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As the manhunt for Florida fugitive Brian Laundrie enters its third week, questions mount about how he escaped authorities for so long and whether his parents were able to give him a head start.
Parents Chris and Roberta Laundrie were not charged with any wrongdoing, but critics began to scrutinize their actions in the weeks following the disappearance of their former future daughter-in-law, Gabby Petito, who was found dead in Wyoming at a campsite where she shared with their son. They didn’t say anything about her missing and took a Labor Day camping trip.
“If they provided false information to law enforcement that allowed Brian Laundrie to take off and be a week early, or if the parents sent law enforcement on a hunt. ‘wild goose, searching the reserve when he was not there, there is certainly a basis to accuse them, ”said Neama Rahmani, a former justice prodigy and federal prosecutor.
Brian Laundrie’s father leaving his house
(Fox News)
The Laundrie family have remained almost entirely silent since Petito’s disappearance even though they lived with them.
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Their son returned home from a trip west – in his van but without her – on September 1. The family said nothing for 10 days, and Petito’s mother reported his disappearance on September 11 after repeated unsuccessful attempts to contact the 23-year-old native of Long Island.
An FBI-led search team found her remains near Grand Teton National Park eight days later at a campsite where she stayed in the van with Laundrie in late August.
So far, Laundrie has been described as a person of interest in the Petito case, but charged only with debit card fraud for allegedly using someone else’s bank card without authorization and withdrawing more than $ 1,000.
“Since he got engaged immediately, I doubt they made any statements,” said Pat Diaz, a former Miami-Dade homicide detective with decades of experience. “So it will be difficult to prove [wrongdoing] unless they get real proof about the parents, which I don’t think they will have. “
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It is not known if the laundries said anything to investigators. If they remained as low-key behind closed doors as they have been publicly, it would be difficult to show that they lied to authorities, Diaz added. But the FBI may have discovered physical or digital evidence that is not yet publicly available.
Lara Yeretsian, another senior West Coast defense attorney, said potential charges against the parents depended on what, if any, they told the FBI when investigators entered their home in the month. last, and whether they have misled or misguided the authorities.
“We don’t have enough information,” she said. “This is all guesswork, honestly.”
But if charges are brought against the parents, she said, they could be linked to obstruction of justice or after-the-fact complicity.
Laundrie’s lawyer argued that Laundrie is missing and the parents have no idea where their son is. Their daughter either. Counsel for Petito’s parents alleged Brian Laundrie was in hiding.
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Rahmani said he expects federal investigators to have already started subpoenaing phone records and other evidence as part of their investigation and that more serious charges against Laundrie are likely.
He also said the behavior of the Laundrie family so far has been suspect.
“People who worry about their future daughter-in-law, that’s not the way they act,” he said. “They don’t call a lawyer before reporting his disappearance to law enforcement, do they? They are helping an investigation. They don’t go camping when they’re looking for someone. have done is inconsistent with anyone who is concerned with locating their missing children. “
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