Found Deceased WY - Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito, 22, Grand Teton National Park, 25 Aug 2021 #75

[Love Never Fails]

THIS! I still feel the Laundries knew a lot more & also helped him evade law enforcement when he first came home. All of my sympathy goes to the Petito's.

I agree. My husband even said he bets the skeleton was not BL. He thinks he has been communicating with his parents all along.

<modsnip>

So many unanswered questions.

My heart goes out to the Petito and Schmidt families.

 

[Sassafrass]

You're right about Rite in the Rain, I used them for field work in Alaska where it actually was always raining, lol. I still have those notebooks decades later. But I doubt he would use something so utilitarian.

Why not? If it helps, they are also hip, if that's what you're getting at.

 

[Peppery]

It's completely speculation - here, but also elsewhere. I suppose Gabby's family could sue for the notebook, on the grounds that it has monetary and other value to them.

Would the notebook, or anything else found in the reserve determined to belong to BL, be returned to his estate, ie parents? Or would it remain in an evidence box in the FBI’s basement forever?

 

[Diogenetic]

I don't hold any hope that he wrote a sorry note. Not Brian. He would maintain that Gabby provoked him, he being such a calm rational guy and her being OCD and all that.

the human brain perceives the world and experiences as a story, a narrative, much like a fictional work. We are each in our own story created by our own mind out of facts, perceptions, fantasies, bias and sensory input and a certain amount of programming from our parents and society.. In that story we usually rationalize anything bad we have done. so one does not have to be delusional or psychotic to write the story in ones brain from ones point of view and interest in justifying mistakes or bad acts.
Laundrie could have been feeling full on guilt or have structured the events in his head as the act of violence having been triggered externally (by Gabbie Petito). We should not blame the victim but there is nothing to exclude that he did, for part or all of the homicide.

 

[MistyWaters]

I don't know about the US but in Canada, when the case of two teens on the run ended in suicide, there was a final report and news conference a few months later that revealed all the evidence, timeline, etc. I think homicide is a 'public' issue that affects the community, and police need to announce that they've identified a culprit, and how, even if he's dead. They also need to show they conducted the investigations properly. JMO

There was a similar Final Report issued following the investigation of the Las Vegas shooting. I’d expect there will be one here as well…not that it will ever answer all the questions.

 

[ClottedCream]

I’d love to go to Australia some day! Thank you for letting me know about your crocs! Once the waters in lowlands recede in FL they return to the lakes, canals, etc. nearby. Rainy season is the only time we have waters rise. It is ending now so that’s why some of that water was lower and it will eventually dry up completely for dry season.

We also DONT enclose pools in areas where crocodiles live so when it pours with rain it’s not unheard of for a croc to end up in the backyard pool. FUN TIMES!

 

[dacjess]

Since it’s being discussed:

Understanding the Fifth Amendment Right to Remain Silent

 

[BCSleuth]

THIS! I still feel the Laundries knew a lot more & also helped him evade law enforcement when he first came home. All of my sympathy goes to the Petito's.

Brian did not evade law enforcement prior to his going missing. LE knew where he was. They could have picked him up at any time.

I do think it is possible Brian confessed to his parents at some point. If so, I expect that information to be shared with the media and/or the Petito family eventually. Might as well at this point.

 

[kimch33kim]

Ok I will, he wasn’t a criminal lawyer he handled real estate primarily MOO

Criminal law is listed in his specialties on his website if you look closely. And for those who are adamant and think its so suspicious they lawyered up and believe he's not a criminal attorney even though its listed on his website, then it supports the idea even more that the Laundrie parents didn't think anything sinister was going on

 

[NCWatcher]

I still feel that they were instrumental in his not being captured.

I don't agree that your feeling is likely accurate but that's neither here nor there. I just don't see that EVEN IF the Laundries aided Brian after the fact, that is something they can be sued for by GP's family. People keep mentioning OJ being sued by the Goldmans. But OJ was the suspected killer! And he was sued for wrongful death. I think it's a safe bet the Laundries didn't kill GP.
JMO

 

[Claire182]

Criminal law is listed in his specialties on his website if you look closely. And for those who are adamant and think its so suspicious they lawyered up and believe he's not a criminal attorney even though its listed on his website, then it supports the idea even more that the Laundrie parents didn't think anything sinister was going on

He primarily handled real estate. I edited my post to add more if you’d care to look.

 

[Luna20]

My own random thoughts of a civil suit weren't along the lines of wrongful death, as I agree the Laundries can't plausibly be found liable for Gabby's death, but I was idly considering other civil matters like intentional infliction of emotional distress (linked in prev thread) or I don't know, something related to the idea that they shielded him, helped him flee, and as a result he ended up dead instead of standing trial for killing Gabby. But as I mentioned also in the last thread, that would probably be a criminal rather than civil matter, and IMO they're unlikely to be charged even with evidence, because their son is dead.

The whole thing is so frustrating, in addition to be being tragic. I think it's normal for people to wish there was a way for someone to pay for their part in all this, however secondary their part may have been.

If it can be proven through data that the dates they spoke with Brian or last saw him don’t line up that would be noteworthy.

