Fugitive Brian Laundrie’s parents broke cover for a nearly five-hour shopping trip, dodging questions about their son’s whereabouts as they shipped a mysterious package labeled ‘meal kit’.
Christopher, 62, and Roberta, 55, remained silent when asked if they are in contact with Brian, the missing fiancé of murdered van-life girl Gabby Petito, 22.
The couple emerged from their home in North Port, Florida, at 7.45am Tuesday and climbed into their red Dodge Ram truck for the trip.
After making a few stops, DailyMail.com spotted them at a FedEx store where Christopher went inside carrying a parcel with the intriguing words ‘meal kit’ stamped on one end.
The addressee could not be seen.
They refused to answer DailyMail.com’s questions when asked ‘is he in the park, did you help him get there?’ in reference to the massive swampland search for survivalist Brian, 23, that started nearly five weeks ago at the alligator-infested Carlton Reserve near their home.
DailyMail.com spotted Brian Laundrie’s parents on a five-hour shopping trip Tuesday morning
Christopher was seen stopping at a FedEx store and carrying a parcel with the words ‘meal kit’ stamped on it
After making a few stops, DailyMail.com spotted them stop at a FedEx store where Christopher went inside carrying a parcel with the intriguing words ‘meal kit’ stamped on one end
Christopher, 62, and Roberta, 55, remained silent when asked if they are in contact with Brian, the missing fiancé of murdered van-life girl Gabby Petito, 22
They also refused to answer DailyMail.com’s inquiries of ‘is he in the park, did you help him get there?’ in reference to the massive swampland search for survivalist Brian, 23, that started nearly five weeks ago at the alligator-infested Carlton Reserve near North Port
First on their five-hour shopping trip the couple headed to their local Walmart superstore, coming out an hour later with cart full of cases of water and bagged up items. As they put their groceries in the truck, they ignored media questions of: ‘Is your son still alive, are you in contact with him?’
About a week after Petito was reported missing, Laundrie also disappeared. Police aren’t sure whether the 23-year-old – the only person of interest in the case – is dead or in hiding
The pair then made for an AT&T phone store, but it was shut. So they headed to a nearby Bank of America and stood patiently outside until it opened at 9am. Both were very casually dressed, with Christopher in shorts, t shirt and sandals, while Roberta was in blue jeans, sneakers and a floral top.
They were second in line as the doors opened and stayed 35 minutes before hitting the road again and stopping at a FedEx store.
Next they headed north on Interstate 75 to Sarasota where they stopped at another AT&T store. Both went in, with Roberta wearing a mask, and they stayed half an hour.
There has been a lot of speculation about the Laundries and Brian over phones. One is an unsubstantiated claim that Roberta bought him a burner phone before he vanished on September 13, saying he was heading to the Carlton Reserve.
They have told police they did buy a phone on September 4, and that Brian had the contract for it. This was three days after their son mysteriously arrived home in North Port without Gabby, 22, following their cross-country van-life trip to Wyoming and Utah.
The Laundries emerged from the phone store, but it was not possible to see if they had bought anything. They did not have an AT&T bag with them, although Roberta was carrying a large purse.
From there, they meandered back in the direction of their home along US Route 41, stopping at more grocery stores along the way before arriving home at 1.30pm and carting their items inside.
The couple were seen heading to a nearby Bank of America and stood patiently outside until it opened at 9am
Both were very casually dressed, with Christopher in shorts, t shirt and sandals, while Roberta was in blue jeans, sneakers and a floral top
They headed north on Interstate 75 to Sarasota where they stopped at another AT&T store. Both went in, with Roberta wearing a mask, and they stayed half an hour
The couple went back in the direction of their home along US Route 41, stopping at more grocery stores along the way before arriving home at 1.30pm and carting their items inside
There has been a lot of speculation about the Laundries and Brian over phones. One is an unsubstantiated claim that Roberta bought him a burner phone before he vanished on September 13, saying he was heading to the Carlton Reserve
The couple have told police they did buy a phone on September 4, and that Brian had the contract for it. This was three days after their son mysteriously arrived home in North Port without Gabby, 22, following their cross-country van-life trip to Wyoming and Utah
And earlier Wednesday morning Christopher appeared to snap for the first time when confronted by a protestor outside his home.
Andra Griffin – who has previously berated them with a bullhorn – shouted ‘so we’re torturing you’ after the Laundries were on the driveway after arriving back from another short trip out. This was after the Laundries’ lawyer Steve Bertolino said: ‘They are being tortured in their own home by these protesters outside.’
