Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
Following the release of American Murder: Gabby Petito - a harrowing true-crime doc delving into the murder of aspiring van life vlogger Gabby Petito at the hands of her fiancé Brian Laundrie - many have been wondering where Brian's parents are now and what they had to say about the harrowing docu-series.
Throughout the three-part series, some have accused the Laundries of helping cover up their son's 2021 crime - though, this is something they've repeatedly denied. They have never been charged with any involvement in the case.
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Despite the documentary exposing harrowing details about the case - including footage of the family being questioned, and a damning note mum Roberta wrote to Brian - it omits an update on the Laundries' current situation.
What happened to Gabby Petito?
On 11 September 2021 - weeks after her 22-year-old daughter set off on a road-trip across the US with her long-term boyfriend Brian Laundrie - Gabby Petito's mother filed a missing persons report after not hearing from her daughter for days on end.
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Despite unsuccessfully appealing to Brian's family for help in finding the pair, the Petitos later discovered that Brian had actually returned home to Florida in Gabby's van at the end of August without her.
Brian refused to talk to police - claiming he'd left his fiancé at a hotel in Wyoming after getting onto a fight - and his family hired an attorney.
Suspicions about Brian soon intensified - and after being named as a person of interest in Gabby's disappearance, he disappeared.
Discovery of Gabby's body
On 19 September, Gabby’s body was found near Grand Teton National Park, with an autopsy later revealing she'd had been strangled to death.
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Brian’s body was found at Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park a month later, having died by suicide.
A notebook was subsequently found near the body, containing a story about Gabby's death - claiming she'd gotten injured during the trip, and that he'd 'ended her life'. "I thought it was merciful," he'd written.
As mentioned, the doc highlights that Brian's parents - Roberta and Chris Laundrie - refused to cooperate with law enforcement investigating Gabby's disappearance at the time, instead directing questions to their lawyer.
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Later in the series, it shows that on the day Brian was reported missing, authorities searched his home for potential evidence, stumbling across a note Roberta had written to her son titled 'Burn After Reading'.
The note saw the mum pledge to help Brian if he ever need to 'dispose of a body', as per CNN. Roberta later insisted that the letter had been penned to Brian prior to his road-trip with Gabby.
"We still don't know the extent of Brian's parents' involvement," FBI Special Agent, Loretta Bush admits in the doc. "But what we do know, is that, on August 29, Brian made a flurry of calls to his parents."
The Laundrie family issue response to the Netflix documentary
Steven Bertolino - an attorney for Roberta and Chris Laundrie - reportedly told The Sun US this week that, although the documentary was formatted how the family had expected, they do not believe their portrayal is fair.
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"One perspective depicted as the 'truth' as seen through their lens," the lawyer told the publication. "Similar to Republicans and Democrats fighting it out lately."
Bertolino continued: "Each side believes their perspective is correct. Hard to see through the lens of the other with all the noise and distrust.
"To be clear though, there were no contradictions by my clients Chris and Roberta Laundrie."
He added that the doc 'contained many inaccuracies, incorrect juxtapositions of timelines, and misstatements and omissions of fact', suggesting that this could have been 'deliberate to capture their 'truth'', or 'due to simple error'.
"We all know Brian took Gabby's life and Brian then took his own as well. Let the parents of both Gabby and Brian mourn them in peace."
Where are Roberta and Chris Laundrie now?
Ever since Brian was found responsible for Gabby's death, Roberta and Chris have remained out of the spotlight.
In 2022, Gabby's parents filed a lawsuit against them for at least $100,000 in damages, claiming they'd assisted their son in the cover-up of her murder and knew she was dead.
The Laundries denied these allegations, and in 2024, the case was settled out of court.
The Petitos said that after a 'long day of mediation', all parties had 'reluctantly agreed' to the deal to 'avoid further legal expenses and prolonged personal conflict', as per the BBC.
The business that the Laundries ran prior to Gabby's murder - Juicer Services Inc., a firm selling and servicing commercial juicing devices - is now listed as 'permanently closed' on Google.
According to HELLO!, the couple still live in North Port, Florida.
Their daughter and Brian's older sister, Cassie - who appears in the documentary several times, telling reporters she had no idea how Brian was involved in Gabby's prior disappearance - seemingly hasn't spoken to her parents in years.
"If you’re new here. And just starting to attack me today. I’ve been non contact with my parents for almost two years. Have fun," she wrote recently on a social media profile supposedly belonging to her.
The same profile also shares frequent posts about suicide awareness.
One posted in September 2023 read: "I miss and think about my brother every day. Today marks one year I’ve been without him but it’s worse than that [and] not for Facebook.
"I just want to remind my friends here that they are loved always and no matter what you’re going through, life is beautiful even in the pain.”
Cassie has always maintained that she cooperated with police and that when she met with Brian on 1 and 6 September 2021, she was unaware that there were concerns for Gabby's welfare.
She has always denied withholding any important information that could've helped Gabby's body to be found sooner.
Topics: Gabby Petito, Netflix, True Crime, Crime, TV And Film, Documentaries
Rhianna Benson