Brian Laundrie's Parents Faced Public Criticism When Gabby Petito Went Missing in 2021

Gabby Petito and boyfriend Brian Laundrie embarked on what was supposed to be a four-month-long trip across the United States in their white converted camper van in 2021, and they documented some of it in their vlogs. But when Brian returned home without Gabby and refused to talk about her, she was declared missing. Brian Laundrie's parents were thrust into the spotlight because of their son's actions, so where are they now?

Not long after Brian returned home with the van and without Gabby, he went missing himself. Gabby's remains were found in the Bridger–Teton National Forest in Wyoming, where Gabby and Brian had last traveled to. Later, Brian's own remains were found in Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Florida. He died by suicide with a gunshot to the head, and he admitted to killing Gabby in a notebook that was found by authorities.

During the time of Gabby's disappearance, however, and Brian's own questionable actions, his parents were a big focus for the public. Many asked questions on social media that implicated his parents knowing more than they let on. However, after their son's death, they seemed to retreat from the spotlight and attempt to live more private lives. So, what happened to Brian Laundrie's parents?

Brian's parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, lived in Florida at the time of Gabby's disappearance and they, presumably, still live there. But, since Brian's death and since a docuseries and even a Lifetime limited series was released about Gabby's death and Brian's written admitted involvement, Christopher and Roberta have remained out of the public eye.

They were, however, sued by Gabby's parents in 2022. Gabby's parents, Nichole Schmidt and Joseph Petito, filed a lawsuit against the couple claiming that they played a role in helping their son cover up Gabby's murder. They also claimed that Brian's parents did not help in assisting them with the search for Gabby.

According to Sarasota's WFLA News, the lawsuit stated, "Christopher and Roberta Laundrie exhibited extreme and outrageous conduct which constitutes behavior, under the circumstances, which goes beyond all possible bounds of decency and is regarded as shocking, atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community."

A letter was found with Brian's notebook that featured his confession at the time of his death. The letter was from Roberta and included mentions of helping her son "dispose of a body" and baking a cake with a file in it if he were to go to prison. But, Roberta alleged, the letter was written to her son prior to his and Gabby's trip and was meant as a sentiment of her love for her son with nothing to do with what happened to Gabby afterward.

"I just want you to remember I will always Love you and I know you will always Love me. You are my boy. Nothing can make me stop loving you, nothing will or could ever divide us," Roberta wrote in the letter, per CNN. "If you're in jail I will bake a cake with a file in it. If you need to dispose of a body I will bring show up with a shovel and garbage bags." The word "bring" was reportedly crossed out in the letter.

Brian's mother asserted that the letter had nothing to do with Gabby's murder and no legal action about the murder was taken against Roberta regarding the letter. She also added in the letter to her son, "If you fly to the moon, I will be watching the skies for your re-entry. If you say you hate my guts, I'll get new guts."