Gabby Petito’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, said she has forgiven Brian Laundrie — her daughter’s fiancé and suspected killer — but confessed that she will never be able to forgive his “evil” mom.
“I speak for myself here when I say Brian, I forgive you,” said Schmidt, who also acknowledged that the gesture “may shock most people.”
“I needed to release myself from the chains of anger and bitterness,” she continued. “I refuse to let your despicable act define the rest of my life.”
Schmidt made the declaration on Friday during an appearance at CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville, where she spoke about her late daughter, People reported.
On July 2, 2021, 22-year-old Petito left her native Long Island for a cross-country road trip with Laundrie. Her family grew concerned, however, when her fiancé returned to his parents’ home in North Port, Fla., without her.
Ted Shaffrey/AP Photo
A tearful Nichole Schmidt, the mother of Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito, is comforted by her husband Jim Schmidt during a news conference on Tuesday, September 28, 2021, in Bohemia, New York.
Petito was reported missing and her disappearance sparked a massive search effort that culminated in the discovery of her body at a campground near Grand Teton National Park in northwestern Wyoming.
Laundrie meanwhile reunited with his parents upon arriving home, and they quickly left together for a camping trip on the beach at Fort De Soto Park, south of St. Petersburg.
But Brian did not return from the trip and he was later discovered dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He confessed to killing Petito in personal journals found near his body.
Petito’s parents have contended Laundrie’s parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, helped conceal their daughter’s murder and were arranging for their son to leave the country when he disappeared.
Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito
AP This police camera video provided by The Moab Police Department shows Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito talking to a police officer near the entrance to Arches National Park on Aug. 12, 2021.
“As for you, Roberta — and I call you out individually because you are evidently the mastermind that shattered your family and mind 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,” Schmidt said at the conference.
“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,” she continued. “You do not deserve forgiveness. You deserve to be forgotten and dehumanized. You epitomize pure evil.”
