Gabby Petito's Family Attorney Withdraws Motion To Force Laundrie Lawyer's Testimony

SARASOTA, FL — An attorney for the family of Gabby Petito on Monday withdrew his motion to force the former legal counsel of Brian Laundrie to reveal his private conversations with him.

Patrick Reilly was seeking the testimony of West Islip attorney Steven Bertolino, who represented Laundrie and his family in the aftermath of Petito's disappearance, as part of their lawsuit seeking compensation or emotional distress.

In the lawsuit, it is alleged that the Laundries and Bertolino were aware of Petito's death despite releasing a statement that appeared to indicate she was still alive.

Bertolino has argued that his conversations with Laundrie were protected by attorney/client privilege.

In a statement to Patch, Bertolino said "the motion was not supported by the law or the facts."

"Had attorney Reilly researched the law he would have known this before he filed the motion," he said. "Pat Reilly got the publicity he wanted from filing the motion but once my attorneys filed a substantively superior response, he had little choice but to withdraw it."

A hearing scheduled on the motion was canceled Tuesday because it was withdrawn, according to Bertolino.

Reilly declined comment.

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.

It has been 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.

RELATED STORIES:

• Petito Lawsuit Filing Says Family's Distress Was Pre-existing: Report
• Gabby Petito's Family Would Consider A Settlement In Lawsuit
• Laundrie Lawyered Up With Bigwigs In Aftermath Of Petito Death: Report
• Brian Laundrie Lawyer Asks Judge Block Testimony In Lawsuit
• Roberta Laundrie 'Burn After Reading' Letter Released To Petito Family