Earlier this month, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed against the estate of deceased Brian Laundrie. The suit was filed by Nichole Schmidt, the mother of Laundrie’s deceased girlfriend, Gabby Petito. At the moment, the suit is seeking $30,000 in damages and claims Laundrie “intentionally kills Petito.” As a result, Schmidt and Petito’s father, Joseph Petito, “incurred funeral and burial expenses, and they have suffered a loss of care and comfort, and suffered a loss of probable future companionship, society, and comfort.” On top of that, the suit is requesting a jury trial and compensatory damages.

Gavel; image by Rawpixel, via Unsplash.com.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of a civil lawsuit that Petito’s parents filed in Florida against Laundrie’s parents, Chris and Roberta Laundrie. That suit alleges the Laundrie family was “aware that their son killed their daughter and attempted to help him flee justice.” Steven Bertolino is the attorney representing the couple. On March 30, he filed a motion to dismiss the suit, claiming that “there are no facts to support their claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress.”For those who don’t know, Petito and Laundrie were on a cross-country trip last summer when Petito’s parents reported her missing in early fall. On September 1, Laundrie returned to his home in North Port, Florida in Petito’s van, but Petito herself was nowhere to be found. When questioned by law enforcement, Laundrie and his parents did not share information about Petito’s whereabouts and instead “referred officials to their attorney.”Eventually, Petito’s remains were found by the FBI at a campground in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming on September 19. An autopsy conducted by Teton County Coroner Brent Blue determined her cause of death was “homicide by strangulation three to four weeks before her remains were discovered.” Soon after, Laundrie was listed as a person of interest in the homicide. Additionally, the FBI “issued a warrant for Laundrie on debit card fraud charges." Around the same time, Laundrie went missing and was believed to be somewhere in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park and T. Marby Carlton Jr. Memorial Reserve in Florida. The last time his parents saw him was allegedly September 13.In October, the search for Laundrie came to an end when FBI officials “found his remains and a note in Myakkahatchee Creek park.” The cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and in the note, he confessed to killing Petito.

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Gabby Petito’s mom files lawsuit against Brian Laundrie’s estateGabby Petito’s mother files new lawsuit against Brian Laundrie’s estate, seeks $30K