The family of Long Island’s missing woman, Gabby Petito, murdered her boyfriend on Tuesday for sweeping police and refusing to say where he last saw the 22-year-old as her search continues. .
Her family’s statement came just hours after Petito’s boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, who continues to dodge police officers, broke his silence, saying through his lawyer that he “would be left in the background.”
Petito’s mother, Nicole Schmidt, and his father, Joe Petito, have advocated for his return.
“The Schmidt family and Petito are living the worst moments of their lives,” according to the statement, posted to Twitter on Tuesday by WNBC journalist Pei-Sze Cheng.
“Brian refuses to tell Gabby’s family where he last saw her,” her statement said. “Brian also refuses to explain why he left Gabby alone and drove his van to Florida. These are critical questions that require immediate answers.
“The Schmidt family and Petito beg the Laundrie family not to ‘stay in the background,’ but to help find who Brian referred to as the love of his life,” the statement said. “How Brian stays in the background when he’s the only person who knows where Gabby is.”
The family added that he “implores” Laundrie “to show up and at least tell us if we’re looking for the right area.”
Laundrie and Petito, who lived together in Florida, left the coast-to-coast trip in July and had to finish the trip at a friend’s house in Portland around Halloween.
But Laundrie returned home to Florida with the 2012 Ford Transit van where they were traveling on Friday, without Petito.
He has since retained a lawyer and refused to cooperate with police, who were also rejected by Laundrie’s parents.
North Port Police are assisting Suffolk County Police and the FBI in the search, which has secured international headlines.