 

[ClottedCream]

I'm putting this out here again as an example of what bad legal advice can accomplish.

Brian could have been salvaged, but nobody surrounding him had the skill to accomplish that very simple task.
The law was on his side. He had an opportunity for mental health care and meditation upon it.
He had an opportunity to use solitude, with guidance, to heal himself.
He had an opportunity to build a new self upon a foundation of hard won forgiveness.
He had an opportunity to live a very long time and become a better teacher than he could ever have imagined.
Didn't anyone tell him this?
Sometimes, being broken down to nothing is the beginning of wisdom.
Brian was salvageable.
His life is a valuable lesson.
JMHO

Soooo much yes!

 

[Bordeaux]

IMO SB was not a bad attorney and gave the same advice any other kind of attorney would. Please elaborate on why you think they needed a "better lawyer" .

There’s the legal component and in a high-profile case like this there is a PR component.

The Laundries could have benefited from a lawyer with MUCH better PR skills to manage the public attention and announcements. The silence was deafening from a PR standpoint, caused even more suffering of the Petitos, and motivated tons of negative attention on social media… delivered right to their doorstep daily! Complete PR communication FAIL!! IMOO

 

[CharlestonGal]

The poster you responded to suggested that BL's estate be sued, not his parents. It would be an action to gain information through depositions, but it would be painful for both families. I do not think BL has an estate that would cause any normal lawyer to take such a case on contingency - they'd have to want to do it to help Gabby's family. Would a judge rule that the Laundrie parents could be deposed in such a case? I have no idea - but I'm thinking that wouldn't really work. The people who would need to be deposed would be SAR personnel in Wyoming, LE, coroner, etc.

Not sure at all what Gabby's family would gain from that, that they don't already have access to. Brian's full coroner report, I guess, if for some reason that is withheld.

There's hardly a point in suing BL's "estate" anyway, which probably consists of a skateboard and some clothes. I'd just let such a suit default into judgment for the plaintiff and be done with it. Legally, you do not have to respond to a civil lawsuit at all. The plaintiff then just gets a skateboard and some clothes. It's not even worth the cost of an attorney. jmo

 

[annwn]

no 5th Amendment in a civil case.

No. There is a 5th amendment in civil case.

“Once a witness in a civil suit has invoked his or her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, the trier of fact is entitled to draw an adverse inference from the witness’s refusal to testify.” Chaffee v. Keller Rohrback LLP, 200 Wash.App. 66, 83-84 (2017) (citing King v. Olympic Pipeline Co., 104 Wash.App. 338, 355-56 (2000) and Ikeda v. Curtis, 43 Wash.2d 449, 261 P.2d 684 (1953)).

 

[dacjess]

Is it possible that Gabby's assets/estate were to go to Brian ???

She would need a will in order for that to be true since he is not her next of kin and they were not married. I’d be surprised if she had a will at her age (but I certainly do not know the status of her personal choices). JMO.

 

[kimch33kim]

He primarily handled real estate. I edited my post to add more if you’d care to look.

Thank you I saw your edited post. He did not throw Cassie under the bus, that was all media misreporting and misconstruing what she said and what he said in his texts.. His texts stated that brian saw cassie on sept 1. and the media reported "Brian stopped by cassies house on the way home from wyoming in gabby's van"

The other time media caused an uproar is saying cassie did not see brian after he came back with the van but she also never said that. This misunderstanding was made up by the media misreporting what cassie and what SB said. he did not throw her under the bus.

 

[ccargirl]

He still has an “estate”— it may not be of much monetary value, but everything he owned personally composes his estate.

Would his "estate" even cover the legal fees to file a civil suit against him?

no 5th Amendment in a civil case.

True! I stand corrected! Although they can also just answer, "we have no knowledge" with no repercussions.

 

[cottonweaver]

I suppose the most perplexing thing for me may always be this:

Brian takes the Mustang out to the Wildlife Preserve allegedly to hike. His parents go a couple of days later to get the parked Mustang and drive it to their home; thereby, leaving Brian without a way to travel when or if he decided to leave the Wildlife Preserve. How does one actively abandon one's own child?

I cannot make sense of that movement. I do believe had it been my child, I would have stood beside the Mustang until the FBI dragged me away with wild horses.

This has indeed been one of the most traumatic months spent in true crime. As a proud grandmother, it's difficult to realize that Gabby will never present her precious newborn babies to her parents for mine are truly mighty fine gifts.

May Gabby's sweet soul rest in peace.
.

I'm not convinced they did.
From the timeline based on links we already have

13th Brian takes the Mustang out to the Wildlife Preserve allegedly to hike.
13th CL goes to the preserve later the same day, to look for him per SB

14th CL & RL go to the preserve again & see the Mustang is still there but now has a ticket on it. They decide to leave the car there as he might come back to the car. He doesn't
15th CL & RL go to the preserve again & decide to bring the Mustang back.

Now see Bertolino's claim that he informed the FBI when BL didn't return the first night although they did not make an *official* missing persons report til later in the week ( formal)

Hopefully when the FBI releases more details to conclude their investigation, they will confirm some of these officially