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The attention is shifting to Brian Laundrie’s parents’ actions following Gabby Petito’s homicide and their son’s subsequent disappearance. The news came after human remains were found alongside Laundrie’s backpack and notebook in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park. Chris and Roberta Laundrie left their North Port home on Wednesday to search in Myakkahatchee, which sits alongside the T. Mabry Carlton Jr. Memorial Reserve. Some articles belonging to Brian were found during their presence. The special agent in charge of the FBI’s Tampa division, Michael McPherson also confirmed that human remains were found in an area that had been underwater until recently. The Laundries reported Brian missing on 17^th September, telling authorities that he had left their home on 14^th September for the Carlton Reserve. The family’s attorney, Steven Bertolino later clarified that Brian had actually left the home on 13^th September.

Brian’s parents Chris and Roberta Laundrie hunkered down in their North Port home for weeks while law enforcement searched the 24,000-acre nature reserve near their house. A former federal prosecutor, Naema Rahmani said there are 3 potential crimes in a situation like this: making false statements, obstruction of justice, or accessory after the fact. She said, “Their initial actions weren’t consistent with folks who were concerned about the well-being of their future daughter-in-law, they didn’t contact law enforcement right away, they lawyered up, they potentially gave their son a week-long head start. If what is reported is true, if Brian Laundrie’s dad, in particular, led agents to where his body was found, I don’t expect any type of prosecution to happen”. Rahmani said the Laundries’ recent cooperation with the search likely wiped out any potential criminal exposure they might have had.

The family of Gabby Petito has criticized the Laundries for their silence and urged them to speak up. Gabby’s father, Joe Petito said, “It’s torturous. If they do know something and they’re withholding that, and they don’t want to let us know, then yeah, that’s cruel. And if you don’t know, and you’re still not saying something, it’s still cruel”. The Laundries’ lawyer, Bertolino defended Chris and Roberta and said, “We were always cooperating with law enforcement with respect to locating Brian”. A former assistant state attorney in Miami, Alfredo Garcia said the legal hurdle was high even before the Laundries started cooperating with the search. Garcia said, “The state would have to prove, pursuant to the accessory after the fact statute, that they knew about his crime and they intended to make sure or shield him from criminal liability, which I think is going to be very difficult to establish beyond a reasonable doubt”.