There is no question that the Laundrie parents were prioritizing the protection of their son above all else. I agree that is probably every parents' first response. Certainly, they were under no legal obligation to respond to Gabby's family ~ no matter how desperately they pleaded for help.
So, IMO, self preservation won over decency. Forget that part about trying to treat others as you hope they would treat you. Don't have to walk in anyone else's shoes. And, as for 'it takes a village' ~ No thanks you take care of the village; I'll take care of my own.
So yes, all actions (and lack of) on the Laundrie part were legal and justified because they were protecting their son.
And just look at how that turned out for them in the end. Mournfully sad.
My opinion tends to lean towards the Laundries at least in some way thought BL may have had something to do with the disappearance/murder of GP. I really feel like they would have offered up any information, no matter how small, if they truly believed he was innocent. At most, they didn't have anything to prove he wasn't involved or that definitely would have been offered up.
IMO, if there was anything at all to even hint that BL was not involved, say, they knew for a fact he had already left GT during the time frame everything happened, they would have said that. Yes, they were well within their right to hire an attorney for BL and themselves, but someone who fully believes they are innocent would have then went to speak to LE with their attorney to clear their name.
Once everything hit the fan, media was camped outside their door, protestors were in the street, one would think their priority would have been getting BL out of that POI status so that the focus would be shifted to finding the person actually responsible.
As stated before, SB has made it abundantly clear in every interview he's given that the Laundries cooperated with LE with regards to locating BL. I mentioned this earlier in the week, but my comment was deleted for lacking a source and I didn't have time to go find it at that point. I've found it now, SB told GMA that he thought everybody knew that he and/or the Laundries had some information to share but there wasn't much they could say at that point in time. It's around 3:25, if my link doesn't actually work right - and it rarely ever does.
So now it is undisputed that they have information. We just have to wait for the information to be released, if it ever is.
Edit: Of course it doesn't automatically start there. I'll get it right one day..