Brian Laundrie’s Lawyer Says Parents Knew Their Son Was ‘Grieving’ A Week Before Gabby Petito Was Confirmed Dead
Did they know she was dead?
Instagram / YouTube After remains discovered in the Carlton Reserve were officially identified as Brian Laundrie, many will be seeking to piece evidence together on their own.
With Laundrie confirmed to be dead, unanswered questions about the death of his girlfriend, Gabby Petito, linger.
However, Laundrie’s family attorney may be providing some clarity on what Brian and his parents knew about what happened to her in the early days of her disappearance.
Brian Laundrie’s lawyer implied his parents knew Petito was dead before she was found.
In a recent interview, Steven Bertolino — the family’s attorney — explained what he knew about Brian’s final moments before he left his family’s North Port, Florida home on September 13.
“Chris and Roberta knew that their son, Brian, was grieving,” he stated. “They knew he was so upset.”
At the point that Brian left home, the search for Petito was just getting started as she was not reported missing until September 11.
Prior to this, Brian had returned home from his roadtrip without Petito on September 1 and, according to Petito’s family, ignored their requests for information about their daughter’s location.
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It seems odd that, if Brian or his parents did not know Petito was dead they would be “grieving” her just a couple of days after she was reported missing.
“They couldn’t control that he was leaving,” Bertolino continued, “Chris has said ‘I wish I could have stopped him.’”
The Laundrie's may not have known exactly what happened to Petito but they must have had some reason to be concerned for their son's mental state.
Gabby Petito’s body wasn’t found until 6 days after Brian Laundrie went missing.
A body was discovered in Wyoming that matched Petito’s description on September 19 and wasn’t officially identified as her until September 21.
It wasn’t until this point that Petito’s family started grieving, yet Bertolino insinuated that Brian’s family were aware he was grieving at least one week prior.
Of course, Bertolino might have misspoken or confused the timeline but this could certainly be damaging to the Laundrie family’s claims of being unaware of Brian’s alleged involvement in her death.
Equally, given that Brian was never named a suspect in Petito’s homicide, it is incriminating to imply that he may have known Petito was dead before anyone else did.
In Good Morning America interview, Bertolino was asked to clarify his comments about why Brian's parents thought he was grieving.
However, he appeared to avoid the question by now saying, "Brian had been extremely upset," rather than saying he was "grieving."
Alice Kelly is a senior news and entertainment editor for YourTango. Based out of Brooklyn, New York, her work covers all things social justice, pop culture, and human interest. Keep up with her Twitter for more.