Petito Vs. Laundrie Lawsuit Filing Says Family's Distress Was Pre-existing: Report

SARASOTA, FL — The former attorney for the parents of Brian Laundrie is claiming the "severe emotional distress" alleged by Gabby Petito's family was "pre-existing" in a response to a recently amended complaint attached to the ongoing lawsuit, Fox News reported.

Petito's family are suing Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, as well as their former attorney, Steven Bertolino, for emotional distress, alleging they knew she was dead and gave false hope of her being alive when they released a statement during the investigation into her disappearance.

In his response, Bertolino claims Petito's mother, Nichole Schmidt, had only briefly met the Laundries once and denies the families had a "cordial relationship," Fox reported.

Bertolino also goes on to claim the Laundries received death threats over the legal case, according to the outlet.

Petito, a Blue Point native, was reported missing by her mother, Nichole Schmidt, on Sept. 11, 2021, after contact was lost with her family during a cross-country trip that ended near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

Laundrie drove home alone to his parents' house in Florida. Amid the massive cross-jurisdictional search for Petito involving multiple law enforcement agencies, Laundrie refused to speak with investigators.

Investigators have concluded Petito died around Aug. 28, 2021.

Her remains were found on Sept. 19, 2021, eight days after she was reported missing by her mother in her hometown of Suffolk County.

As the investigation into her disappearance was unfolding, footage surfaced from police bodycams showing Petito sobbing after a physical fight she had with Laundrie outside of a restaurant in Utah.

Laundrie ended up driving to a swamp and shot himself.

A notebook found near his remains a month after Petito was found contained his confession, admitting to strangling Petito after she fell into a ravine and was severely injured, according to the FBI.

Bertolino declined to comment beyond his legal filing.

Petito family attorney, Patrick Reilly, declined comment.

Last week, Reilly told News Nation that the family would consider a lawsuit under the right terms.

Bertolino told Patch, "There have been settlement offers that have not been responded to."

"Indeed I believe they were offered the best possible outcome over a year ago and it was met with silence," he said. "Furthermore, Joe Petito has testified that he will never settle. His goal is to make us suffer and have no control over our lives and make us spend money on lawyers. So much for Pat Reilly being forthright."

Reilly, in an email, said Bertolino's comments are "not worthy of a response."

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