Nichole Schmidt: Latest News

NORTH PORT, Fla. - Lawyers representing the family of deceased Gabby Petito in their civil lawsuit against the family of deceased Brian Laundrie have released a list of witnesses they expect to testify in the case.While the initial witness list is procedural and not indicative of which witnesses will formally testify in the event of a trial, it does highlight the general direction in which claimants plan to take the case. The initial list includes Petito's parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt; her stepparents, Tara Petito and James Schmidt; Brian Laundrie's parents, Chris and Roberta Laundrie; FBI representatives; and North Port Police Department representatives.Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino described the expected witness list as a "wish list" told Fox News Digital that it is "not likely" the Laundries would testify.GABBY PETITO UPDATE: PARENTS FILE LAWSUIT AGAINST LAUNDRIE FAMILYThe Petito family filed the lawsuit in March, alleging that Chris and Roberta Laundrie were aware that their son killed their daughter and attempted to help him flee justice while remaining silent about the pair's respective August 2021 and September 2021 disappearances.Petito and Laundrie were traveling cross-country over the summer in Petito's van before her parents reported her missing on Sept. 11.

TAMPA, Fla. - The family of Gabby Petito is using their pain as motivation to help others a year after her death.Petito’s family believes she was murdered on August 27, 2021. Investigators say Petito’s fiancé, Brian Laundrie, killed her last year while the couple was on a cross-country trip in a van.Her remains were not discovered until Sept. 19 on the edge of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

VENICE, Fla. - A Sarasota County judge has decided to move forward with the lawsuit against Brian Laundrie's parents, which claims they knew their son murdered Gabby Petito as authorities were searching for her.Thursday, Judge Hunter Carroll denied a motion to dismiss the case, filed by the Laundries' attorney. The decision comes one week after the first hearing in the civil lawsuit filed by Petito's parents, Nichole Schmidt and Joseph Petito.

NORTH PORT, Fla. - Nichole Schmidt, the mother of deceased Gabby Petito, on Friday filed a new wrongful death lawsuit in Florida against the curator of the estate of deceased Brian Laundrie. The lawsuit, which seeks wrongful death damages of $30 million, states that Laundrie intentionally killed Petito, and as a direct result of his conduct, Schmdit and Joseph Petito, Gabby Petito's father, "incurred funeral and burial expenses, and they have suffered a loss of care and comfort, and suffered a loss of probable future companionship, society and comfort."The complaint also demands a trial by jury and judgment for compensatory damages. RELATED: Gabby Petito family's lawsuit against Brian Laundrie's parents will head to jury trial in 2023, courts sayThe curator of Laundrie's estate, Barry Spivey, told Fox News Digital that one of his primary functions as a limited curator "is to accept service of a summons on that lawsuit," but he has "absolutely no responsibility to respond to it.""They needed somebody to accept service of process, but once that's done, I'm done with it," he said of the complaint.RELATED: New court filing says Brian Laundrie's parents knew Gabby was dead before family trip to Fort DeSotoThe new lawsuit comes after Schmidt and Petito filed a civil lawsuit in Florida alleging that Laundrie’s parents, Chris and Roberta Laundrie, were aware that their son killed their daughter and attempted to help him flee justice.

NORTH PORT, Fla. - The family of Gabby Petito says Brian Laundrie's parents knew before going on a family vacation to Fort DeSoto park that their son had killed his girlfriend and left her body in a national park in Utah, according to new documents filed in Sarasota County court.Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, Gabby's mother and father, filed a civil lawsuit against Laundrie's parents, accusing them of knowing their son murdered their daughter, but new documents shed light on when they are accused of knowing their son's alleged crimes. The lawsuit, which is expected to be heard by a jury in 2023, seeks more than $100,000 in damages for causing the Petitos pain, suffering, and mental anguish. According to court documents, the Petito family says Brian killed Gabby on August 27, 2021. "Her cause of death was blunt force injuries to the head and neck with manual strangulation," the suit says.The Petitos say Brian sent text messages to and from his and Gabby's phones in an effort to conceal that she was dead. They also say he sent a message from Gabby's phone to Gabby's mother, but called Gabby's grandfather by his first name – which Nichole Schmidt says her daughter would never have done.PREVIOUS: Gabby Petito's family files lawsuit against Brian Laundrie's parents, claims they knew Brian murdered GabbyThe Petito family says in the lawsuit that they believe Brian told his parents on August 28 that he killed Gabby.

NORTH PORT, Fla. - Gabby Petito's family has filed a civil lawsuit against Brian Laundrie's parents, accusing them of knowing that Brian had murdered their daughter and attempting to help him flee the country. The lawsuit seeks over $100,000 in damages for causing the Petitos pain and suffering along with mental anguish.The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Sarasota County by Gabby's mother, Nichole Schmidt, and father, Joseph Petito, listing Brian's parents Chris and Roberta Laundrie as defendants.The complaint gives a brief timeline of Gabby Petito's disappearance and death, before revealing new accusations not previously released by the FBI."It is believed, and therefore averred that on or about August 28, 2021, Brian Laundrie advised his parents, Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie, that he had murdered Gabrielle Petito," the lawsuit states.

Brian Laundrie has been on the run for several weeks since his fiancée, Gabby Petito, was declared missing and the Petito family believes he holds the answers to what happened to their daughter. The Petito and Schmidt families sat down for an exclusive interview with Fox News senior correspondent Laura Ingle to vocalize their frustrations regarding the ongoing manhunt for Laundrie and their hopes to find answers."Just turn yourself in," Petito’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, said of Laundrie. "It’s just getting more and more frustrating as days go on.