Gabby Petito’s parents will come face to face with Brian Laundrie’s at civil jury trial in Florida
The trial is scheduled to begin next year, but the Laundrie family attorney has moved to have the case dismissed
The families of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie will meet for the first time since the woman's murder at a jury trial next year.
Ms Petito was killed by her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, while the young couple was on a van trip in the US west. According to the FBI, Laundrie strangled Ms Petito in the Bridger-Teton National Forest between Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
Laundrie returned home from his trip without Ms Petito and later disappeared, kicking off a nationwide search for the woman and - after her remains were discovered in the forest - a nationwide manhunt for him.
His remains were eventually found inside a nature preserve near his home. In the weeks leading up to the discovery his parents - who refused to speak to the media - bore the brunt of the public's fury, as near daily protests occurred outside their Florida home.
According to Florida broadcaster WFLA, a jury trial has been set for the week of 14 August, 2023.
The Petito family is suing the Laundries, alleging they obstructed the search for their daughter. They also alleged that the Laundries knew their son had killed their daughter, and that they knowingly caused "mental suffering and anguish" by not informing them that their daughter had been killed. The civil suit does not seek a specific dollar amount, but noted it would exceed $30,000.
The attorney representing the Laundrie family, Steven Bertolino, has already filed a motion to have the lawsuit dismissed.
Judge Hunter Carroll told the Petito family's lawyers that they had 20 days to file an amended complaint due to a "perceived procedural deficiency" in the lawsuit. Once the amendment is made the judge will rule if the case will go to trial.
The drama of the woman's disappearance and the subsequent manhunt for Laundrie dominated headlines for almost three months in the fall of 2021. Media organisations camped outside the Laundrie family's home daily, often setting up camps on the rented lawns of neighboring houses in the area.
Numerous false sightings of Laundrie around the country - and even in other countries - fueled the news cycle and attracted attention-seekers including psychics, social media opportunists, and, most notably, Dog the Bounty Hunter.
Ms Petito's disappearance kicked off calls for more robust media coverage of other missing persons cases, including the hundreds of disappearances of Native American women that remain unsolved.