- Gabby Petito Lawsuit: “Burn After Reading” Letter Hearing in Petito/Schmidt v Laundrie | #HeyJB Live WFLA News Channel 8
- Gabby Petito case: Brian Laundrie’s mother promised son shovel, garbage bag, jailhouse cake in love letter Fox News
- Gabby Petito’s parents get ‘burn after reading’ letter from Brian Laundrie’s parents in civil lawsuit CNN
- Petito case reopened: new evidence will change trajectory of case Wink News
- Gabby Petito lawsuit: Judge denies motion to withhold Roberta Laundrie’s ‘burn after reading’ letter to son Fox News
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Tag Archives: Laundrie
Gabby Petito’s parents announce wrongful death lawsuit against Moab police over Brian Laundrie 911 call
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If you or someone you know is the victim of domestic abuse, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.
FIRST ON FOX: Lawyers for Gabby Petito’s parents announced Monday that they will file a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Moab Police Department, two officers who interacted with her just days before her death and two former leaders.
The family alleges that Moab officers Eric Pratt and Daniel Robbins failed to properly handle a 911 call in which a witness claimed he saw Brian Laundrie hitting Petito and trying to steal her phone and drive off without her in the middle of downtown Moab.
Fox News Digital was first to report the Aug. 12, 2021, domestic 911 call last year. Roughly two weeks after Moab police pulled over the couple in the entranceway to Arches National Park, Laundrie is believed to have bludgeoned Petito and strangled her to death at a Bridger-Teton National Forest campground in Wyoming, where they’d traveled as part of their cross-country van-life road trip.
“Had the officers involved had training to implement proper lethality assessment and to recognize the obvious indicators of abuse, it would have been clear to them that Gabby was a victim of intimate partner violence and needed immediate protection,” Brian Stewart, a lawyer for the family, said in a statement.
GABBY PETITO’S MOTHER SLAMS BRIAN LAUNDRIE’S NOTEBOOK CONFESSION
He also said a previously undisclosed photo of Petito taken during the incident shows “a close-up view of Gabby’s face where blood is smeared on her cheek and left eye, revealing the violent nature of Brian’s attack.” It also shows that she was “grabbed across her nose and mouth, potentially restricting her airway.”
In a news conference announcing the lawsuit Monday, Petito’s parents appeared remotely via Zoom.
Nichole Schmidt, her mother, used an image of a very young Petito as her avatar for the call.
Nichole Schmidt used an image of a very young Petito in her lap as her avatar during the virtual news briefing.
(Hunter Richards for Fox News Digital )
The notice of claim, filed Friday but made public Monday, names Pratt and Robbins, former Moab Police Chief Bret Edge, and former Assistant Chief Braydon Palmer.
Edge went on leave shortly after the Petito case seized national headlines and then briefly returned to the department. He was succeeded on the job by the city’s new chief, Jared Garcia, in May.
Attorneys for Gabby Petito’s family say new photo evidence shows injuries she sustained before the Moab 911 call.
(Parker + McConkie)
When reached for comment, he said only, “I am no longer with the Moab Police Department.”
The text of the complaint focuses particularly on Pratt’s actions during the stop. He had seniority over Robbins, a relatively new officer, and on the bodycam video he appeared reluctant to charge Petito with a crime. He had apparently determined she was the aggressor, not Laundrie.
“Officer Pratt called Assistant Chief Palmer to seek assistance on how to handle the situation,” the filing reads. “Chief Palmer instructed Officer Pratt to carefully read the assault statute and decide whether the situation satisfied the statute. Officer Pratt Googled the statute. After reading only the first half of the statute, Officer Pratt decided – incorrectly – that Utah law only recognizes assault if the perpetrator intended to cause bodily injury.”
This police camera video provided by The Moab Police Department shows Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito talking to a police officer after police pulled over the van she was traveling in with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, near the entrance to Arches National Park on Aug. 12, 2021.
(The Moab Police Department via AP)
An independent investigation into Moab’s response to the call “concluded that the officers made several mistakes and could not rule out that Gabby’s murder might have been prevented if the officers had handled the situation properly,” the filing reads.
The Moab Police Department drew scrutiny after a pair of bodycam videos, from Officers Pratt and Robbins, emerged showing its response to the Petito-Laundrie dispute, in which police made no arrests or citations despite a Utah statute requiring one to be issued in domestic violence incidents. After interviewing both Petito and Laundrie, as well as another witness, officers ruled out domestic violence and deemed the incident a “mental health break.”
Petito appeared visibly shaken throughout the entire encounter and told officers that Laundrie had grabbed her face while gesturing toward her neck. But the officers appeared to rule her the aggressor – and they seemed reluctant to arrest the diminutive, distressed woman at the time. But they also didn’t appear to even view Laundrie as a potential suspect despite the 911 caller alleging that he was an aggressor.
Price, Utah, Police Capt. Brandon Ratcliffe conducted the review, and he made a number of recommendations, including placing both Pratt and Robbins on probation and implementing increased training programs.
Moab has not provided Fox News Digital with any documents, comment or confirmation that any of these recommendations had been followed.
The department’s website, however, shows that Moab has added several officers in the last year and was hiring a new detective to be the department’s domestic violence specialist.
Moab Mayor Joette Langianese, who was elected months after the incident, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Screengrabs from police bodycam in Moab, Utah, on Aug. 12, 2021 show the couple following a domestic violence call.
