TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Brian Laundrie’s parents have sent a settlement proposal to the parents of Gabby Petito to resolve a civil suit that’s set to go to trial next year, according to court documents obtained by WFLA.
Thursday’s settlement proposal comes weeks after the Laundries’ former lawyer, Steve Bertolino, a co-defendant in the suit, made a settlement offer. The terms of both proposals were not disclosed.
Petito’s parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, sued Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, alleging the Laundrie’s knew their son killed their daughter and helped him evade justice.
Last week, the families came face-to-face for the first time since Petito’s murder. Christopher Laundrie was questioned by the Petito family’s attorney Pat Reilly on Tuesday. Roberta Laundrie was deposed the following day.
Joseph Petito said the Laundries refused to look his way during the depositions.
“Not once,” Petito told WFLA.com. “I’ve never such seen emotionless answers regarding a deceased child.”
“It was extremely hurtful to listen to someone that has no remorse and no compassion for the girl they would call their daughter-in-law,” Gabby’s mother, Nichole Schmidt added.
The civil trial is scheduled to begin in May of next year.
Authorities said Brian Laundrie killed Gabby Petito in 2021 while the couple was on a cross-country road trip. She was strangled to death, according to the coroner. After a weekslong manhunt, Laundrie was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Sarasota County’s Carlton Reserve. The FBI said Laundrie confessed to killing Petito in a notebook entry before his death. They also obtained a letter written by Laundrie’s mother, in which she offered her son a shovel and garbage bags to help him dispose of a body. The infamous letter has become a focal point in the civil suit.
