Brian Laundrie called family 3 weeks before Gabby Petito's remains were found, according to court documents
NEW YORK -- Brian Laundrie's parents say they received a frantic call from him three weeks before Gabby Petito's remains were discovered, according to new court documents.
Laundrie's parents also say he told them to find an attorney. The calls took place on August 29, 2021.
Petito's remains were eventually found in Wyoming, and Laundrie later died by suicide.
Her parents are suing the Laundrie family, claiming they knew their son killed Petito and intentionally withheld the information.
Laundrie's body was located in a nature preserve near his parents' Florida home in October 2021. The FBI said he left behind writings "claiming responsibility" for Petito's death.
A letter from his mother was found inside his backpack, marked "burn after reading."
"You are my boy. Nothing can make me stop loving you," Roberta Laundrie wrote. "If you're in jail, I will bake a cake with a file in it. If you need to dispose of a body, I will show up with a shovel and garbage bags."
The Petito family's attorneys say the letter proves Roberta Laundrie knew her son killed Petito and offered to help cover it up. But lawyers for the Laundrie family say the letter was undated and does not refer to Petito's death.
In their lawsuit, Petito's family claims Laundrie confessed to his parents about killing their daughter while the nationwide search for her was ongoing.
A judge previously awarded the Petito family $3 million in a wrongful death lawsuit against the Laundries.
The disappearance of Gabby Petito
Gabby Petito, 22, and her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, left her family's Long Island home in July 2021 for a four-month, cross-country road trip to visit national parks and document their travels on social media.
The next month in Moab, Utah, a man called 911 to report a confrontation between the couple, telling dispatchers he saw Laundrie hit Petito. Police officers pulled over their van and filed a report of the assault, then separated them for the night.
About two weeks later, Laundrie returned to the couple's home in Florida, but he was alone.
Petito's disappearance prompted a nationwide search and pleas from her family asking for the public's help. Her remains were discovered near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on Sept. 19. The coroner ruled she died by strangulation.
In the wake of her murder, her family launched the Gabby Petito Foundation to provide resources for parents looking for missing children.