(Moab PD)
Petito’s parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, as well as her stepparents, Tara Petito and Jim Schmidt, have retained the Parker and McConkie law firm in Utah to handle the case. The firm in 2020 successfully represented the family of Lauren McCluskey, a 21-year-old University of Utah student who repeatedly asked for help from campus police before a 37-year-old man shot her outside her dorm in 2018. That case resulted in a $13.5 million settlement with the school.
“The purpose of this lawsuit is just one part of the family’s broader effort to raise awareness and education, to protect victims of domestic violence and to help make sure that our governmental institutions are held to account and that they are given the resources and training that they need to do their jobs,” Stewart said at a news briefing Monday.
Attorneys for the Petito and Schmidt families announced a notice of claim against Moab police at a news briefing in Salt Lake City Monday, Aug. 8. From left to right, Brad Park, Steven Jensen, Brian Stewart, Jim McConkie.
(Hunter Richards for Fox News Digital )
“We believe that these officers were negligent, and their negligence contributed to Gabby’s death,” Stewart told reporters, later adding: “They did not understand the law and did not apply the law properly in Gabby’s situation.”
The new filing also reveals that Petito called her parents during the stop, and they wanted her to fly home and get away from Laundrie. They even offered to pay for a ride to Salt Lake City and a flight home, but hearing that police were involved, they “accepted Gabby’s assurances that she would continue her trip,” the document reads.
BRIAN LAUNDRIE FOUND: PARENTS MAY HAVE JUST MISSED UNCOVERING REMAINS THEMSELVES
Steve Bertolino, an attorney for Laundrie’s parents, said their son had not told them about the Moab incident, and they only learned of it when Fox News Digital exposed the Moab 911 call last September.
Gabby Petito in an undated photograph.
(North Port Police)
GABBY PETITO HOMICIDE: TIMELINE OF DISAPPEARANCE WITH BRIAN LAUNDRIE
“I don’t know that they did everything wrong,” he said of the officers. “Everybody assumes it was a judgment call. People don’t deserve to get arrested because they got in a fight with someone that they love.”
Laundrie later confessed to the killing in a handwritten note found near his remains in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, where the FBI said he killed himself after sneaking out from under the nose of North Port police in Florida.
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Following their daughter’s death, Petito’s parents and stepparents created a nonprofit in her honor, the Gabby Petito Foundation, to raise awareness surrounding domestic violence and missing persons.
“I think Gabby’s story has touched a lot of people, and she’s saving lives,” Petito’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, said in a statement. “I get people messaging me all the time that they were inspired by her to get out of a relationship.”
The Petito and Schmidt families are also suing Laundrie’s parents in two separate Florida cases.
“All we can hope is that Gabby’s legacy will be a positive one,” Jim Schmidt said during the news briefing. “That people will see her and they recognize her and possibly compare maybe what they’re going through in their life and make a positive change.”
The family is urging anyone who finds themselves trapped in an abusive relationship to speak up and seek help.
“Reach out if you can,” Nichole Schmidt, said during the briefing, wiping tears from her eyes. “Reach out to someone.”
“There are people that care,” added Petito’s father, Joseph Petito. “People should know there are people out there who will do whatever they can to help.”
If you or someone you know is the victim of domestic abuse, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.
Brian Laundrie admitted to killing Gabby Petito in notebook entry: FBI
Brian Laundrie admitted he killed girlfriend Gabby Petito in a notebook entry he wrote shortly before he took his own life, the FBI revealed Friday in its final report on the case.
Laundrie also sent text messages between his and Petito’s cellphone in the days after Petito was strangled to death last summer in an attempt “to deceive law enforcement by giving the impression Ms. Petito was still alive,” the FBI Denver said in its final investigative update on the case.
All “logical investigative steps have been concluded in the case,” FBI Denver Division Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider said in a statement.
“The investigation did not identify any other individuals other than Brian Laundrie directly involved in the tragic death of Gabby Petito.
“The FBI’s primary focus throughout the investigation was to bring justice to Gabby and her family,” Scheider said. “The public’s role in helping us in this endeavor was invaluable as the investigation was covered in the media around the world.
“On behalf of the FBI, I want to express my deepest appreciation to the public for the thousands of tips that were provided during the investigation, and to our local, state and federal law enforcement partners for their work throughout the investigation.”
Richard Stafford, an attorney for the Petito family, thanked the FBI and its victim services.
“We truly appreciate the FBI’s diligent and painstaking efforts in this extremely complicated case,” Stafford said in a statement. “The quality and quantity of the facts and information collected by the FBI leave no doubt the Brian Laundrie murdered Gabby.”
Steven Bertolino, the lawyer for the Laundrie family, issued a statement after the release of the FBI report.
“Gabby and Brian are no longer with their families and this tragedy has caused enormous emotional pain and suffering to all who loved either or both of them,” Bertolino wrote. “We can only hope that with today’s closure of the case each family can begin to heal and move forward and find peace in and with the memories of their children.
“May Gabby and Brian both rest in peace.”
Long Island native Petito, 22, vanished last summer during an ill-fated cross-country trip with Laundrie. She was reported missing Sept. 11, and her body was found Sept. 19 at a Wyoming camp ground, with an autopsy determining she’d been strangled.
When Laundrie, 23, returned to his parents’ North Port, Fla., home without her, he quickly became the sole person of interest in the case before he disappeared, too. A massive manhunt for him followed, until his remains were found at a nearby nature preserve Oct. 20.
A revolver, backpack and the notebook were found near his body, the FBI stated. Authorities determined he’d shot himself. Police had determined that between Aug. 30 and Sept. 1 Laundrie had used Petito’s debit card on his drive from Wyoming to Florida, the report said.