Christopher appeared rattled and snapped back: ‘Who said that, who said that, who said that?’ Meanwhile Roberta was at the front door of their home, beckoning him to come inside.
The five-hour excursion came after the Laundries have been merging slightly more often in the face of public condemnation of their silence over their son, still only named as a person of interest in the case of strangled Gabby. Her body was found on September 19 at the Spread Creek camping center in Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming.
They have been seen in the dead of night removing symbolic laundry baskets from their lawn placed by protestors demanding ‘justice for Gabby’.
Protester Griffin is suing the couple for $40 for ripping down a sign she had erected, claiming it is damaged. It said ‘what if it was Cassie’, referring to the Laundries’ married daughter who lives about 30 miles away.
Cassie dramatically spoke out earlier this month when she said she didn’t know if Brian had killed Gabby – and didn’t know if her parents were involved. This was after being confronted by protesters outside her own home.
The FBI-led hunt for Laundrie at the menacing Carlton Reserve appears to have been scaled down this week, after a new flurry of activity in which law enforcement in tactical gear and rifles return there.
Earlier Wednesday morning Christopher appeared to snap for the first time when confronted by a protestor outside his home
Andra Griffin – who has previously berated them with a bullhorn – shouted ‘so we’re torturing you’ after the Laundries were on the driveway after arriving back from another short trip out. This was after the Laundries’ lawyer Steve Bertolino said: ‘They are being tortured in their own home by these protesters outside’
Christopher appeared rattled and snapped back: ‘Who said that, who said that, who said that?’ Meanwhile Roberta was at the front door of their home, beckoning him to come inside
Protester Griffin is suing the couple for $40 for ripping down a sign she had erected, claiming it is damaged. It said ‘what if it was Cassie’, referring to the Laundries’ married daughter who lives about 30 miles away
Gabby’s grief-stricken mother this week said she wants ‘coward’ Laundrie to spend the rest of his life ‘in a cell’, shortly after she returned from collecting her daughter’s ashes from Wyoming.
Nichole Schmidt, who reported Gabby missing on September 11 after losing contact with her, said she thought her daughter would be safe with Laundrie on their trip in her 2012 white Ford Transit van. Now she sees him as a cold-blooded killer who is being protested by his parents, who refuse to talk to her.
‘Silence speaks volumes,’ she told 60 Minutes Australia. ‘I believe they know most of the information. I would love to just face to face ask, ‘Why are you doing this? Just tell me the truth.’
‘He’s a coward. I don’t want to say he’s insane because he went home, he’s hiding, he used her credit card. That’s not somebody who’s gone crazy.
‘He knows what he is doing, he knew what he was doing. I just want to get him in a cell for the rest of his life.’
Her husband Jim added: ‘We want vengeance. And justice.’
An autopsy revealed last week that Gabby had been strangled. Her mother said she hopes she did not suffer or feel ‘any pain’.
‘I hope she didn’t suffer and that she wasn’t in any pain. That she was in a place she wanted to be, looking at the beautiful mountains,’ she said. ‘This was evil. She was taken at somebody else’s hand. It’s not fair.’
Nichole Schmidt, Gabby Petito’s mother, with her husband Jim in an interview on 60 Minutes Australia that aired on Sunday
Police first turned up at the Laundrie home hours after Gabby’s mom reported her missing to her local police on Long Island, New York, on Saturday, September 11
Various people claim to have spotted Laundrie, who has a federal arrest warrant out for him for using Gabby’s debit card, at various locations in Florida and in the Appalachian Mountains. None has been verified.
Police first turned up at the Laundrie home hours after Gabby’s mom reported her missing to her local police on Long Island, New York, on Saturday, September 11.
Brian’s parents refused to let them speak with their son and said officers should speak to their lawyer. North Port police have confirmed to Dailymail.com that their officers did not actually see Laundrie at the home that evening.
Shortly afterwards, Gabby’s van was removed by police for forensic examination. Laundrie’s silver convertible Ford Mustang was also removed for examination 10 later in an FBI raid on the Laundrie home. It is now back on their driveway.
The Laundries’ originally told police their son vanished from their home on September 14, heading to the Carlton Reserve. But they did not mention that until September 16 – and then weeks later changed their story to say he went a day earlier, on the 13th.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk