Found Deceased WY - Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito, 22, Grand Teton National Park, 25 Aug 2021 #85

[Sundog]

Well, no. Anyone can file a claim for more or less anything. You have to prove your claims in court and the way you do this is through discovery. My fear is that this will turn into a mud slinging contest, which will do damage to both sides. The Plaintiffs need to be prepared for the mud that will be slung their way. I simply cannot understand why they have bought this action. I really hope the court orders mediation. I am curious as to what it is the Plaintiffs want - is it just $$$ or something else?

I don't see how mediation would be successful in a case like this, with both sides more than deeply dug in. There doesn't appear to be any wiggle room for mediation at all, and I doubt the judge would want to set this up for failure if known in advance that this is extremely likely.

What would be the best case outcome/scenario of mediation? I just don't see the P's as being happy with any outcome other than finding some guilt of the L's.

 

[RANCH]

Well, no. Anyone can file a claim for more or less anything. You have to prove your claims in court and the way you do this is through discovery. My fear is that this will turn into a mud slinging contest, which will do damage to both sides. The Plaintiffs need to be prepared for the mud that will be slung their way. I simply cannot understand why they have bought this action. I really hope the court orders mediation. I am curious as to what it is the Plaintiffs want - is it just $$$ or something else?

I think the plaintiff's want to inflict emotional distress on the defendants. JMO.

 

[Wallendo]

... I am curious as to what it is the Plaintiffs want - is it just $$$ or something else?

I suspect the Petito family wants "justice". Justice is a frequently used word here, but there is not always a clear meaning, and different people use it with different interpretations. On online fora, I find that to many posters, justice involves an arrest (preferably with a perp walk), a public trial with public humiliation, and punishment of a wrong-doer. In this case, the apparent murderer was never arrested, never publicly exposed to ridicule, and never punished by the state. The criminal investigation apparently has ended with no significant details released, no public trial, and no state-mediated punishment.

Likely this case is about Gabby having her day in court and someone being held accountable.

The Laundries don't seem to be rich based on what I have seen. They apparently have some real estate dealings, but these properties may be highly leveraged. Their juicer business appears to be inactive. They could well be bankrupted by the lawsuit. Florida is often seen as a plaintiff-friendly state, but Florida law can often make it hard to collect a judgment. There is a reason OJ Simpson moved to Florida after he lost his civil suit.

I personally interpret "justice" differently, but I suspect that that is the P family's intent.

 

[RANCH]

<modsnip - quoted post was removed >
Is there proof that the Laundrie's intentionally let everyone think that Gabby was alive and lost when instead they knew she was dead?

 

[Nikynoo]

I suspect they will claim attorney-client privilege for many of the questions.

My big question at this point is who gets deposed first. In the limited number of cases with which I have been involved, the plaintiff is generally deposed first in order to demonstrate that there is some reason for the case to proceed. If this happens, GP's family will be asked under oath why they believe the BL told his parents what happened and why they believed that the L's tried to get BL out of the country. Having this information would greatly assist the L's prior to their depositions. If the L's are deposed first, they will have to be careful with their responses. The the P's are deposed first and state that they believe these allegations because they read on websleuths.com, the L's can simply respond "I don't remember" to pesky details that could haunt them later.

I have a depo coming up the last week of July (Delaware), I have just asked my attorney and she says that there are no hard and fast rules. We are the Plaintiff and she aims to depose the defendants the week before we are deposed.

 

[Nikynoo]

I don't see how mediation would be successful in a case like this, with both sides more than deeply dug in. There doesn't appear to be any wiggle room for mediation at all, and I doubt the judge would want to set this up for failure if known in advance that this is extremely likely.

What would be the best case outcome/scenario of mediation? I just don't see the P's as being happy with any outcome other than finding some guilt of the L's.

it was the same for both of our cases and the court ordered mediation. It didn't work in either case, but I think that the courts hope that some cases will be resolve and therefore lesson the load on the courts. I know that the Delaware the courts are overwhelmed, so suspect that others are too.

ETA - to answer the entire question.

In respect to this case, I would hope that mediation would at least get them in the same room (even if by zoom) and they could work something out. The reality would probably be different.

 

[Nikynoo]

Is there proof that the Laundrie's intentionally let everyone think that Gabby was alive and lost when instead they knew she was dead?

I think the point their lawyer made was that the statement gave false hope that G was alive, when in fact they knew she was dead, so in fact it was a false statement and was cruel to make.

I don't think the statement says anything of the sort, but I guess it could be interpreted in a different way?

 

[Nikynoo]

I suspect the Petito family wants "justice". Justice is a frequently used word here, but there is not always a clear meaning, and different people use it with different interpretations. On online fora, I find that to many posters, justice involves an arrest (preferably with a perp walk), a public trial with public humiliation, and punishment of a wrong-doer. In this case, the apparent murderer was never arrested, never publicly exposed to ridicule, and never punished by the state. The criminal investigation apparently has ended with no significant details released, no public trial, and no state-mediated punishment.

Likely this case is about Gabby having her day in court and someone being held accountable.

The Laundries don't seem to be rich based on what I have seen. They apparently have some real estate dealings, but these properties may be highly leveraged. Their juicer business appears to be inactive. They could well be bankrupted by the lawsuit. Florida is often seen as a plaintiff-friendly state, but Florida law can often make it hard to collect a judgment. There is a reason OJ Simpson moved to Florida after he lost his civil suit.

I personally interpret "justice" differently, but I suspect that that is the P family's intent.

I agree with you, except that all of the L's were subject to ridicle, jeering mobs at their door and online hate. Bs parents more so than B (who was probably dead by the time this case hit the media).

 

[housewife]

Is there proof that the Laundrie's intentionally let everyone think that Gabby was alive and lost when instead they knew she was dead?

IMHO that can only be proven with the discovery of evidence via court.
And if I’m wrong? Then the L’s will be proven to be completely exonerated in court and can only gain sympathy.

I also find it weird that the assumption is the Petito’s are going to court to “punish” the L’s or “get rich”.
They are attempting to get information on how their vibrant daughter died. If any money is “won” in court, it will likely go to advocate outreach for the Petito Foundation.

IMHO the Browns didn’t sue OJ to get rich. They wanted to prevent him from making a profit off the suffering of their daughter when he wrote IF I did it. It also brought attention to a much needed cause - domestic abuse.

Jmho

 

[MsBetsy]

Well, no. Anyone can file a claim for more or less anything. You have to prove your claims in court and the way you do this is through discovery. My fear is that this will turn into a mud slinging contest, which will do damage to both sides. The Plaintiffs need to be prepared for the mud that will be slung their way. I simply cannot understand why they have bought this action. I really hope the court orders mediation. I am curious as to what it is the Plaintiffs want - is it just $$$ or something else?

As another poster stated, it seems they want the Laundries punished for the crimes of their son, and for their silence.

I remember thinking when Brian was missing, it would be a shame if he ended his life because the Petito family would not get to see that justice is served.

It was a tragedy for both families. I remember the pain and frustration of the Petitos when Brian's parents refused to talk.

To me, there is no greater punishment for the Laundries than the death of their son.

I don't think the Petito's know for sure that Brian told his parents about the murder or where he left the body. I doubt there is any proof they were trying to get him out of the country, either. I would think there would have been evidence found at some point during the investigation. IMO

 

[RANCH]

IMHO that can only be proven with the discovery of evidence via court.
And if I’m wrong? Then the L’s will be proven to be completely exonerated in court and can only gain sympathy.

I also find it weird that the assumption is the Petito’s are going to court to “punish” the L’s or “get rich”.
They are attempting to get information on how their vibrant daughter died. If any money is “won” in court, it will likely go to advocate outreach for the Petito Foundation.

IMHO the Browns didn’t sue OJ to get rich. They wanted to prevent him from making a profit off the suffering of their daughter when he wrote IF I did it. It also brought attention to a much needed cause - domestic abuse.

Jmho

Even if it's proven in court that the Laundrie's knew that Gabby was dead they had no duty to report that to anyone in my opinion.

