Wow, this is a real shock. Well, half of it.
It’s been nearly three years now since the disappearance of Gabby Petito — and eventual discovery she was murdered by her boyfriend. For weeks the Petitos searched after Brian Laundrie returned to Florida from a couple’s cross-country trip… with the van but no Gabby. She was found in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park in September 2021. Shortly afterward Brian was able to slip out of police surveillance and die of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a nature preserve near his home.
The 23-year-old would never face justice, but he did at least confess, writing in a notebook how he’d strangled Gabby in what he thought was an act of mercy after she’d been injured in the wilderness of the park.
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You’d think a parent could never forgive the man who took away their child… but Gabby’s mother has surprised us once again. Nichole Schmidt appeared at CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee over the weekend with a message she admitted she knew “may shock most people.” She said to her daughter’s killer:
“I speak for myself here when I say Brian, I forgive you.”
That did indeed come as a shock to us. She continued
“I needed to release myself from the chains of anger and bitterness. And I refuse to let your despicable act define the rest of my life.”
That really is a healthy response as she gets more distance. She and the other parents — her husband Jim Schmidt, Gabby’s dad Joseph Petito, and Gabby’s stepmom Tara Petito — have spent so much time and effort turning Gabby’s memory into a beacon of hope for other missing young people, particularly abused girls in a similar position. It makes sense that positivity has healed the unthinkable wound somewhat. But not completely…
There is somewhat less room in Nichole’s heart for forgiveness when it comes to the more pre-meditated actions of Brian’s parents. She went after Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, saying they were “complicit in his cowardly flight from justice” and “have added salt” to her wounds with their actions.
The Petitos have long accused the Laundries of knowing about the murder of their daughter and, rather than doing the right thing, keeping it to themselves. That meant Gabby’s poor parents still had hope they might find their daughter when Brian had already confessed to his parents. And then they allegedly helped him get away from police capture. The Petitos filed suit, and plenty of evidence came out supporting their accusations. Eventually the Laundries settlied for $3 million back in February.
But the money doesn’t change anything. She and Joe were “denied the chance to confront our daughter’s killer, to look him in the eye.” That lack of closure was something millions can’t buy. And so Nichole can’t forgive what Roberta did to her, mother to mother. She said in her speech:
“As for you, Roberta — and I call you out individually because you are evidently the mastermind that shattered your family and mine with your evil ways — I see no empathy in your eyes, no remorse in your heart and no willingness to take responsibility for your actions. You are the dark. You are the sociopath that everyone fears. The one who appears so innocent and kind but harbors darkness within your soul. You do not deserve forgiveness. You deserve to be forgotten and dehumanized. You epitomize pure evil.”
WOW. That is one harsh statement. But not, if the accusations are true, undeserved.
What do YOU think, Perezcious readers? Everyone who followed this case through the years? Do you agree with Nichole that Roberta is “evil”? Selfishly cruel?
[Image via NBC News/YouTube/Gabby Petito/Instagram.]
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