It isn’t clear what the notebook entry said, but the FBI’s review stated that it “revealed written statements by Mr. Laundrie claiming responsibility for Ms. Petito’s death.”
Brian Laundrie news latest: Whereabouts of gun unknown
Brian Laundrie shot himself in head, family attorney confirms
The whereabouts of the gun used in Brian Laundrie’s death remains unknown, days after a lawyer for the family revealed the results of an autopsy on the 23-year-old’s remains.
Mr Laundrie, who was the focus of a manhunt for more than a month as investigators searched for clues in the death of Ms Petito during their cross-country van trip together, was found to have shot himself in the head.
The Laundrie family’s lawyer Steven Bertolino said his parents had been informed about the cause of death, a gunshot wound, and the manner of death was suicide.
It comes after the results of autopsy in October found no conclusive cause of death, in part thanks to the remains being found submerged in an area of the Myakkahatachee Creek Environmental Park in Florida on 20 October.
Authorities have also been trying to repair a personal notebook retrieved from a dry bag near his body as part of their investigation into the death of his girlfriend and fiancé Gabby Petito, in addition to the gun.
Crucial to their investigation will be Laundrie’s digital communications, including his texts and emails, use of social media, and internet browsing history prior to his death.
What have Gabby Petito’s family said?
“The Schmidt and Petito family has been aware of the circumstances surrounding the suicide of the sole suspect in Gabby’s murder,” an attorney for the family said in a statement Tuesday.
“Gabby’s family will not be making a statement at this time due to the request of the United States Attorney’s Office and the Teton County Prosecutor’s Office,” the attorney, Richard Stafford, reportedly added of her parents and stepparents.
Gino Spocchia25 November 2021 14:42
Laundrie family ‘mourning’
Steven Bertolino, the Laundrie family lawyer, told reporters following the recent autopsy that he hoped the finding brought closure for both families, inculding that of Gabby Petito.
He added that “Chris and Roberta are still mourning the loss of their son and are hopeful that these findings bring closure to both families”.
Gino Spocchia25 November 2021 14:12
Where could Brian Laundrie’s alleged gun be?
Although the anthropologist’s ruling has answered one question – how did Brian Laundrie die – it raises others, like what happened to the gun that the 23-year-old used?
As Graig Graziosi writes, there remain a few possibilities as to its location…
Gino Spocchia25 November 2021 12:51
Brian Laundrie: The dark themes that permeate his digital footprint
A recently uncovered social media account belonging to Brian Laundrie is being pored over by an army of internet sleuths seeking clues to his state of mind prior to his death.
The Pinterest page suspected of being Mr Laundrie’s is also offering new clues into his state of mind in the weeks before his girlfriend Gabby Petito went missing on or about 25 August.
Ms Petito’s remains were found in Wyoming on 19 September. Laundrie was found dead in a Florida reserve a month later, and autopsy results showed he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, family lawyer Steven Bertolino announced on 23 November.
Eleanor Sly25 November 2021 11:15
Gabby Petito family waiting to see if others will be charged as Brian Laundrie lawyer reveals cause of death
The family of Gabby Petito has said it is waiting to see if other individuals are charged over their daughter’s murder, after it was reported the suspect in her death had shot himself in the head.
A lawyer for the family of Brian Laundrie, whose remains were recovered from a Florida nature reserve last month, said a post-mortem examination had concluded the 24-year-old had died after shooting himself in the head with a gun.
Laundrie had been named as a “person of interest” by the FBI in the disappearance and killing of the 22-year-old woman, whose case triggered global attention.
Andrew Buncombe has more:
Eleanor Sly25 November 2021 10:00
Dog the Bounty Hunter questions latest news on Brian Laundrie
Dog the Bounty Hunter has questioned the latest details released on Brian Laundrie’s autopsy results, hinting that he believes that the fugitive could still be alive.
Just hours after the news broke on Tuesday that Laundrie had died from suicde, Duane ‘Dog’ Chapman appeared on Fox News to give his take on proceedings.
During his interview with the channel, Mr Chapman spoke of the fugitive as if there was still some doubt that the human remains found last month in Florida did not belong to him.
“If he’s alive he’s going to get arrested,” Mr Chapman said before adding: “Right now it looks like he committed suicide.”
“It’s a tragedy for both families,” he said.
Eleanor Sly25 November 2021 08:34
Did Brian Laundrie leave a suicide note? Damaged notebook may provide last chance of learning how Gabby Petito died
A notebook recovered close to the skeletal remains of Gabby Petito’s boyfriend Brian Laundrie may represent the last hope authorities have for finding answers about her death.
Laundrie, whose death was confirmed to be gunshot wounds by suicide on Tuesday, was found in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park on 20 October, along with personal items including a notebook that had been sealed inside a dry bag.
The area had been underwater for nearly a month, and the notebook sustained water damage, but North Port Police spokesman Josh Taylor said last month it may be “salvageabale”.
Eleanor Sly25 November 2021 07:33
Brian Laundrie: Everything we know about Gabby Petito’s boyfriend
ICYMI: Ever since human remains found inside the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park were confirmed as belonging to Brian Laundrie, the manner of his death has remained a mystery.
But on 23 November, the family’s attorney Steven Bertolino revealed Brian Laundrie died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Catch up on everything we know about Mr Laundrie in Helen Elfer’s story for The Independent below…
Graeme Massie25 November 2021 04:52
Outrage over FBI ‘hiding’ that Brian Laundrie was ‘armed’
The FBI is being slammed for “hiding” the fact that he was “armed and dangerous,” after it was revealed that Brian Laundrie had shot himself in the head.
