Gabby Petito’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, said that she doesn’t forgive Brian Laundrie’s mother, Roberta Laundrie, after he killed her daughter in 2021.
“I speak for myself here when I say Brian, I forgive you,” Nichole said while speaking at CrimeCon in Nashville on Friday, May 31, adding that the sentiment “may shock most people.”
She continued, “I needed to release myself from the chains of anger and bitterness. And I refuse to let your despicable act define the rest of my life.”
While Nichole said she forgave Brian, she had less kind things to say about Roberta and his father, Christopher Laundrie. She said that they were “complicit in his cowardly flight from justice” and claimed that their actions “have added salt” to her wounds regarding Gabby’s death.
“As for you, Roberta — and I call you out individually because you are evidently the mastermind that shattered your family and mind with your evil ways — I see no empathy in your eyes, no remorse in your heart and no willingness to take responsibility for your actions,” Nichole continued.
“You are the dark. You are the sociopath that everyone fears. The one who appears so innocent and kind, but harbors darkness within your soul,” she added. “You do not deserve forgiveness. You deserve to be forgotten and dehumanized. You epitomize pure evil.”
Nichole then said that she and Gabby’s father, Joseph Petito, were “denied the chance to confront our daughter’s killer, to look him in the eye.” After he killed Gabby in 2021, Brian eventually committed suicide in October 2021 after he became a suspect in his late fiancée’s death.
Brian killed Gabby during their cross-country road trip, and returned home to his parents’ house in Florida by himself on September 1, 2021. He was reported missing 10 days later, which led many to believe he was guilty of killing Gabby.
The FBI ultimately determined that he was responsible for Gabby’s death in January 2022, stating that he admitted to committing the murder in his notebook before his death.
In March 2022, Nichole and Joseph filed a civil lawsuit against Roberta and Christopher. At the time, they accused Brian’s parents of knowing about Gabby’s murder, and claimed they knew where her deceased body was before it was found in September 2021.
The case never went to trial, as the families were able to reach a settlement in February 2024. In the filing, Gabby’s parents explained they sought damages for the mental anguish they suffered due to the Laundrie family’s alleged actions.
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