The parents of 22-year-old Gabby Petito have reached a settlement with the parents of 23-year-old Brian Laundrie and their lawyer. Brian Laundrie was Gabby Petito's fiancé who admitted responsibility for murdering her in a note left before he took his own life in September 2021.
While details of the settlement weren't disclosed to the public, Gabby Petito's parents, Nichole Schmidt and Joseph Petito, said in a statement released by their attorney on February 21, 2024 that the settlement was finally reached between the parties “after a long day of mediation."
“All parties reluctantly agreed in order to avoid further legal expenses and prolonged personal conflict,” Gabby Petito’s parents also said in the 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 was murdered by Brian Laundrie in Wyoming in 2021 while they were on a cross-country road trip. The vlogger was initially reported as missing on September 11, 2021, after Brian Laundrie returned to his parents' home in Florida just 10 days earlier without her.
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Gabby Petito's body was found in the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on September 19, 2021. Soon after, Brian Laundrie disappeared, which sparked a nationwide manhunt. He was later found in Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in North Port, Florida, in October with a gunshot wound to his head, having died by suicide.
Gabby Petito’s parents sued Brian Laundrie’s parents and Steven Bertolino, their lawyer, for intentional and reckless infliction of emotional distress, claiming that they knew Gabby Petito was dead but led others to believe that they didn't. They allegedly shared messages hoping that Gabby Petito would be found even after they were aware their son had killed her.
“Christopher and Roberta Laundrie and I participated in mediation with the Petito family and the civil lawsuit has now been resolved,” Bertolino said in a statement. “The terms of the resolution are confidential, and we look forward to putting this matter behind us.”
In 2022, Gabby Petito's parents were awarded $3 million by a Florida judge in their wrongful death lawsuit against Brian Laundrie's parents.
"The Petito family lost their daughter, and they were also denied the opportunity to confront her killer," Patrick Reilly, one of the family's attorneys said. "No amount of money is sufficient to compensate the Petito family for the loss of their daughter, Gabby, at the hands of Brian Laundrie."
The settlement reached between both parties will avoid a civil trial that would have begun in May. According to the Associated Press, the lawsuit called the Laundries' behavior "shocking, atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community."
"I hope it’s something that helps the Petitos heal," one person commented. "It is not for me to feel disappointment but I do."
"I hope the Laundries finally revealed the facts of what Brian said and apologized to Gabby’s family for not telling the truth," another person wrote. "That would mean more than any dollar amount. They just want to know what happened to their daughter."
