Gabby Petito family friend refuses to name Brian Laundrie, calls him ‘the evil one’
A family friend of Gabby Petito has referred to fugitive Brian Laundrie as “the evil one” as she declined to address him by using his name. Gabby's family friend, Maija Polsley told NewsNation on September 23, “The evil one — I refuse to say his name — needs to be caught and brought to justice. Evil took out, extinguished one of the brightest lights on this planet.”
Gabby, the 22-year-old Long Island native was on a cross-country trip with Brian in a converted van. The pair began their journey in early July. But on September 1, Gabby’s 23-year-old boyfriend returned to his North Port, Florida, home alone and did not tell anyone about the young woman’s whereabouts. Even after Gabby’s family reported her missing on September 11, he refused to talk to authorities and hired an attorney.
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On September 15, Brian was named a person of interest in the case. Later it was found that he himself went missing on September 14. But in the most tragic turn of events, authorities found the remains of Gabby in a national park in Wyoming on September 19. The official identification of the remains was done on September 21 and her death was ruled as a homicide.
In a statement, the Denver office of the FBI said, “Teton County Coroner Dr Brent Blue confirmed the remains are those of Gabrielle Venora Petito, date of birth March 19, 1999. Coroner Blue’s initial determination for the manner of death is homicide. The cause of death remains pending final autopsy results.”
Remembering Gabby, Polsley said she had a smile that “lit up the entire world.” She continued: “Her smile is unforgettable. Her smile would light up any room. Everybody fell in love with her. It’s hard not to,” before adding, “She was so easy to fall in love with, which is why the world has really taken to this whole story.”
The family friend also claimed that Gabby and her family had “a false sense of security” because she had “known Laundrie forever”. She apparently met him first at Bayport Blue Point High School on Long Island. “It turns out that he was super abusive,” Polsley said of Brian, who allegedly slapped Gabby in Utah when police were called to an incident on August 12. The incident happened a few days before Gabby suddenly vanished.
Polsley’s comments came soon after an arrest warrant was obtained by the FBI for Brian after his indictment on federal charges in relation to Gabby’s death. Court papers stated that he has been pressed with one count of use of unauthorized access devices — namely a Capital One debit card — charge. A statement from the FBI Denver Division noted, “On Wednesday, September 22, 2021, the US District Court of Wyoming issued a federal arrest warrant for Brian Christopher Laundrie.”
According to the arrest warrant, Brian used the card “on or about August 30, 2021, through and including on or about September 1, 2021” in Wyoming and some other place and “obtained things of value aggregating to $1,000 or more.” About the card usage, Polsley said, “At first I was like, ‘the audacity, that he had the nerve to go and use her credit card.’ But you know what that $1,000 bought him? A federal arrest warrant. So well worth it, then.”
