The father of Gabby Petito, who was murdered by her fiancé Brian Laundrie while the two were on a cross-country road trip, has spoken out for the first time since the family settled a civil lawsuit against the Laundries.
Joe Petito sat down for an interview with WFLA, but said he couldn’t speak about the specifics of the settlement.
“I would love to get into more details about it, but unfortunately at this time I just can’t,” he said.
He reiterated that the families “reluctantly” came together to settle the lawsuit, which the Petitos filed against the Laundries last year, alleging the Laundries helped their son escape law enforcement. A civil trial for the lawsuit was scheduled to begin in May but will no longer take place.
- Did the aggressor ever use a weapon against you or threaten you with a weapon?
- Did the aggressor ever threaten to kill you or your children?
- Do you believe the aggressor will try to kill you?
- Has the aggressor ever choked you or attempted to choke you?
- Does the aggressor have a gun or could the aggressor easily obtain a gun?
- Is the aggressor violently or constantly jealous?
- Does the aggressor control most of your daily activities?
- Does the aggressor reside in the same household with you?
- Is the aggressor employed?
- To the best of your knowledge, has the aggressor ever attempted suicide?
- Do you have a child whom the aggressor believes is not the aggressor’s biological child?
- Has the aggressor ever followed, spied on, or left threatening messages for you?
After the settlement was released, Petito and Gabby’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, issued a statement.
“All parties reluctantly agreed in order to avoid further legal expenses and prolonged personal conflict,” the statement said. “Our hope is to close this chapter of our lives to allow us to move on and continue to honor the legacy of our beautiful daughter, Gabby.”
The Laundries also released a statement.
“Christopher and Roberta Laundrie and I participated in mediation with the Petito family and the civil lawsuit has now been resolved,” the statement said, according to WWSB. “The terms of the resolution are confidential, and we look forward to putting this matter behind us.”
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Petito’s parents were seeking $100,000 for pain and suffering due to the alleged actions of the Laundries. It is unclear how much, if any, money they will receive in the settlement.
Laundrie is believed to have committed suicide after he went missing following the murder of his fiancée, whom Laundrie admitted to killing, according to the FBI. His remains were found in Florida’s Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in October 2021, and his family’s attorney released the notebook found with his body in June 2022.
“I ended her life,” Laundrie wrote, according to a copy of the notebook exclusively provided to Fox News. “I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted, but I see now all the mistakes I made. I panicked. I was in shock.”
Laundrie went on to claim that Petito, who was 22 when Laundrie strangled her to death, had injured herself in a fall while they were visiting Wyoming and that he killed her to take “away her pain.”
“Rushing back to our car trying to cross the streams of spread creek before it got too dark to see, to [sic] cold. I hear a splash and a scream,” Laundrie wrote, adding that he carried her as far as he could but had to stop to make a fire to keep them warm when he couldn’t make it back to the couple’s van.
He claimed Petito “had a small bump on her forehead that eventually got larger” and that she “continually made sounds of pain, laying next to her she said little lapsing between violent shakes, gasping in pain, begging for an end to her pain.”
Laundrie also referred to Petito’s death as his “mistake” and insisted that he was not ending his life “because of a fear of punishment but rather because I cant [sic] stand to live another day without her.”
Petito and Laundrie were driving across the country visiting national parks when Petito went missing. She was last seen alive in late August before her family reported her missing in early September after Laundrie returned to his parents’ home in Florida without her. Laundrie’s family then reported him missing on September 17.
Petito’s body was found in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on September 19, 2021. Laundrie’s remains were found on October 20.