Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Crime, Gabby Petito, US News, Netflix
Brenna Cooper
Brian Laundrie's parents have spoken out following the release of Netflix docuseries American Murder: Gabby Petito.
The devastating killing of 22-year-old Gabby Petito at the hands of her fiancé Brian Laundrie is currently back in the headlines thanks to the release of Netflix's new series which promises to delve into the details behind her final days.
In August 2021, US vlogger Petito and Laundrie were stopped by police in Moab, Utah following reports of a domestic disturbance. The pair were separated by police for one night.
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Two weeks on from the altercation and Petito would be declared missing, while Laundrie quietly returned home to his parents' house in Florida, with the last sighting of the pair together being in the state of Wyoming.
Her body would later be recovered near local camping spot, with her death confirmed to be strangulation and blunt force trauma.
A month later, Laundrie's remains were recovered alongside a confession note stating that he'd killed Petito. His cause of death was determined to be suicide.
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Following the release of American Murder on Netflix, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie have now issued a statement via their attorney Steven Bertolino, claiming the three-part series is inaccurate.
"The documentary was what we expected," Bertolino's statement read. "One perspective depicted as the 'truth' as seen through their lens. Similar to Republicans and Democrats fighting it out lately. Each side believes their perspective is correct. Hard to see through the lens of the other with all the noise and distrust.
"The documentary contained many inaccuracies, incorrect juxtapositions of timelines, and misstatements and omissions of fact — perhaps deliberate to capture their ‘truth’, perhaps due to simple error.
"We all know Brian took Gabby’s life and Brian then took his own as well. Let the parents of both Gabby and Brian mourn and remember them in peace."
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Director Julia Willoughby Nason, who was part of the team who worked on the series previously told TODAY that Laundrie's parents had been approached about to documentary but declined to be involved.
"They didn't want to participate, and we respect that. This is a very difficult story," she said of their decision.
Meanwhile Petito's family have since spoken out about the documentary - which tracks the story of the 22-year-old's disappearance through interviews, video footage and text messages - revealing they struggled with the use AI to recreate her voice in the documentary. It's understood that Petito's parents had consented to the use of AI to recreate her voice.
"I think it's weird and because we know her actual voice, [it] is a little off. It's just hard to hear," Nichole Schmidt told the Independent of the decision.