mentioned text messages back and forth. And that's going to be an important piece of evidence. You're right about that. What, if anything, they could face criminally. Okay, Cheryl McCollum, I hear you trying to jump in. Go.

Oh, my gosh. The thing that just drives me insane, the additional element of waiting the 13 days, right, and then the additional eight days before she's actually found. Nancy, the amount of evidence that could have been lost may have been lost. She's out in the elements. There's going to be animal activity. There's going to be weather. Why do you say animal activity?

You and Joe Scott Morgan both do that. Wait a minute. Let's just say what it really is. Okay. And it tastes like dirt. But animal activity, all right, that reminds me on a hike.

I just took the twins on and we were bird spotting and looking for animals. What you're talking about is Gabby's body lying out in the elements, the Tetons, and animals ripping her body apart and chewing on her and gnawing on her. That's what we're talking about. That is what the Gabby Petito family has to live with 24-7 every day of the year.

I mean, that's what we're talking about. All right, so let's just say what it is, Cheryl McCollum. You're absolutely right. And there is nothing more repugnant and vile, in my opinion. The gates of hell. That's what I'm saying. Correct.

The gates of hell for letting her family live through that. And now they got to live the rest of their lives. They got to know that's what happened to their girl. That's right. After she was brutally murdered by the very person that was supposed to be taking care of her and the most, again, repugnant and vile and straight devil when Roberta Laundrie blocked Gabby's mama's phone number and then blocked her on social media. Oh, I forgot about that, Laura Engel,

that the Laundries actually blocked Gabby's family from trying to contact them. Is that true? It is. It is true. It is. That is what we have read about in the reports. We've talked to them and it goes back to that desperation of that time frame that we're talking about of begging them and to think of that and go back in your mind of the news coverage, the bike riding, the mowing of the lawn taking trips to the store the camping trip all of that and when you think about what's in this civil lawsuit about how he it is believed that he confessed to his parents and you're right Nancy like we don't know exactly what was said we don't know if he detailed it and mom and dad it was an accident I don't know what to do I'm scared I'm coming home don't know what was said. But what we may learn eventually is if this does go to a trial and we do get some depositions and we do see the phone records that have not been made public yet, if we do learn exactly the exact times of when Brian was talking to his parents, the attorney for the laundry says, look, I never talked to Brian Laundrie. I never spoke to him.

But what if Brian Laundrie was talking to his dad and Bertolino was talking to the mom? And let's just say, for argument's sake, that everybody was on speakerphone. You know what I mean? So there's going to be more information that will be coming forward. I think there's something hard, Laura Engel. I think there's something hard, Laura Engel. I think there's something hard. If the documents say AUG-28, they've got hard evidence of that. Is it a wiretap? Is it a text? Is it an email? And hey, happened again, Laura Engel, drink from the fire hydrant. Karen Stark, did you hear Laura Engel? And this is a hypothetical. We're talking about what he told his parents. And I said, I can guarantee you he didn't say't say hey i murdered gabby and left her body out there to be torn apart by animals he probably said some bs story about she hit me then i pushed her she hit her head on a rock or a tree she died just like that of course that's a lie but wait a minute um laura engel says well what if he said

something like mom dad i'm upset gabby died i'm so upset I don't know what to do he's not so upset he didn't stuff his pie hole the way whole way home thousands of miles on Gabby's credit card you think he felt bad when he drove through Burger King and had it his way or is that McDonaldcdonald's yeah it's it's burger king what about that he wasn't so upset he couldn't eat he left a trail a mile wide on her credit card and her debit card nancy he also on august 30th remember he sent a text message from gabby's cell phone to gabby's mom and saying no service in yosemite in an effort to make her mother believe that she was still alive. You're so right, Laura Engel. He's not upset.

He's upset like a snake after it bites you. That's a grandfather. Go ahead, Karen Starr. Jump in. He didn't just he sent text pretending that he was her. He was so upset that he was able to go home and be with mommy and daddy. And Nancy, when you think about this, when you think about how hard it is to lose a child, to parents, it's something that you never get over. It's not the way it's supposed to be.

