The family of the late Gabby Petito has reached a settlement in their civil lawsuit against the parents of her killer, Brian Laundrie.
As reported by WFLA, in a statement shared by the Petito family's lawyer, her parents confirmed that they settled the suit. "After a long day of mediation, a confidential resolution has been reached between the parents of Gabby Petito, the parents of Brian Laundrie and attorney Steven Bertolino to which all parties reluctantly agreed in order to avoid further legal expenses and prolonged personal conflict," the statement reads. "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."
Attorney Steven Bertolino, who was also named as a defendant in the civil lawsuit, said the case was resolved but "the terms of the resolution are confidential."
Petito's family filed the suit, which is not the same as the wrongful death case in Florida in which they were awarded $3 million, against the Laundries and their attorney over allegations of intentional infliction of emotional distress. They accused the three defendants of releasing a statement hoping Petito would be found despite knowing that Laundrie had killed her in August 2021.
Court documents released earlier this month, per WFLA, revealed that Laundrie made several "extremely frantic" calls to his parents after Petito was killed. In one of the calls, made on Aug. 29, he was described as "very upset." She was believed to have been murdered on either Aug. 27 or Aug. 28, but phone calls he made to his parents on those days were described as "normal" conversations.
His father Chris Laundrie, in a deposition, said he was told by his son in a call that "Gabby's gone," which he said he had "no idea what he meant" at the time. "He said, you know, ‘Can you help me,’ you know, and he might need a lawyer, you know," he explained.
Petito was killed by Laundrie during a cross-country road trip. He was named as a "person of interest" in the killing and admitted to the crime in a suicide note. He returned to his parent's home in Florida in the van they traveled the country without her in August 2021. She was found dead in Wyoming on Sept. 19, 2021, and Laundrie killed himself on Oct. 20 that same year.
In 2022, Petito's family filed a lawsuit against the Moab City Police Department because they failed to act on a domestic violence incident two weeks before her murder. The family accused police of “egregiously misinterpret[ing]" the incident, initially painting Laundrie as the victim.