Steven Bertolino, the attorney representing Laundrie’s parents — had earlier said one of the Laundries’ guns could not be found at the time their son went missing.
He was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail: “We didn’t want the public going into a frenzy on that. I don’t think they considered him dangerous to anybody he met on the street.”
The family had tried to keep it a secret.
The investigators are still looking for the gun.
Now people are furious with the FBI for hiding that Laundrie was “armed” and “dangerous.”
On social media, several observers asked “Why do we even have an FBI?” and others said: “What is FBI hiding.”
One user, who goes by the handle Tessarossa on Twitter said: “Wow. I saw the update on the news and this blatantly obvious question didn’t even occur to me. None of this makes sense. What is the FBI hiding?”
There was outrage over the fact that the FBI tried to hide the “vital information.” One social media user commented that the law enforcement and the FBI have a lot to answer for in the Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie case “knowing that he had a firearm when he went missing and not notifying the public of an armed and dangerous person.”
Maroosha Muzaffar25 November 2021 04:24
Laundrie family lawyer says he has “no reason” to think parents will face charges in Gabby Petito case
ICYMI: Steven Bertolino, the attorney representing the parents of Brian Laundrie, said he has “no reason” to believe that his clients will face charges in the death of Gabby Petito.
“I have no reason to believe any charges will be filed against Chris and Roberta Laundrie [Brian Laundrie’s parents] with respect to this case,” Mr Bertolino said in a statement to Insider.
The statement comes in the wake of Petito family attorney, Richard Stafford, claiming he has advised his clients to remain silent until the FBI investigation into the case has concluded, noting that prosecutors are considering whether or not to charge “additional individuals” with crimes connected to the woman’s death.
Graeme Massie25 November 2021 04:03
First Thing: Brian Laundrie killed himself, autopsy report shows | US news
Good morning.
Brian Laundrie, whose disappearance sparked a nationwide manhunt in September after his fiancee, Gabby Petito, went missing and was later found murdered, killed himself, an autopsy report released yesterday revealed.
Laundrie’s remains were found in a Florida wilderness area in October, a month after Petito, 22, was found strangled to death on the edge of Wyoming’s Grand Teton national park, where the couple had been travelling together in a van.
The 23-year-old was named a person of interest in the case after he returned to his parents’ home in Florida alone in early September, then disappeared himself.
Petito’s parents reported her missing on 11 September, three days before Laundrie’s family said he left their house in North Port with a backpack but left behind his wallet and cell phone.
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Did he leave a suicide note? The FBI has been searching for clues among belongings found near Laundrie’s body, including a water-damaged notebook, but is yet to release a statement on the progress of its investigation.
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What have his parents said? “Chris and Roberta are still mourning the loss of their son and are hopeful that these findings bring closure to both families,” Steven Bertolino, the attorney for Laundrie’s parents, said.
US hospitals prepare for influx of Covid patients as millions travel for Thanksgiving
As cases begin increasing once more in the US, millions of people are expected to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday, and health workers and hospital systems are now preparing for an influx of Covid patients after having little time to recover from the summer surge.
Last year, there was a jump in cases around the holidays. But this year, new tools could blunt the spread – if they are taken up quickly.
US scientific agencies on Friday recommended boosters for all adults six months after receiving an mRNA vaccination, and children over the age of five recently became eligible for vaccines.
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How many people have Covid? More than 92,000 Americans are now testing positive for Covid-19 each day, and more than 1,000 people are dying from the virus every day, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Which parts of the US are most affected? Cases are rising in a majority of states, with hotspots in the midwest, north-east and parts of the south-west.
What is happening with US inflation, and how worried should you be?
Jobs are coming back, wages are rising, stock markets are hitting record highs. In many ways, the US economy is booming. And yet as we officially enter the holiday season, consumer confidence is at its lowest level in a decade. The reason? Inflation.
The US inflation rate in October was the highest it has been since the early 90s, when Nirvana released Smells Like Teen Spirit and the Gulf war was just beginning.
But should we be worried? The Federal Reserve – and the Biden administration – think rising prices are “transitory”, caused by the hangover from the pandemic. Their critics are less sure.
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What is inflation? Inflation describes a general rise in the level of prices of all consumer goods and services. It is not specific to a particular good or service; rather it is a measure of when, broadly, things are more expensive than they were.
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What’s happening with inflation? According to CPI numbers released in mid-November, prices in the US rose 6.2% in October compared with the same time last year.
A child injured in the Waukesha parade has died, bringing the death toll to six
A child has died after suffering head injuries when an SUV was driven through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, bringing the death toll to six, said prosecutors.
The child was one of 16 children admitted to the Children’s hospital of Wisconsin, officials said in a news release. He has been named on a Go Fund Me page as eight-year-old Jackson Sparks. His 12-year-old brother was injured.
A member of his family said: “Tucker, by the grace of God is miraculously recovering from his injuries and will be being discharged home. This afternoon, our dear Jackson has sadly succumbed to his injuries and passed away.”
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Has the suspect been charged? Prosecutors in Wisconsin charged Darrell Brooks Jr yesterday with intentional homicide in the deaths of five people. More charges are pending.
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Did he appear in court? He made his initial appearance in court yesterday. He could be heard crying during the proceedings.
In other news …
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The House select committee investigating the Capitol attack on Tuesday issued subpoenas to the leaders of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers militia, directly focusing for the first time on the instigators of the violence at the 6 January insurrection.