And then on top of that, it's hard enough to imagine your child dead, let alone being eaten by animals, being abandoned. And there is no doubt in my mind that he said she provoked him. No doubt in my mind at all. No doubt. Guys, in the last hours, a bombshell in the Gabby Petito case, Gabby's family has filed a lawsuit against fiancé Brian Laundrie's family, claiming they aided and abetted Laundrie. They knew Gabby had been killed and not only refused to tell Gabby's parents, but actually block them so they couldn't make any inquiries as to where was their girl. Take a listen to Hour Cut 3, our friends from Fox 13. Parents of the young woman

who lives such a colorful life I've been sitting here like this for a while are trying to avenge her death by putting in black and white the horrible details of what they went through. The allegations contained within this, the four corners of this complaint are salacious. In arguing that the Laundries, quote, knew they could alleviate, at least in part, such mental suffering and anguish, the Petitos said they believe that on August 28th, Laundrie,

while still in Wyoming, advised his parents he had murdered Gabby. But as the lawsuit points out, for several weeks, the Laundries not only refused to talk to the Petitos, they put out statements saying they hoped she could be found alive. If they did what is alleged in the four corners of this complaint, the Laundrie family acted with indecency. They acted not as humans. This girl was part of their family. The Laundries were accused for weeks by protesters of not being forthcoming.

Guys, I'm looking at the lawsuit that has been filed right now. Joe Scott Morgan, Professor of Forensics, Jacksonville State University, and star of Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan. Jump in, Joe Scott. Hey, you know, Nancy, one of the things that comes to me, I'm kind of listening back toward Laundrie's remains. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Listening back. No, listening. Oh, okay. Go ahead. Enunciate. Go ahead. Yeah, sorry. Yeah. So going back to Brian Laundrie, you know, one of the things I'm thinking about is there's so much deception, I think, that goes along with where his, you know, his location throughout this whole thing, the car. You remember, we reflect back to how did he wind

up out there? Where did he go? You remember how much time we spent speculating about where he may have gone. And, you know, I'm speculating, Jessica Morgan. I call it analyzing the evidence that we knew at the time. It was also wild speculation. People were saying Mexico, all these other things. And there's a thread that runs through this of deception. And it's not surprising relative to when we look at what happened to Gabby and his murder of her. And then moving forward, what happened to him? Coming back to his parents, I'm thinking, you know, what is it that they haven't told us about him and his activities?

You know, when I looked over the report that we got back was absolutely voluminous. I mean, it just goes on and on and on relative to his body. I don't know that in my memory, I've seen one quite this inclusive of everything. You know, they report that he was last seen on the 13th. They didn't fill out this missing persons report until like the 17th of September. And he was so far gone by the time the authorities got out there, they could not actually pin down, this is the forensic anthropologist, could not actually pin down a specific time of death. I mean, they had to get DNA to positively identify that.

And they were able to recover that. But Nancy, to give you an idea, the best she could do in one of her calculations was, now get this, anywhere from 47 days to 672 days as an estimation of postmortem interval. That's how far gone he was. And I still have a major question, again, about this gunshot wound he sustained. He is right-hand dominant. This is a left-handed entrance wound that we have that has been validated by not just the forensic anthropologist, but also the forensic pathologist.

And where in the hell did this revolver come from? Who did it belong to? What's the genesis of it? And I don't think that that's been thoroughly addressed as well. Well, I think you're absolutely correct. What about it, Cheryl McCollum? I agree 100%, and I have the same feeling about this notebook and his alleged confession. I don't think it's a confession. When they craft wording such as... Oh, please, it's probably going to be drugs of unicorns and... Yeah.

Rainbows. You know, bizarre drawings. Skulls and crossbones. He says he took responsibility. And writing his name over and over. That's very different. Like, as a parent, if your child is riding a bike and fall, you might feel responsible that they got hurt because you couldn't protect them in that moment.

But you didn't cause it. You're not going to confess that you're the reason they've got a skinned up knee. Excuse me, what does that have to do with this? Because you can take responsibility, but that's not a confession. If Jackie cusses out a guest, you may apologize and take responsibility for it, but you're not confessing that you cussed anybody out. That was Jackie. That word bothers me.

