The parents of Brian Laundrie were interviewed under oath this week in depositions as part of a civil lawsuit against them brought by the parents of Gabby Petito, Fox News reports.
Christopher Laundrie was deposed on Tuesday and Roberta Laundrie had been scheduled to undergo questioning on Wednesday, according to the news outlet, citing an interview with Joseph Petito, Gabby’s father.
“It was a lot to handle emotionally,” Joseph told Fox News in revealing that he had sat in on the Tuesday deposition.
Gabby, 22, went missing in August 2021 while on a cross-country road trip with Brian, 23, then her fiancé. Her remains were found at a campsite in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming on September 19, 2021. Authorities concluded that she died by manual strangulation.
After murdering Gabby, Brian is believed to have driven the van the couple was traveling in back to his parents’ home in North Port, Florida, where he arrived alone on September 1, 2021. He refused to discuss what happened with Gabby’s parents, who reported her missing to police.
Brian would later drive to a nearby nature reserve in Florida about 10 minutes from his parents’ home, where he committed suicide. Investigators recovered what appeared to be a written confession by Brian that he murdered Gabby.
The lawsuit for intentional infliction of emotional distress alleges that Brian’s parents and their attorney knew Gabby was murdered but did nothing except issue a public statement in which they offered hope for finding her, according to NBC Miami.
On Wednesday, Brian’s parents were seen leaving their home in a silver Ford Mustang convertible, the same vehicle that Brian used before his suicide, according to Fox News.
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Around the same time, Joseph posted an image to social media of a rainbow in remembrance of his daughter.
“Headed to another deposition dreading the emotional torment that is about to occur, and I see this,” Joseph wrote in the social media post. “Thank you Gabs for showing me it will be OK.”
Petito’s parents were scheduled to be questioned in depositions in August. Brian’s sister Cassie is expected to be questioned in November, according to WFLA-TV.
A jury trial is scheduled for May 2024.
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[Feature Photo: Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie/Instagram]
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