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A jury has awarded more than $25m in damages against white nationalist leaders for violence that erupted during the deadly 2017 far-right rally in Charlottesville. Nine people who were physically or emotionally injured during the two days of demonstrations will receive payment.
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China’s government has accused Joe Biden of “a mistake” in inviting Taiwan to participate in a democracy summit alongside 109 other democratic governments. Taiwan was included in a list of participants for next month’s Summit for Democracy, published by the state department yesterday.
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Seven anti-vaccine doctors fell sick with Covid-19 after gathering earlier this month for a “summit” at which alternative treatments were discussed. The doctors tested positive or developed symptoms “within days” of the conference in Florida but organisers deny it was a super-spreader event.
Stat of the day: The Weeknd’s Blinding Lights dethrones the Twist as all-time No 1 Billboard single
The Weeknd’s hit single Blinding Lights has officially been crowned the all-time No 1 song on the Billboard single charts, ousting Chubby Checker’s 1960s hit the Twist. The song, an instant synth-pop classic, had its debut in late November 2019 and topped the weekly Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks in April and May 2020, going on to spend a record-shattering 90 consecutive weeks on the chart. That stint has now earned Blinding Lights the title of No 1 song on its Greatest Songs of All Time Hot 100 Chart.
Don’t miss this: No, you don’t have to see your toxic family on Thanksgiving
It’s no secret that Covid – compounded by an era of divisive politics – offered much-needed distance for those in troubled relationships with loved ones. For some, the pandemic presented people with the opportunity to break familial ties. For others, it at least offered an alibi. The expectation that families should spend the holidays together at all costs is built into the fabric of American culture. But feeling powerless toward an obligation to return home, regardless of the effect on our mental health, has far-reaching consequences. It can affect people’s finances, their confidence and their relationships.
… Or this: How wild turkeys’ rough and rowdy ways are creating havoc in US cities
There’s a violent gang stalking urban America. In New Hampshire, a motorcyclist crashed after being assaulted. In New Jersey, a terrified postman rang 911 after a dozen members attacked at once. And in Michigan, one town armed public workers with pepper spray for protection. The culprits? Wild turkey. Booming populations are a conservation success story, but not all terrorised residents are happy about it. In September, the Daily Messenger in upstate New York had had enough and published a tongue-in-cheek call to arms: “Wild turkey all over America are rioting, rising up in rebellion against the influx of people into their habitat.”
Climate check: UK will press governments to stick to climate pledges, says Cop26 president
The UK will continue to press governments around the world to cut greenhouse gas emissions urgently in the next year to limit global heating to 1.5C, after the UN climate talks that concluded last week, the president of the summit has pledged. Alok Sharma, the cabinet minister who led the Cop26 talks, said the world had shown in Glasgow that countries could work together to establish a framework for climate action but the next year must focus on keeping the promises made there.
Want more environmental stories delivered to your inbox? Sign up to our new newsletter Down to Earth to get original and essential reporting on the climate crisis every week
Last thing: NFT beats cheugy to be Collins Dictionary’s word of the year
In a year that has seen the musician Grimes sell a collection of digital artworks for almost $6m (£4.4m), and the original photo behind the 2005 Disaster Girl meme go for $473,000 (£354,000), Collins Dictionary has made NFT its word of the year. The abbreviation of non-fungible token has seen a “meteoric” rise in usage over the last year, said Collins, up 11,000% in the last year. Any digital creation can become an NFT, with the term referring to a certificate of ownership, registered on a blockchain, or digital ledger of transactions.
Brian Laundrie died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, attorney says
Brian Laundrie died from a gunshot wound to the head and his manner of death was suicide, according to his family’s attorney and a local medical examiner. His remains were found last month at a Florida reserve after a weeks-long manhunt following the disappearance and death of his fiancée, Gabby Petito.
“Chris and Roberta Laundrie have been informed the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death was suicide,” attorney Steven Bertolino said in a statement Tuesday. “Chris and Roberta are still mourning the loss of their son and are hopeful that these findings bring closure to both families.”
The District Twelve Medical Examiner’s Office in Sarasota, Florida, later confirmed the statement. The office said its investigation included the examination of skeletal remains and consultations with forensic experts, including skeletal reconstruction and dental comparison for identification.
Petito, 22, was reported missing by her family on September 11 after her fiancée Laundrie returned from a cross-country trip at the beginning of September without her. Petito’s body was later found near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on September 19.
Last month, a coroner determined that Petito was strangled to death and that the manner of her death was a homicide. The coroner said he believed her body had been outdoors for three to four weeks.
Laundrie’s parents said their son on September 13 went for a hike and never returned home. He was reported missing days later on September 17. Laundrie’s skeletal remains were found on October 20 at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Sarasota County. The FBI identified the remains through a comparison of dental records on October 21.
Victoria Albert and Sophie Reardon contributed to this report.
Brian Laundrie autopsy: Forensic anthropologist says fugitive died of suicide
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Deceased fugitive Brian Laundrie died of suicide, a forensic anthropologist told Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino on Tuesday.
Laundrie took his own life with a gunshot wound to the head, Bertolino said.
“Chris and Robert are still mourning the loss of their son and are hopeful that these findings bring closure to both families,” he said.
Chris and Roberta Laundrie at Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Florida on October 20, 2021
(Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)
The Florida District 12 Medical Examiner said Thursday that officials completed their investigation through a scene response by medical examiner personnel, a complete examination of the recovered skeletal remains, a consultation with a forensic odontologist that confirmed a comparison of dental records, a consultation with a forensic anthropologist and a comparison of remains by DNA analysis.
