Did Brian Laundrie's Mom Offer To Help 'Bury The Body' Of Gabby Petito?!
By MLC on January 4, 2023 at 9:30 AM EST
Brian Laundrie’s mother, Roberta Laundrie, could be in major legal trouble.
A new motion in the lawsuit for damages in the death of Gabby Petito have been filed by the attorney for the Petito estate.
Petito-family attorney, Patrick Reilly, is asking a Sarasota court to order Laundrie's parents, Chris & Roberta, to provide documents from 2021 to now.
Gabby Petito's Estate Wants More Documents From Laundrie Family
One document is an alleged note from Roberta to Brian offering to bring “a shovel to help bury the body.”
Gabby’s body was discovered in a Wyoming National Park in September 2021, but her parents allege Brian murdered her on or around August 27, 2021.
Brian admitted to killing Gabby in a series of notebook entries. He claimed it was the “merciful” thing to do after she allegedly suffered a bad injury while hiking.
Did Roberta Laundrie Offer To Help "Bury The Body" & Buy "A Shovel?"
The newest motion filed by Reilly doesn’t specify when the alleged note from Roberta to her son was written or give any information surrounding how it was given to Brian.
However, Reilly attached a “good faith” letter to the motion, and he argued why the documents are relevant. In the letter, he claims that the FBI released the note in June to the custody of Steve Bertolino, an attorney for the Laundrie family.
Bertolino responded to Reilly’s allegations via a statement given to Fox News Digital on Friday, December 30, 2022.
He wrote, “Attorney Reilly and his clients are entitled to allege what they want in court filings but their allegations are not based on fact but on conjecture only. The letter in question was written prior to Brian and Gabby leaving Florida and has nothing to do with this case. Attorney Reilly is trying to further sensationalize this tragedy to bolster his case by taking unrelated comments out of context."
Reilly stated in the motion that they requested the documents on March 24, 2022, and that the Laundries’ responses were due on April 25, 2022.
He goes on to claim Bertolino and the Laundrie family never filed a response to his original request and only served objections and responses that were never e-filed with the court.
Gabby's Family Want All "Notes, Diaries, Calendars, & Memoranda"
In addition to this alleged note, Reilly is also requesting Bertolino and the Laundrie family hand over "all notes, diaries, calendars, memoranda that memorialize or reference each and every conversation had with Gabby from July 2, 2021 to Sept. 1, 2021.”
Furthermore, Reilly’s also requesting all financial documents for any of Brian's financial accounts from Aug. 1, 2021 through Oct. 21, 2021, as well as additional items.
Reilly has asked to court to enter an order that would require the Laundrie estate provide the above documents by the end of January.
This case is different from the Petito’s wrongful death lawsuit against the Laundries. That was settled in November and Gabby’s family was awarded $3 million.
On Thursday, November 3rd, Gabby’s parents and legal team filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Moab City Police Department in Utah.
You’ll recall that Gabby and Laundrie were stopped by Moab police officers in August 2021, the same month she is believed to have been murdered, after an anonymous caller tipped them off about a domestic violence situation.
The caller told dispatchers they saw a man [Laundrie] slapping a woman [Gabby].
Police body camera footage shows a very distressed Gabby recounting how her fiancé grabbed her face and scratched her and also pushed her.
A different body camera shows Laundrie smiling, laughing and accusing Gabby of being emotional and hysterical.
Gabby's Family Is Going After Moab, Utah Police Department
One of the family’s lawyer, James W. McConkie, also announced that new information was found by Gabby’s family that one of the officers, Eric Pratt, who spoke to their daughter during the traffic is accused of having a history of domestic abuse.
“[Pratt] was a domestic abuser, who has used authority and threats of physical violence to control and intimidate sexual partners," according to another Petito family attorney, Brian Stewart.
He believes the officer was “fundamentally biased and likely ignored Gabby.
"All police departments need to follow the law as it's written," the lawyer said.
Gabby’s family is asking for an investigation into the police department as to why the officer was allowed to still be on the force.
“We believe that Gabby would be alive today if he had done his job to enforce the law as is written and protected Gabby that day," he said.
The Petito family announced they planned to file the $50 million lawsuit back in early August.
