Gabby Petito case: Brian Laundrie told parents new life plan with Petito before ‘everything...hit the fan’
SARASOTA, Fla. - Before he killed Gabby Petito at a cold campsite in Wyoming, Brian Laundrie told his parents the couple planned to work for free on an Oregon pumpkin farm and learn skills he could use to achieve his goal of one day running his own farm, according to court documents.
Days after a 911 caller in Moab, Utah, told police he saw Laundrie hitting Petito in the face, the soon-to-be killer flew home to Florida under the pretense he needed to clear out a storage unit near his parents' home to save money.
During a brief stay with his parents, he did not tell them about the Moab incident or raise any concerns and instead said he and Petito had plans to work for free on the farm in exchange for parking for her van, according to depositions from Christopher and Roberta Laundrie in a lawsuit.
Pictured: Gabby Petito
"He told us again that they were going to Oregon to maybe work in a pumpkin place that they'd get … learn farming and help with that season of pumpkins," Christopher Laundrie told Pat Reilly, the attorney for Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, during a deposition. "That's it. That's what he told me."
MORE: Gabby Petito case: Timeline of 22-year-old woman's disappearance
Roberta Laundrie said her son wanted to clear out the storage unit because the planned stay at the farm would prolong their trip.
"It was some sort of a farming co-op, or – I don't know what they called it, but him and Gabrielle were going to work there and learn about farming and be able to park their van for free," she said in her own deposition. "And I thought that sounded great, and I was excited about that."
Gabby Petito @petitojoseph/Instagram
However, she added, he didn't have anything specific to say about Petito during that return home.
While Laundrie's parents said their son did not contact them about the Moab incident, Petito texted both of her parents from the scene, where she took a photograph of herself with a black eye and blood on her face. Police split the couple up for the night.
But Laundrie, after his five-day return to Florida, rejoined her on the road in Salt Lake City and killed her within two weeks.
Laundrie brought up the pumpkin patch again in an Aug. 28 phone call with his mother, according to Christopher Laundrie, the day before he said "everything, you know, hit the fan."
Petito was last seen alive around 2:30 p.m. on security footage from the Jackson, Wyoming, Whole Foods store on Aug. 27, 2021, shortly after the couple left the Merry Piglets Tex-Mex restaurant after a public argument between Laundrie and three female employees.
Brian Laundrie, seen in Aug. 12 Moab police bodycam video
A seemingly irate Laundrie left and returned to the restaurant four times before Petito apologized, witnesses told Fox News Digital after she vanished. She is believed to have been killed that evening or the following day.
Laundrie then made a panicked call to his parents, who gave Atty. Steven Bertolino $25,000 to retain a high-powered Wyoming lawyer. However, according to court filings, instead of remaining in Jackson, Laundrie took Petito's van and drove back to his parents' house in Florida.
The family went camping and refused to comment publicly on the case.
Two days after Petito's mother reported her missing, Laundrie sneaked away and killed himself in a swamp, leaving behind a suicide note in which he confessed to her murder.
The parents are scheduled for mediation this week. Petito's mom and dad are separately suing the Moab Police Department for its handling of the domestic stop, which resulted in no arrests.
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