Nichole Schmidt, the mother of the late Gabby Petito, is reflecting on her relationship and interactions with Brian Laundrie’s family.
“I mean, [the last time we spoke] was probably when they came to my house in New York to pick up Gabby’s things to bring down to Florida with them,” Schmidt said on the Wednesday, April 16, episode of “The Squeeze” podcast. “We texted a couple times [and] we were Facebook friends. I thought they were just quiet people and I’m OK with that. You don’t have to be my best friend. I never actually spoke to them after that until we saw them when we did the depositions for our lawsuit.”
Petito was in a relationship with Laundrie when she died in 2021. When the twosome went on a cross-country trip, they were pulled over in Utah after authorities received reports of a man striking a woman. The incident was classified as disorderly conduct, and they were separated for a night. Petito and Laundrie later reunited and continued their trip.
Schmidt eventually stopped receiving text messages from Petito and filed a missing person’s report in September 2021. More than one week later, Petito was found dead at age 22 near Grand Teton National Park. Laundrie died by suicide at age 23 in Florida, one month later. The FBI confirmed at the time that Laundrie admitted responsibility for Petito’s death in a notebook entry found in his possession.
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Petito’s parents eventually filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Laundrie’s estate, reaching a settlement with his parents, Roberta and Christopher, in February 2024.
“I didn’t speak to them [during their depositions],” Schmidt recalled. “I listened to everything they had to say, which was horrible.”
According to Schmidt, she also didn’t have much of a connection to either of Laundrie’s parents before the scandal.
“I just thought they were quiet people but very nice,” she said. “I actually have a text I sent Gabby after meeting them in my driveway. I said, ‘Oh my gosh, his parents are so sweet.’ Yeah, you don’t know people. It’s very scary to think about.”
Schmidt also claimed that she recently “found out some new information” that allegedly implicates Laundrie’s parents in the incident surrounding her daughter’s death.
Brian Laundrie’s Parents Break Silence About Gabby Petito Doc ‘Inaccuracies’
“There was [a person who] was at the house when Brian was missing,” Schmidt claimed. “His room was completely gutted and renovated. None of his things were there anymore. It was gone [and], so that very same week Gabby was missing and cops were going to their house to try to get, I guess, a scent from their dogs to look for Brian, all his things were gone.”
Schmidt further claimed that police officers told her “there’s something wrong with that mother” and that “she’s clearly not mentally well.” (Laundrie’s parents have not addressed Schmidt’s accusations. Us Weekly has reached out for comment.)
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