NORTH PORT -- Their children are dead. But the parents of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie are likely to see each other in a Sarasota County courtroom.
A negligence lawsuit filed March 11th (Friday) in Sarasota Circuit Court by Joseph Petito and Nicole Schmidt accuses Christopher and Roberta Laundrie of knowing that Petito had been murdered by Laundrie the day after it happened, but failing to tell her family, and of keeping Brian Laundrie's whereabouts secret and planning for him to leave the country.
It also accuses Roberta Laundrie of blocking Schmidt's phone in mid-September so she couldn't text Laundrie's mother.
The suit asserts that Petito and Schmidt have suffered pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of capacity for enjoyment of life.
The suit is asking for damages in excess of $30,000.
According to the FBI, Gabby Petito was murdered near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming around August 27th, when she and fiance Laundrie were on a cross country camping trip. She died of strangulation, according to the FBI, but the lawsuit also claims she suffered blunt force injuries to the head and neck. Laundrie returned to North Port alone, went on a camping trip with his parents, disappeared and was found dead October 20 in the Carlton Reserve near North Port, about a month after he disappeared. The FBI says Laundrie shot himself.
Here is more on this latest development from News Channel 8:
Photo: NPPD/Canva