Laundrie was a person of interest in the disappearance and homicide of his former fiancée, Gabby Petito — a tragedy that captured the nation’s attention for more than a month after Petito’s family reported her missing on September 11.
BRIAN LAUNDRIE UPDATE: FAMILY SURRENDERED GUN TO LAW ENFORCEMENT ON SEPT. 17 – BUT ONE WAS MISSING
Authorities recovered Laundrie’s partial skeletal remains, along with a backpack and other personal items belonging to Laundrie, on Oct. 20 at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in North Port, Florida. The following day, after a comparison of dental records, the agency confirmed the remains as Laundrie’s.
Brian Laundrie as seen in bodycam footage released by the Moab Police Department in Utah.
(Moab PD)
The medical examiner’s office conducted an initial autopsy in late October, but results came back inconclusive. The remains were then sent to a forensic anthropologist.
Forensic anthropologists analyze human remains, conduct DNA tests and look for any signs of weapon evidence to help determine how a person died.
BRIAN LAUNDRIE FOUND: PARENTS MAY HAVE JUST MISSED DISCOVERING SON THEMSELVES
Authorities also found Laundrie’s notebook on Oct. 20, which police say “may be salvageable.” It is unclear what is inside the notebook.
Laundrie had returned to his parents’ home on Sept. 1 without her. Petito’s family reported her missing 10 days later. Laundrie’s parents then reported their son missing on Sept. 17 but clarified later that the last time they saw him was Sept. 13.
The North Port Police Department and the FBI searched the Myakkahatchee Creek park for more than a month before eventually finding Brian’s remains and personal items with help from Laundrie’s parents in an area that had previously been underwater.
BRIAN LAUNDRIE SEARCH: FBI CONFIRMS UNIDENTIFIED HUMAN REMAINS, FUGITIVE’S BACKPACK AND NOTEBOOK FOUND
Police previously directed questions about a firearm from Fox News to the FBI. The FBI has not released any new information about the case at the time of publication.
Petito-Schmidt family attorney Richard Stafford told Fox News’ Laura Ingle that the family “has been aware of the circumstances surrounding the suicide of the sole suspect in Gabby’s murder” and “will not be making a statement at this time due to the request of the United States Attorney’s Office and the Teton County Prosecutor’s Office.”
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“The family was asked to not comment and let the FBI continue their investigation and allow the United States Attorney’s Office make a determination on whether any additional individuals will be charged,” he said. “When that determination is made, we will have a statement.”
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached by calling 800-273-8255.
For those who don’t want to speak to a counselor, there’s also a national Crisis Text Line available 24/7 by texting “home” to 741741.
Gabby Petito investigation: What happens now that Brian Laundrie is dead
Though authorities have not explicitly connected Laundrie to Petito’s death, they have said he was among the last people to see her alive. “Two people went on a trip, and one person returned,” North Port Police chief Todd Garrison said in September.
Crime scenes will be critical in investigation
Among the most important components in an investigation like this are the crime scenes, said Paul Belli, a retired lieutenant of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and president of the International Homicide Investigators Association.
Teton County, Wyoming, Coroner Dr. Brent Blue said Petito died by manual strangulation/throttling, adding that her body had likely been outside in the wilderness for about three to four weeks before being found.
“Throttling means that someone was strangled by human force. There was no mechanical force involved,” Blue told CNN.
There could be clues as to what happened — and who did it — that investigators may be able to collect from a crime scene, Belli said, including fingerprints, depending on the condition of the human remains. What’s difficult in cases like these is that unlike killings that are committed by strangers of the victims, when the person of interest is someone the victim was involved with, finding their DNA on a victim’s body is to be expected.
“You would expect DNA on either one of them from the other,” Belli said. “But I mean, if there’s DNA maybe where it shouldn’t be, that could be kind of a clue as to what may have occurred.”
“So there are ways to absolutely, at least get you to a point where you’re like, ‘OK, this definitely makes sense, this is the person who did this crime,'” he added.
The type of crime also can help offer hints, said former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani. Killings involving manual strangulation can often indicate “an emotional element,” Rahmani said.
Some key items could provide answers
Investigators last week recovered personal items such as a backpack and notebook along with Laundrie’s remains. A source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN’s Randi Kaye the notebook is “possibly salvageable.” And experts say that could offer more insight.
Those items will likely be taken to an FBI lab where there are “experts who really spend their careers doing things like drying out paper evidence, trying to recover the writing and the ink marks and potentially fingerprints and all sorts of other potentially relevant pieces of evidence from an article just like this,” former FBI Deputy Director and CNN senior law enforcement analyst Andrew McCabe told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Thursday.
The notebook could potentially include information like Laundrie’s motives, his feelings about Petito and other notes he made about events in Wyoming, McCabe added.
Investigators also obtained a search warrant last month for an external hard drive they found in Petito’s white van — the one the couple used during their trip and in which Laundrie returned, alone, to their North Port home. Authorities have not shared details on what they found on the drive.
Finding phones in a case like this could also offer an “incredible amount of information,” Belli said. A source close to the Laundrie family told CNN last month Laundrie left home without his wallet and without a cell phone he had purchased earlier in September. Police do not have the phone he had with him during the couple’s trip, nor do they have Petito’s phone, CNN confirmed earlier in October.
Finally, videos that authorities have collected of Laundrie and Petito could also help put together pieces of the puzzle in the couple’s journey — and perhaps Laundrie’s journey back to Florida.
