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Brian Laundrie‘s father Chris was spotted outside of his North Port, Florida, home on Saturday morning hammering a ‘no trespassing’ sign into the grass of his front lawn two days after police confirmed his son was dead.
Chris buzzed around his property at the start of the weekend as he emerged from his house to plant two small ‘no trespassing’ signs in his lawn. He even set one down into the ground just above where the memorial for Gabby Petito had been expanding.
The 62-year-old father was also seen accepting a flower delivery. A man dressed in a black-collared shirt donning the logo of North Port-based Port Charlotte Florist pulled up in a white van and carried a bouquet of white roses to the Laundries’ front door.
He said that the delivery was ‘for Chris,’ who briefly popped out to receive the sympathy bouquet. At least a dozen more floral arrangements could be seen lining the front of the house.
It was not known if the four floral presentations that arrived were from friends or just well-wishers.
Chris, wearing green cargo shorts and a black t-shirt, was also pictured holding a screw driver as he headed to the garbage can on the side of the house and knelt down to pick up another package.
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Brian Laundrie’s father Chris, 62, was spotted outside of his North Port, Florida, home on Saturday morning hammering a ‘no trespassing’ sign into the grass of his front lawn
He placed near his mailbox and another just above a growing memorial of Gabby Petito at the bottom of their front lawn
Chris obscured his face with a green baseball cap and wore matching cargo shorts, a black t-shirt and black snearkers
A man dressed in a black-collared shirt donning the logo of North Port-based Port Charlotte Florist pulled up in a white van and carried a bouquet of white roses to the Laundries’ front door
The delivery man said the flowers were ‘for Chris’ as he walked up the driveway
Chris briefly popped out to receive the sympathy bouquet and at least a dozen more floral arrangements could be seen lining the front of the house
He and his wife Roberta, 55, then worked in tandem to fetch the mail. They both obscured their faces with baseball caps as Chris walked down the driveway to get the mail from the mailbox and Roberta picked something up that was left at the screened patio door.
She was barefoot wearing blue pants and a white tank top as she held a brown paper bag and what appeared to be a laminated photo of Petito.
Roberta and her husband then retreated back into the home together, where they stayed for the rest of the morning.
In the early afternoon Chris was seen stepping outside of his house again to retrieve a case of bottled water from his pickup truck.
On his way back to the front door he noticed a fresh bouquet of flowers laying on top of the wilted ones lining the walkway to the front door.
He picked up the bouquet of white flowers and decided to carry it inside along with the water.
The grieving father was also pictured holding a screwdriver as he picked up a package
He also headed to the garbage can on the side of the house, presumably to throw out junk mail
Roberta, 55, then emerged from the house barefoot and wearing blue pants, a white tank top and a baby pink baseball cap
When asked if they think their son committed suicide after going on the run more than a month ago, family lawyer Steve Bertolino said Chris and Roberta ‘just don’t know’
She she held a brown paper bag and what appeared to be a laminated photo of Petito
Chris walked down the driveway and fetched the mail from the mailbox
It was the second day the Laundries were seen outside of their home after the FBI confirmed their son’s death
On Wednesday human remains were found at Myakkahatchee Creek Park in the Carlton Reserve and a day later the FBI, using dental records, confirmed they belonged to 23-year-old Brian Laundrie.
During their search federal agents also found a notebook and backpack believed to belong to the fugitive. They said the area where they were found had been underwater during previous searches.
The discovery of the remains concluded a massive search involving federal, state and local law enforcement that began shortly after Laundrie disappeared September 14 – two weeks after he returned home to his parents’ house alone.
But the FBI has yet to announce the cause of death. On Friday the autopsy results came back inconclusive and Florida authorities said the remains were sent to anthropologist to try and determine how Laundrie died.
It had been expected that pinpointing his cause of death would be complicated because the body had reportedly been submerged in water for some time. It was not immediately clear how long the remains, which included part of a skull, were in the water.
In the early afternoon Chris was seen stepping outside of his house again to retrieve a case of bottled water from his pickup truck
On his way back to the front door he noticed a fresh bouquet of flowers laying on top of the wilted ones lining the walkway to the front door
He picked up the fresh bouquet of white flowers and decided to carry it back inside along with the water
When ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked Chris and Roberta if they think Laundrie committed suicide after going on the run more than a month ago, family lawyer Steve Bertolino said they have discussed it ‘but they just don’t know’.
