A Florida judge has refused to throw out a lawsuit in which Gabby Petito’s parents allege Brian Lundry told his parents he killed her before returning home alone from their trip out west. Thursday’s decision by Sarasota County Judge Hunter Carroll means the lawsuit can move forward against Christopher and Robert Laundrie. Petito’s parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, contend the Laundries intentionally caused emotional distress in the case. Petito’s disappearance on the couple’s road trip in a converted van and the subsequent discovery of her slain body on September 19 in a Wyoming national park became a national obsession, with attention later turning to the search for Laundrie at a Florida nature preserve. The FBI concluded that Laundrie strangled Petito, 22 — with whom he had previous domestic disputes and violence — and that Laundrie fatally shot himself in the Carlton Reserve swamp after returning home alone on Sept. 1. The lawsuit alleges the Laundryes withheld that their son had confessed to the killing from investigators and Petito’s parents while the investigation into Gabby Petito was ongoing. Carroll ruled that a statement released by the Laundry’s attorney on Sept. 14 expressing hope that Petito would be found may have been “designed to create false hope” when they knew she was already dead. Laundromats denies the lawsuit’s allegations. The suit seeks at least US$30,000 in damages. Petito was in regular contact with her parents and often posted on social media about their travels. The couple had a regular fan before the murder mystery. The FBI says Laundrie sent text messages from Petito’s cell phone to her parents and others in an attempt to pretend she was still alive. He was also accused of illegally using one of her credit cards before his remains were discovered at the Florida nature reserve.
