Gabby Petito case LIVE — Heartbreaking location of vlogger’s ashes are revealed after parents appear in court

The Petito faamily to find purpose in tragedy

After Gabby Petito's death, her family started the Gabby Petito foundation, aimed to help locate missing pepole and spread awareness and resources about domestic abuse.

“We’re just hoping that through our tragedy of losing Gabby that in the future that some good can come out of it," her stepfather Jim Schmidt said at a foundation fundraiser.

Brian Laundrie took gun from his parent's home

Brian Laundrie's parents knew a gun was missing from their home when he fled to the Carlton Reserve, his family's lawyer said.

They realized the missing weapon on the same day they reported Brian missing as police tried to do a count of the family's firearms.

Bertolino told The Sun in November he and the police agreed not to make the missing gun known to the public.

"Imagine, with the frenzied atmosphere at the time, if the public thought Brian had a gun," he said.

Lawsuit says Laundries went on vacation after Brian's confession

According to the lawsuit filed by Gabby's parents, Joe Petito and Nicole Schmidt, Brian Laundrie confessed to his parents shortly after killing her.

After Brian returned home to from Grand Teton National Park in Gabby's van, but without Gabby, the entire Laundrie family went camping, the lawsuit says.

The overnight trip to Fort DeSoto National Park came about a week after Brian came home.

Where did the Gabby Petito documentary air?

The documentary, The Murder of Gabby Petito: Truth, Lies and Social Media, was released on Friday.

It aired on NBC’s streaming service, Peacock, and is available to stream.

Accessing domestic violence help resources

If you are being abused in a relationship, anonymous and confidential help is available.

For help, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or  1-800-787-3224 (TTY).

However, if you are actively in danger, call 911.

Rare photos of Gabby Petito shared in documentary

Rare photos of Gabby Petito were shared in a documentary released last year, prompting her heartbroken parents to say “this is all we have left now.”

‘s heartbroken parents, Nichole Schmidt and Joe Petito opened up about what made their daughter special in the new Peacock documentary, The Murder of Gabby Petito: Truth, Lies and Social Media.

“Man, that smile. That smile didn’t change. Those eyes didn’t change. Those eyes, they would get her out of so much trouble,” Joe said.

“No matter how old she got, she would still be my baby girl, you know, how much trouble she was in, it didn’t matter. She was still my baby girl, you know?

“These are all I have left now,” Joe said as he stared down at his daughter’s childhood photos.

The Petito faamily to find purpose in tragedy

After Gabby Petito's death, her family started the Gabby Petito foundation, aimed to help locate missing pepole and spread awareness and resources about domestic abuse.

“We’re just hoping that through our tragedy of losing Gabby that in the future that some good can come out of it," her stepfather Jim Schmidt said at a foundation fundraiser.

Wedding had been postponed

Gabby’s stepfather Jim Schmidt previously revealed that Gabby and Brian Laundrie had planned a small beach ceremony to tie the knot, however, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic thwarted their plans.

“Covid happened so they put [the wedding] on hold,” Jim told Fox News last month. “They said they were going to live life.”

Ultimately, the couple decided to put their plans for marriage on the back burner and instead began planning what would later prove to be an ill-fated trip across the US, touring the country’s national parks.

According to Gabby’s mom, Nichole Schmidt, the pair also decided they were too young for marriage and opted to call off their engagement and went back to dating while plotting out their trip.

Gabby was killed by ‘throttling’

While Dr. Blue’s initial remarks lacked specificity, he later appeared on CNN and elaborated on Gabby’s cause of death, insisting she had been killed by “strangulation via a throttling.”

Professor Joseph Scott Morgan, a forensic expert and former medical examiner teaching at Jacksonville State University in Alabama said Brent’s comments are significant, as “that really narrows the field down because throttling is so very specific.

“He went to great lengths to even say that this was not mechanical, which essentially means that there wasn’t a ligature involved,” Morgan said. “When they say throttling, they’re talking about the application of two hands on this young woman’s throat.”

