The lawsuit filed by Gabby Petito‘s parents may be seeking monetary damages, but that’s not the extent of the justice being sought. No, the real prize may be acquired not as a judgment but as a disclosure!
See, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt have said for months they believe Brian Laundrie‘s parents knew more than they let on. In their lawsuit filed last week, they straight-up accuse Chris and Roberta Laundrie of knowing he murdered their daughter from jump street, from before he even made it back to Florida. Not only that, the Laundries, per the claims, planned to help their son get out of the country to escape the manhunt!
Related: Gabby’s Parents Warn Of Scammers Using Murdered Daughter’s Name
There’s certainly plenty of smoke there — people have assumed the Laundries were hiding something from the start when then refused to aid in the search for Gabby, who was only thought to be missing. Considering the 22-year-old had been living with them and their son, it was suspicious behavior to say the least. But what about proof? Well, that’s the best part of the lawsuit!
Former LA prosecutor Josh Ritter tells The Sun that just the process of a lawsuit will get more out of the secretive couple than any public pressure or even law enforcement limitations. The first thing to get? The phones. Ritter explains:
“If I were representing the Petitos my first request would be for Laundrie’s parents’ cell phones. We all walk around with an astounding amount of information in our pockets: text messages, emails, phone calls, voicemails, location history, purchase history, you name it. The cell phones alone could contain everything that the Petitos need to prevail in this case.”
Great point! After his body was found, Brian’s cell phone data told the FBI a lot — that he was faking messages from Gabby after her death, that he wasn’t in the area during the killing of that newlywed couple in Utah. Possibly even that he called his parents the day after murdering his fiancée — something else the Petitos assert in their lawsuit.
On the lawsuit’s chances, Ritter assesses:
“We will have to wait to see what evidence is uncovered during litigation to truly tell if the lawsuit is a strong one or not. But if evidence does exist — and you can imagine it might in the form of text messages or emails — showing that Laundrie’s parents were aware of the murder, and helped their son conceal evidence or evade capture, then the lawsuit would be on very sound footing.”
The Laundries have responded through their lawyer, Steve Bertolino, who has represented them throughout the search — and according to the lawsuit even before Gabby’s parents knew she was missing. Bertolino said in a statement:
“As I have maintained over the last several months, the Laundries have not publicly commented at my direction, which is their right under the law. Assuming everything the Petitos allege in their lawsuit is true, which we deny, this lawsuit does not change the fact that the Laundries had no obligation to speak to law enforcement or any third-party, including the Petito family. This fundamental legal principle renders the Petitos’ claims to be baseless under the law.”
What do YOU think, Perezcious paralegals? Will this lawsuit out the Laundries as accessories after the fact? Give us your legal opinions in the comments (below)!
[Image via CBS New York/YouTube/Gabby Petito/Instagram.]
The post Brian Laundrie's Parents May Have To Reveal One CRUCIAL Thing At Start Of Lawsuit! appeared first on Perez Hilton.
