Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Gabby Petito, Netflix, True crime, US News, Florida, Crime
Liv Bridge
Topics: Gabby Petito, Netflix, True crime, US News, Florida, Crime
Netflix's latest documentary about Gabby Petito's murder has left a few viewers wondering what has happened to those who were involved in the case.
In 2021, Petito and her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, hit the road for a trip across the US in a Ford Transit Connect van, with the aspiring content creator documenting the experience for her blog and YouTube channel.
However, a few months in, Petito disappeared which led her parents to file a missing person's report after not hearing from her for several weeks, and on September 19, she was later discovered deceased, with an autopsy report further revealing that she'd been strangled to death.
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As told in a new Netflix docu-series, American Murder: Gabby Petito, the case captured international attention while Petito's desperate family tried to search for the missing 22-year-old, Brian had spoken to his parents, Roberta and Christopher Laundrie, before returning to their Florida home in the van without her.
Prior to the discovery of Petito's body, Brian also disappeared, with his body being found a little over a month later at a nature reserve, where he had taken his own life, with a notebook 'confession' to her fianceé's murder, as well as a letter from his mom, Roberta, which was marked 'burn after reading'.
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His mom wrote in the letter that she would help her son 'dispose of a body' with a 'shovel and garbage bags' and 'bake a cake with a file in it' if he ever went to jail.
Roberta and her attorneys said she'd given the letter, which was undated' to her son before his trip with Petito and it was in 'no way related to Gabby'.
During the investigation, they were said to be unwilling to answer questions posed by authorities, instead passing the number for their attorney, Cosmopolitan reports.
They have never been charged with a crime, with FBI Special Agent, Loretta Bush, saying in the documentary: "We still don't know the extent of Brian's parents' involvement. But what we do know, is that, on August 29, Brian made a flurry of calls to his parents."
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Months after, the Petito family issued a civil lawsuit against Laundrie's parents, where they accused them of covering up their daughter's murder, which the Laundries denied.
The lawsuit further claimed that the two were 'making arrangements' to allow their son to 'leave the country', as well as accusing Roberta of blocking Petito's mother, Nichole Schmidt, on social media.
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In February 2024, the families settled the lawsuit privately to 'avoid further legal expenses and prolonged personal conflict', according to the BBC.
According to Cosmopolitan, Christopher and Roberta once had their own company, Juicer Services, which sold professional juicing equipment before it closed.
The outlet also states that the couple haven't left their Florida home, as in June last year, they were photographed outside it, with Brian's Mustang also reportedly still visible on the drive.
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The Laundries also issued a statement about the Netflix documentary via their attorney, who said: "One perspective depicted as the 'truth' as seen through their lens. Similar to Republicans and Democrats fighting it out lately.
"Each side believes their perspective is correct. Hard to see through the lens of the other with all the noise and distrust.
"To be clear though, there were no contradictions by my clients Chris and Roberta Laundrie. The documentary contained many inaccuracies, incorrect juxtapositions of timelines, and misstatements and omissions of fact - perhaps deliberate to capture their 'truth', perhaps due to simple error.
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"We all know Brian took Gabby's life and Brian then took his own as well."
Brian's sister has also spoken out on social media, claiming that she had been 'no contact' with her parents for two years.