Brian Laundrie update More serious charges against Gabby Petitos boyfriend extremely likely if found

Hiker claims he talked to Brian Laundrie

More serious criminal charges against Gabby Petito’s missing boyfriend Brian Laundrie are “extremely likely” if he’s found alive, the state attorney for Palm Beach County in Florida has claimed.

David Aronberg defended his office for not filing charges against Mr Laundrie, saying “prosecutors have a higher burden to prove cases beyond any reasonable doubt”.

Asked by News Nation Now why Mr Laundrie hadn’t been charged with a more serious crime at this point in the death of his 22-year-old travel blogger girlfriend, which has been ruled a homicide, Mr Aronberg added: “I think that’s coming.”

Hiker Dennis Davis, an engineer from Florida, said he believed he had spoken with Mr Laundrie on a road near the Appalachian Trail in North Carolina â€" close to the border with Tennessee.

“There is no doubt in my mind I spoke to Brian Laundrie â€" none whatsoever,” he told the New York Post.

Mr Laundrie, whom police had sought in connection with Ms Petito’s death during their cross-country road trip, was charged last week with fraudulently using her bank debit card.

The couple embarked on their trip in June in her van, posting videos along the way on social media.

A search warrant was issued for Mr Laundrie, 23, after a grand jury in Wyoming indicted him on a single count of unlawfully using the card and Ms Petito's personal identification number. He was not charged in her death.

Show latest update 1633331749More serious charges against Brian Laundrie ‘extremely likely’ if found, says prosecutor

More serious criminal charges against Gabby Petito’s missing boyfriend Brian Laundrie are ‘extremely likely’ if he’s found alive, the state attorney for Palm Beach County in Florida has claimed.

David Aronberg defended his office for not filing charges against Mr Laundrie, saying “prosecutors have a higher burden to prove cases beyond any reasonable doubt”.

Asked by News Nation Now why he hadn’t been charged with a more serious crime at this point in the disappearance and death of the YouTuber, Mr Aronberg added: “I think that’s coming.”

Chiara Giordano4 October 2021 08:151633330352Gabby Petito’s mother ‘getting angry’ as boyfriend remains missing

The mother of Gabby Petito has said she is “getting angry” as the 22-year-old’s boyfriend Brian Laundrie remains missing.

Taking to Twitter, Nichole Schmidt urged Mr Laundrie to turn himself in.

She wrote: “Mama bear is getting angry! Turn yourself in! @josephpetito agrees.”

Chiara Giordano4 October 2021 07:521633327178State Attorney for Palm Beach County explains why charges against Brian Laundrie have not been filed

David Aronberg, the state attorney for Palm Beach County in Florida, has defended his office for not filing charges against Brian Laundrie by saying that “prosecutors have a higher burden to prove cases beyond any reasonable doubt.”

He also said that Mr Laundrie’s parents might have incriminated themselves in the court of public opinion, but that law enforcement has no evidence to file charges against them as well.

However, Mr Aronberg said that “more serious criminal charges” against Mr Laundrie are “extremely likely â€" if he’s found alive.”

Maroosha Muzaffar4 October 2021 06:591633325867Brain Laundrie sought directions to California 'to see his girlfriend'

Brian Laundrie sought directions to California, according to a hiker who has alleged that he has “no doubt” that he encountered Mr Laundrie on the Appalachian Trail.

Dennis Davis said that Mr Laundrie told him that he was lost and was trying to get to California after getting in a fight with his girlfriend.

Mr Davis said: “He said me and my girlfriend had a fight, and man, I love her, and she called me, and I need to go out to California to see her.”

Mr Davis told him to take I-40 West, but, he claims that Mr Laundrie refused and said that he would rather stay on Waterville Road by the Pigeon River.

“He said, ‘No, I think this road that we’re on â€" I’m going to take it to California,’” Mr Davis added.

Duane Chapman, aka Dog the Bounty Hunter, has said he is working to confirm this tip from Mr Davis.

Maroosha Muzaffar4 October 2021 06:371633322700Former FBI agent: Laundrie will be found alive

Former FBI agent Maureen O’Connell has said that she thinks that Brian Laundrie will be found alive.

“This whole case is filled with one wild goose chase after another,” Ms O’Connell told Fox News on Thursday.

“I have a feeling that [Mr Laundrie] is going to be found, and he is going to be found alive,” she added. “All the information that’s been coming in for weeks now, as you layer it upon itself, you can start to see all these things coming to fruition.”