I have seen no confession. I agree. I agree. I understand what you're saying. And I want to go back to the lawsuit that has just been filed did you see to laura engel special guest joining us fox news correspondent senior correspondent laura and specifically in paragraph 31 in civil lawsuits various courses of action, sometimes can take several sentences to explain. And typically, each paragraph, it can be one sentence, it can be five sentences, is numbered.

This is number 31. Do you see that? Do you see what that says about Christopher and Roberta Laundrie's behavior? Explain. You know, they say, and to go back a page, and the number 31 is devastating. Shocking, atrocious, utterly intolerable. But let me tee this up,

because if you go back one page in item 25, they write, on September 14th, with full knowledge that Gabrielle Petito had been murdered by their son, the Laundrie lawyer put out a statement saying, it is our understanding that a search has been organized for Ms. Petito in or near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. On behalf of the Laundrie family, it is our hope that the search for Ms. Petito is successful and that Ms. Petito is reunited with her family. That's September

14th. And as you go down to fast forwarding to knowing what happened, they write in the lawsuit, Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie exhibited extreme and outrageous conduct, which constitutes behavior under the circumstances, which goes beyond all possible bounds of decency and is regarded as shocking, atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community. Who could blame them? Well, who could blame them? I mean, you know, you think about the timeline and, you know, if all of this is true and if they knew those details and then they put out a statement, well, sure, we hope that she's found. And they knew where she was. It just makes your stomach turn. But Nancy, we can prove they knew it. On September 10th, when her daddy went to their house and knocked on the door and they wouldn't even come to the door he had to put out in front of God and country on social media

I'm going to the police if you don't tell me something so then he goes to the police on September the 11th they knew it they knew it and they acted in one accord I think I might be able to one-up you. I'm not sure. Okay.

Put this in your pipe and smoke it, Cheryl McCollum. You ready? I'm ready. On that day, August 28, that's the day Christopher and Roberta Laundrie speak with Attorney Steve Bertolino. Suddenly, that's the

day. They go, whoa, whoa, we need a criminal lawyer. And then they follow up about two days later with a retainer. That's right. Now, as I always say, there is no coincidence in criminal law. So, Wendy Patrick,

what about it? California prosecutor, that's the day they decide they need a high-power criminal defense attorney who, P.S., great criminal defense attorneys are usually not seen or heard outside the courtroom. They don't want to be stars in their own right on TV or this or that. Have you ever noticed that, Wendy Patrick? That's true. And it's also true that in this case, the fact that they spoke on August 28th is going to be so important for the timeline because guess what? Two days later on August 30th is when Laundrie apparently sent an additional text from Petito's phone to Schmidt saying there was no service in Yosemite Park in an effort to believing her to believe Gabby was still alive.

So that's after the 28th when the lawyer is hired. And so when you look at what would fuel this lawsuit, that's a huge point. Well, what really just is just think about it, Laura Engel, think about it. So he gets home. They know Gabby's dead. and they go for a camp out the family goes on a little trip and camps out they sit around the campfire they grill out they eat other people at the campground remember it's DeSoto campgrounds see them yeah what I was i was talking about this this morning about the uh you know about brian being seen walking walking around um we know that the sister was there now did they go

camping to try and kind of come together as a family and say what are we gonna do but it doesn't look like it from the pictures and from the stories that we've heard from people who saw them there it looked like they were genuinely can to the camp. Can I tell you something, Laura Ingalls? And I bring this up only when I'm projecting. But, Laura, I remember when my fiance was murdered. I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. I lost down to 89 pounds. The smell of food made me sick just to smell it.

I remember the first thing I finally ate or consumed was a glass of orange juice. It was the first thing that did not make me literally nauseous after Keith's murder. So how in the H-E-double-L is this family knowing that Gabby is dead and being torn apart by animals out in the rain, lying there on the dirt. How could they go to a campout? How could they do that? There's no explanation. There's none. None of us on this panel, nobody listening could even imagine doing what they did. Right. If they knew it looks like they did. How could you? You're absolutely right. And it is a it is a point that I believe that Petito Schmitz will hope will come out in court. They want to get to a courtroom because there's more there's more information that obviously wasn't released by the FBI, that wasn't released in the investigation.

