Four years ago, news of the heartbreaking disappearance of travel vlogger Gabby Petito had the world anxiously waiting for answers. Gabby had set off on what should have been the 4-month trip of a lifetime with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, on 2 July 2021, but by 27 August she had been killed by strangulation, with her mother filing an official missing person report on 11 September – unaware that sadly it was too late for Gabby to be brought home safely.
After Gabby vanished mid-trip and stopped responding to her worried family's messages, Brian drove home alone from Wyoming to his parents' house in Florida, where he soon became a person of interest for the police – when his parents were doorstepped by officers, they refused to cooperate and simply passed over the number for their attorney.
On either 13 or 14 September, Brian also went missing and on 19 September, the authorities sadly found Gabby's remains in Wyoming's Bridger–Teton National Forest.
An autopsy went on to confirm that Gabby died after being strangled and subjected to blunt-force injuries. Her body was found curled up, boots off, by a makeshift fire.
Following Gabby's body being recovered on 19 September and up until 20 October, a search was then launched to try and locate Brian, who the police urgently wanted to speak with due to his suspected involvement in her cruel murder. Unfortunately, Brian's parents still refused to cooperate with the authorities by sharing any information about Gabby and Brian's body was found just five miles away from his parents' home on 20 October, having been submerged in water at a nature reserve. An autopsy would go on to confirm he'd died after shooting himself in the head.
A notebook was found alongside Brian's body with one entry claiming he'd killed Gabby after she was injured from falling in a lake, something Brian tried to frame as an act of mercy: I ended her life. I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted, but I see now all the mistakes I made. I panicked. I was in shock. But from the moment I decided I took away her pain, I knew I couldn't go on without her.
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The case generated mass media coverage, further fuelled by the behaviour of Brian's parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, who point blank refused to speak with the police after their son returned home alone. On the suspected day of Gabby's death (27 August 2021), Brian called his mother for a 50+ minute discussion and later that day, Brian's dad reached out to an attorney and they wired the legal rep $25,000.
A new Netflix programme, American Murder: Gabby Petito, explores the complex and upsetting case, with Gabby's own parents sharing how deeply they feel the loss of their daughter and how angry they are with the Laundries for appearing to cover up for Brian, prolonging an agonising search for justice and answers.
Here's what we know about Christopher and Roberta Laundrie's involvement in the case and their whereabouts today.
Who are Brian Laundrie's parents, Christopher and Roberta?
Brian and Cassie Laundrie's parents are Christopher and Roberta. According to a report from The Independent, Christopher has lived in "Long Island, living in Woodhaven, Bayport, Bohemia, Maspeth, Forest Hills and Sayville" in the past and Roberta spent nine years working in administration for the Suffolk County Government, between 2011 and 2020.
The couple later went on to set up their own company, Juicer Services, selling professional juicing equipment. It's believed the business has since folded.
Gabby knew both Christopher and Roberta well, having lived with them for a period of time prior to heading off on her road trip with Brian. She once texted her own mother implying Roberta was jealous of her relationship with Brian and didn't like it when the attention wasn't on her.
In the notebook discovered beside Brian's body, one entry asked for his parents to be spared. "Please do not make life harder for my family, they lost a son and a daughter – the most wonderful girl in the world. Gabby I’m sorry."
Protestors and media outlets descended on Christopher and Roberta's home during the search for Brian, with many members of the public – and Gabby's family – believing the couple were withholding vital information from the authorities about both their son's whereabouts and his involvement in Gabby's death.
In American Murder: Gabby Petito, Gabby's parents explain they reached out to the Laundries directly to ask if they knew anything of her whereabouts (prior to reporting her missing to the police) and heard nothing back.
When the police visited the Laundrie's Florida home on 11 September 2021, body cam footage featured in the Netflix series shows Christopher and Roberta standing in their doorway, with Christopher saying, "I'm not talking to anybody. Brian is here, that's all I'm going to say for now... We have an attorney." He later hands a piece of paper over to a police officer with the attorney's details on it.
On the 17 September 2021, Brian was reported missing too. His parents said they didn't report him going missing sooner as they simply believed he'd gone off hiking and camping to let off steam.
