The sister of Brian Laundrie -- the former boyfriend of Gabby Petito and fugitive who's wanted on a federal arrest warrant -- confirmed Monday that her brother flew home to Florida alone in mid-August before returning to Utah.
Laundrie’s sister told protesters outside her Lakewood Ranch home Monday that her family has been ignoring her following the disappearance of her brother and the death of his girlfriend, Petito. When asked if her parents were helping Brian Laundrie evade authorities, she said, "I don't know."
"I'm in the boat where I'm getting ignored by my family and thrown under the bus by my family's attorney," Cassie Laundrie said to a group of protesters in a video shared by TikTok user @chroniclesofolivia.
The family lawyer, Steve Bertolino, blamed the media. "I do not represent Cassie Laundrie," he told Fox News in a text message Monday night. "Cassie’s comments can only be attributed to the press twisting my words and hers, which were only given to clarify prior mischaracterizations by the press, with the hopes of further sensationalizing this tragic story."
An FBI-led search uncovered Petito's remains at a Wyoming campsite north of Jackson Hole on Sept. 19.
Brian Laundrie was seen leaving his home on Sept. 14. His parents reported him missing three days later, before the federal warrant had been announced.
But he returned home on Sept. 1 in Petito's van – but without his girlfriend. That day, Laundrie surprised his sister and her kids, Cassie said. "Nothing came up" about Petito, she said.
Hiker says he's '100%' sure he saw Brian Laundrie near Appalachian Trail
Cassie Laundrie said she doesn't know how Petito died and also confirmed that her brother flew home for several days in mid- to late-August before returning to Utah just days before Petito was last seen alive.
Brian Laundrie's whereabouts are currently unknown, but several possible sightings have been reported along the Appalachian Trail near the border of North Carolina and Tennessee, as well as parts of Florida.
Brian Laundrie has not been charged in Gabby Petito's death, which authorities ruled a homicide.
Cassie Laundrie insisted she and her husband told the FBI everything.
"The world does not need to know what the FBI knows, and that’s why we’re silent," she said.
"We are just as upset, frustrated and heartbroken as everybody else," Cassie Laundrie told the protesters, according to Fox News. "I am losing my parents and my brother and my children’s aunt and future sister-in-law on top of this."
