Entertainment

Why Brian Laundrie & His Family Aren’t Facing ‘More Serious’ Charges Yet: State Attorney Explains

In the case of Gabby Petito ’s disappearance and death, many of us have wondered: why isn’t Brian Laundrie being held accountable?

Obviously we still don’t know *for sure* what happened — despite his ongoing suspicious behavior. Right now, the only charge against him relates to unauthorized use of a debit card, a crime which obviously pales in comparison to the homicide that has taken place. Unfortunately, at the moment there isn’t much more law enforcement can do.

Related: Dog The Bounty Hunter Wades Through Swamp Searching For Brian

Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg explained the ins and outs of the situation to NewsNationNow , identifying the legal red tape that offers prevented more serious charges so far. He shared:

“ We have rules like, if we don’t file charges within 30 days of the arrest, then the guy goes free without any conditions until his trial. Also, we have speedy test rules that say we’ve gotta try the case within 180 days — at least here in Florida — which is why prosecutors aren’t rushing to file charges yet. ”

With Brian on the run, it makes sense that they would want to find him first before actually kicking off that timeline. They can’ t get a trial started without a defendant.

Regarding the cause associated with death, which still hasn’t been released, he speculated that law enforcement would “ keep that a secret until they’re able in order to talk to Brian and family” to be able to gauge just how much they knew about the crime.

As for Brian’s parents — who currently face no charges, but have been the subject of ongoing suspicion — Aronberg stated:

“ They have done everything possible to incriminate themselves in the court of public opinion. But in the particular court of the law, that is different, because under the legislation, to be charged as an accessory after the fact, you need to know that Brian committed a crime and then, you have to do something to prevent his punishment or his arrest. ”

He continued:

“ So for example, if these people sanitized the van, now that’ ll get ’ em hooked for a crime. If they hid evidence, if they bought your pet a plane ticket to get out of town because they will knew he was involved in against the law, then you would see prosecutors getting ready to file charges right away. But we don’t possess that evidence yet. ”

“ Yet” seems to be the key word there…

Related: Lawyer Says John Laundrie’s Family Believes He Is Still In Florida

Keeping their mouths shut may have protected Brian and his parents so far, but in this case, actions may just speak louder than words. Aronberg speculated:

“ Even though Brian Laundrie had the Fifth Amendment correct against self incrimination, at demo, his flight can come back to haunt him. Because the prosecutors can point to that — in fact, it’s even within some jury instructions, it says that if you flee, that is consciousness of guilt. And jurors hate it when defendants flee. ”

Well, we will continue to hope that Brian is found quickly so he can actually face that will jury in the future…

Watch Aronberg’s full interview from over the weekend (below):

[Image via Gabby Petito/YouTube]

The post Why Brian Laundrie & His Family Aren’t Facing ' More Serious' Charges Yet: Condition Attorney Explains appeared first on Perez Hilton .