The mother and father of Brian Laundrie are in search of to dismiss a lawsuit introduced by the household of his late fiancée, Gabby Petito, calling it "baseless" and "frivolous." Laundrie was discovered useless in a Florida nature reserve final fall, a number of weeks after Petito's physique was found in a Wyoming nationwide park, the place the couple had been vacationing.
"A movement to dismiss the baseless and frivolous lawsuit commenced by Gabby Petito's mother and father was filed in courtroom," Laundrie household legal professional Steven Bertolino mentioned in an announcement to CBS Information on Wednesday. "The Laundries have exercised their constitutional proper to chorus from talking and have relied on counsel to talk for them. This isn't solely frequent observe in our civilized society however it embodies the train of elementary rights beneath america and Florida Constitutions. The Laundries' rights are inalienable and the Laundries can by no means be chargeable for exercising their authorized rights in a permissible approach."
Petito's household filed the lawsuit earlier this month, alleging that Laundrie advised his mother and father, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, he had killed Petito earlier than he returned house alone from their ill-fated western journey, and that the couple hid their son's alleged confession from the Petito household and authorities.
"In doing so, Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie acted with malice or nice indifference to the rights of [Petito's parents] Joseph Petito and Nicole Schmidt," the lawsuit claims, including that their alleged conduct was "stunning, atrocious, and totally insupportable in a civilized neighborhood."
The lawsuit additionally alleges that the Laundries had been "making preparations for [Laundrie] to depart the nation." No proof was included to again up this declare.
The Petitos' lawsuit seeks damages of a minimum of $30,000. Bertolino mentioned in a textual content message on the time the lawsuit was filed that his shoppers had been absolutely inside their rights to not speak. He additionally denied the lawsuit's claims normally.
The lawsuit says that till that journey and her disappearance, the 2 households "had a cordial relationship."
Authorities positioned Petito's physique on September 19, 2021, eight days after her household had reported her lacking, in a tenting space inside Grand Teton Nationwide Park. Authorities mentioned the 22-year-old died by strangulation and her demise was dominated a murder. The FBI later disclosed that Petito had died of "blunt-force accidents to the pinnacle and neck, with handbook strangulation."
A manhunt for 23-year-old Laundrie ensued, with authorities figuring out him as an individual of curiosity within the case. A courtroom in Wyoming issued an arrest warrant for him in late September, accusing him of utilizing a debit card to make unauthorized withdrawals of greater than $1,000 between August 30 and September 1. His physique was discovered weeks later in Florida's Carlton Reserve. Authorities decided Laundrie died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
In its closing report on the investigation into Petito's demise, the FBI wrote that Laundrie claimed accountability for his fiancée's demise in a pocket book discovered close to his stays.
The FBI additionally confirmed that Laundrie had been "trying to deceive regulation enforcement by giving the impression that Ms. Petito was nonetheless alive" by persevering with a textual content chain between their two telephones after she is believed to have died. Laundrie additionally used Petito's debit card whereas driving alone from Wyoming to his mother and father house in Florida in early September, the FBI mentioned.