We guess it makes sense. At this point it’s not like they’re suddenly going to do something that makes them look less suspicious.
Last week we heard Brian Laundrie‘s parents weren’t just trying to get their hands on his estate (a surprisingly large savings of $20k), something which of course is a painful reality of losing a child too young to have written out a will of their own. No, we heard something much more surprising and rather mind-boggling: that they were trying to get back their son’s notebook.
Those who have been following this case closely know just how important that notebook is being considered. For everyone else, a quick refresher…
After it was discovered Gabby Petito had been murdered, the search for her fiancé became an even bigger priority for law enforcement. While he was never publicly named a “suspect” in her death by strangling, Brian was the only person of interest and is still widely considered to be the last person who saw the 22-year-old YouTuber alive. The authorities searched for the fugitive for a month solid, focusing on Florida’s Carlton Reserve, where his parents said he’d gone to hike but also fielding calls about possible sightings as far away as North Carolina.
Then, after over four weeks of nothing, Chris and Roberta Laundrie joined the search for just a single day. They led police to the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park instead of the Carlton Reserve, and lo and behold — their son’s remains were found within hours. Not only that, Chris Laundrie personally found his son’s belongings, including a bag to keep everything dry in the Floridian swampland and a personal notebook, which — as bad luck would have it — was outside the bag and soaked in water when Chris brought the items by hand to the nearby cops.
We aren’t lawyers, but even SVU fans know how badly that violated the chain of evidence.
Because Brian was found dead, the notebook suddenly became crucial — it was the potential final witness to what occurred between Brian and Gabby before her death in Jackson, Wyoming. That made its damaged state all the more tragic.
Law enforcement sources at the time said something from the soaked pages might still be “salvageable” — but that was the last we heard. As we understand it, the FBI has been painstakingly trying to preserve any handwriting they can.
The Laundries… would seemingly prefer that go ahead and end. They have formally requested the notebook be returned to them, their attorney revealed on Tuesday. Steven Bertolino confirmed to multiple outlets that the notebook is still in FBI custody and that his clients have asked to get it back as part of their formal effort to administer their son’s estate.
Amazing. You’d almost be given the impression they’re not so interested in getting to the truth of what happened. Huh.
Video: How Gabby’s Parents Said Goodbye On New Year’s
Bertolino also gave the press an update on the effort of Gabby’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, to get back her daughter’s belongings from the Laundries. See, the late 22-year-old lived with Brian in their house for quite some time, so a lot of her stuff is still there. And since Chris and Roberta decided to ghost the Petitos as soon as they started asking questions about their daughter’s disappearance, well, it’s all just sitting there. Bertolino told NewsNation‘s Brian Entin:
“Nichole Schmidt filed to obtain Gabby’s belongings that are in the Laundrie home or in police custody. Rick Stafford (Petito’s family attorney) and I are trying to work this out cordially.”
“Trying”? Why does it sound like it’s not so easy? You put the stuff in a box and deliver it to the address. Or you let the parents into the home to get it. Seems pretty simple and reasonable to us.
But like we said, nothing about how the Laundries have handled this case has been simple or reasonable.
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