People want to know more. And if they can push the civil lawsuit and get into that next level, this is a first volley. And by the way, I called the FBI today and I was outside of the field office in Tampa in January when they said, you know, we're bringing the family together. We're sharing all the information with them that we possibly can give them right now. And everyone's like, okay, the case is closed. U.S. Attorney's Office, Grand Teton Attorney's Office closed their case because the debit card that was fraud, he's dead. They've got to close the case. But you know what's interesting? When I talked to the FBI today, I said, is this case closed? And they said, not officially. What does that mean? And what does that allow them to do? Is it truly have about the injury, the gunshot wound to Laundrie's head? We think to the left side when he is right handed and the origin of the hand of the parents going straight out to the body. They hadn't been out in that area.

Carlton Reserve. 45 minutes. You remember that, Cheryl McCollum? And they go straight to the body. And then a cop comes up and shows them, I think it was the dry pack or something found near Brian Laundrie's body. And they're like, mm-hmm.

There is no emotion. I can remember, again, projecting. I remember testifying in court at Keith's murder trial. And I remember coming down off the witness stand. It was tall, equal. My head was equal to the judge's head. And you'd go down some steps and then turn and go down some more steps. And I was walking out and I walked by council table and looked over and saw Keith's bloody denim shirt for the first time since I saw him drive away that morning before he was killed. Think about it. When the cops showed the laundry, those the laundries, those items's on video. They just stood there. There was really no reaction at all.

Mama was holding the bag. Mama had the dry bag in her hands, standing there on that pathway. And again, that's the bag that held this notebook that allegedly has this confession in it. I've said all along the suggestion that they planted evidence was far-fetched, but now I know the level of deception that has been alleged by the Petito family against them. What are they capable of concealing, Cheryl McCollum? Nancy, they allowed their son

to use a dead girl's debit card to get his sorry ass home to help formulating some plan of how to save his behind from what he had done. And I've said from the beginning on your show, they knew it. They knew it all along. I've said even the sister knew it. There is no way that she went to that campsite for the day and didn't ask, how's Gabby? Where's Gabby? What's going on with Gabby? Everybody had to have known this is odd for him to have come home the second time. Remember, he flew home before on August 17th. So now he's back again. That's weird. You're on the trip of a lifetime and you won't quit coming home to your

mama. That's weird. So there's no way she knew it, you won't quit coming home to your mama? That's weird. So there's no way she knew it, didn't know it. There's no way she didn't have them calling her phone too because her mama said they tried to get her. Then there ain't no way she missed it on social media and the local news. You know, that whole story, Laura Engel, about him coming home, it's not a story. He did fly home in the middle of the trip and leave gabby alone and i've always the moment i heard that i went whoa wait what and i believe i was speaking to one of gabby's family members i said is that true and they would not confirm it or deny it and their answer was they were told by police not to discuss it, which means it's true or something like it is true. I think he went home. He went home to he flew home.

And what's so weird about it is that they were tied on, not tied on money, but they were watching their pennies. Right. They were really conscious of their money. And so but they took the time to he took the time to fly home to clear out a storage unit. That was the story that he was going to clear out a storage unit and then returned back. And that was to Utah, I believe, or Salt Lake City. So we're just not clear on what that was about. That's still unknown. And hopefully we'll be known if this can get into a courtroom. I wonder what was really happening there. Jump in.

You're going to spend $500 on an airline ticket to shut down a $100 storage room? Come on now. I know. That has always been way off. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Guys, for those of you just joining us, a bombshell development in the Gabby Petito case. The fiance, so-called fiance, Brian Laundrie, who is now known to have killed Gabby Petito, murdered her, bludgeoned her, strangled her, and left her body to decompose in the elements. Her family is now suing his family, claiming they knew for a long time that Gabby was dead and refused to tell the parents anything. In fact, thwarting law enforcement and the family as well. Take a listen to our cut

for our friends at Fox 13. Police in Northport said they'd not gotten cooperation as to whether they knew anything about where Gabby was. But the Laundries did tell police Brian had not returned from the reserve where he was eventually found dead. But the new lawsuit alleges the Laundries had been making arrangements for Brian to leave the country. Their family attorney denied the allegations, saying, the lawsuit does not change the fact that the Laundries had no obligation to speak to law enforcement or any third party, including the Petito family.

