(Law & Crime) Gabby Petito’s parents want to add another defendant to their ongoing emotional distress lawsuit against the mother and father of Brian Laundrie. It’s Steven Bertolino, the attorney for Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie.
Plaintiffs previously argued that Brian Laundrie’s parents already knew that the missing Gabby was dead when they made a statement wishing for her to be reunited with her parents.
“It is our understanding that a search has been organized for Miss Petito in or near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming,” the Laundrie family said in a statement released though Bertolino. “On behalf of the Laundrie family it is our hope that the search for Miss Petito is successful and that Miss Petito is reunited with her family.”
Now Gabby’s father Joseph Petito and mother Nichole Schmidt assert that Bertolino also knew she was dead. They are issuing a motion for leave to file a second amended complaint, with the attorney named as a co-defendant.
“It is believed that at the time the September 14, 2021 statement was issued, the Laundries and Steven Bertolino knew that Gabby Petito was deceased, and that under those circumstances, the statement was insensitive, cold-hearted and outrageous,” said a statement from the plaintiffs. “Thus, after much consideration, the parents of Gabby Petito filed a Motion for Leave of Court this afternoon asking the court for permission to file a Second Amended Complaint to add Steven Bertolino as a defendant in the action.”
From their submitted draft of the amended complaint, attached as an exhibit to the motion for leave to file:
Bertolino did not immediately respond to a Law&Crime request for comment.