Did Christopher and Roberta Laundrie know Brian had killed Gabby Petito?
Reports say a couple of days after Gabby is thought to have gone missing and suspect texts were sent from her phone (which her mother states she believes Brian was behind), Brian called his father and allegedly said "Gabby's gone" and expressed that he may need a lawyer.
Brian returned to his parents' house in Florida on 1 September; none of them raised the alarm that Gabby was missing. Shortly after, the family took a camping trip together.
On 11 September, having not heard from her daughter in almost two weeks, Gabby Petito's mother, Nichole Schmidt, filed a missing person report – four days later, Brian was named as a person of interest.
Throughout the investigation into their son, Christopher and Roberta largely remained silent and unwilling to speak with police about what Brian had told them, but at one point said publicly that they hoped Gabby would be found soon. On 7 October, after Brian had also gone missing, Christopher and Roberta joined in with the search for him in a local nature reserve.
They were the ones who found Brian's body at a Florida campsite on 20 October.
The couple also issued a statement on 20 October, after Brian's body had been found, via their lawyer, Stephen Berolino, saying: "After a brief search off a trail that Brian frequented, some articles belonging to Brian were found. As of now, law enforcement is conducting a more thorough investigation of that area."
Christopher and Roberta are also believed to have met with the FBI that same day. The Laundries also said, via their lawyer, that they shared Brian's notebook entries (in June 2022) with the media "as a matter of transparency".
In 2022, Gabby's parents, Nichole Schmidt and Joe Petito, filed a lawsuit against the Laundries for contributing to their emotional distress by refusing to tell the authorities Brian had already admitted to murder during the search for Gabby. Evidence cited in the case included a letter that Roberta is believed to have written to Brian, with the words 'burn after reading' on the front, containing the lines: "If you're in jail I will bake a cake and put a file in it. If you need to dispose of a body, I will show up with a shovel and garbage bags."
Roberta denied the note was in relation to Gabby's disappearance/death and claimed she'd written it prior to the couple embarking on their van life trip – something Gabby's parents, Joe and Nichole, firmly rebuffed. The case was settled out of court.
Where are Christopher and Roberta Laundrie now?
In February 2024, it was reported that Gabby's parents, Nichole Schmidt and Joe Petito, had settled the civil lawsuit they filed against Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, which alleges that the Laundries failed to disclose that Brian had confessed to murdering Gabby.
The BBC reports that details of the lawsuit are largely confidential.
The Laundries have never been charged with a crime.
Speaking at CrimeCon, Nashville, in the summer of 2024, Nichole said she has forgiven Brian for his "despicable" actions against Gabby, but cannot forgive his "evil" mother, Roberta.
"As for you, Roberta, and I call you out individually because you are evidently the mastermind that shattered your family and mine with your evil ways. I see no empathy in your eyes," she is reported to have said. "No remorse in your heart and no willingness to take responsibility for your actions. You are the dark. You are the sociopath that everyone fears. The one who appears so innocent and kind, but harbours darkness within your soul.
"You do not deserve forgiveness. You deserve to be forgotten and dehumanised. You epitomise pure evil."
In June 2024, Christopher and Roberta were pictured outside their home in Newport, Florida, suggesting they haven't left the state since Brian and Gabby's deaths. Brian's car, a Mustang, was still visible on their driveway.
What have Brian Laundrie's parents said about the Netflix documentary?
After largely remaining silent, it's reported that (via The Sun US) the Laundrie's lawyer, Steven Bertolino, said the couple feel the documentary contained "many inaccuracies" and did not depict their version of the truth, but did not point out any specifics.
"[It is] one perspective depicted as the 'truth' as seen through their lens. Similar to Republicans and Democrats fighting it out lately," he said.
"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. The documentary contained many inaccuracies, incorrect juxtapositions of timelines, and misstatements and omissions of fact – perhaps deliberate to capture their 'truth', perhaps due to simple error."
Bertolino went on to say that Brian's parents now wish to be left alone to grieve in peace and again acknowledged that Brian murdered Gabby.
"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."
American Murder: Gabby Petito is on Netflix now
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