We know how Gabby died. BL strangled her and left her body by a creek. Why did he do it? Because he was an evil person who used violence in his relationship with Gabby.

I don't think that money is the motivation for the lawsuit. Instead I feel that the plaintiff's want the defendants to suffer because they wouldn't talk to them.

The OJ civil case is totally different than this case. The Laundrie's are not the perpetrators and they are not trying to make any money off of this tragedy. JMO.

 

[NCWatcher]

IMHO that can only be proven with the discovery of evidence via court.
And if I’m wrong? Then the L’s will be proven to be completely exonerated in court and can only gain sympathy.

I also find it weird that the assumption is the Petito’s are going to court to “punish” the L’s or “get rich”.
They are attempting to get information on how their vibrant daughter died. If any money is “won” in court, it will likely go to advocate outreach for the Petito Foundation.

IMHO the Browns didn’t sue OJ to get rich. They wanted to prevent him from making a profit off the suffering of their daughter when he wrote IF I did it. It also brought attention to a much needed cause - domestic abuse.

Jmho

The L's having to go through all of this to be "exonerated" if they did nothing wrong in the first place doesn't seem fair or a good use of court resources to me. And I suspect even if that happened, there would still be people calling for their heads.

OJ was sued by the Browns and the Goldmans for wrongful death about 10 years before he wrote If I Did It. So I don't see how his book prompted that lawsuit. The families were also suing OJ, not his parents, not his siblings, not his lawyer, & not his friends for things they didn't do. They sued him for what he did do-- kill Ron and Nicole. And I'm pretty sure the criminal trial highlighted domestic abuse without the need for a civil trial to do that (assuming that was the point.) That criminal trial (the "trial of the century") spawned all kinds of weird talking head shows on cable-- so people were watching. It's hard to believe now how many did watch that trial. It was quite a national obsession for lots of reasons.

I don't know that the P's are doing this to get money for themselves, rather they want to take money away from the L's to make them "pay for" their actions but mostly to make them pay for the actions of their son. I suspect they blame the L's that BL "escaped justice" (in their eyes) although from what I've read, the L's told LE where he likely was in the swamp and that's exactly where his remains were found. Certainly LE seemed pretty convinced he was there as they used bulldozers to plow down areas of the reserve. No matter how many ex-agents opined he'd escaped, the search continued in the swamp.
JMO

 

[Nikynoo]

IMHO that can only be proven with the discovery of evidence via court.
And if I’m wrong? Then the L’s will be proven to be completely exonerated in court and can only gain sympathy.

I also find it weird that the assumption is the Petito’s are going to court to “punish” the L’s or “get rich”.
They are attempting to get information on how their vibrant daughter died. If any money is “won” in court, it will likely go to advocate outreach for the Petito Foundation.

IMHO the Browns didn’t sue OJ to get rich. They wanted to prevent him from making a profit off the suffering of their daughter when he wrote IF I did it. It also brought attention to a much needed cause - domestic abuse.

Jmho

is that not different though? The Browns sued who they thought was responsible for their daughters death, OJ, not his parents. The Laundries did not murder G, Brian did.

 

[Nikynoo]

I don't think the Petito's know for sure that Brian told his parents about the murder or where he left the body. I doubt there is any proof they were trying to get him out of the country, either.

SBM - that is my point, even if the L's did know about the murder and where the body was located or even if they were trying to get him out of the country, what good does this claim do?

IMO, the L's didn;t know - IMO if they did know, Brian would have been spirited away as soon as he returned. In fact, I would bet they would have told him not to come back but make for the border or the nearest airport so that he could fly out of the country.

As you can probably tell, this case isn't sitting well with me

 

[RANCH]

SBM - that is my point, even if the L's did know about the murder and where the body was located or even if they were trying to get him out of the country, what good does this claim do?

IMO, the L's didn;t know - IMO if they did know, Brian would have been spirited away as soon as he returned. In fact, I would bet they would have told him not to come back but make for the border or the nearest airport so that he could fly out of the country.

