The family of 22-year-old Gabby Petito is suing the family of Petito’s fiancé, Brian Laundrie, accusing them of knowingly withholding information about their daughter's murder.

Gabby Petito made national headlines last summer after she and her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, disappeared while on a cross-country road trip. The couple documented their travels on Instagram and Youtube, garnering a modest following by “van life” enthusiasts.

The couple departed on their cross-country adventure on July 2, 2021. In early August, Petito’s family began to worry after they were no longer able to make contact with their daughter or her fiancé. In late August Petito’s mother, Nicole Schmidt, began to question her daughter's inconsistent and suspicious text communications. Schmidt’s worry began to grow after she and her ex-husband Joseph Petito claim that communication between them and Laundrie’s parents Christopher and Roberta became inconsistent and evasive as well. Schmidt and Petito detail that Laundire’s parents eventually stopped responding to calls and texts about their daughter's whereabouts.

The case took a drastic turn when Brian Laundrie unexpectedly showed up at his parent’s Florida home on September 1 without his fiancée. Laundrie arrived in the van he and Petito drove out in, but he offered no public explanation about his fiancée's whereabouts. As the spotlight grew on the Laundrie family, Brian Laundrie unexpectedly disappeared.

It wasn't until September 19 that Petito’s body was discovered in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. At this point, Petito's fiancé had also gone missing from his family's home and was later found dead in a Florida wildlife preserve near his parent’s home. Authorities were able to confirm that Laundrie had committed suicide.

The civil lawsuit against the Laundrie family is the latest chapter in what has been a heartbreaking story that gripped the nation. In their lawsuit, the Petito family allege that the parents of Brian Laundrie knew that their son murdered his fiancée.

Additionally, the Petito family alleged that the Laundries tried to help their son evade the police and even planned to help their son escape the country. “While Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt were desperately searching for information concerning their daughter, Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie were keeping the whereabouts of Brian Laundrie secret, and it is believed were making arrangements for him to leave the country.” The lawsuit details.

The lawsuit also sheds more light on the details of their daughter's death. When Petito’s body was discovered, an autopsy concluded that she died because of manual strangulation. In addition to these injuries, the civil lawsuit alleges that Petito suffered from blunt force injuries to her neck and head as well.

The lawsuit goes into detail about the events that unfolded prior to their daughter's disappearance and in the moments leading up to the missing persons report the family filed.

Gabby Petito’s parents accuse the Laundries of trying to cover up the actions of their son. The plaintiffs explain in their complaint, “Christopher and Roberta Laundrie exhibited extreme and outrageous conduct which constitutes behavior, under the circumstances, which goes beyond all possible bounds of decency and is regarded as shocking, atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community.”

Petito’s mother also lays blame on Roberta Laundrie, accusing her of allegedly blocking early phone calls and messages Schmidt made in an effort to find her daughter.

Petito’s parents are seeking damages of at least $100,000. They detailed that they suffered pain and mental anguish due to the “willfulness and maliciousness” of Brian Laundrie’s parents.