- Title: Petito family to Brian Laundrie - 'turn yourself in'
- Date: 28th September 2021
- Summary: BOHEMIA, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 28, 2021) (REUTERS) FAMILY OF DECEASED TRAVEL BLOGGER GABBY PETITO WALKING INTO NEWS CONFERENCE WITH ATTORNEY RICHARD STAFFORD (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD STAFFORD, ATTORNEY FOR PETITO FAMILY, SAYING: "For the Laundrie's silence, the Laundries did not help us find Gabby. They're sure as not going to help us find Brian. For Brian, we're asking you to turn yourself in to the FBI or the nearest law enforcement agency." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD STAFFORD, ATTORNEY FOR PETITO FAMILY, SAYING: "The parents are one hundred percent happy with the FBI. They've been with us at every single step of the way. And we know that they will bring justice for Gabby." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD STAFFORD, ATTORNEY FOR PETITO FAMILY, SAYING: "Gabby Petito loved life, loved people and loved experiences. She was the bright light in everyone's life that knew her. Gabby's family does not want that light to dim and they want to make some good from this awful tragedy. That's why they're starting the Gabby Petito Foundation." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) JIM SCHMIDT, HUSBAND OF GABBY'S MOTHER NICHOLE SCHMIDT, SAYING: "We're just hoping that through our tragedy with losing Gabby, that in the future that some good can come out of it, that we can help other people that may be in a similar situation, reach out to these other organizations that do similar things and find out what's missing. You know, what can we do to to fill that void? What can we do to help people. Just from the Aware Foundation alone and reaching two million people, they told us that other law enforcement agencies are now starting to look back at other missing persons cases and starting to reinvestigate them and look into them. And we're just hopeful that we're able to help people in the future, you know, just try to get through something similar." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) JIM SCHMIDT, HUSBAND OF GABBY'S MOTHER NICHOLE SCHMIDT, SAYING: "Yeah, these were tattoos that Gabby designed herself. She was an artist." (SOUNDBITE) (English) NICHOLE SCHMIDT, GABBY PETITO'S MOTHER, SAYING: "I wanted to have her with me all the time. So I feel this helps that." VARIOUS OF PETITO AND SCHMIDT FAMILY SHOWING TATTOOS THEY PUT ON TO HONOR GABBY (SOUNDBITE) (English) JIM SCHMIDT, HUSBAND OF GABBY'S MOTHER NICHOLE SCHMIDT, SAYING: "I have one question over here, 'what's next?' (SOUNDBITE) (English) NICHOLE SCHMIDT, GABBY PETITO'S MOTHER, SAYING: "We don't stop. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JIM SCHMIDT, HUSBAND OF GABBY'S MOTHER NICHOLE SCHMIDT, SAYING: "Yeah, we don't stop, you know, remembering Gabby and keeping her name out there and and fighting for other people out there like her. She's always with us every day. She's giving us signs. It's difficult. You know, we've been talking we don't like where you go from here. How do you go back to normal, whatever normal may be from here on out. But we have each other. We're a big family. We have a huge support network. And we're just going to keep pushing forward and living every day and loving every day, because that's what Gabby did. And that's what that's what we need to do." (SOUNDBITE) (English) NICHOLE SCHMIDT, GABBY PETITO'S MOTHER, SAYING: "We actually got behind a car yesterday and there was a Wyoming sticker and the letters are 'GBZ'. Gabs. She's with us. She's with us." (SOUNDBITE) (English) JIM SCHMIDT, HUSBAND OF GABBY'S MOTHER NICHOLE SCHMIDT, SAYING: "She's with us. She's with us. The signs are there, you just have to look for them." (SOUNDBITE) (English) NICHOLE SCHMIDT, GABBY PETITO'S MOTHER, SAYING: "Thank you all so much." GABBY PETITO'S FAMILY AND LAWYER LEAVE ROOM
- Embargoed: 12th October 2021 19:18
- Keywords: Brian Laundrie Gabby Petito crime missing murder
- Location: BOHEMIA, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City: BOHEMIA, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Crime,United States
- Reuters ID: LVA001EWMWAPZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The family of deceased travel blogger Gabby Petito held a news conference on Tuesday (September 28) and urged Gabby's former boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, to turn himself in.
"The Laundries did not help us find Gabby. They're sure as not going to help us find Brian. For Brian, we're asking you to turn yourself in to the FBI or the nearest law enforcement agency," said Richard Stafford, attorney for the Petito and Schmidt families.
Americans have followed the case closely in the media since Gabby Petito was reported missing by her mother, Nicole Schmidt, on Sept. 11. Ten days earlier Laundrie returned home to North Port, Florida, without her from the road trip.
Petito's body was discovered on September 19 near the remote Spread Creek Dispersed Campground in Bridger-Teton National Forest in western Wyoming. Coroner's investigators have ruled her death a homicide, but have not revealed the cause of death.
Gabby Petito's boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, whom police have sought for in connection with the 22-year-old travel blogger's death during their cross-country road trip, was charged on September 23rd with fraudulently using her bank debit card.
A search warrant was issued for Laundrie, 23, after a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Wyoming indicted him on a single count of unlawfully using the card and Petito's personal identification number. He was not charged in her death.
At the press conference on Tuesday, the family of Gabby Petito displayed tattoos they all received to honor Gabby.
"I wanted to have her with me all the time. So I feel this helps that," said Nicole Schmidt, Gabby Petito's mother.
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