GABBY Petito’s mom has made shocking claims about Brian Laundrie and his parents, and shared her chilling theory in a bombshell interview.
Gabby, 22, was strangled to death on August 27, 2021, by her fiance Brian, 23, during a van road trip.
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Her body was found at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming during a nationwide manhunt. She’d been strangled to death by Laundrie.
He had driven back to his parents’ home in North Port, Florida, on September 1, in Gabby’s 2012 Ford Transit van.
Laundrie then disappeared as soon as cops began investigating his fiancee’s death.
On September 19, authorities found a body in Grand Teton National Park that was later identified as belonging to Gabby.
Investigators determines she tragically died by strangulation and had been dead for three to four weeks.
And a month later, Brian’s remains were found after he killed himself with a gunshot to the head.
Found near his body was a notebook, in which he confessed to murdering Gabby.
Gabby’s mom, Nichole Schmidt, recently appeared on The Squeeze podcast, where she revealed that during the time Brian was missing, his parents had already cleared out his room.
She said on the pod, hosted by Taylor Lautner and his wife Tay: “I actually just found out some new information a few days ago.
“There was [someone] that was at the house when Brian was missing – and I would say he was hiding, he wasn’t missing, but he was actually dead – but his room was completely gutted and renovated.
“None of his things were there anymore. It was gone.
“So that very same week, Gabby was missing and cops were going to their house to try to get, I guess, a scent from their dogs to look for Brian, all his things were gone. The room was completely empty, just gone.”
Grieving mom Nichole has previously said that she has to forgive Laundrie for what he did to Gabby, but the family remain upset with his parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie.
His parents have been accused of attempting to help their son cover up the murder before he went into the Florida wilderness and killed himself.
The pair repeated refused to speak to authorities while Gabby’s family searched tirelessly for their daughter.
Schmidt and Joseph Petito, Gabby’s father, accused the Laundries of trying to help cover their daughter’s murder, citing Roberta’s infamous “burn after reading” letter she wrote to Brian.
Gabby’s parents believe Roberta wrote the note around the time of their daughter’s disappearance as she makes references to a shovel and burying a body.
Nichole also revealed how the last time she spoke to the couple was when they traveled to New York to pick up Gabby’s things to take to Florida to then live with Brian.
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She said: “I think we texted a couple times, we were Facebook friends. I thought they were just quiet people and I’m okay with that.
“You don’t have to be my best friend but I never actually spoke to them after that until I saw them when they did the depositions for our lawsuit.”
She also recalled her frustration due to the Landries’ lack of cooperation in the investigation.
Nichole said: “Everybody feels the same. I don’t understand. I can’t comprehend anything.
“If it was the other way around, I would’ve called them immediately.
“I mean, I texted her asking if they’d heard from the kids. I said, ‘Did you hear from the kids? I haven’t heard from them’, and I got nothing back.”
She also made the bombshell claim on the podcast that it was because Brian’s parents knew he had killed Gabby.
The Laundries – who have not been criminally charged in connection to Gabby’s disappearance – have argued that the undated note was written before Brian and Gabby embarked on their cross-country road trip during the summer of 2021.
The Petito and Laundrie families reached a $3 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit in 2022.
Nichole added on the pod: “They said that there’s something wrong with that mother, she’s clearly not mentally well. And I’m like, ‘just add it to the list’, because I didn’t even know about that. That was crazy to hear.
“It drives me absolutely insane – that’s the one thing I can’t let go of, because I’m trying to figure out what can I do to make them pay for what they did, but there is really nothing I can do.”
Host Lautner asked why things had been allowed to be “stripped and cleaned and thrown away”.
Nichole responded: “The van was cleaned out, the mattress was never recovered, and then all the things were packed away in a closet – Gabby’s stuff was packed away in a closet.
“I mean, I don’t understand, I don’t get it. Just strange behavior.”
Timeline of Gabby Petito’s disappearance
Here we take a look at the sad events surrounding Gabby going missing:
- July 2021: Brian Laundrie and his fiancé Gabby Petito leave for a grip across the country. The couple visit numerous national parks across the way.
- August 12: Police in Utah respond to an incident involving the couple. The bodycam footage is not released for another month but it shows a visibly upset Gabby talking to police after reports of a domestic violence incident outside a grocery store.
- August 24: Gabby is seen leaving a hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah, with Laundrie.
- September 1: Laundrie returns to his home in North Port, Florida without Gabby.
- September 6: Laundrie joins his family on a camping trip about 75 miles from their home in North Port.
- September 11: Gabby’s family reports her missing.
- September 13: Laundrie leaves home to go hiking in Carlton Reserve, Florida. His family had initially said he departed on September 14, but revised their timeline weeks later.
- September 15: Laundrie is named a person of interest in the case of Gabby.
- September 16: Bodycam footage is released regarding the incident between Gabby and Laundrie.
- September 19: The FBI announces a body found at a Wyoming national park is believed to be that of Gabby’s.
- September 23: The FBI issued a warrant for Laundrie’s arrest claiming he “used unauthorized debit cards after Gabby Petito’s death.”
- September 26: A funeral is held for Gabby in New York.
- September 27: Dog the Bounty Hunter announces he will lend a hand and help search for Laundrie.
- September 28: Gabby’s family held an emotional press conference as the search for Laundrie continued.
- October 5: Laundrie’s sister, Cassie, appeared on Good Morning America and urged her brother to come forward.
- October 7: Laundrie’s father, Chris Laundrie, assisted law enforcement in the search to find his son.
- October 12: Gabby’s autopsy results were made public. Teton County Coroner Dr Brent Blue confirmed Gabby died by strangulation.
- October 20: Laundrie’s personal items were found near the Myakkahatchee Creek Park trail in Florida. The medical examiner was called to the scene to investigate.
- October 21: Reports stated the human remains found in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park were bones.
- October 21: The FBI confirmed the remains found have been identified as Laundrie’s.
- January 21, 2022: The FBI released its final investigative statement on Gabby’s case. The statement said, “The investigation did not identify any other individuals other than Brian Laundrie directly involved in the tragic death of Gabby Petito.”