He added: ‘Of course, knowing his mental state when he walked out the door, it was always a concern but let’s wait for the medical examiner. If they can come up with some other explanation for the cause of death, we’re going to accept that. If not, I guess we’re going to have to accept that Brian did kill himself.’
Bertolino declined to comment on what, if anything, Laundrie had told his parents about Petito’s disappearance before his own vanishing. He was the sole ‘person of interest’ in his fiancee’s homicide.
‘I think everybody out there knows that whether the family or myself have some information to share but there’s not much we can say at this point in time, and I’m gonna leave it at “no comment,”‘ he said.
Bertolino also noted that he and the Laundries ‘have absolutely nothing to say’ to the FBI in respect to the Petito case.
Chris and Roberta worked in tandem to fetch the mail. They both obscured their faces with baseball caps
After Roberta was pictured holding a photo of her son’s late fiancee she and her husband retreated back into the home together
Bertolino also noted that he and the Laundries ‘have absolutely nothing to say’ to the FBI in respect to the Petito case
Petito’s body was found September 19 at edge of Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park, which the couple had visited while on a cross-country road trip.
The couple was documenting their travels on social media leading up to Petito’s disappearance but their loved-up Instagram persona was a far cry from the combative relationship that was playing out behind the scenes.
Just a few weeks before she went missing police in Moab, Utah, were called to the pair’s van after fellow travelers saw Laundrie hit Petito. They were separated for the night and Petito was deemed to be the aggressor.
August 26 was the last time anyone saw or heard from the 22-year-old girl and Petito’s family reported her missing September 11, launching a subsequent search that garnered worldwide media attention and, in Laundrie’s case, focused largely on the 24,565-acre Carlton Reserve wilderness park near the Laundrie home.
Petito’s family attorney Richard Stafford said his clients would have no immediate reaction to the identification of Laundrie’s remains.
‘They are grieving the loss of their beautiful daughter,’ he wrote in an email. ‘Gabby’s family will make a statement at the appropriate time and when they are emotionally ready.’
Just yesterday was the first time Chris and Roberta Laundrie were spotted after the confirmation of their son’s death.
The remains were found north of the entrance to Myakkahatchee Creek, in the Big Slough Preserve, off an unpaved trail near a bridge where Brian’s parents said he liked to visit. It is four miles north of their home in North Port, Florida
North Port police officers were seen on Thursday afternoon arriving at the Laundrie house to tell Brian Laundrie’s parents, Chris and Roberta, that the human remains found the day before did belong to their son
Yesterday the Laundries received a slew of sympathy bouquets with notes consoling the couple for the loss of their son
They accepted a grocery delivery from Publix Supermarket and more sympathy flowers just before 1pm Friday.
The delivery person carried a few plastic bags up to the screened patio door where she was met by a masked Chris – once again hiding his face with a baseball cap – who cracked the door open to receive the items that included milk, eggs, dish detergent and a frozen dinner meal.
Cards on the bouquets consoled the couple for the loss of their son.
One read: ‘My deepest condolences on your loss of Brian. I hope this will bring you peace and the trust comes out on what happened to both Gabby and Brian. My heart goes out to you.’ The sender called themselves Savana bioty.’
While another read: ‘Don’t forget people care! Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.’ The senders gave their names as Dirreck and Alicia.
Meanwhile, the memorial of Petito in the Laundries’ front lawn has been expanding since their son became a fugitive last month.
As of Friday there were oversized pictures of Gabby, letters written to her and crosses covered in sunflowers. There was also a cartoon-style drawing of Chris and Roberta behind a laundry basket that read: ‘The dirty Laundries.’
A sign that read ‘I love a road trip’ was also placed under Petito’s photo and one placed above that read: ‘Remember me?’
The memorial of Petito in the Laundries’ front lawn has been expanding since their son became a fugitive last month. As of Friday there were oversized pictures of Gabby, letters written to her and crosses covered in sunflowers
There was also a cartoon-style drawing of Chris and Roberta behind a laundry basket that read: ‘The dirty Laundries’
Source: dailymail
