‘Quiet and polite’ Brian Laundrie used to draw pictures and read to Gabby Petito’s younger sibling, her mom reveals

October 18, 2021

GABBY Petito's parents say they were fooled by "quiet and polite" Brian Laundrie into believing he would "take care of her" during the couple's ill-fated road trip across the US, from which only he returned.

"He just seemed like a nice guy," Gabby's mom, Nichole Schmidt, told Australia's 60 Minutes on Sunday night. "I worried. I told her to be careful, be safe. To be aware of your surroundings. Don’t trust anybody.

"But I felt safe because she was with Brian and I felt like she would be OK,” she added. “I thought he would take care of her.”

Schmidt said she was fond of Laundrie, who was soon to be her son-in-law.

She recalled how the now wanted 23-year-old used to visit the family's home and draw pictures and read books to Gabby's younger sibling.

"He was very polite and quiet," she said, reiterating that she believed he was a "nice guy."

'HE'S A COWARD'

Laundrie has now been missing for more than a month. He's said to have disappeared on September 13 after telling his parents he was going hiking in a Florida nature reserve but failed to return.

His parents reported him missing to police on September 17. Two days later, Gabby's remains were found at a campsite near the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, where she and Brian had been staying weeks earlier.

A coroner's report later confirmed she'd been killed by strangulation caused by a "human force."

Laundrie is not yet considered a suspect in her death but he is the sole person of interest. He is also wanted for fraud charges after allegedly using a bank card belonging to Gabby in late August when she's already believed to have been killed.

Read our Gabby Petito live blog for the very latest news and updates…

As the search for him continues, Schmidt said that any fondness she once had for Laundrie has since dissipated.

The grieving mother, who flew to Wyoming over the weekend to collect her daughter's ashes, said she hopes Laundrie is hunted down and thrown in jail for the remainder of his life.

"He’s a coward. I don’t want to say he’s insane because he went home, he’s hiding, he used her credit card," she said. "That’s not somebody who’s gone crazy. He knew what he was doing.

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

'NOT WHAT IT SEEMED'

Gabby's father Joe Petito also spoke to 60 Minutes, revealing that Gabby had seemed "happy" with Laundrie, though clearly, all was not what it seemed.

"She did look happy. But as we look more and more into this, it might not have been as great as people online perceived."

Her step-father, Jim Schmidt, echoed the pair's sentiments.

"Every time he would come over he was polite. He’d talk with our other children as well. They got to know him and they liked him," Jim Schmidt said.

Vlogger Gabby, 22, had been on an intrepid adventure of a lifetime as she drove across the country with Laundrie, to whom she was engaged.

But only he returned home to Florida in the repurposed van they had been traveling in.

After hiring a lawyer and refusing to talk, he then vanished too — just days before Gabby’s remains were found in Bridger–Teton National Forest in Wyoming.

Speaking to her daughter's murder, a devastated Nichole said: "I hope she did not suffer and she was not in any pain.

"[I hope] that she was in a place she wanted to be, looking up at the beautiful mountains.

"You never, ever think it is going to be yours. It is surreal. This was like, evil. She was taken at someone else’s hand"

Reflecting on the last time he spoke to Gabby on the phone, dad Joe said: "The last thing I said to her, my very last sentence was I love you. And her last sentence to me was ‘I love you too’."

Step-dad Jim added: "Gabby was 22-years-old. Her life was stolen from her… stolen from us."

MANHUNT FOR LAUNDRY

The FBI has launched a nationwide manhunt, appealing for anyone with information about Laundrie's whereabouts to contact them.

A weeks-long search of the Carlton Reserve has so far yielded no trace of Laundrie. A second search at Fort De Soto Park being carried out by Dog the Bounty Hunter has so far proved equally as fruitless.

Police in Utah responded to a domestic violence report involving Petito and Laundrie in mid-August.

Police bodycam footage shows a distraught Petito saying she had had an altercation with Laundrie.

Speaking to an officer after their van was pulled over, Petito is seen crying and saying she struggles with mental health problems. She admitted Laundrie had hit her but only after she struck him first.

Laundrie, meanwhile, is seen smiling and laughing with cops in the clip. He tells the officers he didn't hit Gabby, rather that he had pushed her away in a bid to stop her from attacking him.

At one stage in the video, he even fistbumps one of the officers.

An investigation continues.

Gabby Petito timeline

Gabby Petito, 22, was last seen on August 24, leaving a hotel in Utah. Here is a timeline of Gabby Petito’s disappearance:

June 2021 – Gabby Petito and her fiancé Brian Laundrie set off on a cross-country trip across the US.
July 4 – Gabby posts photos of herself barefoot in Gove County, Kansas.
July 8 – Gabby posts photos of herself at the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado.
July 18 – Gabby and Brian post photos of themselves at Utah's Zion National Park.
August 12 – Body camera footage was released in September showing an encounter Brian and Gabby had with police in Utah. Police confirmed that no significant injuries were reported.
August 19 – Gabby and Brian post a video on their YouTube channel chronicling their trip.
August 24 – Gabby is spotted leaving a hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah.
August 25 – Gabby Facetimes her mom, Nichole Schmidt, for the final time. In a later police report, Schmidt said her conversations with her daughter revealed "more and more tension" between her and Brian.
August 25 – Gabby also posts her last Instagram. No location is given.
August 27 – Gabby is seen for what's believed to be the final time. Witnesses claim they saw Brian in an explosive argument with staff at a restaurant in Jackson Hole, leaving Gabby in tears.
August 27 – Four hours later, travel bloggers driving through Grand Teton National Park drive past the couple's van "abandoned" on a dirt road.
September 1 – Brian returns home to Florida without Gabby.
September 11 – Gabby's parents report her missing to Suffolk County police.
September 14 – Brian's family issues a statement saying he has retained an attorney and will not be cooperating with investigators.
September 14 – Brian is allegedly last seen by his family. He reportedly told them he was going hiking in Cartlon Reserve but failed to return.
September 15 – Florida's North Port police announce Brian is a person of interest in the case. He is not charged with any crime.
September 16 – Utah police release body camera footage of the police encounter with Brian and Gabby.
September 17 – Brian's parents say they have not seen their son in a couple of days and report him missing.
September 18 – Police announce they were searching Carlton Reserve in Florida for Brian. Police announce they have not found anything.
September 19 – Authorities in Wyoming say they found a body in Grand Teton National Park. The FBI announces the body was believed to be Gabby's but a full forensic identification needs to be completed first to confirm.
September 20 – Police execute a search warrant on Laundrie's home, seizing his silver Mustang and a hard drive that may contain "evidence relevant to proving that a felony has been committed."
September 21 – Officials announce they will be conducting an autopsy on the remains found in Wyoming to confirm whether or not they belong to Gabby. Police also resumed their search for Laundrie, this time on the Venice side of Carlton Reserve.
September 21 – The FBI announced the body found in Wyoming was identified as Gabby's. The cause of death was not yet revealed.
September 21 – The Teton County Coroner's office said Gabby's official cause of death was still pending but the initial manner of death is homicide.
September 22 – Police continue to scour Carlton Reserve for a trace of Laundrie but yield no leads. A specialist dive team is called in to assist with the hunt.
September 23 – Officials announced a federal arrest warrant for Brian was issued.
September 26 – Gabby's funeral was held on Long Island, New York.
October 12: Gabby's autopsy results were made public. Teton County Coroner Dr Brent Blue confirmed Gabby died by strangulation.

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