“I don’t think people realize the sheer volume of information that we now get on every case,” Belli said. “Video, phone records… if that vehicle had any information that can be gleaned from it with a GPS.”
Laundrie was charged with using a debit card and PIN for accounts that did not belong to him after Petito’s death, according to an indictment.
“(Authorities) probably collected video from wherever those were used, video for wherever he may have appeared to stop for a period of time. I doubt he drove completely straight through,” Belli said. “So, there’s a lot of additional work to be done that has been in progress, most likely.”
Circumstances may help unravel the mystery
In a case like this, circumstances alone can also help paint a clear picture, Rahmani, the former prosecutor, said.
“It’s a very, very strong circumstantial case,” he said. “You have a history of violence between the two. You have all evidence that indicates (Laundrie) was the last person to see her alive and the manner of death, that manual strangulation, that tends to be… most often someone you know.”
In August, Utah authorities had an encounter with Laundrie and Petito and described them as having “engaged in some sort of altercation.” The two were described as getting into a physical fight following an argument but both reported “they are in love and engaged to be married and desperately didn’t wish to see anyone charged with a crime,” one officer’s report stated. Police body cam footage showed Petito crying uncontrollably as she talked to police.
“We have someone who did not report his fiancée missing when he returned without her, we have someone that fled,” Rahmani added.
And in an interview Thursday, Steven Bertolino, the Laundrie family attorney, said Laundrie was “grieving” and appeared upset when he left his family’s home in mid-September.
Laundrie’s parents knew their son was “grieving, they knew that he was so upset and, you know, they just couldn’t control that he was leaving and he left,'” Bertolino told CNN affiliate WABC.
Experts have questioned what the Laundrie family may know about what happened to Petito.
“Did they help him escape? Did they help destroy evidence?” Palm Beach County, Florida, State Attorney Dave Aronberg told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Friday night. “What did they know?”
Though with Laundrie deceased it may be harder to find the answers that both investigators and the families were hoping for, there may still be a lot that could be done in the investigation into Petito’s killing, Belli said. He said this could remain an open case for some time if authorities are not able to confidently say they know who killed her.
“I mean the closure is really, did he do it or did he not do it, that is going to be the overarching feeling based on my experience,” he said.
“The investigators,” he added, “I guarantee that they feel a great need to provide the truth, whatever that truth is, to both sides of the family. That’s really what we do as investigators is find all the facts and lay out the truth.”
Brian Laundrie was ‘grieving’ when he vanished, days before Gabby Petito found dead: lawyer
More than a month before authorities found the decomposed remains of Florida fugitive Brian Laundrie in a swamp near his home, he allegedly slipped away from his parents’ house under the guise of a hike.
That was on Sept. 13, two days after Laundrie’s fiancée, Gabby Petito, was reported missing. His attorney, Steve Bertolino, told Fox News Digital Thursday that he immediately informed the FBI that his client had failed to come home.
However, local police in North Port, Florida, said they thought Laundrie was still inside the house until they knocked on the front door on Sept. 17.
BRIAN LAUNDRIE SEARCH: NO DISCREPANCY BETWEEN FBI AND PARENTS ON MISSING TIMELINE, SAYS FAMILY LAWYER
Brian Laundrie as seen in bodycam footage released by the Moab Police Department in Utah.
(Moab PD)
Bertolino said that after he told the FBI that Laundrie failed to return from the park, he had no further contact with the FBI until they told him Friday about a tip that Laundrie had been seen in Tampa.
But from Tuesday evening to Thursday, neither Laundrie’s parents nor his attorney followed up with the FBI or local authorities about their missing son’s whereabouts.
“There was never any communication between myself and law enforcement in the next three days,” Bertolino told Fox News Digital. “They never asked me, and I never informed them that Brian didn’t come home.”
They also waited until the Friday meeting regarding the Tampa tip to file a missing person report.
BRIAN LAUNDRIE FOUND DEAD, FBI CONFIRMS REMAINS
“North Port PD was under the assumption that Brian was home, and so was the FBI when they got a tip on Friday that Brian was in Tampa, and they wanted to meet with us on Friday,” Bertolino said. “I was shocked and said, ‘That’s good. You found him in Tampa,’ and they said, ‘What do you mean? I thought he’s at the house.’ I said, ‘No, I told you the other day he never came home.'”
(Taylor Bostwick via Storyful)
North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison had said in the middle of that week that he knew exactly where Brian Laundrie was – but he was wrong.
Speaking to reporters during a news conference on Sept. 16, Garrison was asked if he knew where Laundrie was at that moment.
“Yes,” he replied.
BRIAN LAUNDRIE FAMILY LAWYER ADDRESSES RUMORS PARENTS PLANTED REMAINS
The family made no effort to correct him and showed no public urgency about their son’s whereabouts or well-being — even though Bertolino later told ABC News that Brian’s father, Chris Laundrie, believed his son was “grieving” and upset when he left for the Sept. 13 hike. The public didn’t know Petito was dead until authorities said they found her remains on Sept. 19.
Chris and Roberta Laundrie lead investigators to personal items belonging to their son in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021. Police separately found human remains that the FBI later concluded belonged to their fugitive son, Brian Laundrie.
(Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)
Bertolino did not immediately respond to a request for clarification about Brian Laundrie’s mental state when he left or what he was “grieving” about.
Laundrie and Petito set off on a cross-country road trip earlier this year in a white Ford Transit van, which they lived out of as they camped at public parks along the way.
