A lawyer for the parents of slain travel blogger Gabby Petito has withdrawn his request for the court to order her suspected killer’s lawyer to break attorney-client privilege and testify about what his client told him after her death and before the public knew she was missing.
The motion would have tested whether privilege exists between a deceased client, who never waived that privilege but who confessed to the crime in a suicide note.
Pat Reilly, the attorney for Petito’s parents, argued in court filings that the handwritten confession counted as a waiver.
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Gabby Petito’s parents, Joseph Petito, left, and Nichole Schmidt, with their attorney, Patrick Reilly, listen to arguments by an attorney for Brian Laundrie’s parents, Matthew Luka, in court in Sarasota County, Florida on June 22, 2022. (Mike Lang/USA Today Network)
Steve Bertolino, the Laundrie lawyer who has been named as a co-defendant in the lawsuit, told Fox News Digital that argument “was not supported by the law or the facts.”
With the motion withdrawn, a Dec. 20 hearing on the issue has been canceled. In a statement to local WFLA-TV, Reilly said he no longer feels he needs Bertolino’s testimony to make the case.
Attorney Steven Bertolino, right, speaks with attorney Laura Kelly during a hearing on May 24, 2023. (Mike Lang/USA Today Network)
In separate filings as part of the same lawsuit against them, Brian Laundrie’s parents Christopher and Roberta denied allegations that they knew about Petito’s death but conceded that they contacted Bertolino regarding legal representation for their son on Aug. 29. Bertolino then worked to obtain a top Wyoming lawyer for Brian Laundrie – which remained publicly unknown until last week.
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Gabby Petito poses for an Instagram photo in Bryce Canyon National Park. (Family of Gabby Petito)
Petito wasn’t reported missing until Sept. 11. Petito is alleged to have been killed on Aug. 27, and between that time, Laundrie drove from Wyoming to his parents’ house in Florida in her van, allegedly using her debit card during the journey.
He went camping with his family for Labor Day weekend and said nothing about his missing fiancee’s whereabouts.
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Brian Laundrie questioned during a domestic violence stop on bodycam footage from police in Moab, Utah, about two weeks before he allegedly killed Gabby Petito in Wyoming. (Moab Police Department)
Lawsuit’s 2021 timeline in question:
- 8/27: Gabby Petito last seen alive in Jackson, Wyoming
- 8/29: Brian Laundrie tells parents Gabby is “gone” in “frantic” phone call
- 8/30: Brian sends phony text to Nichole Schmidt from Gabby’s number
- 9/1: Brian arrives at his parents’ Florida house, driving Gabby’s van
- 9/2: Christopher and Roberta Laundrie retain Steve Bertolino
- 9/2: Bertolino enters a fee agreement with Wyoming law firm on Brian’s behalf
- 9/6-7: Laundrie family goes camping at Fort DeSoto Park
- 9/10: Roberta blocks Nichole’s phone and blocks her on Facebook
- 9/11: Gabby reported missing
- 9/13: Brian runs away “grieving” and later kills himself, according to the FBI, leaving behind a notebook confession
- 9/14: Bertolino releases statement on behalf of the Laundries, expressing “hope” that Gabby is found and “reunited with her family”
Chris and Roberta Laundrie in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park on Oct. 20, 2021, the morning police discovered their son’s skeletal remains. He snuck out of their house on Sept. 13, two days after his fiancee Gabby Petito was reported missing. In a suicide note found near his body in the swamp, he confessed to killing her. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)
Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt are suing the Laundries, alleging the Laundries had direct knowledge of Petito’s death and likely knowledge of the whereabouts of her remains when they issued a statement through Bertolino expressing the “hope” that Gabby would be found and “reunited with her family.”
Reilly has argued that the statement is “outrageous” due to the Laundries’ alleged knowledge of Petito’s murder, and it inflicted emotional distress.
Gabby Petito poses in an undated photo. (Joseph Petito)
In the latest filings from the Laundrie side, they argued that they felt pressured to say something – despite their right to remain silent – because of widespread media coverage, protesters amassed outside their house and, allegedly, death threats.
Brian Laundrie confessed to killing Petito in a suicide note found near his remains in the Florida swamp about 10 minutes from his parents’ house in North Port.
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Since the case grabbed national headlines in 2021, Petito’s parents have become advocates for missing persons and domestic violence victims.
If you or someone you know is suffering from domestic violence, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233 (SAFE).
