Gabby Petito’s Parents Are Suing Brian Laundrie’s Parents In A Florida Court

As the parents of Gabby Petito continue their civil lawsuit in Florida connected to the death of their daughter in the hands of boyfriend Brian Laundrie, his parents on Friday to limit the scope of the questioning that can be done in the suit.

The defense working for Laundrie’s parents is asking for the scope of the questioning of the trial to be limited between Aug. 27, 2021, when Petito first went missing, and Sept. 19, 2021, when her body was found, according to Fox News.

The defense team’s reasoning behind the limitation is that there is no compelling reason beyond public interest in the case for the questioning to go beyond the said dates, saying that it is not “relevant to the cause of action at issue,” Yahoo! News reported.

“We are just looking to confine the questioning to matters and the time frame relevant to the claim that has been filed,” Steve Bertolino, the Laundries’ family lawyer, said.

“The public who followed the case and the Plaintiffs are likely curious about Brian Laundrie’s life, his last days, his interaction with his parents, and the thoughts and feelings experienced by his parents,” Matthew Luka, another attorney for the family, said. “But curiosity is not a reason to require the Defendants to discuss such personal and heart-wrenching details. Rather, the discovery must be relevant to the cause of action at issue.”

Petito’s parents are suing the Laundries after alleging that they reportedly knew that their son Brian had killed their child after they had gone together for a family camping trip in September of that year.

Judge Hunter Carroll, the presiding judge on the case, has scheduled a Nov. 22 hearing on the motion.

The lawyers of the Petito family have expressed surprise and offense at the Laundrie family since the civil suit has been filed, as they believe that the Laundries had privately hid what their son had done while publicly supporting for Petito’s body to be found.

“For the Laundries to express their ‘hope’ that Gabrielle Petito was located and reunited with her family, at a time when they knew she had been murdered by their son, was beyond outrageous,” Pat Reilly, who represents the Petito family, said earlier this year.

“People will do anything, no matter how absurd, to avoid facing their own souls,” Nicole Schmidt, Gabby’s mother, tweeted after hearing of the motion from the Laundries’ defense.