Morgan called the manner of death “intimate”, adding that throttling can either happen anteriorly — from the front — or posteriorly — from behind, and is often driven by a component of passion.

What is The Gabby Petito Story about?

The Lifetime movie The Gabby Petito Story intends to delve into Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie's connection and what could have transpired during their cross-country road journey that led to Petito's death.

This summer will see the start of the movie's production, which will be shot in Utah.

According to A&E, the movie will debut later this year.

Lifetime movie about Gabby 'not approved' by parents

The Lifetime movie being made on the late YouTuber was slammed by Gabby Petito's family.

The Petito family doesn't like the movie, according to a statement from Gabby's mother that was provided by The AWARE Foundation.

"We thought our followers should know that the Lifetime movie on Gabby Petito has no connection to the Petito family nor did they give their approval," the statement shared by the foundation reads.

"Lifetime took it upon themselves to make the movie."

A&E announced the movie on May 5 as a component of Lifetime's Stop Violence Against Women campaign. The working title of the movie is The Gabby Petito Story.

Heartbreaking post from Joseph Petito

While cleaning out a storage unit, Gabby Petito's father discovered a tragic old photo of his deceased daughter, which he published on Instagram.

Joseph Petito is shown in the heartbreaking image holding Gabby in his arms while sitting in a chair.

The caption read: "Emptying our storage unit and come across this. Take as many photos/videos with your loved ones as you can. #tbt #gabbypetito #missyou."

Gabby's mom said prayer after hearing

After the hearing, Nicole Schmidt held out a small prayer card that their lawyer said was made by a well-wisher from Australia who drew an image of Gabby as an angel.

No one from the Laundrie family appeared in court.

Slain vlogger's parents wear 'Justice for Gabby Petito' bracelets

As they entered court on Wednesday, Gabby Petito's family wore discreet yet potent statements in memory of their murdered daughter.

Nicole Schmidt, Joe Petito, and their respective spouses wore "Justice for Gabby" wristbands, which are supposed to reflect Gabby's life, not her death, according to her parents, and Schmidt held her chain locket that contains Gabby's ashes.

Schmidt displayed a little prayer card after the court that their attorney claimed was created by a well-wisher from Australia who depicted Gabby as an angel.

She embraced her attorney and kept her fingers crossed as the family departed.

First court appearance happened yesterday

Gabby's parents Nicole Schmidt and Joe Petito, who divorced and remarried, held their spouses' hands as they walked to the courtroom together.

The Sun captured the moment in exclusive photos and video.

Schmidt clutched her necklace locket that holds Gabby's ashes, and they all wore "Justice for Gabby" bracelets, which are meant to represent Gabby's life; not her death, her parents said.

Family saw ‘no red flags’

Nichole and Jim Schmidt previously said that Brian would often visit their home and seemed like a nice, polite young man.

“Brian would come to my home and he was very polite, very kind,” said Nichole.

“I didn’t see anything in him that would worry me at all. No red flags.”

Jim said Brian was “respectful” and even made the effort to speak to Gabby’s younger siblings and color with them.

First amendment issue argued

A legal professor said that a "substantial" first amendment issue was argued in the Petito vs Laundrie case.

"It seems to me that if the government is unable to force someone to speak without using coercive methods (namely, subpoena, grand jury, immunity), a private party would have much less ability to do so," Gershman said.

"The government acts in [the] public interest; a private party has no public interest to protect.

"So if the government cannot override the first amendment, I would think a private party using the courts to win a lawsuit has far less power to do so."

'No regrets'

The Laundrie family counsel has said that Gabby Petito's tragedy may be solved and that Brian's parents have "no regrets."

After the judge heard the arguments in the Petito-Laundrie case on Wednesday, Steven Bertolino, the lawyer representing Brian's parents Chris and Roberta Laundrie, talked to Banfield.

The lawyer was confident he had done his job properly.

