Gabby Petito‘s mom is speaking out about her late daughter and Brian Laundrie in a new interview.
On Thursday morning, Nichole Schmidt sat down with TODAY for a discussion about her daughter’s tragic death. Petito, who was just 22 years old when she disappeared last August, was later found dead in Wyoming in mid-September. Police suspected Laundrie of being responsible for her death, but he disappeared during the investigation, too.
Eventually, cops tracked him to a state park in his home state of Florida. There, in October 2021, they found Brian’s remains. Next to his body was a notebook in which Laundrie attempted to explain the context of Petito’s death. The late 24-year-old man claimed Gabby had been injured during their road trip and outdoor expedition, and he “ended her life, mercifully.”
Nichole has already revealed her skepticism about that story — to put it mildly. And now, she is having her say. The grieving mother fought back tears while speaking to the news outlet, but she was adamant about one thing: Brian’s decision to “mercifully” end Gabby’s supposed suffering was an “absolute” lie.
She slammed the deceased man and suspected murderer:
“That was his character, even in his last moments, he wanted to make sure he looked like the good guy. Right? That’s ridiculous. We know how she died.”
Wow.
Nichole wasn’t just there to talk about Laundrie, though. In the interview, she revealed that the foundation named in honor of her late daughter has donated $100,000 to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
Schmidt stated:
“It’s hard. We’re trying, we’re trying to do good for Gabby and for everybody else.”
And she added:
“Our story begins because of domestic violence and we don’t want it to happen to anybody else.”
The hotline receives calls from “thousands” of people every year, per the Associated Press — mostly women who are seeking help in leaving abusive relationships. Nichole explained to that news outlet how Gabby’s death has become a flashpoint for many other women who are trying to get out of dangerous situations in their own lives:
“I think Gabby’s story touched a lot of people and she’s saving lives. I get people messaging me all the time that they were inspired by her to get out of a relationship.”
That’s inspiring in its own way. Truly working to make something better out of a terrible situation.
According to TODAY, Laundrie’s attorney declined to comment in response to the new interview.
You can watch it (below):
Ugh. Still such a sad situation.
Sending love to Gabby’s friends and family…
R.I.P.
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