Judge awards Petito family $3 million in wrongful death lawsuit
Nov 17, 2022, 10:29 AM | Updated: 11:51 am
FILE Photos: Left: Nichole Schmidt, mother of Gabby Petito, Sept. 28, 2021, in Bohemia, N.Y. (AP Photo/John Minchillo). Right: Joe Petito reacts to City of North Port Chief of Police Todd Garrison, Sep. 16, 2021. (Photo by Octavio Jones/Getty Images)
(Photo by Octavio Jones/Getty Images)
The family of Gabby Petito has been awarded $3 million by a Florida judge in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the estate of Brian Laundrie.
BREAKING: A judge awards Gabby Petito’s family $3 million in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against Brian Laundrie’s estate. https://t.co/hT8naqSVGJ
— ABC News (@ABC) November 17, 2022
In the lawsuit, Petito’s family claimed that Brian Laundrie intentionally killed Gabby Petito. The family was seeking money to cover the cost of funeral expenses.
Exactly two weeks ago, the Petito family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Moab City Police Department. Petito and Laundrie were approached by police in Moab, Utah on August 12, 2021 after police said they received a call from a witness who had seen a domestic violence incident between Petito and Laundrie.
Moab City Police did not file charges, citing a lack of evidence. Instead, they recommended that Petito and Laundrie separate for the evening.
In their lawsuit against Moab police, the Petito family criticizes the police investigation on August 12. A copy of the suit made public by the Petito family lawyers claims that Gabby Petito would still be alive if police had “more competently” investigated claims of Laundrie’s abuse of Petito.
Petito was traveling with Laundrie during the summer of 2021. He returned to his family in Florida without Petito on Sept. 1.
Petito’s family reported her missing on September 11, 2021. Laundrie was named a person of interest in Petito’s disappearance on Sept. 15. On Sept. 17, Laundrie was reported missing by his family.
On Sept. 19, human remains were found at a campground outside Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. On Sept. 21, the Teton County Coroner identified the remains as those of Gabby Petito.
Remains believed to be those of Brian Laundrie were found on Oct. 20 at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park.
This story is developing and will be updated.