Bertolino said: "You know, hated is one word, vilified is another ... It's emotional for me, it's emotional for Chris and Roberta because we are friends, they did lose a child.

"They lost a young man that I knew since he was born and yeah, that's upsetting."

He continued: "I did everything the right way. We have no regrets."

Law professor says Laundries had 'no legal duty' to speak up

Gershman said: "And even if we assume that the statement of the (Laundrie's) lawyer could be attributed to the defendants, which is not at all clear, that statement by itself, along with the defendants' having done nothing affirmative to injure the [Petitos], was not nearly enough to make out the tort."

Having what Gershman described as a "moral duty" to speak up if they had information, the Laundries "had no legal duty to do so."

"Moreover, the arguments over the need to show outrageous conduct by a defendant in this type of lawsuit, from the cases cited, some of which I knew about, confirms my opinion of the weakness of the lawsuit," Gershman said.

Lawsuit was a 'reach'

Longtime, well-respected law professor at New York's Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University Bennett Gershman has been following the case since the beginning and watched the hearing.

He said he believed the lawsuit was a "reach" all along, and "today's hearing confirmed that opinion."

"First, it is virtually unprecedented to base a lawsuit for intentional infliction of emotional distress on a defendant's silence," Gershman said.

"Even the plaintiff's lawyer acknowledged as much."

'Judge was skeptical for a reason'

The highly-publicized Petito-Laundrie lawsuit is a "reach," according to a renowned law professor, who said he wouldn't be "surprised" if it's tossed out.

The Petitos sued the family of their daughter's fiancé, Brian Laundrie - who authorities said claimed responsibility for Gabby's death in a suicide note - for withholding information while Gabby was missing.

The Laundries' lawyer filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, and both sides presented their arguments in Sarasota County, Florida court on Wednesday, June 22, 2022.

The presiding judge, Hunter Carroll, questioned both lawyers, but "appeared to be skeptical" of the Petito's side, Bennett Gershman told The Sun in an exclusive interview.

Gabby’s last interactions with mom

Gabby Petito’s remains were found less than 1,000 feet (300m) from where, on the evening of August 27, another pair of travel bloggers caught video images of the couple’s 2012 white Ford Transit van parked along a dirt road.

Petito, who was documenting the couple’s “van life” road trip on social media, posted her final photo to Instagram on August 25, the same day that she last spoke to her mother by phone.

The family believes the couple was headed to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming at the time.

Schmidt received text messages from Petito’s phone on August 27 and August 30, but suspects that someone other than her daughter sent them, according to investigators.

What happened to Gabby Petito?

Gabby Petito, 22, went on a cross-country road trip with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, and never returned.

The 22-year-old was reported missing on September 11, just days after Laundrie returned home without her, and her remains were later discovered on September 19.

Autopsy results revealed she was strangled to death and Laundrie was named a person of interest.

How did Gabby go missing?

Gabby Petito had quit her job and packed her life into a camper van for a cross-country adventure with Brian Laundrie, starting in July, documenting their journey in a stream of social media posts.

In images shared by the couple online, they are all smiles — barefoot in a canyon or surveying the ochre rocks of state and national parks.

In one YouTube video published during their trip, Petito and Laundrie are shown kissing tenderly, enjoying a sunset together, and strolling on a beach.

But the young woman’s family filed a missing person report on September 11 after the 22-year-old mysteriously vanished, and Laundrie returned home to Florida without her.

Gabby’s mom wanted Brian jailed

In a heartbreaking interview that laid bare her devastation and anger, mom Nichole Schmidt slammed Brian Laundrie as a “coward” who “knows what he is doing.”

Before his remains were identified, in an interview with , Gabby’s mom Nichole said: “He is a coward."

“I just want to get him in a cell for the rest of his life," she added.

“I don’t want to say he is insane or anything, he went home, he’s hiding, he used her credit card."

“I mean, that’s not someone who has gone crazy. He knows what he is doing.”