As you can probably tell, this case isn't sitting well with me

I'm surprised that the plaintiff's are claiming the defendants made arrangements for BL to leave the country when he didn't even leave the general area of his parents home. JMO. See #29 in the lawsuit.

https://nbc-2.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/PETITO-VS-LAUNDRIE.pdf

 

[NCWatcher]

SBM - that is my point, even if the L's did know about the murder and where the body was located or even if they were trying to get him out of the country, what good does this claim do?

IMO, the L's didn;t know - IMO if they did know, Brian would have been spirited away as soon as he returned. In fact, I would bet they would have told him not to come back but make for the border or the nearest airport so that he could fly out of the country.

As you can probably tell, this case isn't sitting well with me

BBM

I think the P's have to make the claim the L's knew BL killed GP and knew where her body was. If the L's knew nothing, IMO the P's would have no chance persuading anyone even remotely objective their conduct was outrageous including the conduct of "going on vacation" also known as going camping for 2 days 75 miles from home. (Not that I find that any of it was outrageous, at least not so far.) And if they didn't know GP was dead, the blurb from Steve B can't be read to be designed to give false hope she was really alive. (I didn't hear the blurb that way at the time and still don't.)

So I think that's why those claims exist. I do find it hard to believe they have strong evidence for those claims. (The P's attorney said the L's sent SB a retainer Sept 2 and that is circumstantial evidence they knew GP was dead. Not to me.) And if the evidence they do have is weak I think they hope that a jury will overlook that and think it was so awful IF the L's kept their knowledge of GP's death secret the L's would have to prove they didn't do that. In other words, in jurors' minds, the burden would shift simply because the claim was made. And, of course, proving a negative is impossible. I'm sure the jury will be instructed but as anyone who has ever served knows, juries can be very weird. I was on a murder jury once and when we started to deliberate the first thing one juror said was "Well, the police wouldn't have arrested him if he wasn't guilty."

I think the claim that the L's were trying to help BL escape is just icing on the "the L's are awful people, please punish them" cake. I agree if BL told them he "murdered GP" on the phone from WY on Aug 28 as the Complaint alleges, if the L's wanted to help him escape they would have said don't come back to FL. Or they would have called him back sometime before Sept 1 to say go somewhere else. Instead he came home and parked the van in the driveway.
JMO

 

[gliving]

I'm surprised that the plaintiff's are claiming the defendants made arrangements for BL to leave the country when he didn't even leave the general area of his parents home. JMO. See #29 in the lawsuit.

https://nbc-2.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/PETITO-VS-LAUNDRIE.pdf

Good point. Even if the Petito family can show that the Laundries (example only) bought Brian a one way plane ticket to Costa Rica, I still don't see how that shows they knew he killed Gabby. What if he told his folks he wanted a change of scenery after a bad breakup?

I feel terribly for the Petito family. Their grief knows no boundaries. It's understandable that they hope to find answers for this tragedy. I'm not sure a court proceeding will end in a conclusion for them. imo

 

[RANCH]

Good point. Even if the Petito family can show that the Laundries (example only) bought Brian a one way plane ticket to Costa Rica, I still don't see how that shows they knew he killed Gabby. What if he told his folks he wanted a change of scenery after a bad breakup?

I feel terribly for the Petito family. Their grief knows no boundaries. It's understandable that they hope to find answers for this tragedy. I'm not sure a court proceeding will end in a conclusion for them. imo

Yep. If the plaintiff's are correct that would mean that BL told his parents he killed Gabby and they made arrangements,like buying a plane ticket, for him to leave the country to escape prosecution.

If this is true why didn't BL fly away? I don't get this part of the complaint at all. JMO.

 

[Peppery]

I admit most of the legal stuff is way over my head. But have the L’s ever said they didn’t know anything? Like that she was dead, that Brian killed her and when/how/where? Or have they basically always maintained a no comment stance?

 

[MsBetsy]

I admit most of the legal stuff is way over my head. But have the L’s ever said they didn’t know anything? Like that she was dead, that Brian killed her and when/how/where? Or have they basically always maintained a no comment stance?

I don't remember them ever saying a word. Their lawyer spoke for them. They did spend half a day with the FBI after Brian went missing, but I don't think we know what, if anything, was said about the case. Imo