BRIAN LAUNDRIE SEARCH: FBI CONFIRMS UNIDENTIFIED HUMAN REMAINS, FUGITIVE’S BACKPACK AND NOTEBOOK FOUND
An FBI-led search found Petito’s remains at a Bridger-Teton National Forest campsite on Sept. 18 north of Jackson, Wyoming. Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue later ruled her death a homicide by manual strangulation – meaning she’d been killed by hand.
A travel-blogging couple known as Red, White and Bethune spotted Petito’s van at the campsite on Aug. 27 – hours after what may have been the last time she was seen alive in public.
That day, Nina Celie Angelo and Matthew England were eating at Merry Piglets in Jackson when they saw Brian Laundrie arguing with restaurant staff, they told Fox News Digital last month.
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Laundrie exited and reentered about four times, and Petito apologized to the workers for his behavior, the couple said.
Two weeks before that, witnesses in Moab, Utah, told police they’d seen Brian Laundrie slapping and hitting Petito outside an organic grocery store. He also allegedly threatened to take her phone and drive off without her before police pulled the couple over north of town.
Despite a Utah law requiring arrests or citations to be made in all domestic violence cases, police deemed the matter a “mental health break” and told the couple to spend the night apart. Moab officials later announced an investigation into the officers’ handling of the matter.
Brian Laundrie: Strong probability the suspected remains found in a Florida park are those of Gabby Petito’s fiance, family attorney says
Authorities found a backpack and a notebook they believe belong to Laundrie, 23, near the suspected remains while they were searching in the Carlton Reserve in North Port, FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael McPherson said.
More than a month since his disappearance, McPherson said Laundrie was “a person of interest in the murder of Gabby Petito.”
Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino told CNN’s Chris Cuomo that “the probability is strong, that it is Brian’s remains” found by the FBI.
“It’s quite sad, you can imagine as a parent, finding your son’s belonging alongside from the remains. That’s got to be heartbreaking. And I can tell you that they are heartbroken,” he said Wednesday.
The discovery comes amid an exhaustive search for Laundrie as authorities try to piece together what happened to 22-year-old Petito– who was found dead by strangulation after traveling around the western US in a white van this summer and was later reported missing.
A medical examiner arrived on the scene Wednesday, and a formal identification could take a while. A source close to the investigation told CNN that the suspected human remains “appear to have been there a while.”
“Based on the condition of the remains, it may take some time to officially identify. It is going to be a very thorough process with the medical examiner,” the source said.
The apparent remains were found in an area that has been under water until recently, McPherson said, which could potentially make the identification process take longer.
It was the “very area of the park that we initially informed law enforcement on,” Bertolino said, referring to a meeting with law enforcement on September 17.
Brian Laundrie’s parents were on the scene when remains were found
Bertolino told CNN that Laundrie’s parents — Chris and Roberta Laundrie — helped law enforcement with finding some items at the park, which he described as “happenstance.”
According to the attorney, Laundrie’s parents informed the FBI and the North Port Police Department on Tuesday night that they wanted to visit the park Wednesday morning to search for their son.
Law enforcement met them there and closely accompanied them as they entered the park, Bertolino said.
“As they went further in, Chris ventured off the trail into the woods. He was zigzagging in different areas, law enforcement was doing the same thing. And Roberta Laundrie was walking down the trail,” Bertolino said.
“At some point, Chris locates what’s called a dry bag. The dry bag is a white bag, laying in the woods, say 20 feet or so off the trail.”
Bertolino said, according to Chris Laundrie, the dry bag was in some brambles and he didn’t want to it up, because he wanted his law enforcement to see it. However, Bertolino said Laundrie “couldn’t find the law enforcement,” because they were then out of sight and didn’t want to leave the bag there with a news reporter standing nearby, so he picked it up.
“He did meet up shortly with law enforcement, they looked at the contents of the bag. At that time, law enforcement officers showed him a picture on the phone of a backpack that law enforcement had located also nearby and also some distance off the trail,” Bertolino told CNN.
“At that point, the Laundries were notified there was also remains near the backpack, and they were asked to leave the preserve.”
The suspected remains were found “about 2 to 3 miles inside the Carlton Reserve, or about a 45-minute walk” from the entrance at Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, North Port police spokesperson Josh Taylor said.
When asked why the parents chose to go to the park on Wednesday, Bertolino said it was the first day it was reopened to the public.
“The parents had assumed that the experts, the FBI and all the tracking teams they had would be able to locate Brian based upon the information that we had provided them to the specific areas and trails in the park that Brian liked to visit,” Bertolino said. “The park had been closed to the public. There was really no other reason for the Laundries to go search anywhere else.
The young couple traveled together before vanishing
Laundrie has been under public scrutiny in recent months since Petito vanished in September and was later found dead. The family had refused to talk publicly following legal advice, their attorney said.
The young couple was regularly posting on their social media accounts as they traveled across Western states. But those posts stopped in late August, and Laundrie returned solo on September 1 to their home in North Port, where they lived with his parents.
The national search for Petito ensued after her family reported her missing on September 11 after not being able to contact her.
Petito’s remains were found in a national forest in Wyoming on September 19 near where the couple had last been seen together. Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue ruled her death a homicide and said she died by manual strangulation.
During the search for Petito, Laundrie declined to cooperate with the investigation into her whereabouts, and soon after, he also went missing. His family told investigators they believed he had gone to a sprawling nature reserve nearby.
CNN’s Eric Levenson, Rebekah Riess, Jon Passantino, Steve Almasy, Rob Frehse and Madeline Holcombe contributed to this report.