First appeared on FOX: When Florida police visited the home of Brian Landry's fiancée, Gabby Petito, in 2021 after she disappeared halfway across the country, her parents dodged officers' questions before they eventually left in her van — and newly released body camera footage shows they left with more questions than answers.
“I haven't spoken to anybody,” Landry's father, Christopher Landry, told a Northport police officer as he answered the door wearing a sleeveless shirt with his wife, Roberta, looking over his shoulder.
“You don't want to talk to us?” the officer, who was on the phone with New York detectives who were searching for Pettit, asked.
Gabby Pettit's parents settle Florida lawsuit with Landry family and attorney Steve Bertolino
VIDEO: Florida police body camera shows Brian Landry's parents the day Gabby Pettit was reported missing
“No,” Christopher Landry replied, shaking his head.
The officer explained he was on the phone with a detective and asked when the parents last saw their son or Pettit.
“Well, Brian's here, that's it,” his father replied, “and we've got lawyers… that's all I've got to say.”
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He agreed to give police his lawyer's phone number.
Northport police recorded the encounter on Sept. 11, 2021, the same day Pettit's mother, Nicole Schmidt, reported Pettit missing from her hometown in New York. The video was just made public through a public records request.
“This nightmare will never end,” Schmidt told Fox News Digital on Wednesday, exactly three years after her daughter's body was discovered at a campground north of Jackson, Wyoming. Pettit was last seen alive on Aug. 28, 2021, at a grocery store in Jackson.
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Christopher and Roberta Landry answered their front door after police knocked on it searching for missing Gabby Pettit on Sept. 11, 2021. According to the FBI, her son had killed her at a campground north of Jackson, Wyoming, two weeks earlier, then left her to return to his home in North Port, Florida. (Northport Police Department)
Authorities said Landry beat and strangled Pettit, left her body in Bridger-Teton National Forest and used Pettit's van and debit card to drive to her parents' home in Northport.
“Is this her car, her van?” the officer asked Landry's parents, pointing to a white Ford parked in their driveway.
“That's both of them,” Christopher Landry replied.
Gabby Pettit's white Ford van was parked in the driveway of the Landry family's home in North Port, Florida, on September 11, 2021, the day she was reported missing and weeks after she was last seen alive in Wyoming. Her fiancé, Brian Landry, later committed suicide, and the FBI identified him as the only suspect in her death. (Northport Police Department)
The officers returned to their patrol car and spoke with a Suffolk County detective on speakerphone to discuss what to do next. The detective said Pettit had not been in contact with his parents since August 27.
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Gabby Pettit was reported missing in September 2021, about two weeks after her ex-fiance, Brian Landry, apparently killed her and dumped her body at a Wyoming campsite. (@petitojoseph/Instagram)
“His sister told me a different story, that he left her there and flew home, but I see the van parked in the driveway and they won't tell me where she is,” she said. She said the car was registered in Pettit's name and the family believes it belongs to her.
By that time, Pettit's cell phone had been off for 10 days.
Brian Landry is seen in body camera footage released by the Moab Police Department in Utah. (Moab Police Department)
“We don't know if the van is a crime scene,” the detective said.
A Northport police sergeant then approached the door and tried to get Landry to help reassure Pettit's parents that she was OK. The parents refused, saying that their son would not speak to investigators either. The sergeant told the parents that the van was registered only to her and that they should not leave it there and that police would tow it.
“If you say I have to, then I have to,” his father replied. “I'm not going to talk to you anymore.”
Northport police ultimately decided to tow Pettit's van out of Landry's driveway to examine it for evidence. (Northport Police Department)
The family's attorney, Steve Bertolino, previously told Fox News Digital that he had advised the family to exercise their right to remain silent as the investigation progresses.
Brian Landry himself refused to talk to police and eventually sneaked away and shot himself in Myackahatchee Creek Ecological Park, about 10 minutes away. His body was not found for several weeks, until floodwaters receded.
Gabby Pettit's mom and stepmother send subtle messages to Roberta Landry
Fox News Digital was at the scene where the parents found a dry bag at the scene and turned it in to police.
The FBI eventually revealed that the items included handwritten confessions and personal belongings from Landry and Payte.
Northport detectives informed Chris and Roberta Landry that human remains had been discovered on Oct. 20, 2021, during a search for their son at Myackahatchee Creek Environmental Park. (Michael Lewis/Fox News Digital)
“I took her life,” the note, recovered on Oct. 20, 2021, reads. “I thought it was her wish and the compassionate thing to do, but now I realize all the mistakes I made. I was in a state of panic and shock.”
He claimed he committed the crime after she fell and injured herself.
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In the wake of her murder, Pettit's parents founded a nonprofit in her honor to support families of other missing people and work against domestic violence.
Gabby Pettit's parents, Joseph Pettit, left, and Nicole Schmidt, center, with attorney Patrick Riley, right, listen to arguments by attorneys for Brian Landry's parents in a Sarasota County, Florida, courtroom on Wednesday, June 22, 2022. The parties ultimately settled out of court. (Mike Lang/USA Today Network)
They have lobbied for federal laws, some of which have become law with bipartisan support, and states like Florida, Utah and New York have also passed lethality assessment laws aimed at giving police the grounds and authority to separate victims from their assailants.
Foundation Last year, he donated $100,000 to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
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If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233 (SAFE).
