Petito Parents Win $3M Wrongful Death Case Vs. Laundrie Estate: Report

Updated: 1:07 p.m., Thursday

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL — A judge ruled in favor of Gabby Petito’s parents, awarding them $3 million in a wrongful death lawsuit they filed against the estate of her killer and fiancé, Brian Laundrie, according to a report.

“The estate isn’t worth anywhere near that amount, so the $3 million is mostly inconsequential,” reporter JB Biunno with WFLA shared on Twitter Thursday morning.

"Brian did not have $3 million; it's an arbitrary number," the Petito family's attorney, Pat Reilly, said in a statement on their behalf, according to Insider.

Whatever amount the family does get from the Laundrie estate will be donated to the Gabby Petito Foundation, according to reports. The foundation supports organizations that work to find missing persons and assist victims of domestic violence.

"Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt wish to turn their personal tragedy into a positive," the attorney said. "It is their hope that Gabby's foundation will bring these important issues into the forefront of the public eye to the benefit of all our communities."

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Petito was killed at the hands of Laundrie in August 2021 at a Wyoming campsite while they were on a cross-country trip. He later took his own life, shooting himself in the head in a Sarasota County park, in September of that year. His remains and a handwritten confession to killing his fiancée were found in October 2021.

In December 2021, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie filed a court petition seeking access to their son’s estate, which is thought to be worth around $20,000.

In May, Petito’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, filed the wrongful death lawsuit against Barry Spivey, the court-appointed curator of Brian Laundrie’s estate, according to ABC News.

This is separate from a civil lawsuit filed by Petito’s parents against the Laundries in March. They’re suing his parents for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

That case will go before a Sarasota County jury next summer.

Petito's parents claim that Laundrie’s parents knew their son murdered the 22-year-old woman and “knew the whereabouts of her body” when they took a family vacation in early September 2021, according to their complaint.

The Petito family is seeking "damages that exceed $30,000 exclusive of prejudgment, interest, costs and attorney fees."

Her family also filed a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Moab Police Department, claiming that officers failed to notice signs of domestic violence during a traffic stop of the couple.