Mum of murdered travel blogger Gabby Petito’s shock words for killer Brian Laundrie

The mum of Gabby Petito, who was murdered by her fiance on a road trip, has some surprising words for her daughter’s killer.

Gabby Petito’s mum says she forgives her daughter’s killer, Brian Laundrie.

The 22-year-old American travel blogger went missing in 2021 on a cross-country road trip with her fiance. The mysterious disappearance of the aspiring influencer sent shockwaves across the world.

Laundrie, 23, had returned to his parents’ Florida home alone and Ms Petito’s parents accused him of refusing to tell them when and where he last saw their daughter.

He quickly became the sole person of interest in the case before he disappeared, too.

During a manhunt for Laundrie, Ms Petito was found strangled to death at a Wyoming campsite.

A month later, Mr Laundrie’s remains and personal items were found in Florida’s Carlton Reserve. His notebook revealed he took responsibility for Ms Petito’s death before taking his own life, according to the FBI.

Gabby Petito died by strangulation. Picture: Instagram

Speaking at a true crime convention in Nashville on Friday (local time), Ms Petito’s mother surprisingly said she forgave Laundrie.

“I speak for myself here when I say Brian, I forgive you,” Nichole Schmidt said at CrimeCon, according to CNN.

“I needed to release myself from the chains of anger and bitterness, that I refuse to let your despicable act define the rest of my life.

“Your atrocious decision to take a life, my daughter’s life, has ignited a fire within me, a fierce determination to protect the innocent from falling victim to monsters like you.”

Police bodycam showed Brian Laundrie speaking with police as they responded to an altercation between he and Petito in Utah on August 12, 2021, weeks before she was found dead. Picture: Handout / Moab City Police Department / AFP

However, Ms Schmidt said his mother, Roberta Laundrie, did not deserve forgiveness.

“I see no empathy in your eyes, no remorse in your heart and no willingness to take responsibility for your actions,” she said.

She said Laundrie’s parents were “complicit in his cowardly flight from justice” and the loss of her daughter was compounded by “the sickening injustice of her murder remaining unpunished.”

Gabby Petito’s parents, Nichole Schmidt and Joseph Petito, had sued Brian Laundrie’s parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, accusing them of knowing he had killed their daughter and planning to help him flee the country.

The two families settled the case in February to avoid a civil trial that would have begun in May. The terms of the resolution were confidential.