This fundamental legal principle renders the Petitos claim to be baseless under the law. We have a legal system where people are punished civilly for not cooperating with criminal investigations. The lawsuit does not say how the Petitos learned of the facts they allege, but they did have several meetings with investigators, including at the Tampa FBI office after the investigation was closed. The Petito family attorney said there were multiple conversations between Brian, his parents and their lawyer before he left Wyoming August 30th. So Joe Scott Morgan, we weren't half wrong, right? Because they were trying to get him out of the country. Exactly what we had thought was going on. Yeah, push, push, push.

I had all kinds of ideas back then thinking about how could they facilitate. Remember when they were at that camping area, I think a couple of us had thought that maybe by water, you know, how are you going to get him out of the reach of the U.S. authorities to get him spirited off somewhere? We were thinking about, you know, him leaving with gobs of cash so that he could fall off of the radar relative to using any kind of credit cards, which, of course, he had stolen Gabby's and utilized it and just, you know, go abroad with with U.S. currency and try to make that happen. But how do you make that happen? I think that that's one of the big problems here. When you have somebody that is not sophisticated in a way that the criminals work, you know, they don't know, you know, how are we going to get him away from all of this trouble? And at the end of the day, and at the end of the day, they knew where his body was. I'm very curious as to what that final conversation was like with him. You know,

did he actually tell them, you know, mom, dad, I think I'm just going to go out here and end it. And I'm going to tell you specifically where it was. Think about what Max said and what you said. Within 45 minutes, Nancy, in this vast area, and it is vast. 25,000 acres. Yeah. And where, by the way, let me remind everybody, we've forgotten about this group of people. They've put all of the searchers at risk out here.

Alligators, snakes, dehydration for days, for days. And they put these people out there at risk and they walk right to the body and all of this evidence. And Nancy, I got to say one more thing. The most striking piece of evidence to me, and it's just the old death investigator in me. Out of everything, you know, we had skeletal remains. We had this weapon that we had talked about. But one of the things that just made me want to bite the head off a 10-penny nail is that out there at that scene,

they found adjacent to his body a red ball cap. You know what that red ball cap said? It said Moab Roasters. I wonder where he bought that. Out of all the hats he could have chosen, that's the one that he picked up as he was walking out that door for the final time. And he went out there and he took that hat. And I think that hat left out there was a great big old screw you to everybody. That's what I think.

That's where he was caught beating Gabby out on the street, as we all know. You know, to Laura Engel, senior correspondent, Fox News, joining us. Laura, I believe that in point number 14, paragraph number 14, the date is pinpointed of the murder being August 27th. I wonder if that's because that's the last day that her mother, Nicole Schmidt, spoke with her. What do you think? I do believe it's that, and it also coincides with their sightings.

And remember, the Moab incident happens that's been so widely watched with the police body cam footage. But then they make their way, and they're in Jackson. I went to this place. It's the Mary Piglet's, and it's a restaurant that it was the last known public sighting. And we don't know what happened. And we've been trying to get our hands on any security footage of this restaurant, but there was some kind of a fight, some kind of an altercation between Brian

and Gabby, an argument, they were last seen. And I stood there. So you're standing at the restaurant and you look down the long road. And down that long road is where the campground was. So they were at this restaurant. They have an argument. They get in the car, the van. They go down to the campground. They turn in.

They set up camp. Then, you know, the other bloggers bought the van, which helped us locate where they were. But it's that last, those are the last moments. There was something going on on that date, on August 27th, during the day. And then it was later that night that that's when they believed. And there's forensics involved here, too, in terms of her body, where she was found, how she was found, that it all ties together that August 27th is the date that she died. I want you to listen to our Cut 11. This is J.B. Buno at WFLA News Channel 8.

Listen to this. Point number 25. On September 14, 2021, with full knowledge that Gabrielle Petito had been murdered by their son, Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie through their lawyer issued the following statement, quote unquote, it is our understanding that a search has been organized for Ms. Petito in or near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on behalf of the Laundrie family. It is our hope that the search for Ms.

Petito is successful and that Ms. Petito is reunited with her family. Point number 29 and point number 30. As Laura Ingalls told us, full knowing their son had murdered Gabby, they give a public statement. Wow. I hope they find her. I just can't wait till this goes to a jury.

We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.