Families Of Gabby Petito And Her Fiancé Brian Laundrie ‘Reluctantly’ Settle Emotional Civil Suit

The families of Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito and her fiancé Brian Laundrie have decided that it is time to move on.

Both parties were previously involved in an emotional distress suit, where the Petito family accused the Laundrie family of being aware of the whereabouts of the body of Gabby, who was killed by Brian.

They have now "reluctantly" reached a settlement, although the terms of the resolution are confidential.

According to a report, the families of Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito and her fiancé Brian Laundrie have reached an agreement to settle their emotional civil suit.

In their filing, Petito's parents had claimed that the Laundries knew that Brian had killed their daughter and where her body could be found while investigators spent weeks searching for her, thereby prolonging their anguish.

They were seeking at least $100,000 in damages for the alleged deceit but have now scrapped their initial plans to head to trial in May in favor of a settlement.

Steve Bertolino, the lawyer for the Laundrie family, confirmed the decision in a statement to the press after the settlement.

"Christopher and Roberta Laundrie and I participated in mediation with the Petito family, and the civil lawsuit has now been resolved," he said of the decision, adding that "the terms of the resolution are confidential." He also claimed that the Laundrie family are "looking forward to moving" on from the matter.

The Laundrie family's stance on the issue was also shared by the Petito family in their own statement to the press.

According to their Peitito family lawyer, the agreement was reached "reluctantly" after both families held discussions at an undisclosed location in Venice.

"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 attorney noted.

He also claimed that it was the family's hope "to close this chapter" of their lives and focus on honoring the "legacy" of their daughter.

The decision to settle comes after a court threw out several suits from Laundrie's family to get the case dismissed after it was filed by the Petito family in 2022.

The tragic story of Brian and Gabby's demise begins with the duo taking on their first cross-country journey together in the month of August 2021. What was supposed to be an adventure in living a "downsized" life quickly spiraled out of control.

By September 11, 2021, Gabby was officially reported missing, several days after Brian had returned home quietly. Soon, Brian was named as a person of interest in Gabby's disappearance, as he was the last person she was known to have been with. But by September 17 of the same year, Brian had also disappeared, leading to the police working on a multiple missing person investigation angle.

Gabby's body was then found four days later, near Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park, and was ruled a homicide. An arrest warrant was issued for Brian, but it ended up being unnecessary as partial remains of his body were found several weeks later at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park. His death was ruled a suicide as his body was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Gabby's death appears to have been a "mercy" killing, as suggested by Brian's journal, which was found near his body, per People magazine.

"I ended her life," Brian wrote in the book, which was released by his family lawyer in June 2022. "I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted, but I see now all the mistakes I made. I panicked. I was in shock. But from the moment I decided, took away her pain, I knew I couldn't go on without her."

It was believed that Gabby had a "small bump on her forehead that eventually got larger," along with other injuries during the cross-country trip, allegedly spurring her to beg "for an end to her pain."

However, these claims, including the idea that Gabby's death was a "mercy" killing, were refuted by the lawyer representing the Petito family.