“For example, now they’re starting to really piece together the activities of the parents,” she said. “When you look at what was done, and what wasn’t done, when you look at the timing of that, you can find the point where they decided they were going to 100 per cent support their son and not support the Petito family or Gabby.”

Gustaf Kilander4 October 2021 05:451633322360Dog the Bounty Hunter working to confirm hiker’s tip

Duane Chapman, aka Dog the Bounty Hunter, is working to confirm the tip from a hiker who claimed that he talked with Brian Laundrie near the border of Tennessee and North Carolina.

Chapman’s daughter Lyssa told the New York Post that she has been in contact with Dennis Davis, the hiker who alleged that he had “no doubt” that he encountered Mr Laundrie on the Appalachian Trail.

She said: “I do believe Dennis. I am convinced he’s convinced.”

She added: “We’re doing everything we can to verify Dennis’ tip but there isn’t much to go off other than the location.” But “we’re working that tip for sure,” she confirmed on Sunday.

Maroosha Muzaffar4 October 2021 05:391633321002Petito's stepdad posts a poignant photo of young Gabby

Gabby Petito’s stepfather, Jim Schmidt, has shared a photo of a young Gabby Petito with a caption that reads: “It still seems surreal. Miss you Gabs.”

The post has attracted thousands of likes and hundreds of retweets on Twitter.

Earlier, the 22-year-old Petito’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, had also tweeted for the first time saying that “Mama bear is getting angry!” Without naming the missing boyfriend of Petito, Brian Laundrie, Ms Schmidt added: “Turn yourself in!”

In response to the tweet, Tabitha Sushko, a Florida-based portrait artist offered to draw a portrait of Petito as a gift to the family. She said that “I would love for your family to pick a photo, instead of me deciding that for you, which is why I have been trying to get in contact.”

Meanwhile, the hunt for Brian Laundrie is ongoing. A hiker has claimed to have seen him on a road near the Appalachian Trail in North Carolina â€" close to the border with Tennessee.

Maroosha Muzaffar4 October 2021 05:161633319303Twitter restricts Gabby Petito Foundation page

On Sunday, moments after the Gabby Petito Foundation’s Twitter page posted that the website was “up and running”, Twitter “temporarily suspended” the account.

The 22-year-old homicide victim’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, said that the account had likely been blocked because of a number of fake pages that had cropped up in recent days.

She wrote: “So our Gabby Petito Foundation page has been restricted, this is most likely due to all the fake pages that have been made already.”

The family had launched the Gabby Petito Foundation on 25 September “to give resources and guidance” to help other families find their missing.

The Gabby Petito Foundation is, meanwhile, also organising its first fundraiser in Petito’s hometown of Blue Point, New York on 17 October.

Maroosha Muzaffar4 October 2021 04:481633319131Former US Marshal: Laundrie is ‘sleeping with one eye open’ but police are ‘chasing a ghost’

The search for Brian Laundrie, 23, is about to enter its third week. Former US Marshal Lenny DePaul has said that he thinks that Mr Laundrie is “sleeping with one eye open” but that police are “chasing a ghost”.

“I personally think he could be anywhere,” he toldThe New York Post on Thursday. “It doesn’t matter. Mexico. He can be on a boat sitting off the coast of Cuba. It doesn’t matter. He’s gonna mess up. He’s going to make the mistake.”

“I would run as fast and as far as I could, too, if I were him,” he added. “Any way you look at it, it’s not good for him.”

“The bigger question is what’s his mindset once that noose gets tightened up and they get ready to make an arrest,” he said. “Is it suicide by cop, is he gonna shoot it out, is he armed?”

Gustaf Kilander4 October 2021 04:451633315531Forensic artist: ‘I don’t care how much money he has. If you’re on the run, it’s hard to eat, it degrades your life’

Forensic artist Lois Gibson has said that she thinks Brian Laundrie’s appearance would have chnaged after so long on the run, but that it should be possible to identify him by his ears.

“I’ve been working cases for 39 years and he is going to get a lot of sun, he’s gonna lose weight,” she told NewsNationNow.

“I don’t care how much money he has. If you’re on the run … it’s hard to eat, it degrades your life,” she added.

“Ears are the most complicated object on the surface of the head. They’re more complicated than the eyes, lips or the nose,” she said.

Gustaf Kilander4 October 2021 03:45

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