At Gabby Petito The case has taken another surprising turn.
As you know, Joe Petit and Nichole Schmidt has been in a legal battle with Brian Laundryhis family, Christopher and Roberta, followed by the horrific murder of a 22-year-old daughter. Both accused Roberta and Christopher for the intentional infliction of emotional distress, admitting they knew their son killed Gabby, did nothing, and even helped to escape from the police. Now, some surprising new information about their alleged involvement has been revealed.
According to a new court filing in a lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital, Pat Reilly, the lawyer for Joe and Nichole, claims that Roberta offered to give Brian a shovel to bury Gabby’s body! The attorney contacted the Laundrie family attorney Matt Luke in a letter dated December 5 regarding some evidence from Christopher and Roberta that is required in the lawsuit. Correspondence between Reilly and Lukas was made public after the former was used in the exhibition on December 20, submitted to the court. Reilly wrote:
“This request must also include a note written by Roberta Laundrie to Brian Laundrie, [in] who offered to carry a shovel to bury the dead. The notes were released to Mr. Bertolino’s custody on Friday, June 24, 2022 by the FBI.
related: Celebrity Jeopardy! Blasted After Insensitive Hints About Gabby Petito’s Death!
The same day when the Laundries attorney was long gone Steve Bertolino and Reilly met with FBI in Tampa, Florida. Multiple items were released to Bertolino at the time, including Brian’s handwritten confession to the crime. Both attorneys indicated that other documents were handed over, including a letter that Reilly said was titled “burned after reading.” He told me Fox News Digital:
“I don’t feel comfortable summarizing the letter. The content is very specific and best read when available. If my belief about the time it was written is correct, it shows that at least Roberta Laundrie knew about Gabby’s murder before Gabby’s body was found. Another notebook contains letters to his family.”
Reilly notes that the letter is undated but “the contents of the letter indicate that it was written after Gabby’s death.”
However, Bertolino insists this letter was written long before the murder, telling WFLA if Reilly tries to “more sensationalize” the case:
“Reilly’s attorney and his clients have the right to claim what they want in the court filing, but the allegations are not based on fact but on speculation. The letter was written before Brian and Gabby left Florida and has nothing to do with the case. Reilly’s attorney is trying to create a sensation this tragedy is to add to the case by taking irrelevant comments out of context.
He added:
“I have the letter but it is private between mother and child.”
Go ahead, WFLA reports that a hearing on Laundries’ motion to turn over the documents Reilly wants — including the letter — is scheduled for March 13 at Sarasota County Circuit Court. Attorneys for the Petito family are also seeking to add Bertolino as a defendant in the lawsuit, and a hearing on the matter is set for January 24. We’ll have to see what happens, but it doesn’t look good for Christopher or Roberta.
The latest reaction to the case, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments below.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Try calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or to https://www.thehotline.org/.
[Image via Gabby Petito/Instagram, 60 Minutes Australia/YouTube]