Parents Of Gabby Petito File Lawsuit Against Lawyer Steven Bertolino Along With Brian Laundrie’s Family

The parents of Gabby Petito, Nicole Schmidt and Joseph Petito, claim that the Laundries’ family attorney Steven Bertolino knew about Gabby’s death less than three days after her murder.

This comes after the Petito family filed a lawsuit against Brian Laundrie’s parents, Chris and Roberta Laundrie, for withholding knowledge of their son killing Gabby in August 2021. 

Gabby, 22, and Brian had been on a cross-country road trip when Brian suddenly returned to his parent’s house without Gabby.

IN MEMORIAM 2022: 100 GREAT CELEBRITIES WHO DIED THIS YEAR!

Before the discovery of Gabby’s remains in Grand Teton National Park, the police and Petito’s parents had asked the Laundrie family for information about Gabby’s whereabouts but were instead only referred to Bertolino. 

The Petito family sought $300,000 in a civil lawsuit against the Laundries in damages for “pain and suffering, mental anguish, inconvenience, loss of capacity for enjoyment of life experience in the past and to be experienced in the future.” 

Gabby’s parents claim that the Laundries knew that Gabby was dead as early as August 28, 2021, just 24 hours after Gabby is believed to have been killed. 

They also believe that the Laundries contacted Bertolino on August 29, 2021, and paid him a retainer on September 2. 

The Petito family intends to prove that during this time, Bertolino knew that Brian had killed Gabby and left her remains in Wyoming. 

Instead of reaching out to aid Gabby’s parents and their search for their daughter, Bertolino stated in September 2021, “On behalf of the Laundrie family it is our hope that the search for Miss Petito is successful and that Miss Petito is reunited with her family.”

The Petitos recently stated that the Laundries and Bertolino expressing their “hope” that Gabby would be found when they were all aware that Brian had murdered her was “insensitive, cold-hearted and outrageous.”  

Gabby’s family also filed a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Moab Police Department in Utah, stating that two officers failed to act after a witness called 911 after seeing Brian hitting Gabby and attempting to steal her phone just weeks before her murder.